Fashion Illustrators

Fashion illustrators earned salaries that ranged from $32,500 to $96,000 in 2024, according to SimplyHired.com. They earned average salaries of $59,345.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports that fine artists, including illustrators, earned median annual salaries of $59,300 in May 2023. The lowest 10 percent of all fine artists earned less than $28,390, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $135,420.

Illustrators who run their own businesses and work on a freelance basis are typically paid by the job. The pay for these jobs may be based on such factors as the illustrator’s reputation, the prestige of the client (for example, a fashion magazine with an international readership will pay more than a local newspaper doing a Sunday fashion spread), and the difficulty of the work. For some of this work, illustrators may earn a flat fee per job. They may also get credit lines and receive travel expenses. Freelance illustrators who have national or international reputations may earn hundreds of thousands of dollars or more per year. Freelance workers, unlike salaried artists, however, do not receive benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation or sick days.