Hire 2D Artists

A 2D artist creates flat, two-dimensional artwork for games, animation, advertising, publishing and product design. That can mean illustrations, character designs, backgrounds and environments, icons and UI, concept art, storyboards or the layered artwork animators bring to life. They produce final production ready assets, their work is what gives a game, film, campaign or book its look and feel.

Hire a 2D artist when you need original visual work for a game, animation, brand campaign, editorial project, product, book, social channel or presentation. They can help define an early visual direction, create a one-off hero image or produce a larger set of consistent assets.

2D artists create broad digital artwork, character concepts, user interface (UI) elements, or game environment assets. Illustrators typically produce finished, standalone images for editorial, books, packaging and advertising. 2D animators make artwork move, often using assets from Concept artists or 2D artists. In a full production workflow 2D artists take the Concept artists concepts and produce polished, production-ready visuals that is passed on to be animated or added to a game and feed into a production. Many artists overlap on all these functions so brief based on the deliverable you need rather than the title.

Rates vary with experience, style, complexity, usage rights and location that the artist is based. As a guide, freelance 2D artists and illustrators commonly charge around $20-$45 an hour at junior level, $45-$100 at mid-level and $100-$200+ for senior specialists. A single commissioned illustration typically costs $250-$1,500, while character sets and game asset packs are usually priced per asset or per project. Rush deadlines, extra revisions and broad commercial rights all raise the price, so ask for a fixed quote against a clear list of deliverables.

A single illustration typically takes a few days to a week, a character design with turnarounds one to three weeks, and a full set of game assets or backgrounds several weeks to a few months, depending on the number of pieces and the level of polish. Animation-ready artwork takes longer because each element has to be separated and prepared. Build in time for feedback rounds, as approvals are the most common cause of delay.

Freelancers suit defined jobs: a character set, a campaign illustration, a batch of game assets or extra capacity during a busy production. A permanent hire suits long-running games, animation or content pipelines where one artist needs to hold a consistent style over many months. Fixed-term contracts sit in between, and many artists on Creativepool take both. Use the type of employment filter (permanent, freelance, temp-perm, part-time, remote) to narrow the list.

List the deliverables (how many characters, scenes or assets), the style with two or three reference images, sizes and file formats, where the work will be used (print, web, game, broadcast), your deadline and your budget. Say how many revision rounds you expect and what usage rights you need. The clearer the list, the more accurate the quotes you get back and the easier it is to compare artists fairly.

Ask for layered source files (PSD or similar) alongside final exports, vector files such as AI or SVG when the artwork needs to scale, and PNG or sprite sheets for game use. For animation, ask for characters separated into parts on well-organised layers so animators can rig them without redrawing. On rights, agree upfront whether the licence is exclusive, how long it lasts and where it can be used, or whether you are buying the artwork outright, the broader the rights the more this can cost.

Look for work that is genuinely close to your brief in style, subject matter and intended use. A strong character artist may not be the right choice for a technical game-asset pipeline, for example. Review recent portfolio work, discuss the process and deliverables, and compare a small number of candidates against the same brief.

Use the filters on this page. Skills such as Illustration, Character Design, Storyboarding, 2D Animation and Icon Design separate the specialisms. Sector experience (Computer Games, Animation, Publishing, Advertising) shows who has worked in your field, and skill level runs from Junior to Director. You can also limit results to people active in the last six months, or to profiles with a portfolio, reel or CV.

Want a quicker way to get applicants delivered to you? Post a job or gig here. If you are looking for the top ranked 2D Artists we also have a listing of the Top 25 2D Artists that you can also use.