Multimedia Artist

There are predominantly two positions to which the title ‘multimedia artist’ is applied. The first refers to an artist whose work goes beyond a visual medium. Under this title you use sound, smell, and touch to create an experience that serves as your work of art. Although this sounds similar to what a mixed media artist might do, this is an interactive form of art rather than simply a visual art.

The second usage of the term names a position similar to an animator where you work in television and film to create, illustrate, and animate various scenes. Here the term ‘multimedia’ refers to the combination of computer graphics and animation tools with traditional hand-drawn art.

Although these two positions are unrelated, the title Multimedia Artist is generic enough to accurately describe both. In fact, it tends to cover a wide sprinkling of many areas in a sort of catch-all for people working in digital media. In some ways this is the new-age corollary to a traditional artist where electronics and film have replaced paint.

As a multimedia artist, then, you can work in all sorts of areas. You can design museum installations, work on film sets, or create laser shows. Because it is a big area, you should specialize so you can find the specific jobs you want. If you choose animation and storytelling, for example, then you should check out the film and animation industries. If you like light installations and audio production, then maybe a theme park will hire you to run its dinosaur shows.