A graphic artist is a commercial artist who produces visuals that communicate an idea, concept or story using a litany of artistic tools.

Not limited to creating artwork that will be used in a graphic project, for example, a book jacket cover or a commercial advertisement, graphic artists are distinguished for producing innovative images that range from illustrations for movie boards, anime characters, cartoon figures, comic books and graphic novels.

Graphic artists also create work for a broad range of purposes that can cover multifarious subjects depending on the context and requirements. In fact, most graphic artists have a particular style, and are hired when that style is required for a specific project.

In regards to creating the actual work, each artist employs and manipulates various design principles that he or she believes will effectively communicate his message. For example, the work can be digitally rendered on a computer before or after it has been manually created. Likewise, the finished work can be in digital form or in print.

These decisions are creative hence rely on the artist’s personal preferences, experience, skill, capacity and ability. For example, if a graphic artist has a flare for fine art and experience with painting and collage, he might choose to work by hand and incorporate several textural elements that resemble his fine arts background.