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The differences between game artists and assistant 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 game artist, becoming an assistant designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a game artist has an average salary of $86,932, which is higher than the $52,475 average annual salary of an assistant designer.
The top three skills for a game artist include animation, maya and sketch. The most important skills for an assistant designer are sketch, tech packs, and adobe illustrator.
| Game Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,932 | $52,475 |
| Hourly rate | $41.79 | $25.23 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 5,040 | 47,598 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
This individual is tasked with just one thing, and that is to create 2D or 3D art for visual elements in video games. Their task is crucial in the process of creating games. They visualize how a game will look and ensure it comes out exactly that way. They design a few preliminary sketches and develop them according to the general style of the video game. They are required to work on components like characters, textures, vehicles, colors, lighting, objects, and environment.
Assistant designers act as administrative support to senior designers in creating innovative designs by negotiating with the vendors about the prices of decoration materials. They are keen and up-to-date to the latest fashion and trends by conducting surveys and research. They are exceptionally creative and innovative and have excellent IT skills as they use illustration, typography, and photography layouts in the design process. However, being an assistant designer, career development relies on his/her /her specialism, reputation, and experience depending on how its opportunities are influenced by the company he/she works for.
Game artists and assistant designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Game Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Average salary | $86,932 | $52,475 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $133,000 | Between $37,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | Amazon | PVH |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Construction |
There are a few differences between a game artist and an assistant designer in terms of educational background:
| Game Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between game artists' and assistant designers' demographics:
| Game Artist | Assistant Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.0% Female, 30.0% | Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | 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% |