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The differences between character animators and artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a character animator has an average salary of $72,126, which is higher than the $68,690 average annual salary of an artist.
The top three skills for a character animator include animation, maya and character animation. The most important skills for an artist are maya, adobe photoshop, and customer service.
| Character Animator | Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $72,126 | $68,690 |
| Hourly rate | $34.68 | $33.02 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 416 | 3,870 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 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.
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.
Character animators and artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Character Animator | Artist | |
| Average salary | $72,126 | $68,690 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $111,000 | Between $42,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Rafael, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a character animator and an artist in terms of educational background:
| Character Animator | Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Animation | Fine Arts |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between character animators' and artists' demographics:
| Character Animator | Artist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 45.2% Female, 54.8% |
| 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, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |