How to Become a Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

About Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

Artists are people who communicate their ideas or feelings through their art. They create unique works from their imagination. Depending on the area of specialization and experience, artists can be self-employed or can work in teams throughout the creative process to complete a project or create a product. To be in this profession, one can choose his/her career as an illustrator, graphic designer, sculptor, or multimedia artist.

Artists can be classified into two categories, Fine Artists, and Commercial Artists. Commercial art includes graphic design, advertising, branding, logos and book illustrations. The job of commercial artists includes meeting with clients to determine what type of product they are looking at, speaking with the clients, reviewing proposed plans and offering suggestions to their clients. Commercial artists take the vision of the client and figure out the best way to portray such a vision to the public.

Fine art includes paintings, sculptures, and illustrations, and creation of original works of art for its aesthetic value, rather than for a functional one. The job of fine and craft artists include developing creative ideas or new methods for making art, using techniques, such as weaving, knitting, glass blowing, painting, drawing, or sculpting and creating sketches or models to guide their work.

Roles and Responsibility of an Artist

An artist's role is similar to that of an Alchemist in that they are capable of transforming a few humble materials into objects that have spiritual, aesthetic, and possibly material value. It is their role and responsibility to produce visual materials, such as presentations, images, and designs, to engage customers with the company's products. For the creation of billboards, book jackets, presentations, Windows displays, and technical catalogs, businesses hire art directors.

• Artists preserve, create, and transform meaning. That's what they do. They have a visual and auditory relationship with the place, in addition to inhabiting it
• Every creative act, every moment of imagination and expression in a place, whether intentional or not, contributes to the shape of that place

• Artists create a visual representation of the people, places, and events of their time and place
• Artists assist us in seeing the world in new or innovative ways
• Artists improve functional objects and structures (buildings) and elevate or imbibe them with meaning

Eligibility to become Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

For Commercial Artist

• Candidates must have completed class X followed by entry to 5 year degree courses art. Some art schools also offer art courses after class X.

• Candidates must have completed Class XII with any stream however, Art subject is preferred.

• Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree/diploma in Art with specialization in the area of interest.

• Art schools also conduct entrance tests for school leavers for the degree courses called Bachelor of Fine arts (BFA).

For Fine Artist

Certificate Courses:

There is no specific eligibility criteria for such certificate courses. Candidates who are interested for a certificate course can directly apply for such courses. However, some institutes prefer those candidates who have cleared class 10 before applying for certificate courses in fine arts.

Diploma and Bachelor Degree Courses:

• Candidates from all fields can apply for fine art courses after class 12.

• Admissions of the candidates are done on the basis of marks scored in class 12 and as per the merit list prepared by respective university.

• In order to test the skills of the candidate, some of the institutes may take a creative test in painting, drawing, etc.

PG Diploma and Master Degree Courses:

• To be eligible to apply for this programme, candidates must have pursued bachelors in fine arts or B.A degree in the same field with at least 50% marks.

• Admissions are done either on the basis of marks scored in graduation or on the basis of written test. Additionally, Group Discussions and Personal Interviews are conducted to assess candidates skills.

Types of Job Roles Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

To pursue a career as an artist, one should have creativity and manual dexterity. There are various artist job profiles that one can target on the basis of their specific interest areas. Following are some of the job profiles for an artist.

Art Directors

They are responsible for the visual style and images in newspapers, magazines, product packaging, and movie and television productions. They oversee the artists and creative workers in an art department and direct them to develop artwork and layouts.

Graphic Artist

They develop graphics and layouts for product illustrations, company logos, and internet websites and are employed in several industries where the need for visually stimulating designs are necessary.

Cartoonists

Their job is to draw political, comic, advertising and sports cartoons and to create plots and write captions.

Photographers

They use their creativity, technical expertise, artistic ability, composition skills and business skills to produce and preserve images that tell a story or record an event.

Illustrators

They create pictures for magazines, books, newspapers and commercial products. They combine hand-drawing and painting with digital media to create complete illustrations.

