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Senior artist vs graphic designer

The differences between senior artists and graphic 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 senior artist, becoming a graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior artist has an average salary of $83,394, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.

The top three skills for a senior artist include maya, animation and AAA. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.

Senior artist vs graphic designer overview

Senior ArtistGraphic Designer
Yearly salary$83,394$49,450
Hourly rate$40.09$23.77
Growth rate5%3%
Number of jobs3,66545,625
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4038
Years of experience212

What does a senior artist do?

A senior artist has a variety of duties and responsibilities. These include designing all the concept art, online advertising assets, and graphics, designing and creating marketing brochures, invitations, greeting cards, and other materials, and creating the process for different artwork. Additionally, you will be responsible for identifying client objectives and translating them into an efficient multimedia solution. As a senior artist, you are also expected to create original graphics and user interfaces for multimedia projects.

What does a graphic designer do?

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.

Senior artist vs graphic designer salary

Senior artists and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior ArtistGraphic Designer
Average salary$83,394$49,450
Salary rangeBetween $54,000 And $128,000Between $34,000 And $69,000
Highest paying CityReno, NVWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNevadaMassachusetts
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between senior artist and graphic designer education

There are a few differences between a senior artist and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:

Senior ArtistGraphic Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Senior artist vs graphic designer demographics

Here are the differences between senior artists' and graphic designers' demographics:

Senior ArtistGraphic Designer
Average age4038
Gender ratioMale, 71.8% Female, 28.2%Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.3% 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 Percentage11%13%

Differences between senior artist and graphic designer duties and responsibilities

Senior artist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team of artists to create a series of space adventure games for the PC.
  • Edit video, write copy for television, radio, and web-base commercials while managing the scheduling of all studio employees.
  • Maintain servers, install software packages for Apple/Mac base computers and maintain editing suites for video and audio production.
  • Design and programme pop-ups using HTML.
  • Mentore team members and conduct Zbrush training.
  • Edit footage, and photography base on authentic styles.
  • Show more

Graphic designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead the transition from paste-up, typesetting, pasting up page layout to digital ad/page building and web printing.
  • Design new template for magazine as well as ads, flyers, brochures, and cards for a variety of events.
  • Plan the development of a social networking site website using HTML, CSS, PHP, and a WordPress management system.
  • Compose and create daily advertisements for national automotive dealerships utilizing typography and design concepts while adhering to corporate brand standards.
  • Follow style guide requirements to maintain brand integrity with specific treatments of photography, typography, graphic elements and team/sponsor/arena logos.
  • Create UI kit for the website.
  • Show more

Senior artist vs graphic designer skills

Common senior artist skills
  • Maya, 12%
  • Animation, 7%
  • AAA, 7%
  • ZBrush, 6%
  • In-Game, 6%
  • VFX, 5%
Common graphic designer skills
  • Adobe Creative Suite, 6%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 6%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 6%
  • Typography, 5%
  • Brochures, 5%
  • Design Concepts, 5%

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