Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between concept artists and visual designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a concept artist, becoming a visual designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a visual designer has an average salary of $86,495, which is higher than the $85,713 average annual salary of a concept artist.
The top three skills for a concept artist include storyboards, maya and animation. The most important skills for a visual designer are sketch, visual design, and graphic design.
| Concept Artist | Visual Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,713 | $86,495 |
| Hourly rate | $41.21 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 3,596 | 46,815 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
The job of a concept artist is to make visual representations of creatures, characters, environments, vehicles, and other artistic assets. You should know about the design and how to create one that needs to blend well with any creative project. Your typical job includes drawing or painting these creative assets and providing references for any ideas you need to illustrate. The general qualifications needed to become a successful concept artist include illustration skills, design understanding, and knowledge of Photoshop.
A visual designer is someone who creates designs for a variety of platforms such as Internet and intranet sites, games, and wearables. The duties of visual designers depend on the specific project or industry in which they are working. Duties include creating user-centered interaction models, working with information technology and business teams to resolve complex issues, and designing logos, icons, and infographics. The qualifications to become a visual designer include possessing strong problem-solving, communication, and negotiation skills and obtaining a bachelor's degree in design.
Concept artists and visual designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Concept Artist | Visual Designer | |
| Average salary | $85,713 | $86,495 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $130,000 | Between $51,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | Novato, CA | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ByteDance |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a concept artist and a visual designer in terms of educational background:
| Concept Artist | Visual Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between concept artists' and visual designers' demographics:
| Concept Artist | Visual Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.3% Female, 25.7% | Male, 53.1% Female, 46.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 13% |