Jewelry Artists

Jewelry artists make use of their creative and practical skills to design the jewelry. They create or draw designs or models using computer or on paper and meet the expectations of clients by using metal, gems or stones as per their interests.

Sculptors

Their job is to use a variety of techniques to mold and create aesthetically pleasing three-dimensional objects, including carving, shaping clay, chiseling, whittling etc.They cut and carve images out of blocks of wood, plaster or stone.

Tattoo Artists

They use stencils and draw by hand to create original images and text on the skin of their clients. These artists use a variety of styles and colors based on their clients' preferences by using specialized needles.

Skills Required to be the best Artist

To be the best artist, candidates must have the following special skill sets:

• Artistic Ability
• Self-belief, Determination, and Commitment
• The Ability to Generate and Develop Good Ideas
• Excellent Visual Communication Abilities
• Abilities in Business and Self-Promotion
• Technical Expertise
• Excellent Organisational Abilities
• Ability to Meet Deadlines

Employment Sector/Industry for Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

There are great employment opportunities for artists in different sectors/ industries which can allows artists to sell their artwork. Some of the top sectors that requires artists are mentioned below:

• Publishing houses

• Art Studios

• Freelance projects

• Advertising companies

• Fashion houses

• Teaching

• Photography

• Manufacturing firms

• Television

• Corporate businesses

• MNCs

Top Recruiting Companies for an Artist

Few of the leading recruiting companies where an artist can find employment opportunities are listed below:

• Seventh Inc

• Icreon

• The Grafiosi Studio of Art and Design 

Scope of an Artist 

A career as an artist offers a good range of opportunities to make money and gain respect. The fine arts industry is currently experiencing a rapid increase in opportunities. Youth in India are currently choosing this field in order to earn high salaries, gain popularity, and gain prestige. Fine arts graduates can pursue careers in a variety of fields such as art studios, advertising firms, publishing houses, product design, manufacturing department, magazines, television, graphic arts, teaching, files & theatre productions, and many more. Social media is now used by artists more than ever before. Multimedia specialist, film director, curator, product designer, art director, museum director, art teacher, art therapist, medical illustrator, and systems designer are additional professions that could be pursued. 

An art career is frequently used to describe a job that requires being creative or producing works of art, often using a specific medium. This can include artists who create their own work, such as painters and sculptors, as well as jobs that involve working with art or determining its worth. Schedules for artists are flexible. Since they can choose their own hours, many artists work for themselves. For those who are passionate about making art, working in this field is very satisfying. There is no formal education necessary to become an artist. 

Pay Scale/Salary of Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

The salary of an artist varies from industry to industry. Furthermore, the salary also depends on whom you work for, your position there, the type of artist you are and location. Following are some relative salary figures for various job profiles of an artist: 

Note: The above figures are an estimate and may vary from individual to individual and company to company.

Books & Study Material to Become Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

Apart from being creative and innovative, an artist must have good observational skills, critical thinking skills, communications skills, curiosity and interest in life long learning. To pursue a career as an artist, there are no specific books or study materials that can prepare you for this career. Being an artist will give you a on-the-job learning experience and your expertise in this field will increase as you learn & implement in your work. However, here are some popular books one can refer to be an artist.

• Opportunities in Commercial Art and Graphic Design Careers by Barbara Gordon

• How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery by Edward Winkleman

• Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson

• The Art Book by Phaidon Press

• The Creative License: Giving Yourself Permission to Be The Artist You Truly Are by Danny Gregory

Pros of becoming a Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

• Artists have flexible schedules. Many artists are self-employed who can set their own schedules.

• Those who are passionate about creating art, for them there is high job satisfaction in this field.

• To become an artist, no formal education is required.

Cons of becoming a Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

• There is a lack of job security for artists.

• Competition for art jobs is high.

• There is uncertainity of income in this field. Only few artists earn enough money to support themselves by selling their work. 

Career path for Artist (Fine Arts & Commercial Arts)

The job of an artist requires a lot of hard work, organisation, and discipline. One must possess creative skills and must have interest in the arts and enough knowledge of aesthetics. Aspirants looking at how to become an artist must attain the minimum academic benchmark to pursue their career as an artist: