Similar Posts

-
Save
Review: Character Animation Crash Course
Save There are a LOT of animation books out there. In almost all of them you’ll find the standard walk cycle, an explanation of keys and in-betweens, and many animation staples that any beginner needs to know. Eric Goldberg’s Character…

-
Save
Beyond the bouncing tail
Save I bet almost every animator has practiced the follow throughLoose, attached parts tend to continue moving after the leading element came to a stop. When a leading element is slowin… More and overlapping actionDifferent elements of an object or body,…

-
Save
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Save The holidays have arrived again, which means the Animator Island crew is dedicating time to family and friends for a few weeks. Don’t worry, though, we’ll be back in action with 7 Easy Steps to More Free Time for…

-
Save
10 Second Tip: Turn It Off
Save Sound plays an integral part in animation. In most cases the art follows the path of the music or dialogue, not the other way around. Sometimes, though, this can be a detriment as you work and the best thing…

-
Save
Review: Tales of the Night
Save Tales of the Night is a shadow-puppet/cutout style animated film from the esteemed artist Michel Ocelot. It combines classic storytelling and style with a modern animation quality. Is it worth tracking down at an independent theater near you? Read…

-
Save
Review: 642 Things to Draw
Save In order to improve, you have to practice. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. At this point no one is a stranger to this age-old advice. If you’re like me, though, sometimes you need a gentle…
Great info graphic! Thank you, JK! It’s important to know these things. Especially in the US people keep being exploited just because they don’t compare their wages.
For freelancers 30 dollars per hour would be far too low (240 dollars a day… 175 euros… seriously?), but since 43 percent seem to have a steady job, the average seems okay.
As a rules of thumb everybody should calculate what they need to live (food, rent, insurance, cost for the car, some pension stuff) and never accept below that number (unless it’s a personal favor or you benefit from the profits and your work force is an investment). If everybody does that, the industry has to pay everybody fairly. And freelancers, don’t forget that you will have times between jobs… you need to charge more to not starve during that time!
You need that money to live, you can prove it and therefor confidently demand it. Never forget that the people who hire you get paid to talk you into a lower wage – it’s their job, it’s what they learned. It’s nothing personal or doubting your skills, it’s business. There is not an infinite amount of animators in the world and none with your exact style and skill set.
“A growth rate of 6% – deemed slower than the national average.”
Jinkies, that statistic by itself is frightening.
I guess that’s why I keep hearing people suggest that if you like anything else, you should do that as your main career. (Although I am not sure if it applies to me because my other “big” interest is screenwriting, which has that same oft quoted advice.)
Well then that works out beautifully, doesn’t it? Neither will get in the way of the other one if neither is a “main” anything! 🙂
What I take away from it is we’re probably not going to all be able to go the traditional route. And I think that’s okay, because it inspires creativity and new endeavors. If there was enough space for us ALL to be cogs in a machine, where would be the fun in that? Ha ha, but then, it’s never quite as simple as I’d love it to be… In the end, the people who balance surviving with thriving will probably never regret any of the hard work it took.
Yeah it is scary stuff! I want to look for a new job but right now I feel like I’m lucky just to be working at all so I stay here.
Great article. Good work !!!
GREAT info TY kindly Cheers
I’m one of the numbers on that chart! 😀
That’s why I work for myself. Better money, no competing for jobs.
Good writeup, I am normal visitor of one’s site, maintain the excellent operation, and it’s going to be a regular visitor for a long time.