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> A US-based editorial illustrator earns an average of $47,000 a year… Dismal pay isn’t just an American phenomenon. Median income for the United States is un
by codesections 6y ago
> A US-based editorial illustrator earns an average of $47,000 a year… Dismal pay isn’t just an American phenomenon.
Median income for the United States is under $35,000. I understand (through personal experience!) how much cost of living differs in major cities, but illustrators are not limited to living in those expensive locations.
In some ways, the shift in pay seems to reflect the change in location as much as anything else – at one point, illustrators for NY media basically needed to live in NYC, but that is no longer the case and pay seems to be adjusting.
- claudeganon 6y ago> but illustrators are not limited to living in those expensive locations. Like tech, illustration is as much about networking as anything else, especially with art directors at the outlets that pay well. Most of those are in NYC, although SF is emerging as a new hub because of how much art tech companies now use. If you get really big or a highly-paid teaching job, maybe you can move out to Connecticut or Rhode Island. Otherwise, you need to put in face time with your peers and at industry social gatherings if you want to get work. There’s even a dues-paying club for this glad-handing: https://www.societyillustrators.org/ https://www.societyillustrators.org/