How to hire an animator

How to hire an animator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step animator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an animator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new animator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an animator do?

Post an animator job for free, promote it for a fee

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your animator job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an animator for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An animator's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, animators from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of animators and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Animator	Description	Hourly rate
   Animator	Multimedia artists and animators create animation and visual effects for television, movies, video games, and other forms of media.	$25-53
   Graphic Designer Internship	In a graphic design internship, one of the primary responsibilities is to accomplish tasks while under the supervision of more experienced colleagues. An aspiring graphic designer may use this opportunity to observe and participate in designing for various industries, handle different clients, participate in creative meetings, and learn strategies from experts... Show more	$12-22
   Graphic Designer, Marketing	A graphic designer of marketing specializes in developing creative imagery as part of a company's marketing efforts. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating with the marketing team to share insights and strategies, conceptualizing designs in adherence to objectives and deadlines, and preparing presentations... Show more	$16-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Animation
   • Motion Capture
   • Storyboards
   • Motion Graphics
   • AAA
   • Graphic Design
   • Game Engine
   • Cinema
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Sketch
   • Video Games
   • Adobe Illustrator
   • VFX
   • Adobe Premiere

   Check all skills

   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.

   More animator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the animator job description is a good way to get more applicants. An animator salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an animator in Alabama may be lower than in Nevada, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level animator. Additionally, an animator with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average animator salary

   $76,853yearly

   $36.95 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level animator salary

   $52,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 19, 2025

   Average animator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Nevada	$130,424	$63
   2	California	$111,758	$54
   3	Connecticut	$110,980	$53
   4	Washington	$95,164	$46
   5	Maryland	$93,462	$45
   6	New York	$80,766	$39
   7	Pennsylvania	$77,717	$37
   8	North Carolina	$76,101	$37
   9	New Jersey	$72,958	$35
   10	Arizona	$70,123	$34
   11	Wisconsin	$64,833	$31
   12	Illinois	$60,767	$29
   13	Texas	$56,570	$27
   14	Minnesota	$55,027	$26
   15	Florida	$53,393	$26
   16	Massachusetts	$52,991	$25
   17	Georgia	$51,687	$25

   Average animator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$152,101	$73.13	3
   2	Airbnb	$146,701	$70.53
   3	Microsoft	$142,631	$68.57
   4	Amazon	$128,512	$61.78
   5	The Walt Disney Company	$122,899	$59.09	1
   6	Vox Media	$118,562	$57.00
   7	Datadog	$115,774	$55.66
   8	Pixar Animation Studios	$114,404	$55.00
   9	Anki	$110,528	$53.14
   10	Warner Bros.	$105,030	$50.50	4
   11	Sony Pictures Imageworks	$104,177	$50.09
   12	Industrial Light & Magic	$103,842	$49.92
   13	Sway Group	$102,717	$49.38
   14	Sony Interactive Entertainment America	$102,425	$49.24
   15	Blur Studio	$101,570	$48.83
   16	DreamWorks Animation	$100,480	$48.31
   17	PlayStation	$100,186	$48.17	2
   18	Bento Box Entertainment	$100,169	$48.16
   19	Titmouse	$99,620	$47.89
   20	Blue Sky Studios	$98,189	$47.21

4. Writing an animator job description

   A good animator job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of an animator job description:

   Animator job description example

   Scanline VFX, a Netflix Company, is an award-winning, global leader in the visual effects industry with studios in 7 core locations. From humble beginnings over 30 years ago, we've grown to a team of over 1,400 made up of diverse nationalities from around the world. Underpinned by a commitment to innovation, Eyeline Studios, Scanline's virtual production division, is rethinking the future of real-time filmmaking by providing content creators with unmatched flexibility.
   
   Come and join an innovative and collaborative team and be challenged to do the best work of your career!
   We currently offer hybrid, on-site and remote work opportunities.
   
   We're looking for an Animation TD to join our Animation and Layout teams. The Animation TD helps the department run efficiently, and is responsible for creating and improving tools and department workflows whilst troubleshooting related artist issues on the floor. They will work closely with Animation/Layout/Pipeline leadership and be passionate about pushing the creative and technical envelope of our work in VFX.
   
   Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and work collaboratively, the Animation TD perspective is customer-centric with artist and production team's requirements in mind. Python, Maya and teamwork skills are essential in this role
   KEY RESPONSIBILITIESWork closely with the pipeline and the Animation/Layout departments, designing tools to improve and speed up artist workflow.Will also help to troubleshoot and problem-solve technical and pipeline issues that artists may encounter in the course of their shot work.Interacts and works with other related departments and show specific leads.Creates scripts allowing for automation of specific tasks.Identifies and solves complex, systematic problems in the domain of the tools, plug-ins, pipeline and overall workflow development.Maintains and supports existing tools; fine-tune and troubleshoot as needed.Writes Technical Briefs and documentation for new developments.
   QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCEExperience in VFX, Gaming, or similar development environment as TD is preferred but not mandatory Knowledge in Maya and Python is required Experience in Maya API and 3D is preferred and C++ is a nice to have Experience with rigging, animation and creature FX is desired Eye for detail and excellent organizational skills Team player with an excellent communication skills both verbal and written
   WHAT WE OFFER
   Collaboration on elaborate feature film productions (national & international)
   Innovative environment and excellent opportunities to further develop your skills

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right animator for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your animator job on Zippia to find and attract quality animator candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as dribbble, authentic jobs, working not working, coroflot.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting animators requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new animator

   Once you've decided on a perfect animator candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new animator. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an animator?