Jobs, Careers and Occupations

Graphic Arts Jobs, Occupations and Careers

Graphic Arts

Graphic companies own, operate, engage in or sell graphic arts properties, services, products and replicas.

Graphic arts occupations include visual artists, graphic designers, creative directors, art directors, photographers, illustrators, medical illustrators, prepress operators, imaging technicians and other positions requiring knowledge of graphic design software. Does not include website designers, which are listed separately under Multimedia.

Artists create art to communicate ideas, thoughts or feelings. They use a variety of methods—painting, sculpting, or illustration—and an assortment of materials, including oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, pencils, pen and ink, plaster, clay, and computers. Artists’ works may be realistic, stylized or abstract and may depict objects, people, nature or events.

Artists generally fall into one of three categories. Art directors formulate design concepts and presentation approaches for visual communications media. Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators create original artwork, using a variety of media and techniques. Multi-media artists and animators create special effects, animation or other visual images on film, on video, or with computers or other electronic media.

Art directors develop design concepts and review material that is to appear in periodicals, newspapers and other printed or digital media.

Fine artists typically display their work in museums, commercial art galleries, corporate collections and private homes. Some of their artwork may be commissioned, but most is sold by the artist or through private art galleries or dealers.

Usually, fine artists specialize in one or two art forms, such as painting, illustrating, sketching, sculpting, printmaking and restoring. Painters, illustrators, cartoonists and sketch artists work with two-dimensional art forms, using shading, perspective and color to produce realistic scenes or abstractions.

Illustrators typically create pictures for books, magazines, and other publications, and for commercial products such as textiles, wrapping paper, stationery, greeting cards and calendars. Increasingly, illustrators work in digital format, preparing work directly on a computer.

Medical and scientific illustrators combine drawing skills with knowledge of biology or other sciences. Medical illustrators draw illustrations of human anatomy and surgical procedures. Scientific illustrators draw illustrations of animal and plant life, atomic and molecular structures, and geologic and planetary formations.

Cartoonists draw political, advertising, social, and sports cartoons. Some cartoonists work with others who create the idea or story and write the captions.

Sketch artists create likenesses of subjects using pencil, charcoal or pastels.

Sculptors design three-dimensional artworks, either by molding and joining materials such as clay, glass, wire, plastic, fabric, or metal or by cutting and carving forms from a block of plaster, wood, or stone.

Printmakers create printed images from designs cut or etched into wood, stone or metal.

Painting restorers preserve and restore damaged and faded paintings.

Multi-media artists and animators work primarily in motion picture and video industries, advertising and computer systems design services.

Graphic Arts Related Industries

• Advertising
• Printing
• Publishing / Media