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The differences between character animators and graphic artists 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 graphic artist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a character animator has an average salary of $72,126, which is higher than the $54,900 average annual salary of a graphic artist.
The top three skills for a character animator include animation, maya and character animation. The most important skills for a graphic artist are graphic design, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Character Animator | Graphic Artist | |
| Yearly salary | $72,126 | $54,900 |
| Hourly rate | $34.68 | $26.39 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 416 | 8,752 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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.
A graphic artist is either an illustrator or an animator who creates art work that will be used in graphic projects such as advertisements, posters, or even book covers. Although a graphic artist has his/her own style of artwork, he/she may be often commissioned to create art specifically for a particular project. A graphic artist may work with a graphic designer in order to convey the overall message of a project. The portfolio of a graphic artist includes cartoons, illustrations, and graphic novels.
Character animators and graphic artists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Character Animator | Graphic Artist | |
| Average salary | $72,126 | $54,900 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $111,000 | Between $35,000 And $84,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Parsons |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between a character animator and a graphic artist in terms of educational background:
| Character Animator | Graphic Artist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Animation | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between character animators' and graphic artists' demographics:
| Character Animator | Graphic Artist | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 54.6% Female, 45.4% |
| 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% |