Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between visual artists and production artists 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 production artist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a visual artist has an average salary of $81,873, which is higher than the $61,870 average annual salary of a production artist.
The top three skills for a visual artist include animation, maya and visual development. The most important skills for a production artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe creative suite.
| Visual Artist | Production Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $81,873 | $61,870 |
| Hourly rate | $39.36 | $29.75 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 7,209 | 59,103 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
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.
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.
Visual artists and production artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Visual Artist | Production Artist | |
| Average salary | $81,873 | $61,870 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $127,000 | Between $40,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sparks, NV | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Apple |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a visual artist and a production artist in terms of educational background:
| Visual Artist | Production Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Fine Arts | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between visual artists' and production artists' demographics:
| Visual Artist | Production Artist | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.5% Female, 40.5% | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 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 | 11% | 13% |