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$14

$47

$132

How much do freelance 2d animation rigging jobs pay per hour?

As of Jun 29, 2026, the average hourly pay for freelance 2d animation rigging in the United States is $47.71, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $24.28 and $61.78 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Freelance 2D Animation Rigging vs Freelance 2D Character Design?

AspectFreelance 2D Animation RiggingFreelance 2D Character Design
Skills & CredentialsKnowledge of rigging software, anatomy, and animation principlesDrawing skills, character concept development, and illustration
Work EnvironmentAnimation studios, freelance projects, online collaborationDesign studios, freelance commissions, personal portfolios
Industry UsageUsed in animation, gaming, and film productionUsed in advertising, entertainment, and publishing

Freelance 2D Animation Rigging focuses on creating digital skeletons for characters to enable smooth animation, requiring technical rigging skills. Freelance 2D Character Design involves creating visual concepts and character artwork. While both roles require artistic talent, rigging emphasizes technical setup, whereas character design emphasizes visual storytelling.

More about Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs
What cities are hiring for Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs? Cities with the most Freelance 2D Animation Rigging job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of 2D Animation Rigging jobs? The most popular types of 2D Animation Rigging jobs are:
What states have the most Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs? States with the most job openings for Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs are:
Freelance 2D Animation Rigging jobs near you
Infographic showing various Freelance 2D Animation Rigging job openings in the United States as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 100% In-person job distribution, with an average salary of $99,230 per year, or $47.7 per hour.

Principal Visual Artist

Fanatics Collectibles

New York, NY • On-site

Full-time

Posted 20 days ago

Key responsibilities

  • Lead the visual direction of features and projects, translating creative vision into clear production direction through concepts, style frames, and visual references.

  • Produce concept, illustration, and 2D art assets that integrate into 3D and interactive environments, and model, UV, texture, rig, and animate 3D assets to production standard.

  • Lead, mentor, and grow a team of artists, providing feedback, direction, and career development support.

Job description

About Us
Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally.
Principal Visual Artist
We're building a small, senior team to create exceptional real-time, web-first interactive experiences across our portfolio. Work that pushes what WebGL can do and sets the bar for high-craft fan engagement. We blend the creative sensibility of top interactive studios with the technical ambition of game development, and we're hiring the founding members who will shape everything that follows.
We're looking for a Principal Visual Artist to lead the visual identity and art direction of our interactive work. You'll partner with the Creative Director to define the look and feel of each project, set the visual standard for the team, and drive that quality from early concept through to production-ready assets across 2D and 3D. As the team grows, you'll lead and mentor artists, shape workflows, and own the visual direction of features end to end.
You care about craft at every stage. You understand that great real-time art starts with smart decisions made early, and you're comfortable taking ownership across disciplines in a small team where your judgment sets the quality bar.
What you'll do
  • Lead the visual direction of features and projects, translating creative vision into clear production direction through concepts, style frames, and visual references
  • Define and maintain the visual language, tone, and quality standard across all output as the team and portfolio grow
  • Lead, mentor, and grow a team of artists, providing feedback, direction, and career development support
  • Produce concept, illustration, and 2D art assets (textures, surface detail, iconography, UI elements, graphic work) that integrate into 3D and interactive environments
  • Model, UV, texture, rig, and animate 3D assets to production standard, working within defined real-time budgets
  • Use motion and animation tools to produce motion references and effects concepts that guide technical implementation
  • Collaborate closely with the wider creative team to ensure clean, well-structured handoff for runtime, iterating based on how art behaves in-engine
  • Shape art production workflows, asset pipelines, and standards as the team scales

What we're looking for
  • A portfolio that spans disciplines: concept and illustration, texture and surface work, 3D modelling, and asset production, showing both range and depth
  • Proven experience leading visual direction on features or projects, with the judgment to make art decisions that serve the overall experience
  • Experience leading, mentoring, or growing artists on a team
  • Strong visual development skills: style frames, mood boards, colour theory, and composition thinking
  • Proficiency in Blender (or equivalent) for 3D modelling, UV layout, texturing, rigging, and animation
  • Strong 2D skills in Photoshop, Illustrator, or equivalent, with a focus on texture creation, graphic design, and illustrative work
  • Understanding of real-time asset constraints: poly budgets, texture resolution and atlasing, material complexity, and what makes assets performant at runtime
  • A collaborative approach: you hand off cleanly, communicate constraints clearly, and take technical feedback without friction

Bonus
  • Background in game development (highly preferred) or experience producing assets for a real-time engine
  • Experience with motion design, animated asset production, or creating animation references to guide a technical team
  • Familiarity with glTF pipelines and well-structured, runtime-ready exports
  • Experience with shader authoring or authoring tools

Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don't fall victim to fraud. Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Feel free to ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of communication for interview, and ensure your communication is coming from a Fanatics email address (including @collectfanatics.com). For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at www.fanaticsinc.com/careers
The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. This salary range is specific to New York City and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/
NYC Salary Range
$180,000-$225,000 USD
The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/
USA Remote Salary Range
$155,520-$194,400 USD
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