How To Become A Scenic Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a scenic designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Lisa TenHulzen

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a scenic designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $26.2 an hour? That's $54,503 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a scenic designer?

Lisa TenHulzen

Assistant Professor of Scenic Design, Albion College

Work hard. I don't have to tell you that being successful in the theatre business is extremely difficult, even at the best of times. Post-pandemic, I believe this will be even harder. You have to be able to push yourself to become stronger, more professional and more driven than you ever anticipated. Being in the theatre professionally is not easy, and if you expect it to be, you are in the wrong field. Even the most talented among us have to work their tails off to be successful. Pursue anything and everything that comes your way, be kind to your colleagues, and be collaborative. Understand that there are 100 more artists waiting to take your place, so treat each position with the respect it deserves. One thing that will not change post-pandemic is how small the theatre world is and how much that can help or hinder you based on the relationships you build.

ScoreScenic DesignerUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,503

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 11.38%

Black or African American 2.79%

Hispanic or Latino 10.03%

Unknown 4.75%

White 70.65%

Gender

female 54.11%

male 45.89%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.3

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a scenic designer

Explore scenic designer education requirements

Most common scenic designer degrees

Bachelor's

78.2 %

Master's

11.2 %

Associate

5.6 %

Start to develop specific scenic designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Theatre Production	26.34%
CAD	14.42%
Adobe Photoshop	10.24%
Model Building	7.59%
Scale Models	6.71%

Research scenic designer duties and responsibilities

Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
Prepare PowerPoint documents for client presentation that include furniture and material selections.
Use architectural and structural-base external reference drawings files as backgrounds for communication, electrical, HVAC mechanical and structural revisions.

Prepare your scenic designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your scenic designer resume.

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