Also called: Rigging Artist, Character Technical Director
Builds the digital skeleton and controls inside a 3D character so animators can move it.
A rigger creates bones, joints, and muscle systems inside a model, then writes scripts so an animator can make a dragon's wings fold with a single slider. It's part anatomy, part programming.
Approximate; riggers are in demand across film and games.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Animation or CS degree; scripting in Python.
Ways in: 4-year college, Self-taught. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Computer Animation, Computer Science.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). Tracks animator growth.
Medium risk for 10 years. Auto-rigging tools handle basic skeletons; complex face and body rigs for animators still need technical artists.
Classes: Computer science, Biology (anatomy), Physics, Art.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-1014.
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