Arts, design, media and sports
Special effects artists and animators
Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.
Median pay
$102,030
Growth to 2035
0%
little or no change
Openings a year
4,200
Time to qualify*
Minimal
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Special effects artists and animators
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- None
Calculate your switch to special effects artists and animators
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Special effects artists and animators: 60% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.
- Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.
- Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.
- Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.
- Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.
- Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation and map out key scenes and characters.
Also called: 3D Animator (Three-Dimensional Animator) · 3D Artist (Three-Dimensional Artist) · Animator · Artist · Digital Artist · Graphic Artist · Motion Graphics Artist · Multimedia Producer
Outlook and AI
Special effects artists and animators held 51,900 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 51,800 by 2035 (0%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as more animation and post-production tasks are accelerated by the use of technology, including generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Compare with
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Graphic designer
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Film and video editors
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Art director
- Special effects artists and animators vs. UX designer
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Producers and directors
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Desktop publisher
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Photographer
- Special effects artists and animators vs. Commercial and industrial designers