Careers in Focus: Visual Arts, Third Edition

By Ferguson

Ferguson's Careers in Focus books are a valuable career exploration tool for libraries and career centers. Written in an easy-to-understand yet informative style, this series surveys a wide array of commonly held jobs and is arranged into volumes organized by specific industries and interests. Each of these informative books is loaded with up-to-date career information presented in a featured industry article and a selection of detailed professions articles. The information here has been researched, vetted, and analyzed by Ferguson's editors, drawing from government and industry sources, professional groups, news reports, career and job-search resources, and a variety of other sources. For readers making career choices, these books offer a wealth of helpful information and resources.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ferguson
• Release date: Jun 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781646934027

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Careers in Focus: Visual Arts, Third Edition

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Contents

Visual Arts

Entries

Art Directors

Art Teachers

Artists

Cartoonists

Digital Designers

Exhibit Designers

Fashion Designers

Fashion Illustrators

Fashion Photographers

Fashion Stylists

Film and Television Directors

Furniture Designers

Gallery Owners and Directors

Graphic Designers

Greeting Card Designers and Writers

Illustrators

Interior Designers and Decorators

Jewelers and Jewelry Repairers

Makeup Artists

Medical Illustrators and Photographers

Multimedia Artists and Animators

Non-Fungible Token Artists

Photographers

Production Designers and Art Directors

Publicity Photographers

Video Game Art Directors

Index

Visual Arts

Overview

Artists use spray paint to create an outdoor mural.

Source: Pavel L Photo and Video. Shutterstock.

The visual arts are works of art that have been created in any number of styles with various tools and in different media. Art consists of painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration, photography, filmmaking, computer animation, crafts such as needlework, and more. The visual arts are meant to be seen, with each person experiencing the artwork differently. Some artwork expresses ideas and comments on political or social issues, while other artwork depicts moments from everyday life, or explores shapes, colors, sizes, and/or textures. Some visual arts are meant to be functional objects, such as jewelry and pottery.

Art has early roots. For as long as mankind has existed, so too has the desire to share experiences or tell stories through artwork. The tools and materials used to create art in the beginning were what nature made available, such as rocks, twigs, leaves, berries, insects, animals, even blood. Pictures of hunting scenes painted on cave walls in southwestern France and northern Spain are believed to be 20,000 years old. Countless sculptures of animals and fertility figures that have been unearthed in archaeological digs date back to prehistoric times. Egyptians honored their pharaohs by painting mythological figures and scenes on their tombs. The Greeks, and later the Romans, surrounded themselves with artwork by creating mosaics on their floors and painting landscapes and various scenes on their walls and ceilings.

The visual arts have evolved over the centuries to encompass four main categories, which are commercial art, fine art, craft, and multimedia art. Commercial art is art that is used for business purposes such as to attract consumers and promote products and services. It usually combines text with artwork. Commercial artists include illustrators, graphic designers, art directors, and photographers, and these artists may also work in the fine arts. Other types of illustrators include medical illustrators, comic book artists, and caricaturists. With fine art, the artist usually comes up with the idea for the piece, for the purpose of self-expression. Clients may also commission a fine artist to create a piece for a specific place, such as a painting for a business office or a sculpture for a park. Fine artists include painters, calligraphers, ceramic artists, printmakers, and sculptors, among many others. There are also mixed media artists, who combine different materials in their work. Craft includes needle arts, jewelry making, mosaic, basketry, and wood carving. Multimedia artists use computers and digital and electronic tools in their artwork. They develop storyboards for key scenes, and create two- and three-dimensional models, animation, and special effects for film, television, and video. 

Many visual artists work on a freelance basis or operate their own studio and manage staff. They may work on jobs that clients have assigned them or on projects based on their own ideas. Those that are employed full time may work for advertising, publishing, public relations, or other related businesses, or in nonprofit arts organizations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2018, approximately 217,810 graphic designers, 49,560 photographers, 28,560 multimedia artists and animators, 90,990 artists and related workers, including illustrators, painters, sculptors, as well as 40,210 art directors, were employed in the United States.

