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The differences between character animators and 3d artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a character animator and a 3d artist. Additionally, a 3d artist has an average salary of $74,721, which is higher than the $72,126 average annual salary of a character animator.
The top three skills for a character animator include animation, maya and character animation. The most important skills for a 3d artist are animation, unity, and zbrush.
| Character Animator | 3D Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $72,126 | $74,721 |
| Hourly rate | $34.68 | $35.92 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 416 | 3,978 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A character animator specializes in developing life-like character designs for film, television, advertisements, and video games using special animation software. Their job usually entails understanding project requirements, conducting research, developing drafts and models, adding different effects to enhance designs, presenting designs to lead animators, and performing revisions when necessary. They are also responsible for adhering to deadlines and budgets, producing reports, and solving issues and concerns. Moreover, a character animator usually works in a team setting, which requires an open and transparent line of communication for a successful workflow.
A 3D Artist uses complex software to develop graphics and animations for use in various media, such as video games, television shows, and multimedia presentations. They often work in teams, dividing project workloads in accordance to strengths.
Character animators and 3d artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Character Animator | 3D Artist | |
| Average salary | $72,126 | $74,721 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $111,000 | Between $47,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Nevada |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Utilities |
There are a few differences between a character animator and a 3d artist in terms of educational background:
| Character Animator | 3D Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Animation | Animation |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between character animators' and 3d artists' demographics:
| Character Animator | 3D Artist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 83.9% Female, 16.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.5% White, 67.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |