Multimedia Artists and Animators: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Job description

Multimedia Artists and Animators create special effects, animation, or other visual images using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products or creations, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.

• 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.

Salary

Multimedia Artists and Animators with little to no experience tend to make between $40870 and $54400 while the more experienced ones can earn over $97100 per year.

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Multimedia Artist and Animator is to move to a higher paying state like CT. Right now, the highest paying states for Multimedia Artists and Animators are CT, WA, DC, CA and NY.

However, a higher pay at CT doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CT might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Multimedia Artist and Animator is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.

Requirements

We asked other Multimedia Artists and Animators what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a College Certificate.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Multimedia Artist and Animator.

What is the job like

65% of Multimedia Artists and Animators said they were satisfied with their job and 28% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Maia McDonald

Starcade Arcade

My Typical Day

I will spend most of my day at the office creating new content for our games, which can range from 3D models, animations, new textures, or map creation. When a project is in its early stages, I will spend time drafting ideas and concepts. Feedback is one of the most important aspects of creation for an artist so I also will seek out advice and critique from my peers throughout the work day.

Pros

A pro is being able to have almost total creative freedom over the artistic side of the projects. It might sound cheesy but it really is a dream come true to be able to wake up every day and contribute to this amazing team.

Cons

A con is that artistic freedom is a double edged sword. While it is liberating to have creative control over a project, it can also be overwhelming knowing there are almost unlimited options every time you make a decision. Thankfully, I know my team is there to give valuable feedback when I’m feeling stuck.

What inspired you to become a 3D Artist

Growing up, I was (and still am) a huge video game fan and I loved to watch behind the scenes videos about the artistic wizards who made fantasy into reality. Somewhere along the line it hit me that despite the technological magic and mystery, “making video games” was a real job that real people had and that if I worked hard enough, I could do that too.

Advice to aspiring 3D Artists

My advice for aspiring 3D artists is to never be afraid of learning a new skill or related field. Being an artist means you are a student for life. School can give you a great baseline of artistic knowledge but having the ability to teach yourself new skills and programs is one of your most valuable assets. A lot of the software and skills I use daily are things I taught myself after I graduated. My focus in school was animation but I have taught myself the skills I needed to also be a better modeler and texture artist for my company’s projects.

---

Is this right for me

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Explore other careers