With any career that we decide to pursue, we’ll want to be able to earn the highest possible salary. Of course, when we choose to become artists, we will want to be able to find a job that has a great salary too.

But what some artists are unaware of is that there are lots of different jobs within the industry that have very good salary opportunities. So, you might now be thinking to yourself – okay, well what are they then?

Luckily, we’ve got all the answers you need. We’ve got 12 of the highest paying jobs in art along with other handy information about them.

So, if you want to know more – read on! 

[1] Store Planner

Store planners have a very important role in the world of retail. Essentially, their job is to design and plan how the interior of a store will look to help shoppers have a great store experience. 

Normally, you will be speaking with important stakeholders who have influence with the store and try to bring their needs and ideas to life with your expertise. 

A great understanding of psychology and particularly retail psychology will help you a long way as a store planner. One of your duties might be to choose how a window might be set up for a specific sales campaign. 

As such, understanding how people’s minds work toward specific and tailored advertising will be very handy. 

[2] Gallery Manager

A gallery manager is someone who works for a private or public art gallery and their main duties and responsibilities are to set up and manage the exhibitions.

This might include setting up specific works of art, or organizing a tour for the guests.

Gallery managers will need to understand how best to frame certain works and how best to organize them in the area.

They should also have a great working knowledge of, not only art and artists, but also art history.

The best gallery managers are able to tell the guests all the history of a piece and explain why an artist has done something, or was likely to have done something. 

[3] Senior Fashion Designer

Working within the fashion industry, senior fashion designers are fashion designers that have climbed the ranks and attained a senior position.

They are in charge of creating new fashion items, normally for wholesale use for a particular fashion company.

However, it’s also common for fashion designers to work for individuals or even for very well known people, including the British Royal Family or even the military. 

Your artistic knowledge and background will be of excellent use as a senior fashion designer, so you will certainly be able to transpose your expertise to both fields.

[4] Interior Designer

Interior designers work within areas to try to help design the inside of a specific place, such as commercial or industrial buildings – or even for domestic areas. 

Interior designers try to pay attention to all of the elements of an area, including perhaps the furniture, space, shape of the room etc.

Of course, they will also turn their attention to the colors and general flow of the room.

Artists work very well with this role, as the process of interior design begins with drafting an initial idea through sketching and then speaking with the client with your ideas, to see if they agree with your plans. 

[5] Industrial Designer 

Industrial designers are people that work to create and design lots of industrial goods for the general public.

Generally speaking, the most time that an industrial designer will spend will be on assessing the design and functionality of the product.

Great artistic skills are needed for this role, making it perfect for any budding artist or designer.

[6] Technical Designer 

Technical designers work within the fashion industry and they are responsible for assessing the design of specific products within this field.

They may need to implement new ideas or inform the other designers of errors in their creation. 

[7] Art Director 

Art directors are one of the most well paid workers in the art industry.

Their job is hugely varied but generally speaking, they are responsible for working within a team to design and create composites and layouts – advertising is a great example for this.

As a result of their responsibilities, they must be great communicators, have a great eye for detail and have some knowledge of audience behaviors and psychology. 

Art directors can also work within the world of movies, tv and video games. As a result, this specific role is highly specialized and there’s plenty of room for creativity and certainly room for growth. 

Be aware though that this role is often very competitive, so you will need plenty of experience in the world of art to begin with. 

[8] Creative Director 

Creative directors typically work within the world of advertising and their job is usually to create campaigns to increase brand awareness. Their role is very senior, so they are usually in charge of a large team. 

The best creative directors have an excellent eye for detail, have excellent communication skills and can quickly adapt to change. They should be able to justify their artistic choices and decisions to their senior management too.

There’s lots of room to climb up the job ladder in this role too, as creative directors may even move to even further senior positions or become partnered with the company that they are working for. 

[9] Multimedia Artist 

Multimedia art is a hugely varied role and it can refer to numerous different jobs.

Primarily though, multimedia artists will work on things like animation for movies, video games or tv – or they might be working for an advertising agency.

This role usually requires a person to have specific artistic qualifications, along with a lot of patience. You may also be asked to work at a very fast pace, depending on the role you are in. 

For example, some animated series for television might require a very tight deadline for episodic release, so multimedia artists can work very long hours at a very quick pace.

To be eligible for this role, along with the qualifications and traits we’ve discussed, you will also need to have something on your resume that sets you apart from the rest – because these jobs are very competitive!

[10] Landscape Architect

Although many people would not connect the two, landscaping and art work hand in hand.

As many landscape architects will work for the public in a domestic setting, they will need a keen eye for detail and be able to work a client’s ideas to the ground. 

Landscape architects can be dream makers for people who want their yard or outdoor areas designed in a specific way – so it is a very artistic job, despite the stereotypes when the title comes to mind.

Of course, landscape architects can also help to design some interiors too. It really depends on the specific role that you have taken.

Regardless of this though, you will need to have a keen eye for detail as always, and be patient working in some challenging conditions.

[11] Video Editor 

Video editing is a very complex job and not many people can edit videos professionally, which makes it a very highly paid job. Video editing could be for a variety of different clients. 

Typically, you might be editing videos for television such as tv series or documentaries, or you might be editing movies – which is often a much longer task in post production. 

However, video editors can also edit footage for things like YouTube creators, animated series and video game production. As we said, it’s a very varied role and it offers a whole lot of opportunities.

[12] Drafter 

Drafters have a very difficult job, but it certainly comes with a very heft salary too. They use software which helps to create technical drawings – normally from the notes of engineers, architects or other experts.

These notes will help them to move the design of products forward, and this can take a very long time. Due to the complexity of the role, there is huge room for growth in the industry and the salary can go through the roof.

However, as you can imagine – you need more than just an art degree to be eligible for this role. You will also need to have a working knowledge of design fundamentals and likely some experience in computer based design. 

Final Thoughts 

The art industry has plenty of different jobs and roles that might be perfect for you, but of course – you want to know how much they’re being paid. These roles above are the 12 highest paid roles in the industry! 

We hope we’ve given you a better understanding of these jobs!