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Animator
2D animator, 3D animator, stop-frame animator
Animators bring drawings and computer generated characters to life on screen.
Average salary (a year)
£
Starter
£
Experienced
Typical hours (a week)
35.0 to 40.0 hours
a week
Work Hours
evenings / weekends
occasionally
How to become
Explore the different ways to get into this role
You can get into this job through:a university course; a college course; an apprenticeship; working towards this role; specialist training courses
University
You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or a degree in
animation, art and design, computer games development, animation production, visual effects
It might be useful to choose a course which includes practical skills and offers a work placement.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
  • 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
student finance for fees and living costs|https://www.gov.uk/student-finance
university courses and entry requirements|https://www.ucas.com/
College
You could do a college course to get some of the skills you'll need to become an animator. Courses include
Level 3 Diploma in Creative and Digital Media, Level 3 Diploma in Games, Animation and VFX Skills, Level 3 Diploma in Creative Art and Design
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
search for courses|/find-a-course
Apprenticeship
You might be able to get into this work by doing a Higher Apprenticeship, such as
Junior Animator Level 4, Junior VFX Artist or Assistant Technical Director Level 4, Storyboard Artist Level 7
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
More Information
equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Work
You could start as an animation runner and work your way up to a digital painter, assistant animator or animator.
Volunteering
Employers value work experience so it's important to get as much as you can. To find work experience or volunteering opportunities, you could contact
broadcasting companies, advertising agencies, animation studios, computer games companies
You can also find out more about the different ways to get work experience.
Other Routes
You could take a short training course in animation or animation software to get some practical animation skills.
These courses are usually offered by film schools, regional screen agencies and private training providers.
More Information
Career Tips
You'll need to create a showreel and animation portfolio to highlight your best work and ideas.
Put your work on your own blog, website or video-sharing website to make it easy to find.
Further Information
You can get advice about working as an animator from into games and ScreenSkills.
You can also find out more about working in the creative industries from Discover Creative Careers and Get into film.
What it takes
Find out what skills you’ll use in this role
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
    Knowledge of media production and communication
    Design skills and knowledge
    To be thorough and pay attention to detail
    Thinking and reasoning skills
    The ability to use your initiative
    The ability to work well with your hands
    To be flexible and open to change
    Knowledge of the fine arts
Digital Skills Level
to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
What you will do
Discover the day-to-day tasks you’ll do in this role
Day to day tasks
Your day-to-day tasks will depend on the type of animation you're doing.
You could
visualise how to animate storyboard and script ideas, draw by hand or use animation software to create characters and scenes, add lighting, shading, colour, texture and special effects, use motion capture methods to create expressions and movements that are lifelike, use stop-motion techniques to film 3D models, combine several layers of animation to create the final product
Working environment
You could work in a creative studio, in an office or from home.
Career Path & Progression
Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities
With experience you could
become a lead animator or animation director, work for a large animation studio, game developer, interactive media designer or video post-production company, become a freelance animator, start your own animation studio
Job profile data provided by The National Careers Service.
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