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
- Doing it now
- 51,900
- By 2035
- Down 0.3%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
4,200 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.
- 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.
- 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.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Fine and Studio ArtsSee 1,083 colleges that teach it
- Design and Applied ArtsSee 679 colleges that teach it
- Visual and Performing Arts, GeneralSee 317 colleges that teach it
- Computer Software and Media ApplicationsSee 202 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $102,030 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.