Occupations · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 27-1013.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 71% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $140,660 | 1,360 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $80,760 | 710 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $83,270 | 650 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $48,490 | 340 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $38,880 | 330 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $84,950 | 230 |
| Cleveland, OH | $43,510 | 210 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | $48,950 | 200 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $32,600 | 170 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $52,460 | 170 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $64,130 | 120 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI | $61,670 | 110 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
- Frame and mat artwork for display or sale.
- Submit artwork to shows or galleries.
- Submit preliminary or finished artwork or project plans to clients for approval, incorporating changes as necessary.
- Collaborate with engineers, mechanics, and other technical experts as necessary to build and install creations.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2017-07
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Frame and mat artwork for display or sale.
- Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or websites.
- Photograph objects, places or scenes for reference material.
- Set up exhibitions of artwork for display or sale.
- Submit artwork to shows or galleries.
- Teach artistic techniques to children and adults.
O*NET 21.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 2 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 32
No longer listed 9
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| conceptual artist | 2651.5 | exact |
| drawing artist | 2651.6 | broader |
| artistic painter | 2651.1 | broader |
| illustrator | 2166.11 | broader |
| digital artist | 2166.6 | broader |
| decorative painter | 7316.1 | broader |
| cartoonist | 2651.3 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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