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Visual artist vs senior artist

The differences between visual artists and senior artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a visual artist and a senior artist. Additionally, a senior artist has an average salary of $83,394, which is higher than the $81,873 average annual salary of a visual artist.

The top three skills for a visual artist include animation, maya and visual development. The most important skills for a senior artist are maya, animation, and AAA.

Visual artist vs senior artist overview

Visual ArtistSenior Artist
Yearly salary$81,873$83,394
Hourly rate$39.36$40.09
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs7,2093,665
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

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 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.

Visual artist vs senior artist salary

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

Visual ArtistSenior Artist
Average salary$81,873$83,394
Salary rangeBetween $52,000 And $127,000Between $54,000 And $128,000
Highest paying CitySparks, NVReno, NV
Highest paying stateNevadaNevada
Best paying companyNVIDIAMeta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between visual artist and senior artist education

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

Visual ArtistSenior Artist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorFine ArtsGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Visual artist vs senior artist demographics

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

Visual ArtistSenior Artist
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 59.5% Female, 40.5%Male, 71.8% Female, 28.2%
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, 4.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between visual artist and senior artist 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

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

Visual artist vs senior artist skills

Common visual artist skills
  • Animation, 15%
  • Maya, 11%
  • Visual Development, 9%
  • Visual Effects, 7%
  • VFX, 6%
  • Motion Graphics, 5%
Common senior artist skills
  • Maya, 12%
  • Animation, 7%
  • AAA, 7%
  • ZBrush, 6%
  • In-Game, 6%
  • VFX, 5%

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