How to Become an Illustrator in Reno, Nevada

The city of Reno, Nevada is known among financial analysts as a business-friendly area, featuring many thousand retail stores and a flourishing entertainment industry.  Reno corporations maintain a constant need of talented professional graphic designers – especially illustrators - for a never ending variety of commercial visual tasks.

Reno Schools and Training Programs for Illustrators

A fair number of colleges and innumerable private study groups in Reno, Nevada offer classes, seminars, workshops and degree programs in commercial illustration.  Aspiring Reno illustrators often study digital art as well as traditional visual media.  Local artists earning graphic arts degrees typically attend Truckee Meadows Community College or the University of Nevada.

Other Reno illustrators acquire professional skills and degrees online.  Successful accredited virtual schools of visual arts include the Academy of Art University, Post University, DeVry, Full Sail University, Stratford Career Institute, University of Phoenix, National University, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech.  Many among the best accredited online schools provide supplemental local campuses and resource facilities.

Working as an Illustrator in Reno, Nevada

Reno illustrators with a conceptual flair often work for local graphic design firms like Arcade Graphics, RGB Graphics, Vicmar Graphics, Journal Graphics and Retro Graphics, for instance.  Local technical illustrators are sometimes hired by Reno engineering organizations like Kleinfelder, Conley-&-Associates, AMEC Infrastructure, Gray-&-Associates and MACTEC Engineering, among others.  Some Reno artists create anatomical illustrations for medical illustration services such as Richard Hescox, Pacific Medical or Zee Medical.  Other Reno businesses that recruit the services of talented local illustrators include sign companies, videographers, mobile service providers, fashion houses and news syndicates, to name only a few. 

Professional full time illustrators employed in the city of Reno, Nevada claim to earn about $46,830 per year on average, with a reported mean hourly rate of roughly $22.50.  This data does not reflect the salaries of part time illustrators, freelance professionals or Reno artists employed by businesses outside the USA.       

Skills of a Professional Illustrator

Commercial illustrators are dedicated, detail-driven versatile visual artists who create innovative custom designs for private and corporate clients.  Illustrators possess a deep understanding of all traditional drawing and coloring methods and techniques.  The best professional illustration artists are handy with a pen, pencil, brush, stylus and anything else that marks a surface.  They are also entirely proficient with various illustration software design packages such as Adobe InDesign, Adobe Dimensions, Simply-3D, ACD-Canvas and Dreamweaver.