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Computer animator vs technical artist

The differences between computer animators and technical artists 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 a technical artist. Additionally, a technical artist has an average salary of $90,692, which is higher than the $81,438 average annual salary of a computer animator.

The top three skills for a computer animator include animation, adobe photoshop and motion graphics. The most important skills for a technical artist are python, animation, and C++.

Computer animator vs technical artist overview

Computer AnimatorTechnical Artist
Yearly salary$81,438$90,692
Hourly rate$39.15$43.60
Growth rate5%5%
Number of jobs13,79070,696
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Computer animator vs technical artist salary

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

Computer AnimatorTechnical Artist
Average salary$81,438$90,692
Salary rangeBetween $59,000 And $111,000Between $57,000 And $141,000
Highest paying CityLas Vegas, NVNovato, CA
Highest paying stateNevadaNevada
Best paying companyThe Walt Disney CompanyMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between computer animator and technical artist education

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

Computer AnimatorTechnical Artist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorComputer ScienceGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Computer animator vs technical artist demographics

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

Computer AnimatorTechnical Artist
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 86.5% Female, 13.5%Male, 75.9% Female, 24.1%
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, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 7.6% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between computer animator and technical artist 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.

Technical artist example responsibilities.

  • Manage Unity3D assets for game prototype.
  • Write tools in Maxscript, MEL, javascript, python, and vbscript to automate repetitive processes.
  • Create 2D / 3D art assets for PC and PlayStation 3 video games.
  • Fill numerous roles as needed from UI & FX, to environment art, implementation, and tool authoring.
  • Design, develop and support software tools for animation production pipeline.
  • Write tools in Mel for the art team.
  • Show more

Computer animator vs technical artist skills

Common computer animator skills
  • Animation, 62%
  • Adobe Photoshop, 10%
  • Motion Graphics, 9%
  • Character Animation, 8%
  • Autocad, 7%
  • Body Mechanics, 4%
Common technical artist skills
  • Python, 17%
  • Animation, 10%
  • C++, 8%
  • Unity, 7%
  • MEL, 6%
  • Game Development, 4%

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