Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code ARI
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.
Also called: Artist, Fine Artist, Painter, Sculptor, Automotive Artist, Blacksmith, Ice Carver, Illustrator.
O*NET 27-1013.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $55,490
- Middle half earn $37,560 to $83,200. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- Some College Courses
- 37% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- 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.
- Model substances such as clay or wax, using fingers and small hand tools to form objects.
- Create sculptures, statues, and other three-dimensional artwork by using abrasives and tools to shape, carve, and fabricate materials such as clay, stone, wood, or metal.
- Set up exhibitions of artwork for display or sale.
- Render drawings, illustrations, and sketches of buildings, manufactured products, or models, working from sketches, blueprints, memory, models, or reference materials.
- Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
- Shade and fill in sketch outlines and backgrounds, using a variety of media such as water colors, markers, and transparent washes, labeling designated colors when necessary.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
- Active Learning3.3 / 5
- Active Listening3.1 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.0 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Writing2.9 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Design4.3 / 5
- Computers and Electronics4.2 / 5
- English Language3.9 / 5
- Production and Processing3.6 / 5
- Fine Arts3.5 / 5
- Education and Training3.4 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic51
- Investigative28
- Artistic100
- Social21
- Enterprising23
- Conventional22
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- illustrator · DE Illustrator/Illustratorin · FR illustrateur/illustratrice
- digital artist · DE Digitalkünstler/Digitalkünstlerin · FR artiste numérique
- artistic painter · DE Kunstmaler/Kunstmalerin · FR artiste peintre
- cartoonist · DE Karikaturist/Karikaturistin · FR dessinateur de presse/dessinatrice de presse
- conceptual artist · DE Konzeptkünstler/Konzeptkünstlerin · FR artiste conceptuel/artiste conceptuelle
- drawing artist · DE Kunstzeichner/Kunstzeichnerin · FR dessinateur d’art/dessinatrice d’art
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Graphic and multimedia designers (2142)123,000 employed
- Artists (3411)64,500 employed
- Web design professionals (2141)31,200 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €61,714 |
| Germany | €59,529 |
| Ireland | €56,877 |
| Austria | €55,374 |
| Netherlands | €53,595 |
| Sweden | €43,567 |
| France | €41,515 |
| Spain | €35,735 |
| Italy | €33,649 |
| Portugal | €26,072 |
| Poland | €14,380 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.57. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-1013).
Related careers
Is it a fit for you?
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