Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$55,490

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$37,560 – $83,200

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

11,220

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

-2.9%

Shrinking (below 0%)

Openings a year (projected)

2,200

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Bachelor's degree

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

Main tasks

• Use materials such as pens and ink, watercolors, charcoal, oil, or computer software to create artwork.
• Integrate and develop visual elements, such as line, space, mass, color, and perspective, to produce desired effects, such as the illustration of ideas, emotions, or moods.
• Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
• Maintain portfolios of artistic work to demonstrate styles, interests, and abilities.
• Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or Web sites.
• Study different techniques to learn how to apply them to artistic endeavors.
• Monitor events, trends, and other circumstances, research specific subject areas, attend art exhibitions, and read art publications to develop ideas and keep current on art world activities.
• Photograph objects, places, or scenes for reference material.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Bachelor's degree

Training once hired: long-term on-the-job training

O*NET Job Zone 3

Medium preparation

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 12 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• Special Effects Artists and Animators

  $102,030 median · -0.3% projected

• Graphic Designers

  $62,960 median · -1.7% projected

• Craft Artists

  $46,080 median · +2% projected

• Etchers and Engravers

  $43,310 median · -0.7% projected

• Art Directors

  $114,850 median · +4.2% projected

• Set and Exhibit Designers

  $75,240 median · +1.4% projected