Special Effects Artists and Animators

What Does a Special Effects Artists and Animators Do?

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.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• 1Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.
• 2Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.
• 3Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.
• 4Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.
• 5Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.
• 6Apply 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.

Required Skills

• Active Listening
• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Ability Photopaint
• ACD Systems Canvas
• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe ActionScript
• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe AIR
• Adobe Creative Cloud software
• Adobe Director
• Adobe Dreamweaver
• Adobe Flex

Special Effects Artists and Animators Salary