Commercial Art

Commercial art is typically defined as creative work done for pay. It can be in the form of a press or TV advertisement, the packaging of a box of cereal, a cartoon, a website or even a DVD.

Various genres of Commercial Art

• Commercial Character Design or more commonly, advertising creative work is one of the most common and well paid forms of commercial art. Examples are billboards, murals and internet animation.
• Photography; which can include fashion, food, still-life, wild life, wedding and photo journalism
• Television commercials & music videos
• Animation; like the work done for Shrek
• Design which could involve fashion design or interior design.

How to Assess a Suitable Commercial Artist

Past experience

During your assessment you may want to consider:

• The type of work done in the past. For example, was it mostly graphic design, TV commercials or music videos?
• What companies has the commercial artist worked for?
• Level of involvement in each project. For example, was he or she running the show as opposed to assisting or being responsible for just a single aspect of the whole production?
• Is there a website or a portfolio uploaded on the web for frequent viewing?
• Market reputation including the opinion of previous clients and associates.

Qualification

There are various methods of acquiring an education in commercial art. You may want to assess whether the potential commercial artist has some form of formal training in the field, as it adds further credibility. These include

• Formal degree, like a university or college degree
• Diploma granted from an institute of repute
• On-the-job training which can be assessed by number of years of experience

Availability

You may want to check if the candidate will be available during the time that you need the work done. This is essential as good commercial artists tend to be heavily in demand, and you may want to discuss your timeline and required commitments before you make the final call.

A great way to discover options in the world of commercial art is to visit www.australiacouncil.gov.au