Concept Artist Salary for 2027

Concept Artist Salary in 60 Seconds

• BLS has no concept artist occupation. The closest by title is fine artists and illustrators at $55,490, though most of that group has nothing to do with games. Concept work also sits near special effects artists and animators at $102,030, and studios choose which to report. Which Figure Fits ›
• Entry pay starts under $31,630 for the lowest tenth. The lowest quarter earned under $37,560, the best federal guide to a first art job. If a studio classes you with animators, the lowest tenth started at $58,600. Plan a first role as a production artist or generalist, not pure concept art. Entry Level ›
• Highest and lowest state medians are $72,710 apart. Oregon has the highest at $98,540, then Nevada at $81,630 and New York at $78,870. Kansas has the lowest at $25,830, and the figures are not adjusted for living costs. BLS publishes a median for only 30 of the 50 states and DC. State Pay ›
• Illustration jobs are projected to shrink 2.9%. From 2025 to 2035 all jobs grow 3.5%, and about 2,200 openings a year still appear as people leave the occupation. Small teams may lack a dedicated concept artist, so learning a 3D package widens the jobs you can apply for. Job Outlook ›
• A second skill moves you toward 3D pay. 3D modeling, sculpting or animation moves you toward the $102,030 animator median. Working in an engine and taking direction well also help, and the top of the range is found in lead and art director roles. Raising Your Pay ›

Heads up Few are hired as a concept artist straight out of school. Most start as junior or environment artists.

Read this first

Which Pay Figure Fits a Concept Artist

BLS has no concept artist occupation. The closest match by job title is fine artists, including painters, sculptors and illustrators, because O*NET lists Illustrator among that occupation's job titles. Its full sample list is Artist, Automotive Artist, Blacksmith, Fine Artist, Ice Carver, Illustrator, Muralist, Painter, Portrait Artist, Sculptor, which tells you how mixed the group is: most of it has nothing to do with games. The concept artist career guide covers the work itself, the portfolio and how people get hired.

A concept artist on a game team is also doing work that sits close to the special effects artists and animators occupation, where O*NET lists 3D Artist and Digital Artist. Employers report each job under the occupation they think fits, and BLS doesn't publish which one game studios choose for concept art. So read both numbers: $55,490 for fine artists and illustrators, and $102,030 for special effects artists and animators. The real answer for a studio job is likely to depend on the studio and on how much of your work is 3D.

The range

How Much Illustrators and Fine Artists Make

The middle half of fine artists and illustrators earned between $37,560 and $83,200 a year. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $31,630, and the top 10% over $144,210. The median is $4,510 above the $50,980 median for all jobs, and $27 an hour.

Lowest 10%

$31,630

$15.21/hr

25th percentile

$37,560

$18.06/hr

Median

$55,490

$26.68/hr

75th percentile

$83,200

$40.00/hr

Top 10%

$144,210

$69.33/hr

The occupation is small on payrolls: about 11,220 employed nationally. The wage survey only counts employees, so illustrators who freelance or sell their own work aren't in these figures at all.

Percentiles

Concept Artist Salary by Percentile

A median is the pay in the exact middle of the occupation. Half of salaried fine artists and illustrators earn more and half earn less. The top 10% earn 4.6 times what the bottom 10% earn, so the median alone doesn't describe the range. The table shows five points in it, with the animator figures beside them because a studio may report a concept artist under either occupation.

The mean wage for fine artists and illustrators was $73,150, which is $17,660 above the median. A mean far above the median means a few high earners, such as art directors and established illustrators, pull the average up. BLS doesn't publish pay by years of experience, so reading the lower points as junior pay and the upper points as senior pay is an interpretation of the spread, not a federal finding.

At the median, the animator occupation pays 84% more than the illustrator occupation. That gap is the reason this page keeps both numbers in view.

Starting out

Starting Pay for Concept Artists

BLS doesn't publish pay by experience. For fine artists and illustrators, the lowest-paid 10% earned under $31,630 and the lowest quarter under $37,560, which is the best federal guide to a first salaried art job. If your first studio job is classified with animators instead, that occupation's lowest tenth started at $58,600.

With so few payroll jobs in the occupation, plan for a first role that isn't purely concept art, such as a generalist, production artist or 3D artist job, and expect to grow into concept work as your portfolio and reputation build. If you're choosing between two first offers, the one that keeps you drawing and designing every week is worth more than a small difference in pay.

Common First Roles

Few people are hired as a concept artist straight out of school. More common first roles are junior artist, production artist, environment or prop artist, and UI or marketing art. They put you in the studio, working with an art director, and building shipped credits. Concept work is often added to the job as the studio sees what you can do.