Background

Georgia O'Keeffe's painting Black Iris, Michelangelo's sculpture David, and Robert Mapplethorpe's photograph Fish all express the diversity of the visual arts. Today, visual arts include not only the traditional fields of painting, drawing, and sculpture, but also illustration, photography, filmmaking, computer animation, needlework, as well as many other art fields. Works of art are wonderful to look at, and they enhance our lives and help us understand ourselves and our societies. They inspire us, comfort us, touch us. They reflect our imagination and excite our vision.

Many of the visual arts have their origins in prehistoric times, and we know by looking at artifacts that the visual arts have been important in virtually every human society. World cultures offer an abundance of styles and media in the visual arts.

The earliest examples of Western painting are found not on the walls of elegant museums but on the walls of caves in southern Europe. Famous ancient cave art is found at Lascaux in southwestern France and Altamira in northern Spain. It is believed that some 20,000 years ago, humans painted pictures of animals, such as bison, horses, and deer, on cave walls as part of magic rituals to benefit their hunting trips. Scientists have determined that their paint was made of various minerals mixed with animal fat, egg whites, plant juices, fish glue, or blood, and the first paintbrushes were made of twigs and reeds. Prehistoric sculpture is represented by small animal figures and fertility statuettes, such as the Venus of Willendorf. These are found from Eastern Europe to Siberia but mainly in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Egyptians around 3000 B.C. used visual art to honor their pharaohs. They painted the walls of their tombs with mythological figures and depictions of everyday activities, such as hunting, fishing, and banquets. Minoans (ancestors of the Greeks) of the 1500s B.C. left paintings on the walls of palaces in Crete and on pottery. The Romans adopted many Greek artistic techniques, decorating their floors with mosaics and creating wall frescoes that portrayed rituals, myths, landscapes, and scenes of daily life.

In the thousands of years since the ancient Romans and Greeks, some aspects of the visual arts have remained constant while others have changed. In wealthy societies certain classes of people are able to pay professional artists, as Sumerian priests and Renaissance princes did, and as art collectors and corporations do today.

The physical resources of a society have always affected the medium in which an artist works. In Mesopotamia, Sumerian architects built with brick because stone was not available. Nomadic Asian herders wove wool from their flocks into rugs. Medieval European painters worked on wood panels, plaster walls, and stained-glass windows, and calligraphers drew letters on parchment in an era before paper was known in the West. Because of mass production and world trade, modern artists have an enormous range of materials from which to choose. Today, anything goes—artists create works not only with paint and paper but with metals, glass, fabric, and even household appliances.

Local tradition also affects art styles. Pottery design in one area and period may be geometric; in another, naturalistic. Because of Indian traditions, artists depicted the Buddha with tightly curled hair. Western tradition decreed that the Madonna be shown with a blue robe. Eastern artists seem to have disregarded scientific perspective, which was a major concern of painters in the European Renaissance. In ancient Egyptian culture, which was dominated by the state and religion, painting, sculpture, and architecture glorified the pharaoh and life after death. In pious medieval Europe, most visual arts had Christian themes. In 20th-century totalitarian countries, art served the state. In most Western countries, artists have great freedom to choose the subjects that they desire to explore and express. In the 21st century, the Internet, mass media, and social media have contributed to greater interconnectivity among people around the world. Today's artists have more information than ever before about social and political issues in other countries, and they can also quickly and easily share their work and ideas, and create dialogues, with a global audience.

Art movements, or schools of thought, are numerous: impressionism, postimpressionism, expressionism, surrealism, cubism, Dadaism, fauvism, futurism, abstract expressionism, and minimalism, to name a few. These movements change with time and space, but visual art continues to be a power that confronts us, challenges us, and allows us to comment on life in expressive ways.

Structure

The visual arts can roughly be divided into four categories: commercial art, fine art, craft, and multimedia art.

