How to hire a character artist in 2026?
Hiring a character artist can be easy if you know what to look for. Learn what a character artist does, how much it costs to hire one, how long their projects take, and what questions to ask before hiring.
What is a character artist?
A character artist illustrates or makes concept art of characters for projects like films or video games. They make sketches and render these in 2D or 3D using tools like Blender or Unreal Engine. Some of their tasks include interpreting the client’s ideas to create stylized characters and researching reference materials to develop genre-aligned aesthetics for different characters.
What can a character artist do for you?
- Illustration: Create digital or hand-drawn illustrations for projects like eBooks, storybooks, and custom merchandise.
- Game art: Design and draw various visual elements for your video game like characters, settings, and concept art.
- Cartoons & comics: Create characters in a unique cartoon or comic style.
How much does it cost to hire a character artist?
Character artists typically charge between $42.50 and $60.73, depending on the project. Below are the average fees for character artist services.
- Illustration: Average of $60.73 per job
- Game art: Average of $42.50 per job
- Cartoon & comics: Average of $57.50 per job
Questions to ask when hiring a character artist
- What experience do you have with creating unique characters for games or other creative projects?
- What art style do you prefer, and how does this influence your designs?
- What is your typical process like for creating a character?
- What challenges do you usually face when illustrating characters, and how do you overcome them?
- What tools or software do you use to create your characters?
How much time does a character artist take to complete a job on Fiverr?
On average, a character artist takes 13 to 23 days to complete a project. Illustration takes an average of 19 days, while game art projects take an average of 13 days. Meanwhile, cartoons and comics take an average of 23 days.
