Animator job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

5

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 4 of 5

considerable preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$102,030

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Special Effects Artists and Animators (O*NET-SOC 27-1014.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment. importance 4.5 of 5
2. Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television. importance 4.3 of 5
3. Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs. importance 3.9 of 5
4. Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion. importance 3.6 of 5
5. 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. importance 3.6 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Thinking Creatively, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information and Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Implement and maintain configuration control systems.
• Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.
• Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.
• Convert real objects to animated objects through modeling, using techniques such as optical scanning.
• Create pen-and-paper images to be scanned, edited, colored, textured, or animated by computer.
• Use models to simulate the behavior of animated objects in the finished sequence.

Knowledge areas: Computers and Electronics, English Language, Design, Communications and Media and Customer and Personal Service.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Adobe After Effects, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Canva. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 4 of 5 (considerable preparation). A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become an animator.

Job title: Animator
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring an Animator to 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.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- 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.
- 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.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in active listening, reading comprehension and critical thinking
- Working knowledge of Computers and Electronics and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Adobe After Effects or Adobe Creative Cloud software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $102,030 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $49.06. BLS estimates about 19,970 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Special Effects Artists and Animators to decline 0.3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,200 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full animator salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real animator posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only animator work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (active listening and reading comprehension).