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Freelance Animator

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April 29, 2024 Updated June 11, 2025 19 minute read

A Comprehensive Guide to Becoming a Freelance Animator

A freelance animator is a self-employed artist who creates animation for a variety of clients and industries. Unlike animators who work full-time for a single studio, freelance animators operate on a project-by-project basis, offering their skills to businesses in film, television, video games, advertising, education, and online media. This career path provides the flexibility to choose projects, set your own hours, and potentially work from anywhere in the world.

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Salaries for Freelance Animator

City

25th Percentile

50th Percentile

75th Percentile

Median

New York

$73,000

$97,000

$130,000

$97,000

San Francisco

$101,000

$135,000

$181,000

$135,000

Seattle

$54,000

$72,000

$102,000

$72,000

See all salaries

City

25th Percentile

50th Percentile

75th Percentile

Median

New York

$73,000

$97,000

$130,000

$97,000

San Francisco

$101,000

$135,000

$181,000

$135,000

Seattle

$54,000

$72,000

$102,000

$72,000

Austin

$122,000

$160,000

$209,000

$160,000

Toronto

$66,000

$84,000

$118,000

$84,000

London

£12,000

£17,000

£22,000

£17,000

Paris

€57,000

€70,000

€85,000

€70,000

Berlin

€35,000

€50,000

€80,000

€50,000

Tel Aviv

₪276,000

₪330,000

₪376,000

₪330,000

Singapore

S$44,000

S$62,000

S$89,000

S$62,000

Beijing

¥95,800

¥127,000

¥180,000

¥127,000

Shanghai

¥180,000

¥258,000

¥364,000

¥258,000

Bengalaru

₹240,000

₹380,000

₹592,000

₹380,000

Delhi

₹140,000

₹250,000

₹400,000

₹250,000

Bars indicate relevance. All salaries presented are estimates. Completion of this course does not guarantee or imply job placement or career outcomes.

Path to Freelance Animator

Take the first step.

We've curated 13 courses to help you on your path to Freelance Animator. Use these to develop your skills, build background knowledge, and put what you learn to practice.

Sorted from most relevant to least relevant:

Video Animation with Vyond & AI: Beginner’s Complete Course

Video Animation with Vyond & AI: Beginner’s Complete...

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Cinematography for 2D Animation Essentials

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Learn to Animate: Classical 2D Animation for Beginners

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Complete Rigging Course: Moho & Anime Studio

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Rigging and Animating PSDs in Moho Pro

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Blender Animation & Rigging: Bring Your Creations To Life

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Animators Journey: Beginner Guide to 3D Animation Part 2

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Protect and Grow Your Freelancing Business

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Moho Intro: 2D Illustration, Rigging and Animation with Moho

Moho Intro: 2D Illustration, Rigging and Animation with...

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Advanced Adobe After Effects: Become VFX & Motion Expert

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Houdini FX: Getting started with FLIP

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Create Awesome Animated Videos Using PowerPoint And Canva

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Find the Best in your Budget with Upwork

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Reading list

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