A professional who creates layouts of scenery and backdrops for motion picture and television sets according to instructions, and supervises and coordinates activities of artists who paint them. Responsibilities include:

• Confers with art director regarding details of background against which action is to be photographed.
• Directs preparation of sketches and designs or assigns work based on illustrations received from art director.
• Computes amount of surface to be covered by specific color scheme in proportion to its application in scene.
• Requisitions paint and materials.
• Estimates costs of paints and other materials, using price lists and records of previous productions, to prepare budget.
• Estimates number of workers and time required to complete project.
• May prepare sketches or work drawings, including coloring details of scenery.