Special Effects Artists and Animators

Also called: 3D Animator (Three-Dimensional Animator), 3D Artist (Three-Dimensional Artist), 3D Designer (Three-dimensional Designer), 3D Modeler (Three-Dimensional Modeler), 3D Specialist (Three-Dimensional Specialist)

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Create special effects or animations using film, video, computers, or other electronic tools and media for use in products, such as computer games, movies, music videos, and commercials.

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 as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.
Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.
Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.
Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation and map out key scenes and characters.
Implement and maintain configuration control systems.
Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.
Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork for use in products, technical manuals, literature, newsletters, and slide shows.
Create and install special effects as required by the script, mixing chemicals and fabricating needed parts from wood, metal, plaster, and clay.
Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.
Convert real objects to animated objects through modeling, using techniques such as optical scanning.
Create pen-and-paper images to be scanned, edited, colored, textured, or animated by computer.
Use models to simulate the behavior of animated objects in the finished sequence.

Work Context

Electronic Mail — 100% responded "Every day".
Face-to-Face Discussions — 74% responded "Every day".
Spend Time Sitting — 69% responded "Continually or almost continually".
Work With Work Group or Team — 50% responded "Very important".
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 88% responded "Every day".
Time Pressure — 71% responded "Every day".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 72% responded "Extremely important".

Work Activities

Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Detailed Work Activities

Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Prepare production storyboards.
Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
Create computer-generated graphics or animation.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

English Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Design

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Visualization

The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Originality

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

They do well at jobs that need:

Achievement/Effort

Persistence

Initiative

Leadership

Cooperation

Concern for Others

Social Orientation

Self Control

You might use software like this on the job:

Object or component oriented development software

C++
jQuery
Python
Object-oriented programming languages

Web platform development software

AJAX
Cascading Style Sheets CSS
Drupal
PHP: Hypertext preprocessor
JavaScript
Hypertext Markup Language HTML
Microsoft Silverlight
Adobe Systems Adobe Shockwave Player
Adobe Systems Adobe Flex
Dynamic hypertext markup language DHTML
Extensible Hypertext Markup Language XHTML

Spreadsheet software

Microsoft Excel

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