What is the salary of a concept artist?
If working for a big(gish) game development company, how much money can you make as a concept artist or game designer? #computer-games #video-games
2 answers
Andy’s Answer
Hi James,
Salary is a good thing to consider when looking at your career options. With art sometimes you have to be willing to work harder for less simply because you love or enjoy your work. But sometimes you can be very fortunate and get paid well for doing fun and enjoyable work.
Starting out you will more than likely start on the low end of the pay scale. But if you are good and work hard you can prove yourself to be a valuable asset and be compensated appropriately. And of course your salary will depend on where you're located.
A good resource is glassceiling.com: http://careers.glassceiling.com/jobs/seeker/salary
You can use that website to search your area for salary range and median salary for your desired discipline.
From my knowledge base I can tell you that salaries can start out at around $30-50k/year and can go into the six figure range. But just keep in mind that it can take a long time and a lot of hard work to earn that much in this industry.
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Viviane’s Answer
Bigger companies will have more resources to pay their employees versus the smaller companies. Some cities will pay more due to cost of living, although they are mostly relative. If your cost of living is high, chances are the salary will seem high as well on paper. In addition if you are a fresh starter coming out of school, your salary is considerably lower than those who might have been working for 5, 10 years.
Besides salary work, concept artist often work on freelance. Your annual income would then depend on what and how many projects you pick up throughout the year. Freelance would also allow you to choose where to live, but you pay with job stability.
It is common to start as a Junior/Associate with a salary of $30-$50 in house however. You can expect higher pay in the West coast due to the cost of living.
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