Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance
Apply makeup to performers to reflect period, setting, and situation of their role.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Fine Arts
- Design
- Communications and Media
- Administration and Management
- Psychology
- Sales and Marketing
What the work involves
- Confer with stage or motion picture officials and performers to determine desired effects.
- Duplicate work precisely to replicate characters' appearances on a daily basis.
- Establish budgets, and work within budgetary limits.
- Apply makeup to enhance or alter the appearance of people appearing in productions such as movies.
- Alter or maintain makeup during productions as necessary to compensate for lighting changes or to achieve continuity of effect.
- Select desired makeup shades from stock, or mix oil, grease, and coloring to achieve specific color effects.
- Cleanse and tone the skin to prepare it for makeup application.
- Assess performers' skin type to ensure that makeup will not cause break-outs or skin irritations.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Artistic, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (33.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (30%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (28.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 71% of occupations compared | 76% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 65% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | High | Higher on teamwork than 77% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 52% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 91% of occupations compared | 75% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 73% of occupations compared | 57% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 55% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 76% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 4.76%
- Contact with others about half the time: 4.76%
- Contact with others most of the time: 14.29%
- Constant contact with others: 76.19%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 23.81%
- Fairly important: 28.57%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 14.29%
- Extremely important: 33.33%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 14.29%
- Very important: 14.29%
- Extremely important: 71.43%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 5%
- Limited freedom: 15%
- Some freedom: 40%
- A lot of freedom: 40%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 5%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10%
- Every day: 75%
n = 20, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 9.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 57.14%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.29%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.29%
- Every day: 4.76%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 9.52%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 47.62%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 19.05%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.29%
- Every day: 9.52%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 28.57%
- Fairly serious: 28.57%
- Serious: 19.05%
- Very serious: 19.05%
- Extremely serious: 4.76%
n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 39-5091.00 · SOC 39-5091 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8