Looking out for an artist? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best artists. Read on!
An artist is an individual who excels in creating art manually as well as digitally through his or her intellectual and artistic talents. A digital artist is in great demand in companies for interior designing, online magazines, graphic designing, story telling boards, photography shoots, fashion designing, etc.
Freelance digital art specialists are particularly in great demand since companies are preferring a remote mode of work. Moreover, the job of a digital design artist can comfortably be executed independently without much group intervention.
How to hire an artist suitable for your organization? In this article, we would focus on the skills, qualifications, and certifications to check, along with the probably key interview questions to ask while hiring artists online.
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Hiring market for artists
As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market of digital art artists will not experience varying growth % depending on the category of jobs. There may be small variations as per the economic conditions in the world.
A 7% growth is expected for fine artists, 8% for multimedia artists, 4% for craft artists, and 5% for art directors. Companies hire artists as per their need which is generally constant year after year unless a new unit comes up or there are any acquisitions.
The competition is high when it comes to hiring the best digital artists. Individuals with outstanding artistic skills and talent along with excellent creativity and innovative mindset are preferable.
The observations and findings of BLS reveal about 51% of the jobs for artist hire are granted to freelance artists. They either work for independent entrepreneurs, the federal government, motion picture, and sound recording industries, or personal care services.
The average salary of a fine artist is recorded to be approximately USD 50K to USD 60K in a year. Multimedia artists and animators earn almost USD 75K in a year whereas an art director earns as high as almost USD 95K per annum.
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Top 15 job titles of artists
You can hire an artist for various job roles. Here is the list of 15 job titles where digital artists for hire can be suitable for executing the tasks,
1. Art Teacher
Teaching students about art in a school or college. You need to check whether the person possesses the bachelor’s degree in Arts and has the acumen and patience to impart education to students of various age groups. The salary varies between USD 50K and USD 55K per annum for approximately 5 to 7 years of experience.
2. Art Lecturer
Educates students of a college or a university at the Diploma, Bachelor’s and master’s degree level. The person performs researches for introducing art in various social events and issues. It is advisable to hire digital artists online for this particular who have prior industrial experience. The remuneration is almost USD 55K per year with 6 to 8 years of experience.
3. Art Technician
Entrusted with the responsibility of demonstrating and teaching art to students in schools, colleges, and universities through tools and technologies. Proficiency in working with a 3D printer, InDesign, screen printing, and other photography and image processing techniques is expected. Salary is essentially USD 48K to 50K per year.
4. Art Valuer
Mainly employed in auction houses, art dealers, or insurance companies. Must be able to judge the value of artworks or antiques including paintings, furniture, jewelry, etc. You can also entrust the job of running auctions to the person along with the auctioneer. The salary varies between USD 48K to 52K per annum.
5. Art Illustrator
Responsible for creating paintings and images for posters, animations, greeting cards, magazines, books, clothes, etc. When you hire a artist for this particular job title, ensure to check the passion for art; since it demands creative skills and experience. The yearly salary ranges from USD 48K to USD 55K increasing with years of experience.
6. Art Conservator
Though the job title does not essentially demand to create drawings or paintings, yet knowledge of art is mandatory. The duties of a conservator involve restoring and conserving art works, historical antiques, and objects. The salary ranges are the same as that of an art valuer, ranging from USD 48K to USD 52K per annum.
7. Art Administrator
An art administrator is majorly required in an art museum or gallery specifically large organizations. He or she is required to maintain the list of art works, the infrastructure, visitor’s inquiries, managing budgets, etc. The yearly salary varies between USD 55K to USD 60K for an experience level of 5 to 9 years.
8. Fine Artist Specialist
If you are a company specializing in creating art forms in different mediums like wood, textile, metal, etc. then you can hire a fire artist specialist. A freelance digital artist working remotely or independently is perfect for this job. Salaries vary between USD 50K to 60K depending on years of experience and skill set.
9. Art Curator
If you own an art gallery or museum, then you can hire an art curator to control the purchase or donation of the artworks. Entrust with responsibilities of storing, displaying, and maintaining the artworks too. The yearly salary of an art curator is approximately USD 55K.
10. Art Therapist
A unique role utilizing artworks to control emotions of people as a guiding strength for their disturbed mental state. The person assists in relieving mental stress and anxiety through their artistic talent and skill. Salary is usually USD 45 to 50K per annum.
11. Interior Art Designer
Curate artistic principles and strategies to design an office space, houses, buildings through controlling the lights, furniture, colors, décor, and other aspects. The person creates sketches digitally to create a quality and innovative design. The salary of an interior designer with 5 to 9 years of experience is almost 57K per year.
