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The differences between character animators and graphic 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 graphic designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a character animator has an average salary of $72,126, which is higher than the $49,450 average annual salary of a graphic designer.
The top three skills for a character animator include animation, maya and character animation. The most important skills for a graphic designer are adobe creative suite, adobe photoshop, and adobe illustrator.
| Character Animator | Graphic Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $72,126 | $49,450 |
| Hourly rate | $34.68 | $23.77 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 416 | 45,625 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| 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.
Graphic designers are visual communicators who create graphic ideas to deliver a message through art and images which inspire, inform, and motivate consumers with the use of computer software, especially Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign or by hand. They have the ability to design stunning illustrations that are easily understood, even without a lot of thinking or based on the demand of their clients. It is very crucial to them as well to be flexible and to stay on top of the design trends. They create websites, posters, packaging, logos, advertising, and marketing materials, depending on the nature of the business.
Character animators and graphic designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Character Animator | Graphic Designer | |
| Average salary | $72,126 | $49,450 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $111,000 | Between $34,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | The Walt Disney Company | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a character animator and a graphic designer in terms of educational background:
| Character Animator | Graphic Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Animation | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between character animators' and graphic designers' demographics:
| Character Animator | Graphic Designer | |
| Average age | 40 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.4% Female, 25.6% | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% |
| 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% |