Commercial art is art used by advertising, publishing, public relations, and other business enterprises to attract attention, sell products and services, illustrate concepts, convey messages, and document events. Commercial artists include illustrators, graphic designers, art directors, and photographers. Some commercial art, particularly some illustration and photography, is also considered by some people to be fine art. Most commercial art combines pictorial elements with text, and artists use a variety of media to create two- and three-dimensional works that can be easily reproduced. Computers and design software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are important tools that commercial artists use to design page layouts, specify type fonts and sizes, scan photos and artwork, separate colors for printing, create illustrations, and manipulate photos. In many cases, art directors develop or approve specific concepts that a commercial artist then executes for a given project.

Fine art is art created more for personal expression than financial gain. Although some fine artists are commissioned to create works for a particular place, such as a park or an office building, usually the art comes from the artist's own ideas. The list of materials fine artists use to create their art is inexhaustible. Painters use oil, acrylic, or watercolor paints on various surfaces, such as paper, canvas, wood, and plaster. Sculptors use materials, such as clay, metal, wood, stone, papier mâché and plastic, to build, carve, sandblast, cast, or mold three-dimensional forms. Calligraphers use ink, pencil, paper, books, wood, even gold and silver. Printmakers make prints from carved blocks, etched plates, and silk screens. Ceramic artists use clay and glazes to create sculpture, tableware, beads, tiles, or architectural decorations. Other fine artists use airbrush, pastels, charcoal, collage or mixed media, to name a few of the more traditional media.

Only a few fine artists make a living from their art. Most earn income from other occupations, such as teaching art, while making art in their free time. The most common way for fine artists to show and sell their art is through galleries, which hold single-artist shows, group shows, theme shows, and competitions. They also represent specific artists and act as art brokers between artists and buyers. Artists assemble a portfolio of slides of their most representative work and present it to gallery owners and operators. The gallery operators consider the artwork's appeal, its theme or concept, the media and technique used, the artist's skill, and the work's salability. Gallery operators look at the artist's body of work when they consider representing them. They like to see a progression of concept or technique and to know that the artist is likely to continue producing quality work. Upon acceptance for exhibit, the work is installed in the gallery. There is usually an opening reception, to which interested viewers, critics, and potential buyers are invited to meet and talk with the artist. The installation or exhibit may be open for public viewing for a week or several months. Fine artists also display their art in public buildings, restaurants, museums, office buildings, hotels, and via online and social media. Many fine artists use the Internet and social media to make their works visible and available to a much wider audience than is possible by galleries and other exhibiting venues.

There are many other fields open to artists. Some artists, such as illustrators, straddle the line between fine art and commercial art. These artists often accept assignments, but may also produce art simply for personal expression with less commercial value. Technical artists, such as medical and scientific illustrators, usually have an extensive knowledge of their subject and produce precision drawings to illustrate important concepts. Cartoonists and comic book artists specialize in producing sequential images that convey a story. Caricaturists may work in amusement parks or public places, selling their drawings directly to the public, or they may produce caricatures of celebrities and public figures for use in news media.

The field of visual arts also includes craft, sometimes called handcraft, or arts and crafts. Craft refers to art objects that usually, but not always, have a function. Needle arts, jewelry making, basketry, wood carving, mosaic, some ceramics, and bookbinding are examples of crafts, although there is some disagreement about what is craft and what is fine art. Crafters sell their works through retail stores, fairs, catalogs, galleries, and online through their Web sites.

A recent branch of the visual arts includes work that is primarily created using computers and other digital and electronic tools and is often meant to be reproduced or distributed through similar means. Multimedia artists create everything from animated logos for Web sites to breathtaking fantasy backgrounds for the latest Hollywood blockbusters. Some specialize in storyboards (still drawings that outline actions and scenes) and others work solely as animators, bringing cartoon characters and computer-generated heroes to vivid life for film, television, and video. They may specialize in visual effects, which is also known as computer-generated images or CGI, designing scenery or backgrounds or creating images of actors performing. Some may also create images and animation for video games.

