Animation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 8 percent growth of multimedia artists and animators through 2032, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will be fueled by an uptick in demand for visual effects in movies, television, and video games. As consumers call for three-dimensional content with higher degrees of realism, the industry will need to use the latest technologies and hire more multimedia artists and animators. Although growth is expected, competition for animation jobs will be fierce, with many new graduates applying for jobs. Those with skills such as computer programming or drawing will have an edge when seeking work. Additionally, the use of overseas animators may impact job growth.

The software publishing field as a whole is projected to experience strong growth. Software developers should experience job growth of 26 percent (much faster than the average) through 2032, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many of the animation jobs in software publishing will be in video games, which seem almost immune to recession. According to the Entertainment Software Association, the American entertainment software industry contributed nearly $66 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023.

The proliferation of mobile devices, such as smartphones, will also create a need for software with animated elements.

The movie-going public's taste for animation and computer-generated images (CGI) keeps growing. Films with action and adventure elements remain popular, and many blockbusters achieve their market clout by incorporating spectacular CGI effects. Incredibles 2, which grossed about $608.5 million in 2018, continues to reign at the top for highest grossing animated film to date. In 2023, the top grossing films with special effects and animation included Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Elemental, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. In mid-2024, box office leaders included Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Despicable Me 4.

Animators who work in show-business settings, like most workers in the entertainment industry, face keen competition from talented and motivated newcomers. Much of this competition is now on a global scale. American animation companies are losing business to foreign companies that take advantage of the latest computer technologies and tax breaks from their governments. For example, Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs has awarded grants to anime studios to help finance film projects in which apprentice animators could get training. British Columbia offers tax breaks for postproduction work done in the Canadian province even if the film was not shot there.

Video game development is one field employing large numbers of animators that has benefited from generous tax breaks here in the United States. Unlike motion pictures, the video game industry is able to combine loopholes that apply to software development, entertainment, and online retailing. As a result, video game shops are among the most heavily subsidized businesses in America. In addition to the federal government, more than 20 states offer tax breaks to this industry. According to the ESA, the video game industry supported more than 350,000 jobs, indirectly and directly, in 2023, and this number is expected to continue growing in the near future.

Foreign competition has forced some American animation shops to lay off workers or close down entirely. Foreign-owned companies, even if based in the United States, are more likely to ship animation work overseas. In addition, American animators face some competition from foreign animators who obtain visas to work here.

At the end of the decade, it appeared that American entertainment industry leaders were strengthening ties with overseas animators. One example was the Walt Disney Company, which had established a multi-year training program in 2015 to help Chinese animators. In 2018, the company welcomed a contingent of Chinese animation executives, animators, and government officials to the United States for three weeks of training, providing the participants with insight into its animation process, from concept to finished product. Outsourcing is expected to continue in the animation industry. A growing number of countries now provide education and training programs in animation and visual effects, resulting in qualified animators and lower production costs.

Both domestically and abroad, technologies such as artificial intelligence were playing a more prominent role in animation. In India, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce Industry reported that the government was working to make Kolkata the "visual effects (Vfx) and animation capital of India," according to a July 22, 2019, Plus Company Updates article, which explained that the country desired to capture projects from streaming providers like Amazon Prime and Netflix, which were developing more of their own exclusive content. In mid-2019, India was home to between 15,000 and 20,000 animators who worked at 300 animation studios, and the numbers continue to grow. In 2023, India established a school for animation, known as the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC). Classes include numerous emerging technologies, such as real-time virtual production, virtual reality, digital compression, photogrammetry, and gamification of education.

In Australia, some animation and visual effects studios were beginning to use artificial intelligence to handle the more mundane, labor-intensive aspects of animation. Rather than resulting in job losses, the CEO of Animal Logic (a studio whose contributions included The Lego Movie, Leo, DC League of Super-Pets, and Peter Rabbit 2) claimed that artificial intelligence would enable the company to take on more challenging projects.

The best opportunities in this field will probably be for workers who are highly skilled with computer graphics. This is true even though stop-motion animation is far from outdated as a technology, especially for 3-D movies.

Animation production continued during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic but at a slower rate than in 2019. Although technology allowed animation professionals to continue collaborating while working remotely, the necessity of sharing huge files among computers added time to the work. Production teams worked while split up across locations but continued generating material for televised programs like Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons, unlike live-action programming, which faced additional hurdles to bring cast and crew together for productions. And unlike traditional production companies, many animation companies were hiring during the pandemic. For many people, animation was a bright spot, offering welcome distraction during a difficult time.

In 2024, the global animation industry was valued at nearly $413 billion, which is a significant increase compared to the $156 billion value of the global animation and VFX industry in 2020. The U.S. animation market size was estimated to be about $55.7 billion in 2023, and strong growth is predicted to continue (more than 8 percent compound annual growth) through 2033. The top companies in 2023, in terms of market share in the animation industry, were SideFX, Adobe, Broadcast2World Inc., Smith Micro Software Inc., Animation Sharks, IdeaRocket, Triggerfish Studios, EIAS3D, BRAFTON, Autodesk Inc., and Videocaddy, to name just a few.

In 2022 and 2023, 2-D and 3-D animation comprised the largest shares of revenue, due to continuing demand for Web videos, gaming, and the increased usage of animation in education and marketing. The demand for animation continues to grow, and production work has become global due to more countries and regions offering tax incentives, subsidies, financial support, low labor costs regionally, and other financial benefits.