Post job

Computer animator vs animator

The differences between computer animators and animators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a computer animator and an animator. Additionally, a computer animator has an average salary of $81,438, which is higher than the $76,853 average annual salary of an animator.

The top three skills for a computer animator include animation, adobe photoshop and motion graphics. The most important skills for an animator are animation, motion capture, and storyboards.

Computer animator vs animator overview

Computer AnimatorAnimator
Yearly salary$81,438$76,853
Hourly rate$39.15$36.95
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs13,790551
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Computer animator vs animator salary

Computer animators and animators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Computer AnimatorAnimator
Average salary$81,438$76,853
Salary rangeBetween $59,000 And $111,000Between $52,000 And $112,000
Highest paying CityLas Vegas, NVLas Vegas, NV
Highest paying stateNevadaNevada
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyMedia

Differences between computer animator and animator education

There are a few differences between a computer animator and an animator in terms of educational background:

Computer AnimatorAnimator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorComputer ScienceAnimation
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Computer animator vs animator demographics

Here are the differences between computer animators' and animators' demographics:

Computer AnimatorAnimator
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 86.5% Female, 13.5%Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between computer animator and animator duties and responsibilities

Computer animator example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team of artists to create the art and animation for motion comics aspects of the show.
  • Design and produce animation and graphics for local television commercials and corporate videos.
  • Facilitate product marketing, in-house video production and YouTube video development.
  • Base on personal interest and curiosity, create and direct group project exploring animation using OpenGL graphics library.
  • Analyze and troubleshoot equipment and software reliability to identify and define problem areas to establish computer and telecommunication performance levels.
  • Analyze and troubleshoot equipment and software reliability to identify and define problem areas to establish computer and telecommunication performance levels.

Animator example responsibilities.

  • Lead a team of artists to create the art and animation for motion comics aspects of the show.
  • Train & supervise newly appoint employee in achieving realistic looking effects and help integrating the effects in compositing with cg elements.
  • Create many logos for a YouTube sketch.
  • Sketch every seen multiple times utilizing several camera angles and character blocking.
  • Assist in the animation development of learning videos and nursery rhymes for YouTube.
  • Implement uniform display geometry to support texture artist and UV mapping artist, demonstrating advance UV mapping skills.
  • Show more

Computer animator vs animator skills

Common computer animator skills
  • Animation, 62%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 10%
  • Motion Graphics, 9%
  • Character Animation, 8%
  • Autocad, 7%
  • Body Mechanics, 4%
Common animator skills
  • Animation, 36%
  • Motion Capture, 7%
  • Storyboards, 5%
  • Motion Graphics, 5%
  • AAA, 3%
  • Graphic Design, 3%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs