Artists help businesses translate ideas into powerful visual content that captures attention, communicates brand identity, and drives engagement. Whether you need custom illustrations, character design, concept art, or a full brand identity package, a skilled artist can help ensure your creative projects are professional, polished, and original.
What does an artist do?
An artist creates visual content that communicates ideas, emotions, or narratives through media such as painting, illustration, graphic design, or digital art. They combine creativity with technical skills to produce original work for advertising, media, products, or personal projects.
Artists may specialize in fine arts, digital illustration, animation, or branding design. Their work includes creating logos, marketing materials, infographics, traditional pieces like murals or sculptures, and visual elements for websites and apps.
An artist’s standard digital tools include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, and 3D modeling software. Many digital artists go on to develop expertise in specific niches such as character design for gaming, concept art for film, editorial illustration, or brand identity design.
Beyond creating artwork, artists collaborate with clients to understand requirements, develop concepts through sketches, incorporate feedback, and deliver final assets in appropriate formats. And if you have a large project requiring coordination across multiple artists, you can consider hiring an art director.
How to hire an artist on Upwork
Upwork makes it easy to find and hire freelance artists, but following a few strategic steps can help you quickly identify candidates with the right blend of artistic sensibility and technical expertise for your project.
Step 1: Post a job
Your job post is your first point of contact with potential candidates. The information it includes will help freelancers find your project on the market and know whether they have the skills and qualifications you need. In your post:
- Specify the type of artwork needed, the target audience, and the goal of the project
- Describe your preferred style, color palette, and reference images
- Include project timeline, deliverable formats, and budget range
To create a tailored job post quickly, try the Job Post Generator powered by Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI. Describe what you need in a few sentences, and Uma will craft a job post in seconds. You can also review job description templates and examples for ideas and inspiration.
Step 2: Review proposals
As proposals come in, you’ll want to review them in a way that is fair and thorough. You’ll want to look for someone whose artistic sensibilities match your company’s style, and who has a track record of measurable success.
- Have Uma give instant video interviews and side-by-side comparisons
- Use Upwork’s filters to find candidates by rate, location, and experience
- Review proposals for signs that the candidate has understood your job post and has the skills to meet your needs
- Examine portfolios carefully, looking for past projects that showcase both style and technical proficiency
Step 3: Conduct interviews with top candidates
Quick video interviews give you the chance to ask any questions you have left for your top choices, and to cover details such as your industry, brand, and style in more depth.
- Schedule and conduct interviews within Upwork messaging to get instant transcripts and summaries from Uma
- Have candidates walk you through how they might approach the challenges and goals of your project
- Discuss their creative process and how they handle revisions
- Cover logistical details such as timelines and expected results
If you’re unfamiliar with interviewing freelancers, you can refer to common interview questions to help keep your conversations focused and productive. You can also incorporate questions from a related field such as 3D artist interview questions.
Step 4: Agree on scope and begin work
Once you’ve found the right person, you can send a contract directly through the Upwork marketplace. A solid contract protects both parties and helps collaborations be successful from beginning to end.
- Use Upwork's contract workroom, messaging, and payment protection for secure collaboration
- Choose fixed-price contracts for projects with clear deliverables, such as developing a few options for logos or icons
- Set clear milestones for complex projects, such as concept approval, first draft completion, and final file delivery
- Choose hourly contracts for ongoing work or projects without clear deliverables, such as working on multiple ongoing product campaigns, or continuous updates to a growing website
- Specify usage rights or licensing terms for all deliverables
Once the contract has started, be sure to give the artist everything they need to succeed, including a clear brief detailing the project and access to resources such as brand guidelines.
Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.
The rates and information provided in this article are based on current data and industry sources available at the time of publication. Freelance rates can vary depending on factors such as experience, location, project scope, and market conditions. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research to confirm current rates and trends, as this information may change over time.