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What does a special effects artist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
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Special effects artist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real special effects artist resumes:

  • Train & supervise newly appoint employee in achieving realistic looking effects and help integrating the effects in compositing with cg elements.
  • Provide exceptional customer service experience and demonstrate knowledge of products as well as Chanel history and heritage.
  • Work as a specialist and makeup artist for Chanel cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance.
  • Develop and maintains company website and blog as well as other social media outlets including Pinterest, LinkedIn and Facebook.
  • Provide exceptional customer service experience and demonstrate knowledge of products as well as Chanel history and heritage.

Special effects artist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Special Effects Artists are proficient in Animation, Maya, and Graphic Design. They’re also known for soft skills such as Artistic talent, Communication skills, and Computer skills.

We break down the percentage of Special Effects Artists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Animation, 23%

    Composited animation and added effects for "Nate the Great" TV series for PBS

  • Maya, 17%

    Set aside our Maya pipeline to use 3DS MAX.

  • Graphic Design, 15%

    Created innovative graphic design projects for high profile external Coca-Cola customers.

  • VFX, 14%

    Initiated transition to VFX GUI which greatly improved efficiency.

  • Motion Graphics, 13%

    Collaborated with graphic designers and editors to develop motion graphics and animations for entire show packages.

  • FX, 11%

    Lead FX artist in creation, development, and implementation of particle flow and rigid body simulations to production pipeline.

Common skills that a special effects artist uses to do their job include "animation," "maya," and "graphic design." You can find details on the most important special effects artist responsibilities below.

Artistic talent. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a special effects artist to have is artistic talent. Their role and responsibilities require that "animators and artists should have artistic ability and a good understanding of color, texture, and light." Special effects artists often use artistic talent in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "promoted to artistic lead for the cg team, interfacing with other departments. "

Computer skills. special effects artists are also known for computer skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to special effects artist responsibilities, because "many special effects artists and animators use computer programs or write programming code to do most of their work." A special effects artist resume example shows how computer skills is used in the workplace: "designed trade show exhibits using 3ds max character animation shorts produced an eight minute computer animation demo for the company"

Creativity. special effects artist responsibilities often require "creativity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "artists and animators must be able to think creatively to develop original ideas and make them come to life." This resume example shows what special effects artists do with creativity on a typical day: "combined creative forces with others to create sound effects by recording foley sounds using the university's professional recording studio. "

Time-management skills. A commonly-found skill in special effects artist job descriptions, "time-management skills" is essential to what special effects artists do. Special effects artist responsibilities rely on this skill because "the workdays required by most studio and game design companies can be long, particularly when there are tight deadlines." You can also see how special effects artist duties rely on time-management skills in this resume example: "model high resolution assets collaborate with the concept artist and art director meet weekly deadlines give and receive constructive feedback"

See the full list of special effects artist skills

The three companies that hire the most special effects artists are:

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Compare different special effects artists

Special effects artist vs. Makeup instructor

A freelance make-up artist's role is to enhance a client's appearance using cosmetic products. One of their responsibilities is to bring their arsenal of make-up products and equipment, hear out a client's preferred style, discuss any recommendations, and prioritize optimal aesthetics by considering various factors such as weather and lighting. Furthermore, a freelance make-up artist needs to make the clients feel comfortable and build rapport to strengthen and improve the client base.

We looked at the average special effects artist salary and compared it with the wages of a makeup instructor. Generally speaking, makeup instructors are paid $25,103 lower than special effects artists per year.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, special effects artist responsibilities require skills like "python," "animation," "maya," and "graphic design." Meanwhile a typical makeup instructor has skills in areas such as "curriculum development," "skin care," "course materials," and "skin types." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

On average, makeup instructors reach similar levels of education than special effects artists. Makeup instructors are 4.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Special effects artist vs. Freelance makeup artist

An Artist specializes in creating various artworks or prose; the audience can vary from individuals or the general public. An artist's responsibility depends on the industry, company, or position where they are assigned. However, most of the time, Artists are expected to work under specific guidelines, deliver materials in a required format within an allotted time and perform revisions according to what is preferred by an editor or client. Furthermore, independent artists may work freelance and receive commissions for their craft.

Freelance makeup artist positions earn lower pay than special effects artist roles. They earn a $37,775 lower salary than special effects artists per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both special effects artists and freelance makeup artists have skills such as "graphic design," "fx," and "prosthetics. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that special effects artist responsibilities requires skills like "python," "animation," "maya," and "photoshop." But a freelance makeup artist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer service," "store events," "adobe photoshop," and "photo shoots."

Freelance makeup artists earn similar levels of education than special effects artists in general. They're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Special effects artist vs. Body make-up artist

On average scale, body make-up artists bring in higher salaries than special effects artists. In fact, they earn a $31,311 higher salary per year.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from special effects artist resumes include skills like "python," "animation," "maya," and "graphic design," whereas a body make-up artist is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "elite," "cpr," and "credit card. "

When it comes to education, body make-up artists tend to earn similar degree levels compared to special effects artists. In fact, they're 2.8% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Special effects artist vs. Artist

Artists typically earn lower pay than special effects artists. On average, artists earn a $11,572 lower salary per year.According to resumes from special effects artists and artists, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "maya," "graphic design," and "vfx. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between special effects artists and artists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a special effects artist might have more use for skills like "python," "animation," "photoshop," and "particle systems." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of artists require skills like "good time management," "adobe photoshop," "customer service," and "photography. "

In general, artists earn the most working in the technology industry, with an average salary of $80,623. The highest-paying industry for a special effects artist is the hospitality industry.The average resume of artists showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to special effects artists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 3.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.0%.

Types of special effects artist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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