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Professional Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC (NOW HIRING)

Epic Games

Principal Environment Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment ... Preferably professional experience using Unreal Engine for environment world-building, PBR ...

City of Raleigh, NC

Part-Time Teaching Artist

Raleigh, NC · On-site

$30 - $31.50/hr

... professional image and always maintains a clean and safe environment. Typical Qualifications Teaching Artists must be able to: -Work a flexible schedule that includes weekend classes. -Develop the ...

Epic Games

Senior Environment Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment ... At minimum, 5 years of professional experience in the video game industry building environments and ...

Premier Martial Arts

Martial Arts Instructor

Apex, NC · On-site

$20 - $25/hr

Premier Martial Arts has the vision, the tools, and infrastructure to support your martial arts professional dreams! Compensation: $20.00 - $25.00 per hour Premier Martial Arts, where your passion ...

Refuel Market

Subway Sandwich Artist

Pittsboro, NC

$7.75 - $9.75/hr

Subway Sandwich Artist Reports To: Manager FLSA Status: Non-Exempt Hourly Role Type: Full-time or ... Team-oriented with a positive, professional attitude. * Ability to handle multiple tasks and adapt ...

Refuel Market

Subway Sandwich Artist

Pittsboro, NC · On-site

$7.75 - $9.75/hr

Subway Sandwich Artist Reports To: Manager FLSA Status: Non-Exempt Hourly Role Type: Full-time or ... Team-oriented with a positive, professional attitude. * Ability to handle multiple tasks and adapt ...

UNC-Chapel Hill

Golf Professional

Chapel Hill, NC · On-site

$16 - $20/hr

... Golf Professional Position Number 20076825 Vacancy ID S027638 Full-time/Part-time Part-Time ... Known for its beautiful campus, world-class medical care, commitment to the arts and top athletic ...

UNC-Chapel Hill

Admin Support Specialist

Chapel Hill, NC · On-site

$15 - $21/hr

This unit is responsible for creating significant professional artistic programming, student and community engagement activities and attendant fundraising endeavors. The unit functions as a program ...

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All JobsProfessional Artist JobsProfessional Artist Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Professional Artist information

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How much do professional artist jobs pay per hour?

As of Sep 2, 2026, the average hourly pay for professional artist in Raleigh, NC is $23.96, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.07 and $27.12 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a professional artist?

Professional artists are individuals who create visual, performance, or digital art as their main occupation or source of income. They may work in various media, including painting, sculpture, photography, illustration, or digital design. Professional artists often exhibit their work in galleries, sell pieces to collectors, or take on commissions. They might also collaborate with businesses, publishers, or organizations to create custom works. In addition to creating art, many professional artists engage in activities such as teaching, curating, or participating in public art projects.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a professional artist?

To thrive as a Professional Artist, strong drawing or painting ability, creativity, and a solid understanding of art theory and techniques—often supported by a degree in fine arts—are essential. Familiarity with digital art software like Adobe Creative Suite, as well as traditional media and portfolio management platforms, is highly valuable. Standout soft skills include self-motivation, adaptability, and effective communication to market work and collaborate with clients or galleries. These skills are important for producing compelling art, building a recognizable brand, and achieving sustainable success in a competitive industry.

What are some common challenges professional artists face when working with clients on commissioned projects?

Professional artists often encounter challenges such as aligning their creative vision with a client's expectations, managing timelines, and navigating feedback or revision requests. Clear communication at the outset is crucial to ensure that both parties understand the project goals and deliverables. Additionally, artists must balance their artistic integrity with the need to adapt their style or process to meet client needs, all while adhering to deadlines and maintaining a positive working relationship.

What is the difference between Professional Artist vs Graphic Designer?

AspectProfessional ArtistGraphic Designer
CredentialsArt degrees, portfolios, artistic certificationsDesign degrees, software proficiency, portfolios
Work EnvironmentArt studios, galleries, freelanceAdvertising agencies, corporate offices, freelance
Industry UsageFine arts, exhibitions, commissionsMarketing, branding, digital media

While both Professional Artists and Graphic Designers create visual content, Professional Artists focus on fine arts, personal expression, and exhibitions, often working independently or in galleries. Graphic Designers primarily develop visual solutions for brands, marketing, and digital media, often working within corporate or agency settings. Both roles require strong artistic skills and portfolios but differ in purpose, environment, and industry focus.

How much money does a professional artist make?

The average annual salary for a professional artist varies widely depending on experience, location, and specialization, typically ranging from $30,000 to $80,000. Successful artists who sell their work independently or work in commercial fields like illustration or design can earn higher incomes, especially with a strong portfolio and client base.

What does a professional artist do?

A professional artist creates visual works such as paintings, sculptures, illustrations, or digital art for clients, galleries, or commercial projects. They often develop a portfolio, use tools like brushes or digital software, and may work independently or for organizations to produce art that communicates ideas or evokes emotion.

What kind of job can you get as a professional artist?

A professional artist can work in various fields such as fine arts, illustration, graphic design, animation, and commercial art. They may find employment with art galleries, advertising agencies, media companies, or as freelance creators, often requiring skills in digital tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Job roles can include painter, illustrator, concept artist, art director, or muralist.

