How To Become An Animation Artist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an animation artist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Ananda Keator

Disney. Pixar. Cartoon Network. These companies and many other studios, video game developers, and even advertising agencies would be nowhere without the hard work of animation artists. Animation artists design and develop animated videos that can be only a few minutes long or entire feature length films.

It goes without saying that animation artists have to be good at drawing. They need to design memorable characters and know how to make those characters move. However, animation in the modern age is not just about putting pen to paper. Animation artists need to be able to work with software like Photoshop, Maya, and AfterEffects.

Becoming an animation artist isn't easy. Many earn bachelor's degrees in visual art and spend years honing their craft. The hard work doesn't stop once they get hired. If the studio is trying to hit a tight deadline, animation artists often stay late and work many hours of overtime. Animation is hard work, but for many artists the satisfaction of seeing their work on screen is worth it.

What general advice would you give to an animation artist?

Ananda Keator

Visiting Assistant Professor of Costume Design and Technology, Website

3D printing accessories, digital renderings, and (hopefully) revival of almost lost arts.

ScoreAnimation ArtistUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $80,929

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.3

Growth rate 5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 7.72%

Black or African American 4.35%

Hispanic or Latino 14.33%

Unknown 5.88%

White 66.87%

Gender

female 23.60%

male 76.40%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an animation artist

Explore animation artist education requirements

Most common animation artist degrees

Bachelor's

70.2 %

Associate

15.5 %

Master's

7.9 %

Start to develop specific animation artist skills

Skills	Percentages
Animation	28.71%
Maya	9.73%
Character Animation	7.57%
Concept Art	7.33%
Motion Graphics	6.83%

Complete relevant animation artist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New animation artists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an animation artist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real animation artist resumes.

Research animation artist duties and responsibilities

Edit video, write copy for television, radio, and web-base commercials while managing the scheduling of all studio employees.
Start using CSS for layout.
Produce storyboards and illustrations for film and print projects.
Use of HTML for webmastering and occasionally design ad campaigns.

Prepare your animation artist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your animation artist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an animation artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable animation artist resume templates

Build a professional animation artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your animation artist resume.