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Animator in Portland, OR

Animator Job Description

Animators breathe life and personality into characters, scenes and other animation elements used to tell stories in cartoons, films, video games, commercials, social media and more. These creative professionals create and sequence multiple images, referred to as “frames,” to give the illusion of movement. An animator might employ digital images, hand-drawn illustrations, models or other types of images and props to create special effects and other animations using computer-generated animation, 2D or 3D model-making, or stop-frame tools and techniques. Employers seek animators with a vivid imagination who are collaborative and receptive to feedback and can work diligently under pressure. Multimedia experience, including in emerging areas like virtual reality (VR), and video editing expertise are highly valued. A bachelor’s degree in computer animation, fine arts or graphic arts is often preferred for this role. Most employers will require candidates to provide a solid portfolio of relevant creative work, including hand-drawn character designs and animation clips.

Typical animator duties:

Creating character sketches, designing backgrounds and other elements, and developing storyboards for animation projectsReading through scripts, and brainstorming and conceptualizing compelling images to help tell stories in an engaging, memorable wayWorking closely with a wide range of team members throughout projects, including artists, story editors, photographers, designers, other animators, voice actors and producersEnsuring final deliverables are high quality and delivered on time and on budget

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Salary for Animator in Portland, OR
75880 - 109760
Low
75880
The candidate is new to the role or has limited experience and is building necessary skills.
Mid
89320
The candidate has moderate experience in the role, meets most requirements or has equivalent transferable skills, and may also have relevant certifications.
High
109760
The candidate has extensive experience and advanced skills for the role, and may also have specialized certifications.
Projected salaries for related positions Job title Low Mid High Creative Director 114240 149240 182000 Art Director 93240 114240 137200 Creative Services Manager 86240 106960 128240 Instructional Designer 85960 108080 137480 Motion Designer 85400 100240 119840 Digital Designer 75320 90160 110600 Presentation Designer 69720 86240 98000 3D Modeler 67480 83720 102760 Package Designer 62440 75600 92680 Graphic Designer 58240 75320 89040 Illustrator / Infographics Designer 61320 72800 86800 Video Producer 73920 99120 117880 Video Editor 67200 80080 99680 Studio Manager 67480 80640 98840 Digital Asset Manager 64120 80640 98000 Production Manager 62440 77000 87920 Production Artist 59640 71960 81760 Production Coordinator 52360 57680 67760 Photographer 50120 66080 83160

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Our starting salary projections come from a rigorous, multistep process so that our numbers accurately reflect the marketplace. They are based on actual compensation for professionals Robert Half has matched with employers across the country and third-party job posting data from Textkernel that we use to independently validate the salary levels. Starting compensation—pay for someone new to a role—can vary significantly based on a candidate’s skills, experience and certifications, as well as other factors including industry, company size and revenue, and demand for the role. To reflect this variability, we report our salary data in three levels: low, mid and high.