Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between production artists and freelance designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a production artist and a freelance designer. Additionally, a production artist has an average salary of $61,870, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for a production artist include graphic design, adobe photoshop and adobe creative suite. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Production Artist | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $61,870 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $29.75 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 59,103 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A production artist is responsible for managing digital content, meeting clients' standard specifications and requests for successful project completion. Production artists must have computer proficiency, especially on utilizing various software tools and applications to create illustrations and layouts. They also work closely with the creative team, cooperating in brainstorming sessions to ensure the consistency for each assigned task. A production artist should be keen on details, adjusting outputs as needed to maintain the highest quality for the actual presentation.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Production artists and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Production Artist | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $61,870 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $94,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Washington | - |
| Best paying company | Apple | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a production artist and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Production Artist | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between production artists' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Production Artist | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 13% | 13% |