12. Art Drafter
Responsible for technical drawings from the designs created by architects and designers. A drafter leverages tools and technologies for creating sketches and drawings. The salary per annum is approximately USD 58K.
13. Landscape Architecture Artist
Entrusted with the responsibility of designing landscapes of a building, office complex, commercial areas, and others. The work demands innovativeness and creativity. The yearly salary is almost USD 70K for 6 to 9 years of experience.
14. Graphic Art Designer
Responsibilities involve creating graphical images for brochures, advertisements, etc. for promotions to attract the potential audience. Salary for an experience level of 5 to 8 years is almost USD 53K per year.
15. Art Director
A role at an executive level, guiding and monitoring teams in creating visual products for most media houses or advertising companies. The salary is high as 95K per annum for an experience level of more than 5 years.
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Qualifications to look for in an artist
While hiring an artist for your company, it is vital to verify and validate the educational qualifications. The list of valid degrees for a digital artist online are,
- Diploma in Arts (Commercial or Fine Arts)
- Bachelor’s Degree in Arts (Commercial or Fine Arts) or similar field
- Master’s Degree in Arts (Commercial or Fine Arts)
Here are the top US schools and universities which provides degrees and learning courses for digital artists,
- The University of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia, has a Fine Arts department
- The University of Florida has a department for School of art and art history
- Boston University has a department for fine arts offering both bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Arts
- Carnegie Mellon University offers 8 courses for fine arts and commercial arts
- The University of Miami in Florida has a department for art and art history
- Rhode Island School of design which considers for admission after submitting a profile
- Rochester Institute of Technology has a department for Imaging arts and sciences.
- Maryland Institute College of Art has a department for Fine Arts offering degree programs
- The University of Minnesota providing undergraduate and graduate courses for fine arts
- Yale University provides a program for Fine arts that includes designing courses
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Skills to look for in an artist
It is crucial to check the creative skills and interpersonal skills of online artists for hire; best suited for your firm. Enlisted below are the skills and qualities to check when you hire artist,
- Ensure the artist for hire understands and is capable of drawing realistic images
- Proficient in constructive drawings leveraging imaginations and innovative ideas
- Knowledge of the various types of art materials and how to leverage them in the artworks
- Awareness of the rules of perspective to ensure proportional drawings and realistic objects
- Skills of composing lines, shapes, color texture, symmetry, style in the artworks
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Past experience of executing similar projects as a digital freelance artist
- Planning and organizing skills for timely delivery of work activities
- Capable to handle the majority of the work independently since the artists for hire online will be working remotely
- Check whether the freelancer artist for hire is able to interact comfortably and easily leveraging the audio and video conferencing tools.
- A digital artist for hire must be aware of the latest trends and developments in artworks, paintings, and designs
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Certifications to look for in an artist
In this section, we will focus on the certifications that you need to check in a resume when you hire freelance artist for your company.
- Cinematography Certificate granted by the London Film Academy. The course duration is of 5 years and either imparted online or on campus
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Studio Art offered by Tufts University in the US. It’s a full-time course conducted on the university campus
- Graduate Certificate in 3D Animation and Character Design from Fanshawe College in London. Offered online or through campus full time
- Post Graduate Diploma or Certificate in Asian Art granted by SOAS University in London. A 5 months course full time conducted on the campus.
- Post-Bachelor’s certificate in Digital Curation from John Hopkins University in Washington, US. It’s a part-time course conducted online
- Certificate of Fine Arts granted by the New York Academy of Fine Art. It’s a full-time course conducted on campus and has 3 semesters
- Expert program in 3D Art Direction offered by the LABASAD Barcelona School of Arts and Design. It’s an online course for 3 months.
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Rate per hour of the artists
“How much do digital artists make?” or “How much should I pay a freelance digital artist?”. Common questions of companies who hire artist for their design, architecture, and other artworks.
In the US, the average hourly rate of fine artists is almost USD 21. Categorizing by years of experience, the average hourly rate of professional artists with 20+ years of experience is approximately USD 26. Within 5 to 9 years of experience level, the earning is USD 24 per hour.
For entry-level or less than 1 year of experience, you can hire digital artist at the hourly rate of USD 15. In Atlanta, artists are said to earn the highest salary followed by Los Angeles and Seattle. The lowest salaries of artists are found in the cities of Cincinnati, Chicago, and Orlando.
In the UK, the entry-level hourly rates of artists are as low as USD 15. The rate rises with years of experience and skill set. The average hourly rate of artists varies between USD 20 and USD 22. In India if you hire artist online, the hourly rates are comparatively cheaper; varying from USD 5 to USD 10.
