Interest
Animators Reveal Global Disparities in Earnings With #AnimationPaidMe Hashtag
posted on by Kim Morrissy
The #AnimationPaidMe hashtag started trending this week, where animators publicly revealed their earnings to draw attention to wage disparities in the field. The hashtag initially began as an offshoot of the #PublishingPaidMe and #GameDevPaidMe hashtags, which focused on wage disparities between white and Black practitioners in the U.S. in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. From there, #AnimationPaidMe has become global, as even animators who worked in Japan have shared their earnings, revealing stark differences in animation wages between countries.
Some responses regarding Japan are below.
#AnimationPaidMe
— げそ (@gesoikuo2) June 9, 2020
I was an animation director.
2014:¥3,500,000(about$33k)
2015:¥5,000,000(about$46k)
2016:¥5,000,000(about$46k)
2017:¥5,000,000(about$46k)
2018:¥5,500,000(about$51k)
2019:I quit the animator.
2020:Now I'am a NEET.
The animator clarified in a reply that these earnings were calculated before taxes and do not include insurance.
#AnimationPaidMe
— Pathmy (@hakuoishii) June 9, 2020
As freelancer in jp my approximate yearly wage:
2014 $4634
2015 $6489
2016 $9083
2017 $14830
2018 $26890
2019 quit n go military service
———————
Now I get roughly $9000 per month
#AnimationPaidMe
— syd (@SYDSIR) June 8, 2020
CA (all cad)
YOWZA- 800/wk
TITMOUSE
2018:1050
2019:1075
2020:1100
JP (posting for friend)
BONES
1st year: 729USD/month (u get paid per drawing from the 2nd year onwards, 1 drawing is 360 jpy (3.29USD) & it becomes 280 jpy (2.31usd) from the 3rd year onwards
#AnimationPaidMe
— りむてっど (@rnrnqqq) June 9, 2020
JAPAN 2D anime pro animator
key animation (genga) 1cut $20~$40 USD
second key animation 1cut $20~$25 USD
1 month salary $700~$1400 USD
1years salary $10000~$23000 USD
Unstable and hopeless
The Japanese anime industry is about to collapse pic.twitter.com/EZcw2DYQ16
Artists from the Philippines have also been speaking up about the amounts they've been earning working on Japanese and non-Japanese animated properties:
I've been a bg artist in an anime company for 10 years and I'd say you're still lucky to have that price. We were being paid for 300 per bg for that one anime shounen show and 200 per bg for the shoujo one. Also we're also to be the one to do the layout with 150 pesos 😂
— AubsNIN🔞 (@aubsnin) June 8, 2020
Rates quoted by American and Canadian artists using the hashtag have tended to vary depending on whether they belong to a union, among other factors (a collection of tweets can be found on Cartoon Brew), although it is notable that even the lowest figures are not close to the numbers given by those who have done animation work in Asia, which some artists have pointed out:
The disparity in numbers (Philippines especially) is heartbreaking- transparency for equality!
— Victoria Joh (@kvebox) June 8, 2020
2017 Indie-game Concept Art - $83k
2018 DW BG Paint (freelance) - $35/hr
2019 Netflix BG Design - $100k
2020 Snap Inc Concept Art (freelance) - $50/hr#AnimationPaidMe #GameDevPaidMe
Perspective time! First Canadian job as a 2D Harmony animator paid CAD800/wk. That's over Php29000 PER WEEK, and I was told that I was being lowballed.
— Motzie Dapul (@MotzieD) June 10, 2020
I earned Php2500/wk + output in the Philippines for a ton more work. Most I earned was Php5000/wk. #AnimationPaidMe https://t.co/RbXvSQkzU5
According to a 2019 survey by the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA), the mean average yearly income across the industry is 4,410,000 yen (US$40,000), although the average for in-between animators is only 1,250,000 yen (US$11,400). Young people between 20 to 24 reported that they earned 1,550,000 yen (US$14,000) per year, which is 1 million yen less than the national average for the age group, according to data from the National Tax Agency.
Source: Cartoon Brew (Amid Amidi)
