What does a lead artist do?
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.
Lead artist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real lead artist resumes:
- Edit video, write copy for television, radio, and web-base commercials while managing the scheduling of all studio employees.
- Model, texture, light, and render with Maya and proprietary tools.
- Establish a standard level of quality for asset creation while enforcing efficiency of polygon and texture usage.
- Create various assets for a number of PC titles.
- Model, texture and direct outsourcing efforts for 3d environmental assets.
- Color guides with lights/shadows, perspective, and composition help visually engage the audience in the final animation.
- Perform character creation, rigging, and animation, along with prop, and environment modeling, and set dressing.
- Collaborate with clients to develop creative solutions for a diverse portfolio of communications and marketing projects.
- Collaborate with clients to develop creative solutions for a diverse portfolio of communications and marketing projects.
Lead artist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Lead Artists are proficient in Maya, Animation, and Portfolio. They’re also known for soft skills such as Artistic talent, Communication skills, and Computer skills.
We break down the percentage of Lead Artists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Maya, 13%
Developed and implemented an efficient Maya and Photoshop production pipeline for use within the company s ICARUS automation system.
- Animation, 10%
Managed animation and art asset implementation into mobile app through Corona engine.
- Portfolio, 9%
Collaborate with clients to develop creative solutions for a diverse portfolio of communications and marketing projects.
- ZBrush, 6%
Created various 2D and 3D artwork for in game GUI assets, using Zbrush, 3DStudio Max, and Photoshop.
- UI, 6%
Designed UI schemes, user flows, created logos and marketing content for the platform.
- Texture, 5%
Lead a team of artists, established the character modeling and texture pipeline in relation to the Unreal Engine.
"maya," "animation," and "portfolio" are among the most common skills that lead artists use at work. You can find even more lead artist responsibilities below, including:
Artistic talent. The most essential soft skill for a lead artist to carry out their responsibilities is artistic talent. This skill is important for the role because "animators and artists should have artistic ability and a good understanding of color, texture, and light." Additionally, a lead artist resume shows how their duties depend on artistic talent: "recruit and maintain contact with talent for community annual fine arts festival. "
Computer skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of lead artists is computer skills. This skill is critical to many everyday lead artist duties, as "many special effects artists and animators use computer programs or write programming code to do most of their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "designed and produced graphics and animation for 3d0, sony and pc - based computer games. "
Time-management skills. For certain lead artist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "time-management skills." The day-to-day duties of a lead artist rely on this skill, as "the workdays required by most studio and game design companies can be long, particularly when there are tight deadlines." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what lead artists do: "ensured release of ui projects on time and on budget resulting in cost savings for the entire project. "
Creativity. A commonly-found skill in lead artist job descriptions, "creativity" is essential to what lead artists do. Lead artist responsibilities rely on this skill because "artists and animators must be able to think creatively to develop original ideas and make them come to life." You can also see how lead artist duties rely on creativity in this resume example: "design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment. "
The three companies that hire the most lead artists are:
- Activision Blizzard5 lead artists jobs
- Electronic Arts5 lead artists jobs
- WarnerMedia
4 lead artists jobs
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Compare different lead artists
Lead artist vs. Graphic designer
Graphic designers are visual communicators who create graphic ideas to deliver a message through art and images which inspire, inform, and motivate consumers with the use of computer software, especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign or by hand. They have the ability to design stunning illustrations that are easily understood, even without a lot of thinking or based on the demand of their clients. It is very crucial to them as well to be flexible and to stay on top of the design trends. They create websites, posters, packaging, logos, advertising, and marketing materials, depending on the nature of the business.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between lead artists and graphic designer. For instance, lead artist responsibilities require skills such as "maya," "animation," "portfolio," and "zbrush." Whereas a graphic designer is skilled in "adobe illustrator," "typography," "brochures," and "design concepts." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Graphic designers really shine in the technology industry with an average salary of $59,067. Comparatively, lead artists tend to make the most money in the technology industry with an average salary of $92,247.The education levels that graphic designers earn slightly differ from lead artists. In particular, graphic designers are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lead artist. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead artist vs. Visual designer
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.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that lead artist responsibilities requires skills like "portfolio," "zbrush," "texture," and "unity." But a visual designer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "visual design," "visualization," "html css," and "invision."
Visual designers may earn a higher salary than lead artists, but visual designers earn the most pay in the start-up industry with an average salary of $121,675. On the other hand, lead artists receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $92,247.In general, visual designers achieve similar levels of education than lead artists. They're 3.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for lead artists in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Sarah Satterfield Ph.D.
Department Chair Visual and Performing Arts, Professor of Music and Humanities, College of Central Florida
Lead artist vs. Graphic design manager
A graphic design manager is primarily in charge of leading and overseeing the efforts of a graphic design team, ensuring adherence to goals and deadlines. It is their duty to learn and analyze the purpose of design, coordinate staff, liaise with internal and external parties, set goals and objectives, manage schedules, and conceptualize plans. Furthermore, as a graphic design manager, it is essential to lead and encourage teams to reach goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a lead artist is likely to be skilled in "maya," "animation," "portfolio," and "zbrush," while a typical graphic design manager is skilled in "project management," "customer service," "brochures," and "powerpoint."
Graphic design managers earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $82,776. Comparatively, lead artists have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $92,247.Most graphic design managers achieve a similar degree level compared to lead artists. For example, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Lead artist vs. Graphic designer/production
A Graphics Designer in production is the person in charge of designing and interpreting ideas pointed out by the client or the company. The graphics designer must use market standard applications and techniques to produce attention-grabbing designs intended to market a product, service, or company. Graphic designers are an integral part of a company's digital marketing, especially over the internet. The graphic designer must have a good eye for style, typesetting, and the use of colors.
Types of lead artist
Updated January 8, 2025
