Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between lead artists and senior 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 lead artist, becoming a senior designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior designer has an average salary of $102,058, which is higher than the $83,041 average annual salary of a lead artist.
The top three skills for a lead artist include maya, animation and portfolio. The most important skills for a senior designer are sketch, graphic design, and human centered design.
| Lead Artist | Senior Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $83,041 | $102,058 |
| Hourly rate | $39.92 | $49.07 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 4,799 | 47,503 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
The duties of a lead artist depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to identify and meet their needs, coordinating with the creative staff in developing concepts and samples to present to the clients, conducting revisions, and submitting finished works according to the prescribed format and manner. Furthermore, as a lead artist, it is essential to spearhead the efforts and encourage the team to reach goals, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations, including the clients' vision.
Senior designers are typically in charge of realizing design solutions that adhere to the business goals and marketing strategies of an organization. They should be comfortable managing graphics designers and making decisions. They must have extensive knowledge of styles, layout techniques, and graphic design while also managing projects and people effectively. Senior designers have a variety of duties, which include delegating tasks to junior designers, maintaining high-quality standards, and collaborating to improve digital creativity standards.
Lead artists and senior designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Artist | Senior Designer | |
| Average salary | $83,041 | $102,058 |
| Salary range | Between $53,000 And $128,000 | Between $72,000 And $143,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Lyft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Media |
There are a few differences between a lead artist and a senior designer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Artist | Senior Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | 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 lead artists' and senior designers' demographics:
| Lead Artist | Senior Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% | Male, 71.0% Female, 29.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | 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% |