Creative Art Skills
There are a few jobs where you need a high level of artistic ability, and are likely to spend most of the time using your creative art skills. The work produced may be for a wide range of uses, or just because it looks nice.
Advertising Art Director
Advertising art directors are responsible for the overall appearance and presentation of printed or online advertisements (ads) and TV commercials.
They work closely with a copywriter, following the client’s brief.
The art director and copywriter produce a series of ideas with quickly drawn illustrations that are known as ‘storyboards’ or ‘roughs’. They must think about what the text and illustrations will be, as well as the overall look.
When the client has approved a rough idea, the art director turns it into the final ad. They might produce the artwork themselves but they are more likely to select a suitable artist to do the work.
Animator
Animators create imaginary worlds for film, television and computers. They use drawing, modelling or computer graphics to make pictures and models come to life, to entertain and/or inform people.
Animators usually follow a ‘storyboard’. This is normally a series of rough sketches, and it tells the story which the animator is bringing to life.
Animators draw outlines of characters, taking each one through a range of movements and expressions needed. Model-making animators use plasticine, fabric and a wide variety of other materials to make models of characters.
Artist
Artists use their creative skills to produce works of art, which they display for sale to the public, usually in a gallery or shop.
They use a variety of methods in their work, such as painting, drawing, graphic arts, printmaking or photography. They also use a variety of materials, for example, a painter may use oil paints to paint a landscape; a sculptor may produce a statue made of metal.
Often, artists use a combination of materials and methods.
Working as an artist is hard and there is no guarantee work will get sold. Many artists do other jobs at the same time in order to make a living.
Designer
Designers work in a wide variety of areas, including:
- fashion, footwear or jewellery design
- interior design
- product or packaging design
- graphic design
- craft (ceramic, glass or furniture) design
- shop floor and window display design.
All designers begin their work by being given a brief, followed by doing some research. They then produce some sketches or ideas which they present to the client. If these are approved, they then go on to create a finished design.
They use a variety of materials in their work, but most designers use computers to put their designs together.
Designers who work for themselves or on small-scale projects in a workshop are likely to have more creative input than those who work in industry, designing things for mass production.
Illustrator
Illustrators produce paintings and drawings to accompany text in books, magazines, brochures and posters, etc.
Illustrators usually specialise in a particular area. They could be illustrating characters in a children’s book, producing detailed drawings for a technical manual or medical guide, or making a product look eye-catching in an advert.
Illustrators combine elements of fine art and graphic art in their work, and many draw directly onto a computer using special software.