Illustrator Confidence Level for 2012

The results of our recent survey shows a slim margin of illustrators see a brighter 
future for 2012. Based on the respondents from the US, Canada, United 
Kingdom, Europe and Asia, 40% see themselves as better off financially 
in 2012 vs 2011, 33% say they will be about the same and 25% say they will be worse 
off.

Looking ahead 38% said they will be better off a year from now, 27% will be the same and only 6% said they would be worse off. Unfortunately nearly a third replied they were unsure about the future.

There was pretty much an even split about the number of assignments during the past twelve months, 33% said assignments had increased, 33% said they'd dropped off and 31% said they remained the same.

Asked about fees, only 9% said they had increased, 23% said they'd dropped and the majority, 65% said they remained the same.

Asked how satisfied they were with their career as an illustrator, 23% said they were very satisfied, 37% satisfied, 29% somewhat satisfied and 12% were not satisfied at all.

Asked about how excited they were about the field of illustration, 45% were very excited, 28% excited, 20% somewhat excited, 6% not at all excited.

The majority said they would be learning a new skill this year, 41% said they would be attending a conference, only 8% said they would be returning to school, 22% said they were changing their specialty and 1% said they were leaving the profession.

A majority said they would be promoting themselves more this year, only 19% said they would not.

Participants included 54% from the US, 14% from Canada and 11% the UK,
 16% from Europe and 5% from Asia. 65% were full-time illustrators, 12% 
were part-time; 53% had a bachelor’s degree, 29% had a graduate degree; 
70% were male, 30% female, 52% were between the ages of 25-44.

There are some interesting conclusions when we look at where both the number of projects and fees had increased. And the comparison of male to female career satisfaction level was surprising and disheartening. We will announce those results along with other insights in our next issue of 3x3 Magazine on newsstands in April but for now we wanted to share these top-line results.