What are the most commonly searched types of Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC?

The most popular types of Artist jobs in Raleigh, NC are:

What cities near Raleigh, NC are hiring for Professional Artist jobs?

Cities near Raleigh, NC with the most Professional Artist job openings:

Professional Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Professional Artist job openings in Raleigh, NC as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 78% Full Time, 17% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 83% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 16% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $49,829 per year, or $24 per hour.

Principal Environment Artist

Epic Games

Cary, NC • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 2 days ago

Job description

WHAT MAKES US EPIC?
At the core of Epic's success are talented, passionate people. Epic prides itself on creating a collaborative, welcoming, and creative environment. Whether it's building award-winning games or crafting engine technology that enables others to make visually stunning interactive experiences, we're always innovating.
Being Epic means being a part of a team that continually strives to do right by our community and users. We're constantly innovating to raise the bar of engine and game development.
ART
What We Do
Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire.
What You'll Do
Epic Games is seeking a Principal Environment Artist to help define and elevate the visual quality of Fortnite's worlds. This role combines hands-on environment art production, artistic leadership, and technical problem-solving.
You will create benchmark-quality work, establish visual standards, develop scalable workflows, and solve complex artistic and technical challenges. Working closely with Art Direction, Technical Art, Design, Engineering, and Production, you will help align visual quality with gameplay, performance, memory, and production requirements while mentoring artists and advancing environment art practices across the project.
In this role, you will
  • Create benchmark-quality environment assets, materials, modular kits, and complete scenes that establish the visual quality bar for Fortnite
  • Establish and maintain environment art standards across composition, lighting, color, atmosphere, materials, visual storytelling, gameplay readability, and environmental polish
  • Develop and improve scalable environment art workflows that increase visual quality, consistency, production efficiency, and content reuse across the project
  • Partner with Technical Art and Engineering to develop content creation pipelines, and maintain environment art documentation, best practices, workflows, and quality standards
  • Identify and resolve complex artistic and technical problems while balancing visual quality, runtime performance, memory usage, platform requirements, and production schedules
  • Mentor artists across different experience levels by providing technical guidance, artistic critique, workflow support, and professional development
  • Evaluate emerging tools, technologies, and production techniques and recommend improvements that meaningfully advance the environment art team's capabilities
What we're looking for
  • Bachelor's degree or at least 10 years of progressive professional experience creating real-time 3D environments for commercially released video games
  • Professional experience creating production-ready environment assets, materials, modular kits, and complete real-time scenes
  • Preferably professional experience using Unreal Engine for environment world-building, PBR materials, lighting, content implementation, and optimization
  • Professional experience optimizing real-time environment content for performance, memory usage, visual quality, and multiple hardware platforms
  • Professional experience using a 3D content creation application such as Maya, 3ds Max, or Blender; texture-authoring software such as Substance Painter or Substance Designer; and image-editing software such as Photoshop or equivalent professional tools
  • Experience developing or improving environment art workflows, pipelines, documentation, or quality standards
  • Experience reviewing the work of other artists and providing actionable artistic and technical feedback
  • Experience mentoring or providing professional guidance to environment artists
  • Portfolio demonstrating professional environment artwork, including examples of 3D modeling, materials, composition, lighting, world-building, and completed real-time environments
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated experience collaborating with multidisciplinary development teams

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience developing large-scale worlds for a AAA, multiplayer, or continuously updated game
  • Experience with procedural environment creation, advanced material systems, shader workflows, terrain systems, or environment art tools
  • Experience establishing visual benchmarks and discipline-wide quality standards
  • Experience collaborating with external development partners or reviewing externally produced environment artwork
  • Experience delivering environment content across multiple platforms with different performance and memory constraints
EPIC JOB + EPIC BENEFITS = EPIC LIFE
Our intent is to cover all things that are medically necessary and improve the quality of life. We pay 100% of the premiums for both you and your dependents. Our coverage includes Medical, Dental, a Vision HRA, Long Term Disability, Life Insurance & a 401k with competitive match. We also offer a robust mental well-being program through Modern Health, which provides free therapy and coaching for employees & dependents. Throughout the year we celebrate our employees with events and company-wide paid breaks. We offer unlimited PTO and sick time and recognize individuals for 7 years of employment with a paid sabbatical.
ABOUT US
Epic Games is a leading interactive entertainment company. For over 30 years we've been making award-winning games and engine technology that empowers others to make visually stunning games and 3D content that bring environments to life like never before. Epic's award-winning Unreal Engine technology not only provides game developers the ability to build high-fidelity, interactive experiences for PC, console, mobile, and VR, it is also a tool being embraced by content creators across a variety of industries such as media and entertainment, automotive, and architectural design. As we continue to build our Engine technology and develop remarkable games, we strive to build teams of world-class talent.
Like what you hear? Come be a part of something Epic!
Epic Games deeply values diverse teams and an inclusive work culture, and we are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Learn more about our Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy here.
Note to Recruitment Agencies: Epic does not accept any unsolicited resumes or approaches from any unauthorized third party (including recruitment or placement agencies) (i.e., a third party with whom we do not have a negotiated and validly executed agreement). We will not pay any fees to any unauthorized third party. Further details on these matters can be found here.

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