Staff, Contract and Freelance

Many concept artists are paid by the project, not the year. Contract and freelance pay isn't in the wage survey. If you price a project, a useful check is the hourly median of $27 for fine artists and illustrators, and $49 for animators. A contractor pays for software, hardware, taxes and health coverage, so the rate has to be higher than a staff hourly wage to leave you in the same place.

Freelance work also comes with gaps between projects. Counting those gaps is the most common thing new freelancers forget when they compare a contract rate to a salary.

Tools

The Tools in the Occupation, Including Game Engines

O*NET's software list for fine artists and illustrators is a hint that game studios are among the employers. Alongside Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Photoshop, it lists Unity Technologies Unity and Unreal Technology Unreal Engine under development environments, and Perforce Helix software for version control. Those are game production tools.

The tasks O*NET lists first are close to what a concept artist does every day: "Integrate and develop visual elements, such as line, space, mass, color, and perspective, to produce desired effects, such as the illustration of ideas, emotions, or moods" and "Confer with clients, editors, writers, art directors, and other interested parties regarding the nature and content of artwork to be produced." The second one, working with art directors and writers, is most of the job on a game team.

By state

Concept Artist and Illustrator Salary by State

Oregon has the highest published median for the occupation, $98,540, then Nevada at $81,630 and New York at $78,870. The lowest is Kansas, at $25,830. BLS publishes a median for 30 of the 50 states and DC; elsewhere the counts are too small to release. California, New York, Florida together hold about 44% of the occupation's jobs.

The gap between the highest and lowest published state medians is $72,710. State pay reflects the local employers, the local cost of living and how many studios and agencies are nearby. These figures aren't adjusted for living costs.

Where the Jobs Are

The table lists the five states with the most fine artist and illustrator jobs. Game concept art is only part of this work, so a state with many jobs here isn't necessarily a state with many game studios.

Concept art can be done remotely, since the work is a file you send. Remote roles still tend to go to artists with shipped credits, so early in your career a studio city gives you more chances to be in the room with an art director.

Outlook

Job Outlook for Concept Artists

BLS projects employment of fine artists and illustrators to shrink 2.9% from 2025 to 2035, while all jobs grow 3.5%. It still expects about 2,200 openings a year as people leave the occupation. Special effects artists and animators are projected at -0.3%. Neither is a growing occupation, and that should shape how much you spend learning the craft.

Concept art is a specialized role. A small team may not have a dedicated concept artist, and the artists on it may cover concept work alongside 3D modeling, texturing or UI. That's the practical case for learning a 3D package even if drawing is what you love: it widens the set of jobs you can apply for.

The openings figure is 7.6% of current jobs each year. Those openings come from people leaving the occupation, and every new graduate with a portfolio is competing for them. Design and art tools are also changing quickly, which is one more reason the projection is only a guide. Your portfolio is the stronger signal.

Getting paid more

What Raises a Concept Artist's Salary

Pay for this work rises with how much of the production you can cover and how well you work with other people. These are the things that move it.

• A second skill. 3D modeling, sculpting or animation moves you toward the $102,030 animator median, and toward more job openings.
• Design thinking. Show how a character or environment comes from a brief, with rough thumbnails first and the final sheet last.
• Working in an engine. Concept artists who can test a color script or a lighting mood in an engine save the team time.
• Taking direction. Art directors rehire artists who turn notes around quickly and without friction.
• A title and scope. Moving from concept artist to lead or art director is where the top of the range is found.

Building a Portfolio That Gets Read

A reviewer may spend very little time on your first page, so lead with your best project. Keep the portfolio to a small set of focused pieces, each showing a clear idea, and include the process. Remove anything that doesn't match the kind of job you're applying for. The game design portfolio guide has the detail.

Education

Do You Need a Degree to Be a Concept Artist

No law requires one, and studios hire on the portfolio. A degree helps in other ways. It gives you deadlines, critique from working artists, classmates to build a team project with, and often an internship. You can also build the same skills through self-study and online classes, which costs less and asks more discipline.

If you choose a degree, look at what the program makes you produce: drawing and anatomy courses, environment design, and a final portfolio class. Cost matters because the jobs are few and pay is moderate for the occupation. Compare programs with the best animation schools and best game design schools rankings, and see game development degrees if you'd like a program that includes the engine side.

The work

What a Concept Artist Does for the Pay

A game concept artist designs what doesn't exist yet: characters, creatures, environments, props and the look of the whole world. The work is fast and iterative. You'll paint many rough options, the art director picks a direction, and you refine it into sheets a 3D artist can build from. Speed, range and the ability to take direction matter as much as a polished finish.

