2D Animator Job Outlook

While the job outlook for 2D Animators lags slightly behind its 3D counterpart, the future looks solid for 2D animation specialists. According to the BLS, job growth for animators is expected to keep steady with the national average over the next decade, and several sectors of the industry are expected to experience significant growth. While this job growth is likely to continue to be geographically centered in major American cities and in a handful of industries, the job outlook for 2D Animators is still looking strong.

What is a 2D Animator?

2D Animators are creative professionals who plan, design, and build two-dimensional animated assets in everything from traditional animation and video games to digital advertising and user interfaces. As long as a digital asset is made to move, it is likely that a 2D Animator was involved in the process. 2D Animators may also be involved in the development, design, planning, or storyboarding phases of a given project, depending on their level of expertise and the kind of project in question. On the whole, 2D animation is a versatile skill used in various industries and fields, making it an ideal career path for anyone interested in a creative career.

In today’s world, unless a project consciously uses the unique affordances of hand-drawn animation, almost all 2D animation work is computer-assisted. This shift means most animators have begun using computer design applications such as Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro to add the illusion of motion to a set of static images. 2D Animators may also use tools like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to construct certain kinds of specific animated assets, such as moving digital logos or online GIFs. This emphasis on digitally aided animation tools means that your training as a 2D Animator will cover a lot of technical training.

Read more about what a 2D Animator does. 

What is the Job Outlook for 2D Animation?

Job Outlook

The BLS anticipates that the digital animation field will expand by about 5% over the next decade. This is roughly in line with the anticipated job growth within the overall economy, but it is a sign that animation careers are holding steady in the job market. Self-employment numbers are expected to remain steady at under 66% of the overall career field. However, 2D animation specialists will compose a significantly smaller percentage of self-employed vs. studio workers. Pure 2D animation specialists (those with no 3D rendering, video editing, or complementary skills training) are likely to see job opportunities contract, but knowing 2D animation as part of a larger toolkit will remain a solid career choice for creatives and animators.

Future Growth

2D animation will continue to be a growing career field provided that the major industries that sustain it, the entertainment industry and the software development industry, continue to thrive. As more and more cities aim to court movie studios and tech firms, 2D animation jobs are likely to see the long-term benefits of these investments. While 2D animation is likely to continue to be slowly coupled with 3D animation owing to new technological developments, there is no reason to assume that 2D Animator jobs won’t continue to grow in tandem with the industries with which they are most associated.

Industries

As noted, the two industries that employ the most 2D Animators, film and television and consumer software development, are expected to continue to grow over the ensuing decade (and likely beyond). Aside from these two major industries, 2D Animator positions are not significant outliers from the rest of the economy. Over the next decade, as with most creative fields, job growth is expected to be the largest in the live event promotions industry and the consumer sector of online, non-physical retail. Significant job contraction is expected between cable television and traditional broadcasting industries.

Salary

2D Animator salaries in the US average approximately $62,000 a year, which is higher than the national average. 2D Animators starting salaries tend to be slightly lower than this, but they still generally hover in the mid-50,000s depending on the firm you are hired into and where you work. The advantage to finding work in 2D animation is that it is an industry that offers a wide range of career development opportunities, and you can easily expand your career training to improve your overall earning potential. Learning project management or technical skills such as 3D animation will help you get a significantly higher salary.

How Do I Find a 2D Animator Job?

Finding a job as a 2D Animator can seem daunting at first, especially given how many different job titles there are for entry-level 2D animation work. Still, there are a few consistent things you’ll need to consider when looking for a job in the field. 

The first, and most obvious, step is to find a job opening that matches your interests and level of training/experience. Most job offerings these days are posted on aggregate sites like Glassdoor.com, Indeed.com, or LinkedIn. Since these are large job aggregation sites, you’ll need to play around with your search terms a bit to find the job that best fits your needs. You’ll also want to check things like posted job requirements to see if you fit the bill that the company is looking for and you’ll want to make mundane considerations like ‘how long ago was this job posted,’ to gauge whether or not you think that you might be too late to get your application noticed (a real downside to these sites is that many companies don’t frequently update their postings to account for a job being filled).

Once you’ve found a job posting, you’ll want to start building your job materials to have the most competitive shot at landing the position. Noble provides detailed articles on each of the major aspects of your job materials, and at minimum, you’ll need to ensure that your resume, cover letter, and portfolio are strong enough to warrant consideration. The portfolio in particular will be the most important part of your application since it is the part of your materials that demonstrate to potential employers the kinds of skills that you possess and the kinds of projects that you are best suited to work on.

Learn the Skills to Become a 2D Animator at Noble Desktop

Once you’ve committed to learning the skills necessary to become a 2D Animator, Noble Desktop is available to make that dream a reality through professional skills instruction. Noble offers a wide array of 2D animation classes, available in person or online, and all of these classes are taught by expert instructors with years of on-the-job experience. This structure means that regardless of how your course is delivered, you’ll receive real-time instruction and be able to ask questions and receive personalized feedback on your work. Similarly, no matter whether you take the course in person or online, you’ll benefit from small class sizes and all of the professionalization support options, including one-on-one career mentoring in the career-certificate programs. Finally, every Noble class comes with the option for a free retake within one year, meaning that you’ll have the chance to build your portfolio and get even more hands-on experience in preparation for entering the job market.

Students interested in a career change may consider enrolling in Noble’s Motion Graphics Certificate program. This class aims to teach students how to use tools like Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro to create evocative 2D and 3D animated assets for many practical projects. In this class, students will be guided through the process of using After Effects to animate text, photos, and videos, and they will learn how to modify these animations in subtle but perceptible ways slightly. Students will also learn how to create animated images using layered Photoshop and Illustrator files (this course does not include instruction in either of these tools, they are prerequisites for taking the course). Finally, students will learn how to use Premiere Pro to edit their animated assets into video files. All this work will culminate in a series of professionalization seminars, including a portfolio-building workshop and a one-on-one mentorship session, intended to prepare students for a career as a 2D or 3D Animator.

Students who aren’t ready to make a significant career shift but do want to learn 2D animation skills may want to consider one of Noble’s many motion graphics bootcamps. These classes include the Adobe After Effects Bootcamp, which provides students with guided instruction in the use of After Effects for creating animated digital assets and the Adobe Premiere Pro Bootcamp, which teaches students how to use that program to compile their animated assets into a completed project. These courses are excellent starting points for new animators looking to learn the trade. However, they don’t provide students with any of the professionalization services offered through Noble’s career certificate programs.

Finally, students who aren’t sure that they want to start learning 2D animation but are intrigued by the possibility should consult some of Noble’s free training resources to learn more. Noble’s Learn 2D Animation page, as well as their Learn After Effects and Learn Premiere Pro page compiles a weird range of articles, free seminars and resources that students can use to help them on their 2D Animation career path. Noble also provides prospective 2D Animators with a career information hub to help them decide if a career change is right for them.