ELMI Occupation Report for Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

United States - 2020
Industry	Percent of total
Self-employed workers	59%
Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries	9%
Motion picture and sound recording industries	8%
Amusement, gambling, and recreation industries	5%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	4%
More at BLS

Knowledge

People in this career often know a lot about:
Design Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Computers and Electronics Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Production and Processing Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Fine Arts Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
More at O*NET

Skills

People in this career often have these skills:
Active Learning Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Critical Thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Judgment and Decision Making Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
More at O*NET

Interests

People in this career often prefer these work environments:
Artistic Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Realistic Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
What are your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler

Work Styles

People in this career will do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity Job requires being honest and ethical.
Initiative Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Stress Tolerance Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
More at O*NET

Other Resources

Occupational Outlook Handbook
information on duties, training, pay, and employment outlook

CareerOneStop
resource for job seekers, students, businessess and career professionals

Related Occupations

Craft Artists
Etchers and Engravers
Graphic Designers
Set and Exhibit Designers
Special Effects Artists and Animators
More at O*NET

Projected Employment

Projected employment not available for Vermont
but may be for the nation and other states at
CareerOneStop

Education and Experience:

Typical education needed for entry Bachelor's degree
Work experience in a related occupation None
Typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency Long-term on-the-job training
Based on BLS Education and Training Classifications

Job Zone

Medium Preparation Needed
Specific Vocational Preparation Range (6.0 to < 7.0) - A typical worker will require over 1 year up to and including 2 years of training to achieve average performance in this occupation.
Based on O*Net Job Zones and SVP

Education Level

How much education do most people in this career have?
Education level		Percent of U.S. Workers
Doctoral or professional degree or post-MA certificate		0%
Master's degree or post-BA certificate		0%
Bachelor's degree		35%
Associate's degree		0%
Certificate or some college, no degree		37%
High school diploma or equivalent		27%
Less than high school diploma		0%
More at O*NET

Abilities

People in this career often have talent in:
Originality The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Fluency of Ideas The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Visualization The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Arm-Hand Steadiness The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Visual Color Discrimination The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
More at O*NET

Work Activities

In general, what you might do:
Thinking Creatively Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Getting Information Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
More at O*NET

Detailed Work Activities

What you might do in a day:
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.
Build models, patterns, or templates.
Construct distinctive physical objects for artistic, functional, or commercial purposes.
Arrange artwork, products, or props.
Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
More at O*NET

Tasks

On the job, you would:
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.
Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced.
Maintain portfolios of artistic work to demonstrate styles, interests, and abilities.
Market artwork through brochures, mailings, or Web sites.
More at O*NET

	This page includes information from the ONET 27.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. ONET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
	This page includes information produced in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics and State Occupational Projecions programs.