Also called: Commissioned Portrait Painter
Paints or draws commissioned portraits of people, families, pets, and officials.
They meet clients, take reference photos, and spend days layering paint to capture a likeness. Official portraits of governors, university presidents, and judges can take months. Pet portraits are a surprisingly steady business online.
Estimate. Commissions range from $200 for a small pet sketch to $50,000+ for official portraits.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Training at an atelier (classical realist art school) or a BFA; a portfolio is essential.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught, Apprenticeship. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Fine Arts, Painting, Illustration.
Growing slowly. Steady niche demand.
Medium risk for 10 years. Cheap AI portraits from photos take the low end; hand-painted commissions and live sittings remain a luxury market.
Classes: Drawing and painting electives, AP Studio Art, Anatomy or biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.