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Overview
Cartoonists create drawings, comic images or visual narratives for media, publishing or commissioned projects. The work can include reading texts to be illustrated, following news, consulting editors, sketching ideas and choosing an illustration style.
In job descriptions, look for sketches, original drawings, captions, humour, briefs, editors, media sources, copyright, graphic design, digital illustration, traditional drawing, image editing and portfolio expectations.
Explore this occupation
Search jobsWork context
Cartoonists work where drawing, media reading and editorial judgement meet. Assignments may start from a brief, a news item or a text to illustrate, then move through sketches, style choices, revisions and finished artwork.
Skills and specializations
Useful skills include creating sketches, original drawings and animated narratives, practising humour, consulting editors, following news, selecting illustration styles and using digital or traditional illustration techniques. Copyright awareness matters around publication.
Salary context
Salary context depends on publication type, rights of use, deadline pressure, revision cycles, portfolio strength, digital production needs and whether the work is staff-based, commissioned, syndicated or project-based.
Career paths
Entry can come from illustration, graphic design, comics, media work or a strong portfolio. Development may move toward editorial illustration, animation, graphic storytelling, art direction or broader visual communication roles.
Good to know
Check whether adverts name the medium, audience, copyright or usage terms, captions, editor contact, expected style and delivery schedule. Clear briefs help reveal whether humour, news judgement or production speed is central.
Editorial note
This guide gives editorial career context for cartoonist work. It is not official labour-market statistics or salary data.
Map overview
Click the map to search for cartoonist jobs.
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O*NET relationships
See occupations connected to this ESCO occupation in the official O*NET–ESCO mapping. The relationship type comes from the source and is not a ranking or recommendation.
O*NET relationships: 1
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
27-1013.00
O*NET occupation is broader
The O*NET occupation covers a broader field of work than this ESCO occupation.
Open in O*NETSource and method
These relationships come from the official European Commission O*NET–ESCO crosswalk.
Relationship direction: O*NET occupation to ESCO occupation.
Several O*NET occupations can point to the same ESCO occupation, and one O*NET occupation can point to several ESCO occupations.
AltoTrail preserves the source relationship type. The order is technical and does not show which occupation is best, most relevant or recommended.
AltoTrail validates and presents the source relationships without adding ranking or recommendation semantics.
Alternative labels
Occupation group
Visual artists (2651)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/ecd0fad8-b099-4c47-93f6-dde9f6f6c5fc |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 2651.3 |
| ISCO group | 2651 |
| Concept type | Occupation |