Artists Jobs

While most artists dream of becoming the next Van Gogh, the truth is that most won't. That may not be such a bad thing; Van Gogh went mad, died young, and sold only one painting while he alive. Artistic talent is in supply like never before and the starving artist route is but one path to take toward both self-expression and self-reliance.

Animation has always been an important part of Hollywood and artists have always been able to find a job there. In the past, those jobs had to do with short films with Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry. Today, however, most artists working in animation are part of the creative team that produces blockbusters for the likes of Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks. The unfortunate truth is that much of the work of animation is done overseas, mostly in Korea, but the true artists of animation are firmly located in the United States.

Advertising has been and will probably continue for some time to be the industry that employs the most artists. Artists can find work in advertising doing everything from drawing storyboards of what will ultimately become live-action commercials to creating actual backgrounds for print ads.

Although more likely to go under the name "graphic novel," the comic book has never gone out of style. Comic books in all their incarnations are as popular as ever. The subjects and approaches that become fodder for comic books are nearly infinite. With so many Hollywood movies being made from graphic novels, that particular art form seems destined to flourish under the tutelage of movie/book tie-ins, creating an opportunity for those artists with a keen eye for comic book-style drawing.

Video game artists essentially are responsible for taking someone's vision of what a game will look like and converting it into two- and three-dimensional art, using computer programming. This artistic job requires not only artistic ability to draw using old school sketches, but also high-tech knowledge in how to translate those static images into the kinetic world of video game animation.

Website designers can use their artistry to create the look of an entire website or just to create an eye-catching logo. Web designers may also be responsible for creating flash animations that introduce visitors to a web site or its products and services. Knowledge of how to use HTML, Java, and CGI to produce an exciting yet useful web site is essential along with traditional artistic talents.