Your portfolio decides whether you're hired. Studios want to see design thinking, how you got from rough ideas to a final design, not only finished paintings. A program with strong drawing, anatomy and environment design courses, and critique from working artists, is what builds that. The best animation schools ranking covers the art-side programs, and the game design portfolio guide covers what reviewers look for.

Comparison

Concept Artist Pay Next to Other Game Art Jobs

Within game art, the federal figures put 3D and animation work well above illustration: $102,030 at the median against $55,490. That's the clearest case on this site for adding a second skill. The animator salary page has the full figures for 3D artists and animators, and the game design salary hub compares every game job.

This table maps each game job onto the BLS occupation that counts it, because BLS has no occupation for concept artists. Most programmers and designers on a game team are counted under the last two rows, which is why art pay is lower at the median than code pay. The technical artist career guide covers the role that sits between art and code.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How Much Do Concept Artists Make?

BLS has no concept artist occupation. Illustrators are counted with fine artists, whose national median was $55,490 in BLS May 2025. Concept artists classified with special effects artists and animators would fall under that occupation's $102,030 median instead. Both figures cover whole occupations, mostly outside games, so use them as a range. Studios and clients set their own rates, so a real offer is the better guide. See which federal figure fits a concept artist.

What Is the Starting Salary for a Concept Artist?

BLS doesn't publish pay by experience. For fine artists and illustrators, the lowest-paid 10% earned under $31,630 and the lowest quarter under $37,560 in BLS May 2025, which is the closest guide to a first job. The median of $55,490 reflects people with years of experience, and the wage survey doesn't count self-employed illustrators. Use it as a rough guide only. See concept artist pay at entry level.

Where Do Concept Artists Earn the Most?

Among fine artists and illustrators, Oregon has the highest published median, $98,540, then Nevada at $81,630. The most jobs are in California, New York, Florida. State medians aren't adjusted for living costs and cover all illustrators, not only game studios, so treat them as a guide to where the work is. The wage survey doesn't count self-employed illustrators, so these states describe salaried work only. Use them to see where employers cluster. See the state table.

Is Concept Art a Good Career?

It's a hard one to make a living in on salary alone. BLS projects fine artist and illustrator jobs to shrink 2.9% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all jobs, and the wage survey doesn't count self-employed illustrators at all. Concept artists who can also model or animate have more roles open to them. Treat the numbers as a picture of salaried work only. See the full job outlook.

Do Concept Artists Need a Degree?

Studios hire concept artists on their portfolio, and there's no required credential. A degree in illustration, animation or game art is the usual way people build one with instruction and critique, but the portfolio is what gets read. If you skip school, you need another way to get feedback and finish polished pieces. The degree helps most as a place to practice on deadlines. See the full degree answer.

How Wide Is the Concept Artist Pay Range?

Very wide. For fine artists and illustrators, the lowest-paid 10% earned under $31,630 and the top 10% over $144,210 in BLS May 2025, so the top is 4.6 times the bottom. The median was $55,490. The range reflects experience, location and whether the work is salaried, and the survey leaves out self-employed illustrators. Read the median as the middle and not as what a new artist should expect. See the pay by percentile.

What Software Do Concept Artists Use?

O*NET's software list for fine artists and illustrators includes Adobe Creative Cloud software and Adobe Photoshop, plus Unity Technologies Unity and Unreal Technology Unreal Engine under development environments, which are game production tools. That list is a hint that game studios are among the employers. Learn one painting program deeply, then enough of an engine to show your designs in context. The list covers illustrators generally, not only game studios. See the tools in the occupation.

Keep exploring

Related Pages

• Salary 3D artist salary $102,030 median (special effects artists and animators) See the pay data ›
• Career 3D artist career $102,030 median · -0.3% jobs to 2035 (special effects artists and animators) Read the career guide ›
• Career Animator career $102,030 median · -0.3% jobs to 2035 (special effects artists and animators) Read the career guide ›
• Guide Is Game Design a Good Career? Pay, outlook, competition and degree cost, laid out honestly. Read the guide ›
• Ranking Best Online Game Design Degrees 13 confirmed online · Online See the ranking ›
• Ranking Most Affordable Game Design Schools 81 ranked · Lowest cost See the ranking ›

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Sources

1. 1 BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: 27-1013 Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators National and state wages and employment, and the 27-1014 animator figures for comparison. National figures checked against api.bls.gov. Accessed October 13, 2026.
2. 2 BLS, Employment Projections 2025-35 Projected employment change and openings, and the median wage for all occupations. Accessed October 13, 2026.
3. 3 O*NET OnLine, 27-1013.00 Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators Sample job titles. Accessed October 13, 2026.