How hard is an art director's job?

Questions about art directors...?

• I have discovered through my career planning course that I want to be an art director. The job fits my values well. However, through research I have found that it seems as though you first have to get a job below an art director for x amount of years and then you can be promoted to art director. What is the pay, and working conditions that would be for a job one might have to get before they actually become an art director? Also, is it likely that I would become an art director soon after working the entry level job?

• Answer:

  This is a bit of a broad question. Art Directing in what sense? I work in the Visual Effects industry, so I'll answer from that point of view. To become an Art Director, in general (no law is universal), you need to be an accomplished artist with a great deal of experience. Having a goal of being an Art Director is commendable, but you'll need to focus on being an artist for many years, earn the experience that will allow you to, in future, intuit what's necessary to accomplish a production, how to manage and be managed, etc. Trying to skip the entry-level position is an attempt to deny yourself the training an experience which would make you qualified to be an Art Director later in life.