Surprise! Japanese animators are poor!

[IronSpike]

saki0yami

its true they dont get a good salary price but as long as they love/enjoy it why not doing it?

Hentai Kakashi

I highly doubt that I'll become rich as an animator, but I personally don't care about money.

...

If I can make animations that will entertain millions of people all over our planet, then that's worth way more to me than any money in the world.

saki0yami

it would be amazing to be a mangaka c:

Now, how much satisfaction in the knowledge you've entertained millions buys you a 12-pack of instant ramen, again? I've always been fuzzy on the exchange rate.

[Freiheit]

I wuz wondering, this survey about Japanese animator salaries, it's the one with only 80-something respondent isn't it?

[Fansub]

Freiheit

I wuz wondering, this survey about Japanese animator salaries, it's the one with only 80-something respondent isn't it?

I believe so. I'm not 100% sure though.

[Freiheit]

Fansub

Freiheit

I wuz wondering, this survey about Japanese animator salaries, it's the one with only 80-something respondent isn't it?

I believe so. I'm not 100% sure though.

not to say they're well payed (their low salaries, especially as juniors, are notorious), but I think that might be to much of a small sample to be in any way accurate.

[urcat]

I rather work for Disney, thanks for making this
I'm so tired of here the wannbe next best mangaka, oh please
I do feel sorry for those people, they go to a animation school , take hard courses, pays poo
load of money just to get some crappy job to make children and adults glued to the tv screen

[Fansub]

Freiheit

Fansub

Freiheit

I wuz wondering, this survey about Japanese animator salaries, it's the one with only 80-something respondent isn't it?

I believe so. I'm not 100% sure though.

not to say they're well payed (their low salaries, especially as juniors, are notorious), but I think that might be to much of a small sample to be in any way accurate.

Considering the average income of a mangaka though, I really don't think it's that far off. Japan just doesn't like artists very much for some reason. sad

[TuckyX]

Fansub

Freiheit

Fansub

Freiheit

I wuz wondering, this survey about Japanese animator salaries, it's the one with only 80-something respondent isn't it?

I believe so. I'm not 100% sure though.

not to say they're well payed (their low salaries, especially as juniors, are notorious), but I think that might be to much of a small sample to be in any way accurate.

Considering the average income of a mangaka though, I really don't think it's that far off. Japan just doesn't like artists very much for some reason. sad

Since there are way more mangaka, and assistants, who work on series that are published in less popular magazines, than publications like Weekly Shonen Jump, it makes sense that the average wage of mangaka is quite low. The same goes for animators. Entry level animators and artist that work for smaller, less high profile, studios far outnumber veteran animators and artists that work at some of the more famous studios. Studios that mainly work on tv series, or focus on a particular part of the production proccess (clean up, coloring, backgrounds, in-betweens) tend to hire mostly entry level animators and artists, and usually pay these crazy small salaries. That said, it's still much harder to find a nice paying job, in either industry, than it is in the US. The odds that you'll be stuck working at a small no name studio, doing clean up or in-betweens, are pretty high. To those still interested in working in Japan, I suggest gaining experience in your own country's animation or comic book industry, before trying your luck in Japan. Amass a body of work that can more insure you a spot in one of the better studios. Learn to speak, read and write, Japanese. A company is more likely to hire you if they know that they wouldn't have to waste their time holding your hand because you're undertrained, under experienced, and can't speak or read the language.

[Laenri]

Lol wow, i'm really glad I read this because it proves my theory on how much the average artists gets an hour to be true. xD

Someone asked about rl pricing and I basically told them they should charge 2-3 an hour or so because most people wont pay more (That adds up to around 20-40 dollars for the average artist that spends 10+ hours on a piece xD


edit:

This being said, most artists I talk to that get 300+ for a picture will tell me that they really enjoy freelance work the most if they can get it frequently enough.

Imo, freelance is just right for me too. And yes, it definitely is seniority, or in gaia terms, popularity @_@

The more and more you work, the more people learn about you, and the more you are respected regardless of your skill (A sad but seemingly true fact ;_; )

[Fansub]

TuckyX

Since there are way more mangaka, and assistants, who work on series that are published in less popular magazines, than publications like Weekly Shonen Jump, it makes sense that the average wage of mangaka is quite low. The same goes for animators. Entry level animators and artist that work for smaller, less high profile, studios far outnumber veteran animators and artists that work at some of the more famous studios. Studios that mainly work on tv series, or focus on a particular part of the production proccess (clean up, coloring, backgrounds, in-betweens) tend to hire mostly entry level animators and artists, and usually pay these crazy small salaries.

Yeah, but most Japanese anime is tweened and in some cases fully animated in Korea now, which is cheaper than Japan, and the Japanese artists who are trying to survive are finding themselves accepting even lower pay than before because they don't have a choice. So it comes down to like 3 or 4 studios that still offer decent wages and thousands of people trying to get a job in them. Can't be a pretty sight. Some folks are working for free now. sad

Back in my weeaboo days, I wanted to be a mangaka too. Fortunately I knew a bunch of actual Japanese people who told me the truth about how things were for mangaka and for foreigners over there, which caused me to give up. Sadly it seems things have been getting worse now.

