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Visual artist vs musician

The differences between visual artists and musicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a visual artist, becoming a musician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a visual artist has an average salary of $81,873, which is higher than the $57,257 average annual salary of a musician.

The top three skills for a visual artist include animation, maya and visual development. The most important skills for a musician are live performances, keyboard, and music theory.

Visual artist vs musician overview

Visual ArtistMusician
Yearly salary$81,873$57,257
Hourly rate$39.36$27.53
Growth rate5%4%
Number of jobs7,209103
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4045
Years of experience24

What does a visual artist do?

Visual artists are the type of artists that engage their audience through their eyes. This type of artist expresses their feelings in different ways. They can use any material to make their feelings known. Sometimes, they express their feelings using carved wood, digital imagery, and installations from objects they find randomly. They may use water vapor or bee pollen to let the world see their feelings, thoughts, and ideals. They can also choose to work independently or work with studios that produce cartoons, develop games, and have a fixed schedule to work on a project.

What does a musician do?

A musician specializes in performing or producing music through different mediums. Most of their responsibilities will revolve around practicing to develop their skills and enhance their performance, receiving training from experts to monitor progress and identify weaknesses to improve. There are also instances when a musician must interact and engage with the public, appear in shows, and participate in various competitions. Furthermore, a musician needs to maintain a healthy relationship with fans while continuously improving skills and releasing good music.

Visual artist vs musician salary

Visual artists and musicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Visual ArtistMusician
Average salary$81,873$57,257
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $127,000Between $25,000 And $127,000
Highest paying CitySparks, NVNew York, NY
Highest paying stateNevadaNew York
Best paying companyNVIDIASanford Health
Best paying industry-Media

Differences between visual artist and musician education

There are a few differences between a visual artist and a musician in terms of educational background:

Visual ArtistMusician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorFine ArtsMusic
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Visual artist vs musician demographics

Here are the differences between visual artists' and musicians' demographics:

Visual ArtistMusician
Average age4045
Gender ratioMale, 59.5% Female, 40.5%Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 5.4% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%9%

Differences between visual artist and musician duties and responsibilities

Visual artist example responsibilities.

  • Edit video, write copy for television, radio, and web-base commercials while managing the scheduling of all studio employees.
  • Design creative materials, including advertisements, media kits, logo and promotional materials for several collaborative projects.
  • Model, texture and integrate 3D mesh FX with 3DSMax
  • Modele and shade 3D facial replacements and simulate smoke effects in Maya.
  • Design texture sheets and unique materials and shaders for particles and mesh FX.
  • Used Maya and Photoshop to create matte paintings and landscape environment using modeling and camera projection techniques.
  • Show more

Musician example responsibilities.

  • Accomplish placement in first group clarinet section.
  • Play trombone, trumpet, baritone saxophone, keyboard, rhythm guitar, and provide backup vocals.
  • Jazz, fusion, blues band.
  • Design and maintain Facebook, MySpace and Purevolume websites.
  • Record multiple EP's and work on a full-length album.
  • Act as a vacation bible school instructor in the summer months.
  • Show more

Visual artist vs musician skills

Common visual artist skills
  • Animation, 15%
  • Maya, 11%
  • Visual Development, 9%
  • Visual Effects, 7%
  • VFX, 6%
  • Motion Graphics, 5%
Common musician skills
  • Live Performances, 20%
  • Keyboard, 11%
  • Music Theory, 6%
  • Synthesizers, 6%
  • DJ, 4%
  • Saxophone, 4%

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