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About Illustration
You'll become
- Graphic Designer
- Animator
- Illustrator
- Graphic Artist
- Creative Director
- Multimedia Designer
Average Salaries
Illustration workers may earn between $40,000 and $83,000 per year
Turn your artistic talents into an exciting new creative career by studying an illustration course.
You’re a detailed thinker with big creative ideas. Hone your artistic vision, build essential skills and start work towards an exciting career as an artist by studying an illustration course now.
A small but thriving sector in Australia, the illustration and design industry is a competitive and dynamic field where qualified professionals stand out. If you’re interested in drawing, sketching and art, and want to start an exciting creative career, an illustration course will help you build the essential skills, knowledge and personal abilities required to compete and thrive in the industry.
In an illustration course, you’ll learn a range of digital and manual communication techniques, and develop and refine your skills in observational and conceptual drawing, media application and digital drawing. You’ll learn how to adapt illustration conventions to a range of creative briefs, and learn how to select appropriate drawing and digital media techniques to communicate concepts and connect with your audience.
Exciting, dynamic and fulfilling, a career as an illustrator is a unique opportunity to develop your artistic vision, shape your style and build the portfolio of creative work you need to start a career with a competitive edge.
You may study an illustration course as certificate or diploma course or as part of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in creative media production. After completing your course, you may choose to work as an illustrator, either working independently or in a creative studio or production company, or may choose to work as a graphic designer, web designer or animator.
If you’re a creative thinker who wants to make art, studying an illustration course will help you build the practical skills, theoretical knowledge and personal insights required to produce compelling, beautiful and challenging images that engage, challenge and excite people.
What do illustration graduates do?
As an illustrator, you’ll be responsible for illustrating and producing visual communications materials, including producing sketches, illustrations, graphics, animations and videos. You may work in-house for a creative agency or other business, or work independently as a freelance illustrator, which will affect the nature and scope of your day-to-day responsibilities.
As an illustrator, you can expect to perform tasks like:
- Consulting with clients and stakeholders, to determine the objectives and constraints of a creative brief;
- Researching and analysing assignment communications requirements and selecting appropriate illustration medium and tools;
- Reviewing references and researching creative elements;
- Producing sketches, illustrations, diagrams and layouts to communicate design concepts;
- Providing informed advice on use of composition, light, colour, patterns and trends to clients and stakeholders;
- Detailing and documenting a selected design for development;
- Supervising or carrying out the illustration or design; and
- Managing the execution of creative projects, including managing and briefing staff, and managing budgets and other resources.
You may also be responsible for managing accounts and invoicing, marketing your services and seeking new clients, and connecting clients with other creative professionals, such as designers, photographers and copywriters, depending on the nature and scope of your work.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
After completing an illustration course, you’ll likely seek employment as an illustrator, graphic designer or web designer, but may also choose to work in communications or marketing design, applying your creative skills to developing strategic visual communications.
Roles you may choose to pursue after completing your course include:
- Graphic Designer
- Animator
- Illustrator
- Graphic Artist
- Creative Director
- Multimedia Designer
Is illustration right for you?
You’ll enjoy studying illustration if you:
- Are creative
- Can express yourself well
- Enjoy detailed work
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Are curious about the world
- Can work independently
- Are proactive and enterprising
- Are resilient
- Have excellent organisational and project management skills
- Enjoy problem-solving and testing
- Work well with people
- Are patient and empathetic
- Enjoy creative work
Job opportunities
The Australian Government’s Job Outlook reports that the design and illustration industry in Australia is large and growing. Currently employing approximately 46,500 people, the industry is expected to grow strongly until at least 2020, where it will employ approximately 53,300 people. While the industry has contracted slightly over the last few years, it is expected to grow strongly over the next decade.
While the size of the profession indicates roles are available in most areas of Australia, Job Outlook notes that the sector is concentrated in New South Wales, with approximately 45 per cent of all design and illustration professionals working in the state.
Average Salaries
PayScale reports that illustrators can expect to earn a salary between $40,000 and $83,000 per year, with an average industry salary of approximately $61,000 per year.
After completing an illustration course, you’ll also be qualified to seek employment as a graphic designer. PayScale reports that designers can expect to earn a salary between $39,000 and $68,000 per year, with an average industry salary of approximately $51,000 per year.
While a positive relationship exists between experience and earning capacity, PayScale notes that entry-level designers can still earn a competitive average salary of approximately $47,000 per year.