3 Careers in the Arts: Murals, Medicine, and Jewelry

Everywhere we look, we see objects, systems, and methods of communication that have been visually designed by someone. If you or a student you know is interested in becoming someone who uses their creative visual skills in a career, there are a wealth of options to consider. Here is a closer look at just three art careers, with more to follow in future posts:

Muralists

Muralists create large artworks, usually paintings, in the interior or exterior of buildings or other public structures, right on the walls, ceilings, or floors. Humans have been creating artworks directly on their walls for thousands of years, and muralists can today be employed by a variety of businesses, communities, nonprofit organizations, individuals, and art spaces who want to create a vibrant and artistic environment for their employees, residents, customers, and guests.

A muralist typically has to run their designs and concepts by their client in order to get the final idea approved. Muralists work with very durable paint, ladders, and at times, scaffolding. Muralists sometimes use stencils, graphs, and projections to convey a small drawing onto a large wall accurately. Some muralists even hire teams of painters to assist them in completing a particularly large undertaking.

Muralists will typically pursue a Bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a two-dimensional or public art focus, or possibly a Master’s. They may be able to carry out an independent study or apprenticeship with a local established artist who works with murals and public art. Because muralists often work as free-lancers, their workload and salaries may vary greatly depending on how many orders and clients they have at a time. Muralists may carry out other painting or design projects when they are not engaged in a large project. To be a muralist, an artist must have a sense of ambition and grand scale, and a desire for their work to become part of the public sphere for an extended period of time.

Medical Illustrators

Medical illustrators create highly technical and detailed drawings of medical subjects. These artists typically use traditional 2-D and sometimes 3-D methods, such as drawing in pencil or sculpting in clay. They also use computer aided design technology, or a combination of hand and computer aided work. Medical illustrations are often used in educational media, when a complex or hard-to-photograph biological part or system needs to be conveyed and described.

Medical illustrators sometimes create 3-D models of organs or other organic subjects for doctors or pharmaceutical companies. They may also work in forensic sciences, wherein the police and attorneys need accurate representations of wounds. They may even work in medical photo editing or with 3-D printing, depending on their specialty and focus.

Medical illustrators commonly earn a BA in medical illustration by studying both pre-med and fine arts in undergrad. During this process they build up their knowledge of anatomy and create a portfolio of illustrations. There is also a small and competitive group of Master’s programs in medical illustration. To become a certified medical illustrator with The Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI), artists will need to pass the Board of Certification of Medical Illustrators tests, which include a written section and a practicum.

Jewelry Designers

An artist who specializes in jewelry design loves adornment and style. They may concentrate solely on the design process or they may create the actual jewelry as well. Jewelry can vary widely in materials (including metals, stones, and other natural materials), price, and sales outlets, so the lifestyle and salary of a jewelry designer can vary as well.

Jewelry designers typically create a drawing or computer aided representation of a piece of jewelry before it comes into existence, including designs of rings, necklaces and pendants, anklets, pins, bracelets, and body jewelry. Along with an initial 2-D design, jewelry designers will often create an initial prototype of their piece. A jewelry designer may create designs for a jewelry maker or large jewelry production company, or they may create their own jewelry themselves.

The Gemological Institute of America offers a jewelry design training and a certification process, and many colleges and universities that offer fashion design courses will also offer a concentration in jewelry design. Courses in art history, drawing, metal working, gemology, fashion, and jewelry design will help students to understand the background, genres, and specializations of the field of jewelry design. These classes will also allow aspiring jewelry designers to improve their rendering skills and possibly gain a jewelry design and/or jewelry making apprenticeship. Apprenticeships can help a designer to gain valuable experience and also to make connections in the world of professional jewelry design.

If you love to express yourself visually, consider one of these creative careers or one of the many other paths in life that require an artistic inclination and skillset.

Written by Julia Travers

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