What Is The Starting Salary And Growth Prospect In The Animation And VFX Industry?

The animation and VFX industry is one of the fastest growing industries across the globe. And its global market size was valued at USD 167.9 billion in 2021. With Indian consumers showing a growing appetite for engaging visual experience, the numbers are meant to grow at a higher speed in India. That being said, animation and VFX have a lot to offer to possible animators and designers. So, if you are wondering, is VFX and animation a good career choice? Then the answer is yes. You can pursue various B.Sc. and diploma courses to get started and claim a part of this lucrative industry.


But before diving into the salary aspect of this thriving industry, let’s get the basics laid out.

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Animation :Animation brings life to the lifeless lines and images on the screen. And an animator is the one pulling the strings behind the screen. An animator produces multiple frames and sequences them together; this creates an illusion of movement. Animation is applied to lifeless objects to create the illusion of movement in them.VFX :VFX is the acronym for Visual Effects. And these visual effects are essentially applied to tangible things like humans, sceneries, or objects on the screen to enhance, beautify or amplify the impact of a specific action or shot. With VFX, you can see characters jump over mountains and seas, fight a dragon, walk on fire, and more.  How is the animation and VFX industry in India?The Indian animation and VFX industry is growing rapidly. Demand for animated content has increased across platforms like OTT, social media, video streaming, e-learning, and e-commerce. Animation and VFX are in high demand in the gaming sector too.The success of VFX in films like Bahubali, Pushpa, and RRR has put India on the animation and VFX global map. It has leveraged the work being outsourced to India. And the VFX for award-winning animated films like ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Life of Pi’ were creations of Indian artists. Several cartoon production houses around the world outsource their animated content requirement to India. And with the growing demand and opportunities, the future of the animation and VFX industry seems quite bright.The Indian animation and VFX industry is all set to up its game and explore various fields. Although the industry employs world-class techniques and innovative technology, there are a lot of undiscovered scopes as far as content is concerned.What is the future of the animation industry?The Indian animation industry is seeing exponential growth. The availability of low-cost internet and the popularity of the OTT platform have contributed greatly to this growth. Moreover, during the pandemic, many advertisers and educators switched to animated content, which proved to be very cost-effective and engaging.[According to the FICCI EY March 2022 report, the animation and VFX sector grew to Rs.30.5 billion and is expected to reach Rs.180 Billion by 2024.]With the children’s viewership increasing by almost 30%, there is a race amongst broadcasters to acquire local animated IPs. International animation studios are launching subsidiaries in India. Reports say that around 50% of Indian animation and VFX studios will adapt real-time technology by 2025.An average VFX and animation salary in IndiaAs is the case for all other fields, an animator’s salarydepends on:The CityYears of experienceSkill and educationThe technique an animator uses.[The average salary for an animator is Rs.327,662/year. With scaled-up expertise and experience, one can see a leap of almost 230% in the later stages of career.]Salaries can differ according to the role too.

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Different types of animation artists draw different packages in the industry. Packages for a 2D animator, flash animator, or 3D animatorare mostly distinct.For instance, a 2D animator’s role is dissimilar to the other types of animators.What is 2D vector animation,and why does the salary vary among the animators?As the name suggests, vectors control the motion in this type of animation instead of pixels. These vectors are characterised by pathways defined by various start and end points.Further, the lines connecting these points build the graphics. Resizing of pixel-based images results in poor-quality pictures. However,this does not happen with vector-based images. The creation of rigs allows motion just for a particular portion, so an artist need not draw the imagesrepeatedly. Vector-based animationcan be helpful for people with a lot of creativity and average drawing skills.What is the starting salary and growth prospect for a VFX artist?[The average salary for a VFX artist in India is RS. 359,929/year. With time one can expect a raise of a minimum of 80-90 %. ]The industry promises bright career prospects and has immense career avenues for the youth.For success in any career, it is crucial to get the right guidance and training in that particular field. Seamedu, a leading Media School, offers relevant courses that train aspirants and makes them career ready for the Media and Entertainment Industry. For more information, click here.
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Written by: Kamal Srivastava

Last updated: 08-03-2024

Kamal Srivastava is a 3D Generalist who enjoys experimenting and discovering new things. With a combined 18 years of academic and professional expertise in the field of Animation, he is pursuing a doctorate in the field of fine art at Lovely Professional University Punjab.

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