3d specialist vs animator

The differences between 3d specialists and animators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a 3d specialist and an animator. Additionally, a 3d specialist has an average salary of $78,890, which is higher than the $76,853 average annual salary of an animator.

The top three skills for a 3d specialist include visualization, maya and revit. The most important skills for an animator are animation, motion capture, and storyboards.

3d specialist vs animator overview

	3D Specialist	Animator
Yearly salary	$78,890	$76,853
Hourly rate	$37.93	$36.95
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	528	551
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	2	2

3d specialist vs animator salary

3d specialists and animators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	3D Specialist	Animator
Average salary	$78,890	$76,853
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $112,000	Between $52,000 And $112,000
Highest paying City	Las Vegas, NV	Las Vegas, NV
Highest paying state	Nevada	Nevada
Best paying company	Gap Inc.	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Media

Differences between 3d specialist and animator education

There are a few differences between a 3d specialist and an animator in terms of educational background:

	3D Specialist	Animator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Architecture	Animation
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

3d specialist vs animator demographics

Here are the differences between 3d specialists' and animators' demographics:

	3D Specialist	Animator
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8%	Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between 3d specialist and animator duties and responsibilities

3d specialist example responsibilities.

Design outdoor lighting rigs, create camera animation, manage rendering and compositing of multi-layer cinematics.
Utilize Maya to create 3D models for high-end rendering and realtime visualization.
Design and develop interactive presentations including corporate Internet site, PowerPoint presentations, and other multimedia marketing materials.
Design and develop interactive presentations including corporate Internet site, PowerPoint presentations, and other multimedia marketing materials.

Animator example responsibilities.

Lead a team of artists to create the art and animation for motion comics aspects of the show.
Train & supervise newly appoint employee in achieving realistic looking effects and help integrating the effects in compositing with cg elements.
Create many logos for a YouTube sketch.
Sketch every seen multiple times utilizing several camera angles and character blocking.
Assist in the animation development of learning videos and nursery rhymes for YouTube.
Implement uniform display geometry to support texture artist and UV mapping artist, demonstrating advance UV mapping skills.

3d specialist vs animator skills

Common 3d specialist skills

Visualization, 51%
Maya, 14%
Revit, 12%
Animation, 9%
Vray, 5%
Solidworks, 4%

Common animator skills

Animation, 36%
Motion Capture, 7%
Storyboards, 5%
Motion Graphics, 5%
AAA, 3%
Graphic Design, 3%

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3D Specialist
3D Specialist vs Animator

Updated January 8, 2025

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