Industry Outlook

As long as the visual arts continue to be an outlet for creative expression, people with artistic skills and dreams will continue to work in this field. The large number of art exhibits, galleries, and Web sites will continue to offer employment opportunities to skilled visual artists. Those who aspire to a career in this field, however, should recognize that although the possibilities of success exist and can be fulfilling, the potential for disappointment is also real. About 60 percent of artists are self-employed, and those who are not tend to work in the advertising, computer, film, publishing, and software industries. The employment picture for graphic artists is clouded by fierce competition and an abundance of applicants, for both salaried positions and freelance work. Fine artists and crafters often find it difficult to support themselves financially by their artwork alone. The visual arts are a highly subjective area, and success depends a lot on the aesthetic perceptions and choices of the audiences who view works of art. Another job option for visual artists is teaching.

The coronavirus pandemic, which began in late 2019, affected all areas of the visual arts industry. For some visual artists, the business lockdowns and social distancing requirements forced them to transition to remote work. Those who were already established in home offices and studios prior to the pandemic were able to continue to work in a fairly routine manner. The cancellation and postponement of visual arts shows, conferences, and other events, coupled with a drop in funding, was projected to cause a decline in revenue in the visual arts industry in 2020, according to a report by the National Endowment for the Arts, in coordination with several other federal agencies. Visual arts educators and related professionals also had to adapt to closures of schools and cultural institutions by working remotely and teaching classes and attending meetings online. Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020, providing individual artists, business owners, and other individuals affected by the pandemic opportunity for economic relief. The accelerated distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 is expected to bolster the economy, with businesses reopening, corporate profit increasing, and employment levels rising. This in turn is expected to lead to increased budgets for visual arts projects and products.

Moving forward, the outlook for employment of artists in the coming years varies depending on art disciplines and industries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, graphic designers will have slower than average employment growth in the coming years. Those who work in computer systems design, however, will have 24 percent employment growth through 2028. The BLS predicts little or no change in employment for craft and fine artists. The industry will grow in proportion to its ability to attract audiences. Chances for artists to exhibit their work also often depend on the amount of government funding available. The National Endowment for the Arts and other local arts agencies offer various financial grants to artists, for which competition is heavy.

Photographers will experience employment decline of about 6 percent through 2028. The popularity of stock photography services has hindered demand for photography services. Additionally, the proliferation of digital cameras has lowered the bar for entry to the field and competition for salaried positions will be fierce. Photographers who are multitalented, and well versed in image editing software and capturing video, will have the edge in the job market.

Multimedia artists and animators will experience average employment growth of 4 percent. Demand will be strong, however, for animation and visual effects in video games, movies, television, and for games and applications for mobile devices. Many companies are sending animation work overseas to save money, so the competition for the work that's available in the states will be even more intense.

For More Information

This professional association for graphic designers and related professionals is dedicated to the promotion of excellence in the field of design through publications, exhibitions, competitions, seminars, and conferences.

AIGA

222 Broadway

New York, NY 10038

Tel: [phone]

https://www.aiga.org

The Graphic Artists Guild promotes and protects the economic interests of members and is committed to improving conditions for all creators of graphic art and to raising standards for the entire industry.

Graphic Artists Guild

31 West 34th Street, 8th Floor

New York, NY 10001-3030

Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

https://www.graphicartistsguild.org

The National Association of Schools of Art and Design establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees and other credentials.

National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)

11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21

Reston, VA 20190-5248

Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

https://nasad.arts-accredit.org

The National Sculpture Society is a not-for-profit membership organization that promotes excellence in sculpture.

National Sculpture Society (NSS)

6 East 39th Street, Suite 903

New York, NY 10016

Tel: [phone]

https://nationalsculpture.org

Professional Photographers of America provides training, publishes its own magazine, and offers various services for its members.

