Handicraft and Precision Workers

How to become a sign writer or Decorative painter or Engraver or Etcher

Official title: Sign writer/Decorative painter/Engraver/Etcher

Also called: Acid polisher (glass decorating), Advertisement painter (sign writing), Aerographing decorator (ceramics), Brush painter (excluding construction), Burnisher (ceramics decorating), Ceramic decorator, Ceramic dipper, Ceramic enameller, Ceramic glazer, Ceramic painter, Crystal glass cutter (decorative), Decorative painter

Sign writer/Decorative painter/Engraver/Etcher decorates articles made of wood, metal, textiles, glass, ceramics and other materials. He/she plans, lays out and paints letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs and to engrave and etch ornamental and floral designs on glass and other articles. He/she may also mark outlines of letters and designs directly on surface to be painted, or transfer outline from paper to surface to be painted.

Main tasks

Painting decorative free-hand designs on objects, such as pottery, glass, cigarette cases, lampshades
Transferring from paper transfers decorative or ornamental designs on articles
Integrating and developing visual elements, such as line, space, mass, colour, and perspective, in order to produce desired effects such as the illustration of ideas, emotions or moods
Laying out and painting in one or more languages letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs
Sketching or tracing design or lettering onto work piece or pattern material to prepare pattern or stencil designing pattern or lettering to paint work pieces, such as signs, glassware, pottery or zinc plates
Using software and routing equipment to produce 3D carved images for application onto larger signage as well as engraved and inlaid signs
Designing and producing normal flat cut lettering or lettering that is shadowed with applied vinyl or lettering that is ready cut for application
Writing, painting, or printing signs or show cards used for display or other purposes

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of a sign writer or Decorative painter or Engraver or Etcher?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026