[Arsenite]

Young Master Aibiki

Reminds me of an infograph/schedule I saw once of a mangaka's work schedule. :c

here it is

But yeah, for the longest time I wanted to be an animator/'mangaka', but I don't think I'd be able to live off of that little. :c Well that, and I grew out of my weebish habits (except a few) a long time ago.

Aw, that is terrible. For the longest time I wanted to be an animator or manga artist but now that I know about their work and pay I'm not so sure about it anymore. cat_cry

[TuckyX]

CamelliaMoon

Young Master Aibiki

Reminds me of an infograph/schedule I saw once of a mangaka's work schedule. :c

here it is

But yeah, for the longest time I wanted to be an animator/'mangaka', but I don't think I'd be able to live off of that little. :c Well that, and I grew out of my weebish habits (except a few) a long time ago.

Aw, that is terrible. For the longest time I wanted to be an animator or manga artist but now that I know about their work and pay I'm not so sure about it anymore. cat_cry

You can draw comics anywhere. You don't have to live in Japan to create them.

[Arsenite]

Yeah, good point. sweatdrop

[TuckyX]

CamelliaMoon

Yeah, good point. sweatdrop

Sorry, if it sounded mean. My point is that if drawing comics, or animating, is your dream, then go for it. Just know that they're difficult industries to break into, and make a decent wage, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. Just be smart about it. Even if your ultimate dream is to work in Japan, that's ok too. Gain experience in your own country first, and also learn to speak, read and write Japanese. Respected anime studios will more likely hire a veteran artist or animator, that also speaks the language, over a newbie who can't. Make yourself a person that the studio thinks will benefit them, and not the other way around.

[Arsenite]

TuckyX

CamelliaMoon

Yeah, good point. sweatdrop

Sorry, if it sounded mean. My point is that if drawing comics, or animating, is your dream, then go for it. Just know that they're difficult industries to break into, and make a decent wage, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. Just be smart about it. Even if your ultimate dream is to work in Japan, that's ok too. Gain experience in your own country first, and also learn to speak, read and write Japanese. Respected anime studios will more likely hire a veteran artist or animator, that also speaks the language, over a newbie who can't. Make yourself a person that the studio thinks will benefit them, and not the other way around.

Oh no you were not being mean, it was helpful! For a while I have been thinking that it would probably be better for me to stay in my country and produce comics or animations than go to Japan just because it is were the style originated. cat_3nodding

[IronSpike]

TuckyX

CamelliaMoon

Yeah, good point. sweatdrop

Sorry, if it sounded mean. My point is that if drawing comics, or animating, is your dream, then go for it. Just know that they're difficult industries to break into, and make a decent wage, but that shouldn't stop you from trying. Just be smart about it. Even if your ultimate dream is to work in Japan, that's ok too. Gain experience in your own country first, and also learn to speak, read and write Japanese. Respected anime studios will more likely hire a veteran artist or animator, that also speaks the language, over a newbie who can't. Make yourself a person that the studio thinks will benefit them, and not the other way around.

This is true. But it's still not a realistic proposition.

Japan has been subjected to a glut of domestic manga artists and animators for years. The chances of a foreigner being hired to take a job a local could do in a country as xenophobic as Japan are vanishingly small. The last I heard of it happening was with Justin Leach, who was without a doubt a special case; He moved to Japan in 2001, when the animation business was doing well, to work on Ghost in the Shell 2 for Production I.G; Japan had fewer CG experts at the time, and Justin already had a resume that featured work for Blue Sky Studios. He then promptly moved back to the US.

You wanna know who "moves to Japan to become an animator?" One guy, ten years ago, when the economy was doing great and the local talent couldn't keep up, who then left the second he was finished.

And this is the best case scenario.

Kids who yammer on about "moving to Japan" for art jobs are typically doing from the perspective of members of immigrant nations. They have no idea how exclusionary, how disinterested, how deeply xenophobic a country like Japan can be. They don't consider there will always be 100 Japanese artists on their skill level applying for the same position, artists the companies won't have to fill out immigration paperwork for and pay a fee to hire. And they don't understand that animating isn't "Drawing all day." It's technical and regimented contract work you're expected to take home with you, boring work with terrible pay. It's not your ideas being animated at the big studios, and gaijin, it never will be.

Life isn't a shonen manga. You won't accomplish the nearly-impossible by trying harder than anyone else and wanting it really bad. Anyone who gives a crap about the ambitions of potential art professionals has a duty to disabuse kids of their fantasies about the industry as early as they possibly can.

Want to be the best animator you can be? This is my advice to anyone who will listen. Go to Ringling, or SCAD, or CalArts. Produce a killer thesis film and an amazing reel; live in the lab. Get the best entry-level job you can storyboarding or doing clean-up, then work your way up. If you are very talented, very determined, very work-oriented and very, very lucky, you'll wind up like Brad Bird. And for the love of god, forget about Japan. Things are going to be hard enough in a country where you actually speak the language.