Job Check
Special Effects Artists and Animators
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.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.People already use AI for this at work
- 02Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 04Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 05Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 06Apply 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.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 07Implement and maintain configuration control systems.AI could speed this up a lot
- 08Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.People already use AI for this at work
- 09Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork for use in products, technical manuals, literature, newsletters, and slide shows.People already use AI for this at work
- 10Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job loss36%of this job’s work time goes to tasks that people already do with Claude at work, counting tasks where AI only helps as half (2026).Anthropic, 2026
53%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 43% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 31% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
AI touches every main task of this job in some way. Your edge is judgment: knowing when AI’s work is right, and checking it before it counts.
AI tools for your work
Official connectors that let an AI assistant work inside the apps designers use. Each is made by the app’s own maker.