Creative Industry Job Comparison

Concept Artist 

They draw for a client often in the pre-production phase. Could be on characters, to scenery, to just about anything. They help bring ideas to life.

Work will often need to be changed, and often constantly built upon so do not get attached to your work.

From what I can see there are not many absolute requirements, but it is preferred if the artist can use digital media, and has qualifications in art, etc. Most importantly the artist needs to be good at their job, drawing anything, and to have a style, since many productions want a unique style only they have, to differentiate themselves from the rest.

It has become a very competitive job market, and as media grows and becomes more saturates, so will the Concept Artists. Luckily since new productions needing Concept Art are starting up all the time, it is not like this market is dying anytime soon.


Lead Artist 

A lead artist is in charge of how a video game looks. They are boss of the art department, and works with all the different sectors of that. They need knowledge of all these sectors. It is also the highest paying job in the art department. They need to have requirements and most importantly experience. 5 or more years is preferred. You can jump to here from lower creative roles, but there are many jumps to take before you can get close.

A very taxing role, because you have a lot on your plate. Organising the team and jumping to each section of the team is very high maintenance and probably stressful, however this role gives you the power to fulfil your creative vision with the help of the team.

Inbetweener 

They draw the frames between key frames, and also clean up already drawn frames. It is fairly entry level, and can lead to many places. You need to be able to animate and copy from a template sheet, and work fast, as you have a lot of work to get through. Good drawing skills are needed, and qualifications and experience are preferred.

Not very exciting, and probably becomes quite the drag, however I enjoy animating, so I might not mind that. Of course it is very restrictive. I have to do what the team needs, and cannot change anything, however if I am happy with what I am animating, that won't be a problem, however if I do not like what I am making, the job would become less then satisfactory, but that is true for anything.




Being a concept artist might be fun, but restrictive. A lead artist would be more free, but probably really overwhelming, unless i was qualified.

An inbetweener is useful because they get to work on a project, and learn more about the animation industry. It is a good gateway job.

A storyboarder would also be a good job. It is low mid tier job. Another good gateway.