Professional Photographers of America (PPA)

229 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2300

Atlanta, GA 30303-2206

Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

https://www.ppa.com

The Society of Illustrators promotes the appreciation and advancement of the art of illustration, strives to set high standards, and offers a forum for industry discussion.

Society of Illustrators (SI)

128 East 63rd Street

New York, NY 10065-7392

Tel: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

https://www.societyillustrators.org

Movers and Shakers: Norman Rockwell, American Illustrator

Norman Rockwell was the most successful illustrator and artist in American history. His paintings captured a wide breadth of American settings and values in the 20th century and often portrayed humorous circumstances in realistic settings. He is most famous for his Four Freedoms series from 1942 and for painting the covers of The Saturday Evening Post, a showcase he held for more than 40 years. Rockwell also created a famous depiction of Santa Claus that was used in a long-running marketing campaign by Coca-Cola.

Rockwell left high school to attend art school, and he found success early when he began contributing to Boy's Life magazine. Over the span of his career he created many of the most memorable images of Americana, and contributed to countless magazines and other venues.

Some critics and historians debate whether Norman Rockwell's work can be considered fine art or only commercial illustration. Rockwell thought of himself mainly as an illustrator. Still, he reached perhaps the greatest audience of any American artist and his work is studied and appreciated today long after his death. The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, is dedicated to preserving and exhibiting Rockwell's work.

Words to Know: Modern Art Movements

abstract expressionism: Began mainly in America in the 1940s, with the work of Pollock, Newman, and Rothko. Common elements included a spiritual nature of the work, the elements of chance and the unconscious, and the absence or distortion of objective reality.

abstraction: Modifies or distorts objective reality. Some of the first abstractionists were Kandinsky and Mondrian.

conceptual art: Emphasizes the idea of the work of art as opposed to the object itself. It can be an act done by an artist or a physical object made by the artist. Hamilton and Boltanski are conceptual artists who explore ideas about the nature of reality.

cubism: Began in France with Picasso and Braque, who were inspired by African sculpture and Cezanne's paintings. It was characterized by images shown as geometrical shapes, and the use of multiple perspectives. Other artists included Gris and Feininger.

Dada: Includes the work of Marcel Duchamp. It tried to shock, defy conventions, and question the very definitions of art.

earth or environmental art: Uses the natural world for art material and content. Includes works of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, which explore environmental concepts and often has poetic and art-for-all qualities.

expressionism: Sometimes considered the German version of Fauvism. It focuses on the expression of emotion, rather than a description of physical reality. Kirchner and Nolde were Expressionists.

fauvism: Emphasized bright colors and shapes not conforming to objective reality, and includes the art of Matisse and Derain.

Impressionism: Began in mid-19th century France with artists Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, Morisot, Cezanne (in his early years), and the American painter Cassatt. These artists worked from life, mostly outdoors. Impressionism sometimes describes the technique of breaking up the picture surface into small dabs of broken color that is blended together by the viewer's eye.

installation art: Large, usually three-dimensional collections of objects and forms, often filling a large gallery or museum space. Examples of Installation artists are Kienholz, Segal, and Pfaff.

op art: Strictly visual exploration of colors and other optical effects in painting. Artists include Vasarely and Albers.

pop art: Pop artists made art that separated the artist's personality from the work, in contrast to Expressionism. Images were often taken from advertising and the contemporary world. Pop Art's early artists were Rauschenberg, Johns, and Warhol.

Postimpressionism: Followed Impressionism in France, and includes the work of artists such as Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Van Gogh. It was less naturalistic than Impressionism and led to the notion of painting as essentially colors and forms on a flat surface.

surrealism: Surrealistic painters, such as Dali, Miro, Ernst, and Magritte, experimented with the ideas of the subconscious and dreams in art, the importance of the element of chance, and the concept of an absolute in art.

symbolism: Began in the 1890s in Europe and was influenced by Art Nouveau and Postimpressionism. Symbolist artists included Redon, Bonnard, and Vuillard.

