Duties and responsibilities
An art model presents themselves to artists so that they can draw, paint or make a sculpture based on them. They may also post for art students during classes.Their typical duties and responsibilities include:
- Posing for aspiring and professional artists in classrooms or studios
- Holding poses or facial expressions for extended periods of time
- Posing for students or professional artists individually for paintings, drawings or sculptures
- Changing poses, facial expressions and gestures to display the impression the artist wants
- Maintaining a portfolio of work for completed art modeling projects
Qualifications
There are no specific educational requirements to become an art model. Art models will, however, need to meet the requirements of the client.
Skills and relevant work experience
Art models will need skills and talents such as:
- Patience, as art models will need to hold certain poses for up to 25 minutes at a time
- Teamwork skills, as art models will need to work closely with artists and listen to their instructions
- Organizational skills, as art models may have several gigs each day or week and need to manage these
- Listening skills, as art models must listen carefully to instructions and directions
- Physical stamina, as at models need to be fit enough to sit, stand or lay down in various positions
- Confidence, as art models need to be able to pose in front of lots of different people
Hours
Art models can work full time or part time. Often, their hours and schedule may be erratic and unpredictable as they will work on different assignments.
Salary
According to salaryexpert.com, the average annual salary for an art model in the United States is $648,335. At an entry level, art models will earn around $29,000 per year. Whereas, at a more senior level art models can earn well over $91,000 per year.
Progression
Art models can take their career to whatever level they like. Some art models may only work part time and be happy with doing that. Others may decide to do this as a full time career. These art models may progress, with experience and knowledge, to work on big projects.