[Company Name] is looking for a creative, ambitious, and talented Animator to join our team and help us deliver world-class animation to our clients.
You will join a young and exciting team of Animators who are dedicated to delivering exactly what our clients are looking for. You will be working both as an individual and in project teams, and you will be responsible for the whole creative process, from brief to handover.
This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate your talents in a fast-paced, client-driven environment.
Your Tasks Will Include
Receiving and understanding client briefs
Deciding on tools and approach
Collaborating with other team members when required
Preparing initial storyboard possibilities
Presenting to the client to achieve sign-off
Producing final frames
Running the animation process
Cross-checking for consistency and quality
Preparing final client presentations
Required Skill Set
The Animator needs the following qualifications and skills:
Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design, Animation or similar would be an advantage
At least one year’s animation experience
Expert knowledge of all artistic styles and common forms
Expert knowledge of all current industry digital animation tools
Excellent creative thinking ability
Excellent attention to detail
Strong client-level communication and presentation skills
Ability to work to deadlines
Excellent collaborative skills
An Animator creates moving 2D or 3D pictures that tell a story or provide information. The employer may be a specialized production house, a larger corporation, or a small agency and breathes life into the messages desired by the respective client by representing them in visual form.
An Animator creates storyboards according to an agreed brief and uses physical and digital tools to render the storyboards into moving images for dissemination in TV, film, gaming, websites, and social media.
The Animator’s job is creative, collaborative and highly detailed, requiring the Animator to understand a brief, create a story and characters that exactly capture the brief, and finally, produce animation that delivers the client’s message succinctly, excitingly, and attractively.
A Bachelor’s Degree in Art or Animation is an advantage, but not always required. An Animator’s work environment will typically be creative and relaxed, but work must often be completed to a strict deadline, so the ability to work well under pressure is a must.
Similar Job Titles:
Animation Specialist, Character Animator, 3D Animator, Multi-Media Artist, Motion Graphic Design Specialist
What Does an Animator Typically Do?
An Animator receives briefs from the client and creates storyboards, frames, and animations that deliver against what the client needs.This requires both technical and empathic skills.
On the technical side, the Animator must be adept at all artistic styles, both 2D and 3D, and must be able to work quickly, efficiently, and accurately with both physical and digital tools to create moving images.
On the empathic side, an Animator must be able to comprehend a brief so well that both the letter and the feel of the brief are adequately represented in the finished work. This requires the understanding of many facets of the client’s mindset, intentions, expected outcomes, and goals.
Typically, an Animator’s role will consist of the following:
Attending briefings and fully interrogating the brief
Deciding on the media, best tools, and design techniques
Creating multiple basic storyboards based on the brief
Achieving sign-off on the most appropriate storyboard
Creating initial designs using the most appropriate tools
Drawing final frames for animation
Using digital tools to create the final animation
Collaborating with other team members and the client to ensure consistency
Attending Briefings and Interrogating the Brief
Attending briefings involves developing a full understanding of the client’s intentions, goals, and wishes as early as possible to ensure initial storyboards are on target. The Animator must be empathic, detailed, and able to see beyond the individual task being briefed.
Deciding on Media, Tools, and Techniques
Based on experience, this process ensures that the Animator performs the required work as efficiently and effectively as possible. The client’s preferences must also be taken into account, and the Animator must strike a balance between those and the efficiency of the animation process.
Creating Multiple Storyboards
The Animator will create a number of alternative storyboards and concepts for the client to decide on. The Animator’s understanding of the client brief is crucial here, in order to avoid all proposals being rejected. The Animator must ensure that the proposed storyboards are all viable solutions to the client’s needs.
Achieving Sign-Off
The Animator’s ability to present a storyboard as a logical, correct, and exciting solution to the client’s needs will result in a green light from the client. The storyboards presented must be clear, concise, and logical responses to the client’s needs.
Creating Initial Designs
This is the rough draft stage, each step of which may require further sign-off from the client. The Animator must be prepared to justify each initial design step and may have to re-work initial designs to the client’s satisfaction. The Animator must be able to deal with possible frustration during this process.
Drawing Final Frames
Drawing final frames involves a tremendous amount of attention to detail, ensuring that absolutely everything is perfect before being animated. The Animator needs to double-check everything, and may use colleagues’ feedback and suggestions to guarantee perfection.
Using Digital Tools To Create Animation
Once the final frames have been completed, the Animator must ensure that the actual animation is seamless, smooth, and convincing.
Collaborating With Other Team Members and the Client
Other team members should assist in cross-checking against other content across all media that the client has already produced or commissioned to ensure consistency of message and look-and-feel.
Roles an Animator Typically Collaborates With
An Animator will work closely with the following posts:
The national average salary for an Animator will typically be between $41,000 and $88,000 per annum in the U.S. The median is around $63,000.
What Is the Animator Pay Difference by Location?
Average salaries for an Animator differ by location as follows:
City
Average Salary
San Francisco, CA
$78,700
Seattle, WA
$68,800
Denver, CO
$63,700
Austin, TX
$61,900
Washington, DC
$70,100
Milwaukee, WI
$62,300
Boston, MA
$70,900
New York, NY
$75,700
What Is the Animator Pay Difference by Experience Level?
Depending on experience, pay will vary as follows:
Experience Level
Average Salary
< 1 year
$61,284
1–4 years
$61,284
5–9 years
$62,142
10–19 years
$64,348
20+ years
$64,925
Share this:
Hire the Best of the Best
Join hundreds of ambitious companies using skills tests to identify and hire the top 1% of their job applicants. Signup and start accepting new applicants in 3 minutes.