One of the career fields that has been strengthened by the popularity of the internet, along with real estate and ecommerce , is graphic design. Graphic artists are now able to create work easier, market it to more people, and replicate it more easily. If you're considering becoming a graphic artist, let this article tell you in general terms what your working life is probably going to be like as a modern graphic artist.

Most modern graphic artists are self employed, taking piecemeal projects from various small businesses, though there are some who are hired on by larger companies such as marketing firms and advertising firms. As a self employed artist, it will be your responsibility to solicit clients if you want to support yourself. As such you will have to be proactive about applying for contracts online through sites like elance and in promoting your work online, on message boards, and through referrals and classified ads.

To promote your work, you will put a lot of time and energy into maintaining your portfolio, which you will display online through your website and promote on your business cards. That way when a client wants to see what you've done, you can easily direct them to samples they can look at. If they decide to hire you for the project, you must bend your artistic skills toward giving them what they want rather than what you think they need.

Graphic artists work in many different mediums. Just within one promotional campaign you may be asked to design artwork for posters, advertising circulars, newspaper ads, animations to play on television, illustrations for a comic or book, and images for their website. Logos, signs, fonts, and floral art here may also fall under your purview. You will not, however, be asked to come up with the advertising copy or slogans for the campaign. That will be handled by a copywriter, though you may be asked to collaborate with the copywriter.

Since not very many graphic artists are fulfilled by their commercial work, you may also spend your free time at home in your home working on pet projects that display your talents through art for art's sake. This might mean creating digital artwork, painting, designing websites, or creating your own picture book or graphic novel. If you are lucky, you may be able to turn these artistic works into part or all of your career.

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