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Top 10 job boards to find the best artist
Now when we have understood the skills, qualifications, and rates of artists for hire. The next question is, “How to hire an artist?”. Here are the top 10 job boards to search for top digital artists,
- Upwork, a popular job board in the world, which has innumerable profiles listed for hiring artists.
- unremot.com, a comprehensive website to search when you need freelance artists for hire from a global pool.
- Freelancer to find freelance artists from their huge profile list
- Fiverr to bid on popular digital artists and pay for the service
- Indeed, a popular job website containing profiles of a massive pool of freelancers to hire an artist online.
- We Work Remotely, the job board is prominent and well known for hiring artist interested to work in the remote mode of employment
- Working Nomads, another popular job website for searching their digital artists list and hiring them, preferably interested to work remotely or as a freelancer.
- LinkedIn, an ideal place to search for well-known digital artists with convincing profiles and past experiences.
- Glassdoor, a popular job website for searching through criteria like “artists in my area” and then shortlisting for hire.
- AngelList, a recommended job board to search for a list of famous digital artists and select for recruitment.
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Top 10 companies hiring artist and salaries offered
The section highlights the top 10 companies that hire artist for their media and design units.
- Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine, an award-winning magazine business.
- Avanti Press, makers, and creators of greeting cards.
- The Sun Magazine, a prominent magazine of art for hire.
- The Bradford Group manufactures designer plates, ornaments, figures, boxes, dolls, etc.
- Café Press recruits artists and illustrators for designing hats, t-shirts, bags, mugs, and many more
- Cricket Magazine, a popular children magazine who hire artist for digital designs and illustrations.
- Crowdspring, famous for creating brand logos, tattoos, web pages, etc.
- Viabella, a company specializing in creating greeting cards
- Wild Apple, home décor and fashion company
- Papyrus, a stationery and greeting card company.
The majority of the companies listed above offer a salary of about USD 20 to 25 per hour at an entry-level or less than 1 year of experience. But they check for educational qualifications either a Diploma or bachelor’s degree is mandatory. The salary offered varies with the skills qualities and academic qualifications too.
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Top 10 interview questions for the artist
You must frame the interview questions in such a way so as to judge the credibility and inherent qualities of the candidate. Here is a list of key interview questions for your quick reference.
1. Define art?
Rationale: To check whether the candidate understands the essence of art and its significance.
Expected Answer: The candidate must be able to articulate the answer by explaining art as an expression pertaining to the human heart and mind
2. Which is your favorite piece of art?
Rationale: To understand the choice and preference of the candidate and its value to him or her.
Expected Answer: Check whether the candidate mentions any masterpiece and explains the reason behind the selection.
3. How can you classify and categorize Artwork?
Rationale: To check the candidate’s capability in understanding the different types of artwork and how to sort them.
Expected Answer: The artist for hire must be proficient in explaining the differences in colors, style, texture, subjects, etc.
4. Provide some examples where your work had been influenced by social causes
Rationale: To validate the candidate’s attitude, thoughts, and ideas on the realistic drawing.
Expected Answer: If the candidate is able to cite some examples from past experience about the latest social issues and highlighting the same in his or her work, then you can consider the person for hire.
5. What are your key considerations of working remotely?
Rationale: Will showcase whether the candidate can work independently in a remote work environment
Expected Answer: The candidate must be able to demonstrate the collaboration techniques and remote communication mechanism to be considered for the recruitment
6. Elaborate a scenario where you had to face tough criticism for your artwork and how did you handle it?
Rationale: To check the ability of the candidate to resolve issues related to artwork discrepancies with ease and comfort.
Expected Answer: Try to understand if the candidate’s answer showcases the capability to handle constructive criticism and resolve the problems.
7. Will you be able to create an artwork without any documented design specifications from the architect or the designer?
Rationale: To check the capability of the candidate to handle unplanned activities with sharpness and using intellectual skills.
Expected Answer: The candidate must talk about asking questions to gather information related to the expected design and its depiction in the artform.
8. How do you collaborate with the designers and architects?
Rationale: To check the collaborative power in understanding the design and executing the same with precision through the artwork
Expected Answer: Candidate must specify engaging in deep-dive sessions to ensure the design details are understood and appropriately reflected in the art form.
9. How do you derive inspiration for painting?
Rationale: To verify the candidate’s passion, dedication, and sincerity to the profession of an artist.
Expected Answer: Ensure the candidate mentions his or her affiliation towards painting through emotions, creations, ideas, and feelings.
10. Who is your favorite artist and why?
Rationale: To check the candidate’s fascination for work and source of inspiration.
Expected Answer: The candidate must not only mention the name but also specify the influence on his or her academic and professional career.