Annual Salary
£14,000 to £36,000
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Animators bring drawings and computer generated characters to life on screen.
Average UK salary in 2019 was £30,378
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings / weekends; occasionally
There will be
1% more Animator jobs in 2026.
In your local area
Your day-to-day tasks will depend on the type of animation you're doing but may include:
You could work in an office, from home or in a creative studio.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree. The most useful courses include practical skills and work placements. Relevant courses include:
You'll usually need:
You could do a college course that will teach you some of the skills you'll need to get started as a junior animator. Courses include:
You'll usually need:
You could take an advanced or higher apprenticeship in creative and digital media, or visual effects. This may help you to get a job as an animation assistant.
You'll usually need:
You could start as an animation 'runner' and work your way up to:
You may find it useful to do some related voluntary or paid work. You can contact broadcasting companies, advertising agencies, animation studios or computer games companies to find out about work experience opportunities.
You could take short courses in animation skills and software packages run by film schools, regional screen agencies and private training providers.
You'll need a showreel and portfolio to highlight your best animation work and ideas. Make your work easy to find, either on your own website or blog, or on a video-sharing website.
You can get advice about working as an animator from ScreenSkills.
You can also find out more about working in the creative industries from Discover Creative Careers.
With experience, you could progress from animator to lead animator and animation director.
You could also work for larger animation studios, games developers, interactive media designers or video post-production firms.
You might decide to go freelance or start your own studio.
You'll need: