Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 27-1014

Special Effects Artists and Animators

The published band from $58,600 to $177,110 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Art Directors.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Special Effects Artists and Animators: Art Directors ($115K) , Public Relations Specialists ($75K) , Technical Writers ($90K) , Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Special Effects Artists and Animators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 27-1014 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment
  2. 2. Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television
  3. 3. Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities…
  4. 4. Implement and maintain configuration control systems
  5. 5. Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques
  6. 6. Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or mo…
  7. 7. Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork fo…
  8. 8. Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images…
  9. 9. Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation an…
  10. 10. Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs
  11. 11. Convert real objects to animated objects through modeling, using techniques such as optical scanning
  12. 12. Create pen-and-paper images to be scanned, edited, colored, textured, or animated by computer

O*NET skills and knowledge for Special Effects Artists and Animators

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1014 - entity-keyed; sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 3.8
  4. 4. Speaking 3.3
  5. 5. Writing 3.1
  6. 6. Active Learning 3.1
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.1
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Computers and Electronics 5.0
  2. 2. English Language 4.4
  3. 3. Design 4.2
  4. 4. Communications and Media 4.1
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 3.9
  6. 6. Sales and Marketing 3.9
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$58,600 to $177,110
median $102,030 · ~3.0× spread
$102K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
5,000
Annual openings
19,970
Estimated US jobs
Art Directors
Highest-pay peer · $115K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Special Effects Artists and Animators

1. Washington $133,480
2. Utah $88,210
3. Arizona $89,650
4. Florida $85,870
5. California $130,540
6. North Carolina $88,350
7. Colorado $91,290
8. Michigan $86,630
9. Nevada $97,350
10. New York $96,770

Other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles

  1. 1. Technical Writers $90,390
  2. 2. Commercial and Industrial Designers $83,910
  3. 3. Set and Exhibit Designers $75,240
  4. 4. Art Directors $114,850
  5. 5. Public Relations Specialists $74,750
  6. 6. Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film $74,990

The OEWS band for Special Effects Artists and Animators runs from $58,600 (10th) to $177,110 (90th), about 3.0× wide, with median $102,030. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 5,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Washington at $133,480. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Art Directors at $114,850. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

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Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034.

Dive into Special Effects Artists and Animators in more depth or explore nearby career data.

Full Salary Details

State, metro, and percentile breakdown

Jobs in Washington

Top-paying state for this role

Jobs in Utah

Second-highest state pay

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer · $115K

Public Relations Specialists

Lower-pay peer · $75K

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Highest-Paying Rankings

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Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

What do special effects artists and animators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Special Effects Artists and Animators. Leading ones include: 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…; Implement and maintain configuration control systems. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for special effects artists and animators? ▼
For SOC 27-1014, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Reading Comprehension (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.8), Speaking (3.3). Knowledge areas emphasize Computers and Electronics, English Language, Design. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How does Special Effects Artists and Animators sit next to other Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles? ▼
On this card, neighboring same-major-group titles include Art Directors, Public Relations Specialists, Technical Writers, Commercial and Industrial Designers. Among those peers, Art Directors holds the highest published national median ($114,850). Public Relations Specialists sits lower at $74,750. Peer titles are hash-ordered per card so adjacent SOC pages do not share an identical ladder.
What is the median salary for Special Effects Artists and Animators? ▼
The median salary for Special Effects Artists and Animators is $102,030 per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS data). This means half of workers in this occupation earn more and half earn less. The full range is $58,600 (10th percentile) to $177,110 (90th percentile). For context beside Art Directors ($114,850), this role's median is the OEWS national figure above.
Is Special Effects Artists and Animators a growing occupation? ▼
The BLS projects +2% employment change for Special Effects Artists and Animators from 2024 to 2034. There are approximately 5,000 projected annual openings. This is about as fast as average relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%.
What education do you need to become a special effects artists and animators? ▼
BLS assigns Special Effects Artists and Animators to Bachelor's degree for typical education needed for entry. These occupation-level categories are not requirements for every employer or worker.
Which states pay special effects artists and animators the most? ▼
The highest published state medians in this ranking for Special Effects Artists and Animators are Washington ($133,480), Utah ($88,210), Arizona ($89,650). The table does not identify why state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

All federal data sources used on this page
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - wage estimates by area + occupation. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - occupation task statements (importance-ranked). onetcenter.org
  • BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) - quarterly employment and wage totals by industry. bls.gov/cew
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for metro/state aggregates. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) - monthly nonfarm payroll baselines. bls.gov/ces
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context. irs.gov/statistics
  • BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - unemployment context for labor-market comparisons. bls.gov/lau