Occupations · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Special Effects Artists and Animators
Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 27-1014.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 117% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $129,260 | 4,780 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $142,690 | 2,160 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $103,940 | 1,750 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $120,320 | 1,740 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $64,020 | 800 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $76,150 | 670 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $158,070 | 400 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $108,630 | 370 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | $83,200 | 320 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $76,210 | 240 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $84,180 | 220 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $86,740 | 210 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: Bachelor's degree · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.
- Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.
- Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.
- Implement and maintain configuration control systems.
- Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.
- Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.
- Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork for use in products, technical manuals, literature, newsletters, and slide shows.
- Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.
- Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation and map out key scenes and characters.
- Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.
- Convert real objects to animated objects through modeling, using techniques such as optical scanning.
- Create pen-and-paper images to be scanned, edited, colored, textured, or animated by computer.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2019-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2019-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 2 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 35
No longer listed 26
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| digital artist | 2166.6 | close |
| special effects artist | 2166.12 | broader |
| animation layout artist | 2166.2 | broader |
| animator | 2166.3 | broader |
| 3D animator | 2166.3.1 | broader |
| video artist | 2651.12 | broader |
| storyboard artist | 2651.11 | broader |
| 3D modeller | 2166.1 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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