What does a production artist do?
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.
Production artist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real production artist resumes:
- Manage print jobs, design, copywriting.
- Produce and code HTML emails that are browser/email client-friendly, as well code landing pages in CSS.
- Code web pages with HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and WordPress.
- Update and maintain CMS website.
- Work almost daily in the mac studio.
- Submit sketch approvals to USDA for their review.
- Used Maya to create virtual store models and products.
- Organize product information via excel & a back-end CMS.
- Increase site traffic through successful SEO and SEM strategies.
- Experiment with ways to produce thumbnails from sketch libraries more efficiently.
- Apply vinyl lettering to various substrates including vans, trucks, and windows.
- Prepare files for export in PDF formats for printing and creation of physical demos.
- Clear errata as per editorial requests and provide printer-ready PDF files with package production folders.
- Create a 3-D animate production logo in Maya for the short student film, 'Infinite'.
- Create and assemble graphics, buttons, and animation for company advertisement using various software suites.
Production artist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Production Artists are proficient in Graphic Design, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Creative Suite. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Artistic ability, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Production Artists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Graphic Design, 12%
Prioritized graphic design workload and effectively coordinated multiple projects included customer service support to sales associates.
- Adobe Photoshop, 9%
Developed and executed graphics for internal and external digital and print promotions address using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
- Adobe Creative Suite, 7%
Created layouts and production artwork for advertisements, brochures, business cards, and catalogs, using Adobe Creative Suite 6.
- Adobe Illustrator, 7%
Designed and digitized political sign artwork using Adobe Illustrator.
- Adobe Indesign, 5%
Formatted layout of index, part listings and dealership locations using style sheets with Adobe InDesign 5.5.
- Production Art, 5%
Managed virtual production artists for sequence exploring scene comps, utilizing limited motion assets
Common skills that a production artist uses to do their job include "graphic design," "adobe photoshop," and "adobe creative suite." You can find details on the most important production artist responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a production artist to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "graphic designers must be able to perceive their work from their consumers’ point of view to ensure that the designs convey the client’s message." Production artists often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "manipulated electronic data for a variety of devices including typesetting systems and multimedia systems. "
Artistic ability. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling production artist duties is artistic ability. The role rewards competence in this skill because "graphic designers must be able to create designs that are artistically interesting and appealing to clients and consumers." According to a production artist resume, here's how production artists can utilize artistic ability in their job responsibilities: "utilized adobe photoshop, adobe illustrator, as well as traditional media and traditional artistic techniques. "
Communication skills. production artists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to production artist responsibilities, because "graphic designers must communicate with clients, customers, and other designers to ensure that their designs accurately and effectively convey information." A production artist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "handled all aspects of post-production including: digital artistry, retouching, processing, and client communication. "
Computer skills. A big part of what production artists do relies on "computer skills." You can see how essential it is to production artist responsibilities because "most graphic designers use specialized graphic design software to prepare their designs." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical production artist tasks: "design and create various computer based layouts and typesetting projects. "
Creativity. A commonly-found skill in production artist job descriptions, "creativity" is essential to what production artists do. Production artist responsibilities rely on this skill because "graphic designers must be able to think of new approaches to communicating ideas to consumers." You can also see how production artist duties rely on creativity in this resume example: "collaborated with team of digital artists, manager, software engineers and creative director. "
Time-management skills. Another skill commonly found on production artist job descriptions is "time-management skills." It can come up quite often in production artist duties, since "graphic designers often work simultaneously on multiple projects, each with a different deadline." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day production artist responsibilities: "provided embroidery and screen-printing proofs to fastlogo retail stores within time deadlines and quality standards of the company. "
The three companies that hire the most production artists are:
- ICF54 production artists jobs
- System One51 production artists jobs
- Creative Converting
35 production artists jobs
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Compare different production artists
Production artist vs. Associate designer
An Associate Designer helps in developing sketches on paper and in graphic design software. They usually are supervised by the junior staff and interns.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a production artist are more likely to require skills like "adobe creative suite," "adobe indesign," "production art," and "photography." On the other hand, a job as an associate designer requires skills like "cad," "customer service," "human centered design," and "space planning." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
On average, associate designers reach similar levels of education than production artists. Associate designers are 2.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Production artist vs. Animator
The animators are specialized artists who conceptualized ideas from their creative minds with technology applications. Animators cater to different specialties depending on their expertise. They used multiple techniques and tools to create a digital masterpiece. An animator is required to have an excellent time and project management skills to meet deadlines. They should also be detail-oriented and technology savvy to keep up with the latest trend in the digital market. Animators are required to have regular communication with the respective department for the updates or adjustments as needed.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that production artist responsibilities requires skills like "adobe creative suite," "adobe indesign," "production art," and "photography." But an animator might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "animation," "motion capture," "storyboards," and "aaa."
Animators earn similar levels of education than production artists in general. They're 4.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for production 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
Production artist vs. Visual merchandiser
A visual merchandiser is responsible for arranging product displays at retail outlets, attracting customers to purchase the items. Visual merchandisers should be updated with the latest trends in the market to prioritize retail displays and floor plans. They must also be knowledgeable on product information to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns. Visual merchandisers should be creative in setting up the uniformity of the store's visuals within the budget goals. The designs must be appealing enough to drive the customers around the premises, potentially generating revenues and increasing profitability.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a production artist is likely to be skilled in "graphic design," "adobe photoshop," "adobe creative suite," and "adobe illustrator," while a typical visual merchandiser is skilled in "customer service," "ladders," "sales floor," and "store management."
When it comes to education, visual merchandisers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to production artists. In fact, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Production 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.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between production artists and visual designers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a production artist might have more use for skills like "production art," "mac," "print production," and "color correction." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of visual designers require skills like "visual design," "ui," "user experience," and "visualization. "
In general, visual designers hold higher degree levels compared to production artists. Visual designers are 5.5% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of production artist
Updated January 8, 2025
