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Can Drawing Be A Career?

Can Drawing Be A Career?

Are you one of those individuals who have been sketching on the back of notebooks or tissue paper in a restaurant or frequently use a stylus for your favorite drawing application on your phone? Have you asked yourself can drawing be a career?

Whether you are a self-taught artist or studied in an art institution, drawing is a skill with abundant career opportunities. Drawing is a form of expression that sets each artist apart from the other.

After all 83% of artists say drawing can be a career. So let’s dive into what careers you can get and if can be a good career for you!

can drawing be a career statistics

Other related topics to help you at drawing:

can drawing be a career

Is drawing a good career?

Forbes’s study showed the largest group of freelancing work was within creative fields, the majority of which is design and multimedia content creation.

This research clearly shows that even with substantial competition, people are making progress as artists. Drawing lies at the heart of each artwork.

A painter starts painting only after drawing a sketch. 

Since art is relative, there is no right or wrong method or style.

A person may prefer one technique over the other.

Drawing the same object with a charcoal pencil looks and feels completely different from a marker drawing.

Although fear of starving artists is genuine, your career as an artist depends on how well you promote your skills. 

Due to digitalization, there are numerous online platforms offering freelancing services.

You can upload your sample work for potential drawing jobs.

Employers can quickly and easily scan for what they want. Additionally, companies post frequently post drawing jobs online for artists.

The work can come from a big company to design the product label for an entirely new line or a writer looking for a book cover. The possibilities are endless.

List of drawing careers with their salaries.

Below I list top careers for people with good drawing skills.

I also mention the approximate earnings for each profession. Salaries vary depending on the time and type of project.

Drawing Careers and Their Salaries

CareerSalary
Fashion Designer$19 per hour
Art Teacher$19 per hour
Animator$23 per hour
Graphic Designer$18 per hour
Textile Designer$22 per hour
Illustrator$46 per hour
Technical illustrator$46 per hour
Art director: $40 per hour
Industrial designer$17 per hour
Architectural drafter$30 per hour

Fashion Designer:

The fashion industry involves clothing and styling, which is continuously updating.

Each new design has to be drawn as a concept then approved for further development. I

n the age of mass production, artists are hired to draw items with specifications.

These can be hand-drawn or with a CAD program

The average salary expected from such jobs is $19 per hour.

Art teacher:

Art is a popular subject from nursery schools to post-graduate level.

Depending on your drawing skills, there are always plenty of schools looking for inspirational art teachers.

An art teacher with proficient drawing skills can also teach other art disciplines.

An art teacher is paid on average $19 per hour.

Animator:

Animations are drawn images played at high speed.

Although hand-drawn images are no longer used for movies, an initial animation sketch is made on paper.

It is then converted or drawn onto a digital illustrator.

Doodling videos are viral nowadays, which are made using sophisticated drawing software.

The average base salary for an animator is $23 per hour.

Graphic design:

Graphic designers work with businesses and brands to create print media, websites, clothing designs, logos, and infographics.

To demonstrate the artist’s abilities and project requirements, they often send the company a drawn mockup of the design for approval.

A graphic designer earns $18 per hour.

Textile designer:

Artists are hired to generate unique styles and patterns on textiles using CAD programs.

Designers use their creativity and drawing skills to turn basic shapes and colors into exceptional pieces.

A textile designer is paid approximately $22 per hour.

Illustrator:

Drawing jobs as illustrators are highly sought after by good artists. They are hired to draw images for print media. The print media can range from magazines, advertisements, books, displays, reports, billboards, etc. 

Most illustrators earn $46 per hour.

Technical illustrator:

These illustrators specialize in drawing images for official documents such as user manuals, product tutorials, and textbook publications.

They provide visual support to the written text. 

A technical illustrator can expect to be paid over $46 per hour.

Art director:

It is an upper-level position responsible for guiding the design team.

These professionals draw sketches to layout the theme and concept of the intended product.

Their team is then required to execute these designs. 

They are often hired to create backgrounds or scenes for fashion shows, interactive rooms, movie sets, weddings, interior decoration, etc.

Starting salaries of an Art director are $40 per hour.

Industrial designer:

An industrial designer is an exciting career that combines art with engineering and business to create new products.

Behind every single car, airplane, appliance, and machinery stand an industrial designer with great drawing skills

An industrial designer is paid $17 per hour.

Architectural drafter:

Architects have to be very precise and accurate in their drawings.

These artists convert a customer’s vision into reality. Initially, two-dimensional sketches are drawn that are transferred into three-dimensional models later.

An architect’s salary depends on their firms, but they are paid $30 per hour on average.

Drawing jobs that you don’t need a degree?

Unless you want to work at an educational institute, you do not need a degree to get paid for your services.

Technical fields such as architectural firms require qualifications to ensure you possess the appropriate knowledge and discipline to successfully do the job.

Self-taught styles and techniques are hard to replicate and cannot be learned through university courses.

Hence, there is no minimum educational qualification required for drawing jobs.

Artists create their portfolios and present them at potential jobs.

If the design teams like their work, they are hired.

To increase career opportunities drawing enthusiasts have gained proficiency in digital tools such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, CAD software, and Procreate

How much do artists make?

Looking at data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, artists are paid between $20,000 to over $112,000 annually.

Companies prefer to hire artists on a project basis or part-time.

If an artist understands the company profile and can translate their vision in a range of artistic mediums, they get hired permanently. 

If you are passionate about your drawings and sketches, do not hesitate to turn them into a career.

With the right mindset and thorough research, you can start earning immediately.

The world is limited only by our imagination!

Brook Mondragon

Friday 15th of July 2022

How would I go about finding one of these jobs? I'm unemployed at the moment and when I'm not at my mom's helping her with her yard or house work I'm at home drawing. I would love to find a job doing what I love doing. Can you help me find a job please and thank you?

Jae Johns

Monday 18th of July 2022

I recommend looking at online job sites for the jobs I mentioned in the post.

Jae Johns

Saturday 25th of June 2022

Go to my contact page and email me.

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