Words to Know: Collage, Printmaking, and Other Art Terms

calligraphy: Beautiful writing with artistic, stylized, or elegant lettering; the art of producing such lettering.

collage: Art composed of a variety of materials, such as paper, cloth, wood, and metal, glued to a surface.

etching: The art of producing pictures or designs by printing from a metal plate that has been etched with a substance like acid or a laser beam.

lithography: The process of printing an image by first drawing the image, using a greasy medium, on a flat surface, such as a metal plate or smooth stone, and then transferring the image, either through a printing press or hand press, onto paper.

masterpiece: A work of art done with extraordinary skill; a supreme artistic achievement.

medium: The material an artist chooses to work in, such as marble, oil paint, and ink.

mixed media: More than one type of medium (like paint, thread, and metal) used to create a work of art.

needlework: Handcraft involving fabrics, such as embroidery, knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, quilting, lace making, and weaving.

potter: An artist who forms clay into earthenware objects and figures.

printmaking: Making an original work of art (like a woodcut, etching, or lithograph) that is intended to be graphically reproduced.

sculpture: A three-dimensional work of art.

watercolors: Paints made of pigment and water dispersed in a binding material.

Entries

Art Directors

Quick Facts

Overview

Art directors, sometimes known as creative directors, play a key role in every stage of the creation of media and products with a visual component such as advertising, newspapers and magazines, books, films, television programs, video games, and Web sites.

In advertising, they contribute to an ad or ad campaign, from formulating concepts to supervising production. Ultimately, they are responsible for planning and overseeing the presentation of their clients' messages in print or on screen—that is, in books, magazines, newspapers, television commercials and shows, posters, and packaging, as well as in film and video and on the Internet.

In publishing, art directors work with artists, photographers, and text editors to develop visual images and generate copy, according to the marketing strategy. They evaluate existing illustrations, determine presentation styles and techniques, hire both staff and freelance talent, work with layouts, and prepare budgets.

In films, videos, and television commercials and shows, art directors, under the direct supervision of production designers, set the general look of the visual elements and approve the props, costumes, and models.

In digital content, art directors conceptualize the overall style and presentation of a Web site or an app and may select graphics or illustrations

In sum, art directors are charged with selling to, informing, and educating consumers. They supervise both in-house and off-site staff, handle executive issues, and oversee the entire artistic production process. There are 90,300 art directors working in the United States.

History

Artists have always been an important part of the creative process throughout history. Medieval monks illuminated their manuscripts, painting with egg-white tempera on vellum. Each copy of each book had to be printed and illustrated individually.

Printed illustrations first appeared in books in 1461. Through the years, prints were made through woodblock, copperplate, lithography, and other means of duplicating images. Although making many copies of the same illustration was now possible, publishers still depended on individual artists to create the original works. Text editors usually decided what was to be illustrated and how, while artists commonly supervised the production of the artwork.

The first art directors were probably staff illustrators for book publishers. As the publishing industry grew more complex and incorporated new technologies such as photography and film, art direction evolved into a more supervisory position and became a full-time job. Publishers and advertisers began to need specialists who could acquire and use illustrations and photos. Women's magazines, such as Vogue (https://www.vogue.com) and Harper's Bazaar (https://www.harpersbazaar.com), and photo magazines, such as National Geographic (https://www.nationalgeographic.com), relied so much on illustration and photography that the photo editor and art director began to carry as much power as the text editor.

With the creation of animation, art directors became more indispensable than ever. Animated short films, such as the early Mickey Mouse cartoons, were usually supervised by art directors. Walt Disney, himself, was the art director on many of his early pictures. Today, in the film and television industries, art directors are the top assistants of production designers; they ensure that the production designer's vision is implemented.

Today's art directors supervise almost every type of visual project produced, including digital media and games. Through a variety of methods and media, from television and film to magazines, comic books, and the Internet, art directors communicate ideas by selecting and supervising every element that goes into the finished product.

The Job

Art directors are responsible for all visual aspects of printed or on-screen