Illustrator
Freelance image and design work fell after image generators, BLS says AI illustrations may reduce illustrator jobs, and UK surveys report lost commissions. No source measures the whole occupation.
- Not yet
- Augmented
- Partially replaced (current status)
- Replaced
The marker shows the status level, not a measured percentage.
- Tasks automated
- Unknown
- Year replaced
- Unknown
- Confidence
- Low. The evidence is thin, mixed, or comes mostly from the companies involved. The status could reasonably be argued the other way.
AI tools doing this job
- MidjourneyText-to-image model. A CESifo working paper links the release of image generators such as Midjourney and DALL-E 2 (April 2022) to fewer jobs and less income for design, image-editing and art freelancers on Upwork. Independent paper, not a vendor page.source ↗
- DALL-E 2Text-to-image model. Covered by the same Upwork study of freelancers offering image and design services. Independent paper, not a vendor page.source ↗
Task breakdown
| Task | Status | Tool | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelance image, design and art jobs on an online marketplace (Upwork) | Partially replaced | Midjourney and DALL-E 2 | link |
| Commissioned illustration work (UK illustrator survey, self-reported) | Partially replaced | - | link |
| Early-stage ideation and drafting (artistic occupations broadly) | Augmented | - | link |
Evidence
BLS places illustrators in its craft and fine artists category, which also covers painters, sculptors and other fine artists, so its figures are not illustrator-only. It counts about 53,400 jobs in 2025 and projects a 1 percent decline from 2025 to 2035 (page last modified October 29, 2026). Unlike most BLS pages, it names AI: it says illustrations generated by AI may compete with illustrators, which it projects will reduce employment in that part of the occupation. That is a projection, not a measured loss. BLS's separate graphic designers page projects a 2 percent decline and says automated design tools such as AI are projected to make designers more productive; it does not mention illustrators.
The strongest measured evidence comes from freelance platforms. Hui, Reshef and Zhou (CESifo working paper, August 2023) used Upwork data and found negative effects on both the number of jobs and total compensation for freelancers in image and design occupations after the April 2022 release of image generators such as DALL-E 2 and Midjourney. For freelancers with above-median prior earnings, they estimate reductions of 7% in jobs and 14% in income for image-based services, both significant at the 1% level, and read generative AI as a substitute at least in the short term. The Decoder (November 2024) reports a separate study, by Demirci, Hannane and Zhu, of about 1.4 million listings on one unnamed freelance platform from July 2021 to July 2023; it found listings for graphic designers and 3D modelers fell 17.01% relative to manual-intensive jobs. I did not read that paper itself. Both studies cover one platform and neither isolates illustrators.
Surveys point the same way but are self-reported. The UK Association of Illustrators survey (6,844 respondents, launched early 2025; the results page does not say whether respondents were members) reports that 32.40% lost work to AI, an average of 9,262 pounds per affected artist. A Society of Authors survey of its members and other authors (January 2024, 787 responses, reported by downthetubes) found 26% of illustrators had lost work to generative AI and 37% said their income had decreased in value. Against this, Makridis (Journal of Cultural Economics, 2026), covering artistic occupations broadly, found no clear short-run earnings collapse and ambiguous employment effects, with artists mainly using AI for early-stage work. Larian Studios' CEO said in December 2025 that the company has 72 artists, 23 of them concept artists, is hiring more, and is not replacing concept artists with AI; that is a company statement. I found no documented case of a publisher or studio announcing that it replaced illustrators with AI. The status is partial with low confidence because the measured losses are on single platforms and surveys, and no source says what share of illustration AI performs.
References
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Craft and Fine Artists (includes illustrators)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Graphic Designers
- Hui, Reshef and Zhou: The Short-Term Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence on Employment, Evidence from an Online Labor Market (CESifo Working Paper 10601, August 2023)
- The Decoder: Generative AI reduces demand for some freelance jobs (on Demirci, Hannane and Zhu, November 2024, secondary report)
- Association of Illustrators AI survey results (6,844 respondents, early 2025; published on World Illustration Awards)
- downthetubes: Society of Authors survey on generative AI and lost work (April 2024)
- Makridis: The labor market effect of generative AI on artists (Journal of Cultural Economics, 2026, summary page)
- PR Daily: Larian CEO takes defensive approach in response to AI use backlash (December 2025, company statement)