Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
42%
risk level
POLLING
38%
Based on 710 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
6.4%
by year 2031
WAGES
$57,560
or $27.67 per hour
Volume
12,080
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
5.0/10

Want this summary on your site? Embed code:

Automation risk

42% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): Occupations with a moderate risk of automation usually involve routine tasks but still require some human judgment and interaction.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some very important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Originality

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Fine Arts

  • Finger Dexterity

  • Manual Dexterity

User poll

38% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 42% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?






Sentiment

The following graph(s) are included wherever there is a substantial amount of votes to render meaningful data. These visual representations display user poll results over time, providing a significant indication of sentiment trends.

Sentiment over time (yearly)

Growth

Fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators' job openings is expected to rise 6.4% by 2031

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031
Updated projections are due 09-2023.

Wages

Moderately paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators' was $57,560, or $27 per hour

'Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators' were paid 24.3% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly lower range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 12,080 people employed as 'Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 12 thousand people are employed as 'Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators'.

Job description

Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques.

SOC Code: 27-1013.00

Resources

If you're thinking of starting a new career, or looking to change jobs, we've created a handy job search tool which might just help you land that perfect new role.

Search jobs in your local area

Comments

Leave a comment

WEZ (Moderate) says
Companies are known to exploit artists, with ai art getting better they will try and cut out as many people as possible. Only those that adapt or become the best at what they do will survive.
Nov 01, 2022 at 07:39 PM
SY (Highly likely) says
Unless the ethics and laws around AI art is used to support illustrators, we will lose a good chunk of creative labour by eradicating beginner artists, which are the backbone of a healthy industry.
Oct 29, 2022 at 06:00 AM
Stefano (No chance) says
A Robot Has No LOVE Which Is Fundamental, Creativity and Empathy, Robots Won't Be Able to Replace Artists, Just a Hacker Attack or a Solar Storm, Goodbye Robot! HA!
Oct 26, 2022 at 02:37 PM
AI Hater (Highly likely) says
We are out of jobs. What should we do? Search for another profession?

Sep 12, 2022 at 10:57 AM
Artysh says
With the creation of DALL-E 2, many illustrators might lose their low-tier jobs. People need simple, beautiful pictures. They will just push a button and get an acceptable result. But if we are talking about creating whole worlds, series, and movies, it's going to be like a very powerful tool in the hands of an artist. It will involve less drawing or painting, or even kitbashing/photobashing, but more skills like art direction.
Apr 23, 2022 at 05:12 PM
Thomas (No chance) says
Art is, by definition, a human endeavor.

When AI reaches the point of making art, it won't need the "A" in its initials anymore.
Jan 19, 2022 at 08:33 PM
Stefano (No chance) says
I don't think robots can replace this profession, because robots don't have love. Love is there only for humans, and things we do with love attract a lot. Robots will NEVER have the love.

Secondly, robots have no creativity and empathy. They will never, never ever have them. If a hacker attack or a solar storm comes, goodbye technologies and robots.
Dec 30, 2021 at 10:34 PM
Rina (No chance) says
Robots will never be able to recreate human creativity
Oct 02, 2021 at 07:38 PM
Stefano (No chance) says
For me it is not possible that robot artists will replace us, for two reasons: 1) they do not have love, in the letters of St. Paul he says that "if I did not have love it would be like a rumbling hammer or an instrument that no one listens". we Humans Draw With Love It attracts more than a Robot. 2) Robots have no creativity, we humans do, even if they have artificial intelligence, our human fantasy can really surprise everyone! Remember: Even the weakest can beat the strongest.
Aug 28, 2021 at 02:48 PM
Yuki says
Robots can't replace Hentai Artists
May 29, 2021 at 12:45 PM
Fernando (No chance) says
A robot could never reach the level of creativity, expression, and beauty that a human can reach.
Apr 08, 2021 at 02:49 PM
Bernard Everstein (No chance) says
Robots cannot make art without copying ours in some way
Oct 20, 2020 at 09:14 PM
Cyrano Vital (Low) says
I think jobs that are creative and involve a certain amount of craftsmanship will be demanded even more in the near future. I bet such jobs will flourish wherever there is a human-machine setup, with machines (a.i. included) boosting human capabilities and humans pouring sensibility. I see gary kasparov's recent activities around a.i./human interactions as an inspiration and a realistic pathway for creative endeavours.
Aug 19, 2020 at 08:28 AM
Emily (Low) says
There will always be people wanting to express themselves in creative ways, even if robots are capable of doing it better.
Apr 26, 2020 at 07:30 PM
Lola (Uncertain) says
Perception of skills involved by employers tends to be that many can be replaced by GIS systems.
Mar 04, 2020 at 07:41 AM
Kim says
No, art is not about perfection and strict rules.
Dec 31, 2019 at 12:52 AM
Hannah (No chance) says
Robots don't have creativity they just repeat stuff
Sep 23, 2019 at 05:09 PM
Some dude with a keyboard says
They can easily learn and adapt (machine learning).
Though they might not be able to create a brand new style of art, they will easily be able to collate hundreds of thousands of human paintings, in order to create something incredibly abstract, mesmerizing, realistic, cartoonish, or minimalistic. What may seem brand new and out of thin air, is the collection of hundreds of similar paintings, put together.
Jan 25, 2020 at 02:55 PM
Bruh says
We kind of do as well
Feb 18, 2020 at 07:36 PM
Cyrano Vital says
I think it's impossible for us to put into a box what artificial intelligence will be able to do in 20 years time. I guess it's safer to suppose it will develop way ahead our current assumptions, and that it will show us a world of new possibilities and challenges. Alpha Go proved that machines yes are capable of creativity. I bet a.i./human setups will be more common in the future, and it will change our limited perception on what it means having "robots" within the work environment. Human + a.i. works better than human-only or a.i.-only. I suggest taking a look on Gary Kasparov's biography, specially his work with free style chess competitions. It's inspiring...
Aug 19, 2020 at 08:40 AM
Ney Oliveira (Moderate) says
Machines in constant evolution and technical improvement, CNC and 3D printing increasingly perfect and fast, in the production of 3D animation the capture of movements will drastically reduce the number of professional animators.
Jun 19, 2019 at 05:50 PM
Samax (Low) says
Apps attempting to replicate drawing and painting are pretty good. As AI get more sophisticated, I imagine it could happen eventually.

I think globalization and content mills enabled by technology are currently the issue for illustrators in the US.
May 18, 2019 at 05:47 AM
Ana (Highly likely) says
Robots have better hand to eye coordination, and can probably paint or sculpt faster, with more detail, and neater. They can memorize any picture, and copy it down, completely
Apr 11, 2019 at 09:22 PM
Pharah says
They can do that a long time ago (hello printer). But it's the human who designed the work.
May 14, 2019 at 03:55 PM
Nani says
You're talking about merely copying/producing something, not the creative thought process making art. Machines can produce and replicate better than humans, but creativity is a different thing.
May 15, 2019 at 02:20 AM
Bruh says
They do, but creating stuff isn't all about hand to eye coordination, you know?
It's probably going to be one of the very last ones to get automated.
Feb 18, 2020 at 07:47 PM
VW____ says
The arts NOT ARE PERFECTION! BECAUSE THE HUMAN NOT ARE PERFECT
ART PERFECT= BORING
Jul 14, 2020 at 02:04 AM

Leave a reply about this occupation

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

People also viewed

Graphic Designers
Computer Programmers
Lawyers
Special Effects Artists and Animators
Preschool, Elementary, Middle, Secondary, and Special Education Teachers