Animator

An animator (アニメーター) is a professional that creates animation. There tends to be a distinction between 2D and 3D CG practice such that in stop-motion animation, the person is in charge of designing the movement of characters, etc., and in the production of 3D CG animation, it is the person who makes the movement.

Animator pay
The wages of the typical animator, especially at lower levels (primarily in-between animators) is notoriously low and regularly covered as a problem in the Japanese media. An annual wage of less than $10,000 per year is not uncommon. There have been some reports that animators in China actually get paid more even though the cost of living is far less.

Typical levels for anime

 * Most of these titles were taken from Anime News Network and anime Demon Slayer, Fena: Pirate Princess, and Knights of Sidonia...

2D plus

 * Chief Animation Director
 * Animation Director
 * Key Animation Director
 * 2nd Key Animation
 * Assistant Animation Director
 * Assistant Key Animation Director
 * Key Animation Supervisor
 * In-between Animation Manager
 * Key animation
 * In-Between animator


 * Other related roles
 * Character Design
 * Storyboarder
 * Animation Layout
 * Background Art Manager
 * Conceptual artist
 * Background artist
 * In-Between Check
 * In-Between Check Assistant
 * Paint
 * Paint Check

3D

 * 3D Director
 * Assistant 3D Director
 * Animation Supervisor
 * Lead Animator
 * 3D Assistant
 * 3D CG animator/Animator


 * Other related roles
 * CG Supervisor
 * Look Development Supervisor
 * Modeling Supervisor
 * Composite Supervisor
 * Layout Supervisor
 * Lighting Supervisor
 * Rigging Supervisor
 * Look Development
 * Modeler
 * Lead Layout
 * Lighting
 * Rigging
 * Modeling Assistant
 * Compositor