Charles Hively of 3×3 Magazine writes this uplifting piece I wanted to share with you. -Lilla

“The results of our recent survey shows illustrators see a brighter
future for 2011. Based on 469 respondents from the US, Canada, United
Kingdom, Europe and Asia, 45% see themselves as better off financially
in 2011, 24% will be about the same and only 7% say they will be worse
off. This compares nicely to the AIGA Designers Confidence Index that
had 42.7% of graphic designers saying it would be better off, 47% about
the same and only 10.1% worse. A major difference was 24% of
illustrators answered that they didn’t know if they would be better
off, worse off or the same.

Asked about fees, 10% responded that fees had gone up, 29% that fees
had gone down and the majority, 46%, saying fees remained the same.

Asked about the number of projects, 32% saw an increase in the past
twelve months, 31% saw the number drop off and 28% saw the number of
assignments remain the same; 9% were unsure.

Participants included 53% from the US, 11% each from Canada and the UK,
18% from Europe and 7% from Asia. 53% were full-time illustrators, 34%
were part-time. 52% had a bachelor’s degree, 31% had a graduate degree;
58% were male, 42% female, 59% were between the ages of 25-44.

We will be able to break down the research in more specific areas of
age, years in the industry and education in an upcoming announcement
but for now we wanted to share these top-line results.

Find out the latest updates on the 3×3 blog.

Friday: Jillian Phillips’ new art, Part II