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

Special Effects Artists and Animators: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 27-1014 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Computers and Electronics. 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.

Special Effects Artists and Animators pay-rank #2 in Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

Among 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with a published OEWS median, Special Effects Artists and Animators is pay-rank #2, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

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

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Special Effects Artists and Animators is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Special Effects Artists and Animators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 27-1014

Washington · top state for Special Effects Artists and Animators

$133K published median

Utah · #2 state pay

$88K · behind Washington

Art Directors

Highest-pay peer vs Special Effects Artists and Animators · $115K

Public Relations Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Special Effects Artists and Animators · $75K

Compare Special Effects Artists and Animators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Special Effects Artists and Animators with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations titles sit near Special Effects Artists and Animators at the top of the pay table? ▼
Special Effects Artists and Animators is pay-rank #2 of 36 detailed Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Technical Writers ($90K), Producers and Directors ($90K), Art Directors ($115K), Commercial and Industrial Designers ($84K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
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 wide is the published pay band for Special Effects Artists and Animators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $58,600 and the 90th at $177,110 for Special Effects Artists and Animators (3.0× spread). The national median is $102,030. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Special Effects Artists and Animators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Special Effects Artists and Animators is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 5,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Special Effects Artists and Animators? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Special Effects Artists and Animators. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Special Effects Artists and Animators? ▼
Washington ($133,480), Utah ($88,210), Arizona ($89,650) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those 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

Federal sources on this Special Effects Artists and Animators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 27-1014. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Special Effects Artists and Animators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics