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The differences between character animators and freelance designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a character animator, becoming a freelance designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a character animator has an average salary of $72,126, which is higher than the $57,260 average annual salary of a freelance designer.
The top three skills for a character animator include animation, maya and character animation. The most important skills for a freelance designer are sketch, CSS, and HTML.
| Character Animator | Freelance Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $72,126 | $57,260 |
| Hourly rate | $34.68 | $27.53 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 416 | 45,914 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
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.
Freelance designers are creative, independent contractors who create visual and graphic designs for their clients. They develop text and illustrated versions of brands, messages, and communications with strong visible influence with their clients. Typical activities include networking, seeking projects, and negotiating prices to their customers. They manage client proposals, develop concepts, present solutions, and ensure the timely completion of projects. Freelance visual and graphic designers are creative, self-motivated as well as result and deadline oriented.
Character animators and freelance designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Character Animator | Freelance Designer | |
| Average salary | $72,126 | $57,260 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $111,000 | Between $39,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | - |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | - |
| Best paying industry | Technology | - |
There are a few differences between a character animator and a freelance designer in terms of educational background:
| Character Animator | Freelance Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Animation | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between character animators' and freelance designers' demographics:
| Character Animator | Freelance Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0% |
| 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, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 13% |