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Job Description:
Job Description:
FX artists create photoreal, digitally-generated imagery. The role requires the seamless integration of these effects into live action in feature films, television and, increasingly, online and console gaming. You'll use the latest technology to produce computer-generated creatures, crowds and other digital assets. There is also the growing area of digital particle effects, which includes fluid and fire, as well as object and lighting manipulation.You need to make the viewer believe that what they are seeing is real. This could be a dragon, a fairytale castle, a rainstorm, a big wave, spaceships, superheroes, alien cities or entire planets.
Salary: The VFX industry is mainly made up of freelancers and fixed-term contracts, similar to animators. A common way to enter this industry, especially within film, is as a runner. According to glassdoor, the average pay for an FX artist is $70,000 while the higher end is $120,000 and the lower end is $40,000.
Salary: The VFX industry is mainly made up of freelancers and fixed-term contracts, similar to animators. A common way to enter this industry, especially within film, is as a runner. According to glassdoor, the average pay for an FX artist is $70,000 while the higher end is $120,000 and the lower end is $40,000.
Occupational Outlook:
Occupational Outlook:
There is a high demand for FX artists currently but there is a continuous online discourse arguing over whether or not AI could soon or eventually take over various art fields, especially those of digital artists like FX artists. So the occupational outlook is somewhat uncertain.
Links to Learn More About This Career:
Links to Learn More About This Career:
Educational Requirements:
Educational Requirements:
It's possible to enter this career without a degree, but the majority of new entrants have studied at higher education level to achieve an HND or a degree. If you haven't studied a course which includes VFX but have studied subjects such as media, media production, media technology, graphic design or photography, it's possible to start as a runner and work your way up.
Gnomon school of visual effects
Gnomon school of visual effects
Address:
1015 North Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Website:
Information on the Major:
northern Kentucky university
northern Kentucky university
Address:
1 Louie B Nunn Dr, Highland Heights, KY 41099
Website:
Information on the Major:
https://www.nku.edu/content/www/academics/informatics/programs/undergraduate/dfx.html
Western kentucky university
Western kentucky university
Address:
1906 College Heights Blvd.
Bowling Green, KY 42101
Website:
Information on the Major:
https://www.wku.edu/schoolofmedia/undergraduateprograms/film/film.php
Soft Skills, Characteristics, and/or Abilities Need For This Career:
Soft Skills, Characteristics, and/or Abilities Need For This Career:
Being comfortable with your ability to work alone as well as in a team
strong visual awareness and artistic ability
excellent interpersonal skills
lateral thinking skills
enthusiasm to learn and develop professionally
Software Knowledge Needed For This Career:
Software Knowledge Needed For This Career:
The main software used is Adobe After effects so it would be beneficial to firmilarize yourself with those softwares before entering into the field of FX Art.
Pros and Cons to Choosing This Career
Pros and Cons to Choosing This Career
Pros (Positives to this Career)
Pros (Positives to this Career)
The life of an FX artist is flexible when it comes to where you want to work from and you can often times work from home.
Many FX artists agree that the flexibility of working as a freelancer is somewhat freeing as opposed to being tied down to one project or job for life.
You are able to contribute to well known movie franchisizes even if youre only contracted for a specific studio for a short while.
Cons (Negatives to this Career)
Cons (Negatives to this Career)
The life of an FX artist is known to be high stress, especially franchesizes like marvel and star wars which will make Fx artists work for incredibly long hours to meet deadlines.
Because Fx artists are mostly freelancers, there will be an occasional dry spell where it is very difficult to find work.
If you’re a FX artist and you’re not able to produce work that you’re proud of, public feedback can be a major negative. For example, if you’re an FX artist that worked on the TV show “She-Hulk”, the audience reception of the time crunched VFX work you worked on could be so negative that you begin doubting your own abilities and reverting to perfectionism.
Typical Working Conditions For This Career:
Typical Working Conditions For This Career:
As a FX artist, you are usually able to choose where you work at least a portion of the time. Some free lance FX artists choose too work from home most of the time while others work in facilities. Hours vary from job to job and is largely dependent on deadlines. A starting week is 50 to 60 hours and can exceed over hundred hours a week during times of intense production. And putting in an over 24 hour workday is not out of the question, especially at largely studios like marvel or star wars.
Aaron Mcbride
Aaron Mcbride
Aaron McBride is a Visual effects art director at 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros and Song Pictures. He has worked on projects such as "Avengers", "Iron Man 2", "Jurrasic World", and "Pirates of the Carribean: on stranger tides".
Allan McKay
Allan McKay
Allan McKay is a Visual effects supervisor at Weta, Pixar, ILM, and much more. He has worked on projects such as "God of War: Ragnarok" and "Halo: the master chief collection".
Anselm von Seherr-Thoss
Anselm von Seherr-Thoss
Anselm von Seherr-Thoss is a Visual effects technical director who worked mostly at skyline but worked on many different projects such as "Transformers: Age of extinction", "the secret life of Walter Mitty", and "Avatar".
Career Researched By: Abby Winters
Sources & Citations
Sources & Citations
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