Careers

Overview

Digital Art & Design specialists enjoy good salaries and creative, fast-paced work environments. Because it includes so many different areas of training, graduates of these programs can look at many career paths; 2D animation, 3D game art, visual development, production art, interaction design, video and motion design. Students choosing digital art and design should approach their job search in terms of roles and skills, rather than job titles, as new ones are emerging all the time. The digital artist and designer must plan to be in a continual state of learning new methodologies, software and equipment. Digital art and design recruiters are seeking intangible skills, such as a keen sense of storytelling, user experience, communication, teamwork and creativity. See below for some typical job skills required for digital artists and designers.

New artists and designers in the fields of Digital Art & Design  are tasked to balance the breadth and depth of their skills. Small studios value the creatives that can wear three, four or more hats well, where large studios can afford to have specialists with a deep tool box in a single discipline. Most studios that lie geographically between the East and West coasts fall into the small to mid-size categories. 

Locations

Multimedia companies that value interaction, motion design and video skills can be found in nearly ever large and medium sized cities. There are over 250 U.S. cities scattered about the U.S. with populations over 100,00, and there are opportunities for interaction designers, motion designers and videographers in all of them.

The entertainment industry, is more geographically narrow. Cities like San Francisco, Austin, Los Angeles,  Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal contain the bulk of the jobs. However, advertising, education, training and information media has become entertainment-based and that provides opportunities in most of the cities in between the big 7 listed above.  It's how a lot of entertainment media artists get their early experience.

Freelancing or working for a studio remotely is an option and fairly common. It can take up to two years or more to build a successful freelance business, but in the end, you are your own boss! Everything you need to know about starting a freelance business is covered in our Professional Practices course.