Animators

Employers

Approximately 89,300 special effects artists and animators are employed in the United States. Employers of animators include producers, movie studios, television production companies, computer and video game design firms, advertising agencies, and software developers. In addition, a number of these artists are self-employed, working on a freelance basis. Some do animation on the Web as a part-time business or a hobby.

Starting Out

Larger employers, such as Pixar, offer apprenticeships or internships. To enter these programs, applicants must be attending a college animation program. Interns at Pixar must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, or have graduated during the year the internship begins. Program participants might work as camera and staging artist interns, who “create sequences of shots that convey the story through the application of traditional filmmaking principles in a 3-D computer graphics environment.” Other internship options at Pixar are available in story, art, technical direction, production management, software research and development, systems, RenderMan (Pixar's core rendering technology), business operations, and editorial. Internships last 12 weeks during the summer.

Volunteering with a local animation or film production company is the next best thing to landing an internship. This experience will give you a great introduction to the field and help you to make valuable contacts in the field.

One new way up-and-coming animators have made themselves known to the animating community is by attracting an audience on the Web as well as through social media sites such such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. A portfolio of well-executed ‘toons can help an animator build his reputation and get jobs.