Animator Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

Animator Job Description, Key Duties and Responsibilities

This post provides exhaustive information on the job description of an animator, to help you learn what they do.

It highlights the key duties, tasks, and responsibilities that commonly make up the animator work description.

It also presents the major requirements most recruiters may expect you to meet if you are seeking to work as an animator.

Please, continue reading to increase your knowledge of the animator career:

What Does an Animator Do?

An animator can be described as an artist who is specialized in the development of products like videos, websites, commercials, and computer games.

He/she is saddled with the responsibility of using multiple images in sequence together to create the illusion of movement or animation.

In other words, an animator refers to a professional individual who is responsible for developing excellent visual frames with 2D or 3D or other techniques.

The animator job description involves giving life to storylines and characters in films, games, and videos.

An animator possesses the skill and professionalism to easily turn a script or a concept into an impressive computer-generated animation.

He/she works by creating cartoons usually through hand drawings, motion capture animation, or with computers.

In this modern era, an animator utilizes a range of computer programs, though sufficient knowledge of basic animation is still necessary.

Animations are often used for games, film, television shows, and commercials.

The animator work description may also entail carrying out several important day-to-day tasks.

It may also include identifying, determining, and drawing the characters he/she will use in his/her animation project.

It may also involve creating the characters through hand drawings.

Another duty that is carried out by the animators is modelling the characters, and this is usually done with the use of animation software such as Blender, Maya3DsMax, or several other animation or game engines.

Modelling is the process of producing a digital object that is capable of being fully animated, which makes it an essential process for character animation and special effects.

The animator is therefore responsible for rigging the created objects all characters into multiple images, thereby sequencing these multiple images together to create the illusion of movement or animation.

The animator work description may also include meeting with clients to discuss requirements, developing animations according to clients’ concepts and requirements, creating artwork and sketches, utilizing animation software tools, and providing support to the production team.

The job role of an animator demands that an ideal candidate or any interested individual processes and demonstrates certain skills and attributes and qualifications that are required for efficiency and productivity in the job process.

Some of the required skills include graphic design and animation software expertise, teamwork skills, ability to pay attention to details, good organizational skills, creativity, excellent communication, and interpersonal skills, and the ability to adhere to deadlines.

In terms of academic qualification, the job of an animator requires the ideal candidate to possess a Bachelor’s degree in Art, Animation, or Graphic Design, or in any other relevant discipline.

Most employers also demand several years of work experience in a related field.

Animator Salary: The average salary for an animator is $51,683 annually.

Animator Job Description Example/Sample/Template

Shown below are major duties, tasks, and responsibilities that typically define the animator job description:

• Reading storylines and scripts to gain good understanding of animation requirements
• Preparing presentations with raw designs to customers or clients
• Creating storyboards for the initial stages of production
• Merging images with background graphics and special effects
• Taking an active part in the editing process
• Overseeing and directing the work of animation assistants
• Working cooperatively with production crew such as designers, directors, and so on
• Managing projects efficiently and also ensuring that all deadlines and expectations are met
• Developing comprehension of human and nonhuman motion and expression
• Utilizing specialized computer generation software such as Maya, Flash, and After Effects
• Meeting with clients and negotiating contracts.

Animator Job Description for Resume

If you have worked before as an animator or are presently working as one and need to make a new resume, it is important to add the professional experience section to it.

Having the professional or work experience section in your resume will help you to show to the recruiter that you have been successful performing the duties and responsibilities of an animator.

This piece of information can help the recruiter in deciding to grant you an interview, especially if the new job requires animator work experience to succeed.

You can apply the animator job description example shown above to easily and quickly create a captivating professional experience section for your resume.

Animator Requirements – Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities for Career Success

If you are seeking to work as an animator, here are major requirements you may be expected to meet by recruiters to be hired:

• Computer proficiency, as an animator is expected to work with computers, and must be able to use specialized animation software such as Blender and Maya
• The ability to pay particular attention to detail, since modelling animation characters and developing a comprehension of human emotion requires special detail
• Teamwork skills enable an animator to work productively with young animators and other crew members such as producers and directors
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills that enable him/her to negotiate with clients and also read and write scripts
• Well developed interpersonal skills
• Several years of proven work experience in an industry-related field
• A Bachelor’s degree in Art, Graphic Design, or Animation, or in other related field.

Conclusion

If you are a recruiter or HR manager needing to hire for the animator role in your company, you will need to publish the description of the vacant position.

This will help interested individuals to learn about the duties and responsibilities they will be expected to perform as an animator in your organization, which will enable them to decide if they can meet up with the expectations of the job or not.

The result of such self screening is that only those who are qualified and competent to work as an animator in your company will apply for it, thereby increasing your chances of hiring the best animator.

This post is also useful to individuals looking to start a career as an animator.

They will be able to learn all they need to know about what animators do, and so be able to decide if it’s the right career for them.