Post job

Artist vs animator

The differences between artists and animators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an animator has an average salary of $76,853, which is higher than the $68,690 average annual salary of an artist.

The top three skills for an artist include maya, adobe photoshop and customer service. The most important skills for an animator are animation, motion capture, and storyboards.

Artist vs animator overview

ArtistAnimator
Yearly salary$68,690$76,853
Hourly rate$33.02$36.95
Growth rate6%5%
Number of jobs3,870551
Job satisfaction4-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4040
Years of experience-2

What does an artist do?

An Artist specializes in creating various artworks or prose; the audience can vary from individuals or the general public. An artist's responsibility depends on the industry, company, or position where they are assigned. However, most of the time, Artists are expected to work under specific guidelines, deliver materials in a required format within an allotted time and perform revisions according to what is preferred by an editor or client. Furthermore, independent artists may work freelance and receive commissions for their craft.

What does an animator do?

The animators are specialized artists who conceptualized ideas from their creative minds with technology applications. Animators cater to different specialties depending on their expertise. They used multiple techniques and tools to create a digital masterpiece. An animator is required to have an excellent time and project management skills to meet deadlines. They should also be detail-oriented and technology savvy to keep up with the latest trend in the digital market. Animators are required to have regular communication with the respective department for the updates or adjustments as needed.

Artist vs animator salary

Artists and animators have different pay scales, as shown below.

ArtistAnimator
Average salary$68,690$76,853
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $110,000Between $52,000 And $112,000
Highest paying CitySan Rafael, CALas Vegas, NV
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNevada
Best paying companyMetaMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyMedia

Differences between artist and animator education

There are a few differences between an artist and an animator in terms of educational background:

ArtistAnimator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorFine ArtsAnimation
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Artist vs animator demographics

Here are the differences between artists' and animators' demographics:

ArtistAnimator
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 45.2% Female, 54.8%Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between artist and animator duties and responsibilities

Artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage studio workload and advise print direction to in-house and freelance cad artists.
  • Manage online product catalog using Dreamweaver.
  • Assist customers with product selection and process POS transactions.
  • Provide comparative analysis on traditional vs. Mac vs. PC production.
  • Animate in-game characters, user interface assets and particle effects.
  • Own & operate a specialize faux painting, mural and art business.
  • Show more

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.
  • Show more

Artist vs animator skills

Common artist skills
  • Maya, 13%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 7%
  • Photography, 7%
  • VFX, 6%
Common animator skills
  • Animation, 36%
  • Motion Capture, 7%
  • Storyboards, 5%
  • Motion Graphics, 5%
  • AAA, 3%
  • Graphic Design, 3%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs