What You Need to Know to Be an Illustrator in Dallas, Texas

Many a shrewd entrepreneur has amassed great wealth in the city of Dallas, Texas.  The media-rich, arts-friendly economy of Dallas also supports many talented visual artists pursuing careers in graphic design.  The city's economic landscape is particularly promising for commercial artists with a knack for illustration.

Dallas Schools and Training Programs for Illustrators

At least a dozen Dallas colleges and many hundred private art studios offer classes, workshops and professional certification for aspiring commercial illustrators.  Dallas area colleges with graphic design departments include the School of Liberal Arts and Science, El Centro College, Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts, ATI Career Training Center and University of Texas at Richardson. 

However, some Dallas illustrators acquire skills and degrees via accredited virtual learning programs.  Popular examples include University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, National University, The Art Institutes, DeVry, Full Sail University and Stratford Career Institute.  Some online schools even supplement their services with physical campus locations.  National University has a campus in Dallas.  University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, The Art Institutes and DeVry all feature several dozen Dallas area locations. 

Working as an Illustrator in Dallas, Texas

Dallas designers often create commercial illustrations for local graphic design firms like Showcase-Graphic-Design, El-Creative, Skinner-Graphic-Designs, E-Graphic-Design and Snow-Graphic-Design, for instance.  Other Dallas illustrators practice their craft at local tattoo rooms like Lonestar Tattoo, Trilogy Tattoo, Cardosi's Tattoos or Stuck-on-U. 

Technical artists often draft intricately detailed diagrams for Dallas engineering companies like Structural Studio Consulting Engineers, Gunnin Engineers, Hunt-Joiner, Washington Infrastructure Services and Terry-Morris, among others.  Realist illustrators sometimes design anatomical charts for medical illustration services such as Mary-Jordan, Medical-Illustration-Service or Clark-Medical-Illustration. 

According to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, full time illustration artists employed in the city of Dallas, Texas claim to earn, on average, about $42,900 per year, with a reported mean hourly wage of around $20.65.  Approximately 110 full time illustrators are currently employed at Dallas companies.  These calculations, however, do not reflect the incomes of part time illustrators or local freelance professionals.  

Skills of a Professional Illustrator

Professional illustrators are creative visual artists who are especially good at rendering highly recognizable detailed designs, often for commercial use.  Illustrators are involved in corporate identity design, website design, print design, branding, packaging and more.  Today's illustration professionals are fully familiar with currently popular digital design software packages like Xara, Microsoft Expression Design, Intaglio, Serif Draw and Corel Draw.