What an animator really does
You turn a script into moving pictures, shot by shot, while the schedule and the client keep changing.
FieldCreative and media
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for animators, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Rough out storyboards and animatics from a script or creative brief
- Block, pose and polish shots in animation software, checking light, color, texture and motion
- Break a project into shots and estimate time and cost so the campaign stays on budget and schedule
- Sit in daily reviews where a lead or director gives notes on your shots
- Revise work after client feedback, often close to a delivery date
- Keep files, versions and asset names in order so the team does not overwrite each other
- Answer email all day; every animator in the O*NET sample uses it daily
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Long weeks are normal, especially near delivery. Duration of Typical Work Week: 60% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
- Your schedule is often not yours; it follows the production. Work Schedules: 54% Irregular (O*NET Work Context)
- Small mistakes are a big deal because one wrong frame or file breaks other people's work. Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: 72% Extremely important; Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers: 58% Very high responsibility (O*NET Work Context)
- It is a team sport with constant talking, not a quiet solo art job. Face-to-Face Discussions: 73% every day; Contact With Others: 58% constant contact (O*NET Work Context)
- Much of the job is also budgeting and scheduling the work, not only drawing it. Task rank 3, importance 82, Core: help design and produce multimedia campaigns, including budgeting and scheduling
How people get into it
Job Zone 4: most people have a bachelor's degree in animation, illustration or a related art field, though O*NET notes some jobs require only some college or a high school diploma. In practice a strong demo reel and portfolio decide hiring, and new animators often start as junior or assistant animators.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks at Brightkettle Studio, a fictional company, with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The browser cannot run animation or 3D software, so you will not actually set keyframes, tweak curves, rig characters or render. The trial covers storyboarding, shot planning, posing decisions on still frames, scheduling, file discipline and handling notes. It also cannot show the hours of repetitive frame by frame polish that fill much of the real week.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
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Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 27-1014.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.