Careers in Illustration
A BFA in illustration can help you in any number of careers, a few of which are listed below. While this is by no means a complete list, it should give you an idea of the many opportunities available to you after MCAD.
Freelance Illustrator
Illustrators design and create images for magazines, publishers, film studios, newspapers, advertising agencies, design firms, and museums. Illustrators usually specialize in one or two areas such as book illustration, storyboard illustration for movies/TV, fashion illustration, medical illustration, greeting card illustration, or magazine illustration. Professional illustrators may work as freelancers or full-time for companies producing stationery products, greeting cards, wrapping paper, or publications. No degree is required to become an illustrator, but a bachelor's degree will help to advance skills, build a portfolio, and make business connections.
Children's Book Illustrator
Children's book illustrators create drawings and designs that accompany stories told in magazine articles, newspapers or books. Some illustrators write their own books, but most often a publisher pairs them with a professional writer. Children's illustrators create illustrations for children's books or education materials but may do other kinds of illustration as well.
National Center for Children's Illustrated Literature (NCCIL)
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators
Advertising or Graphic Design Illustration
Illustrate storyboards for commercials, new product ideas, campaign ideas and proposals to win new business. Create layout sketches of designs, logo ideas, and illustrations that are included in corporate reports, print materials, direct mail, point of purchase displays, posters, signage, billboards.
Editorial Illustrator
Creates illustrations that tell a story to accompany magazine articles, newspaper stories or to be used as book covers, or in corporate reports.
Medical/Technical Illustrator
Produce illustrations, technical drawings and maps for medical, technical and scientific journals, manuals and books. Often computer illustration.
Fashion Illustrator
Illustrate for fashion magazines, pattern companies, newspapers, department stores, shops, fashion designers.
Courtroom Illustrator
Execute drawings of court trials for newspapers and television networks and stations.
Graphic Designer
Artists who have talent in both illustration and graphic designs create their own brochure designs, T-shirts, hats, posters or retail products. A very marketable combination of skills.
Illustration Agent or Representative
A sales and marketing position representing and promoting illustrators (usually a "stable" of 3-6 illustrators) by showing their portfolios to potential clients, marketing and selling their art work , negotiating contracts and prices for freelance jobs. Usually paid on a commission basis from 20 - 40% of fee with and average of about 25% on each assignment he or she gets for the artist.
Sign Writer
Design and painting of signs for and on retail windows, billboards, custom signs.