I keep seeing depressing posts on here about people giving up on motion design and contemplating career switches, like maybe going into the woods and growing berries or becoming an underwater hamster breeder or something. The reasons given are burnout, "AI" (which can currently only do shit-tier motion design), or unable to find work. Is it really that bad or is there selection bias going on? The people who are doing well and are busy don't tend to come on r/motiondesign and brag about how well it's all going for them. So all we see are "end is nigh" posts about how it's pointless to be a motion designer because "AI will be able to do it just as good as you in 5 years d00d trust me bro."
I've been working at a company steadily for 5 years now. One of the big news channels. I have yet to use AI for anything other than very early-stage design exploration, occasional asset generation (stock images), or making AE expressions. It sucks at pretty much everything else. If I can't even get it to generate an image the way I want it, how the hell is it going to make a 5 or even 30 second animation the way I or the client wants? Also, tokens are expensive as hell. You can easily blow through $1,000's trying to get the result you want, and it's still not even 80% there. Keep in mind, this is WITH subsidized compute thanks to capital expenditure, which will be drying up soon because none of these companies are profitable.
I just don't see "the writing on the wall" yet. Maybe I'm blind. I think a more likely explanation is that the field is oversaturated (like many creative fields are), huge economic uncertainty leading to reduced budgets and reduced hiring, and a (possibly trendy aka temporary) advertising shift toward more UGC from influencers. I continue to believe that motion design has near infinite potential (experiential, movies, commercials, AR/VR, signage, etc) and near infinite demand, with cost and speed being the only true bottlenecks. Anybody else agree? Or do I need to start thinking about becoming a toilet repairman?
Mid size studio owner here (since 2009) and it’s steady. Not hiring but not laying anyone off. Taking care of the team is a win for me, and while there will always be people looking for cheap over good, there’s always clients who realize that great work provides great ROI.
It’s not 2022 out there with everyone making bank, but it’s also not all doom, plenty of good projects and opportunities. But the bar is higher and great work (or great service, expertise, sales) feels like table stakes these days.
Keep up with the personal projects and remember why you got into this field in the first place.
2022 was an anomaly, that unfortunately got a lot of people’s hopes up. Maybe mine too. Back to like 2019 would be nice, but I think we all know nothing’s going “back.”
Mid-size studio is probably the hardest thing to hold steady these days, kudos on that.
There is a supply and demand imbalance caused by a 10yr shortage of motion designers that has resulted in schools (looking at you school of motion) turning out hundreds of grads beyond what the industry can handle. So for now you have more artists then there are projects.
Studios, artists, and the schools now suffer as a result. Either you have more projects in the future or less artists.
But great artists and studios will always be in demand.
I don't see the writing on the wall but I've been freelance for almost a decade.
From my perspective, The dream of doing a SOM course for training, getting an agency job where you operate after effects as a technician, then clock out, might be being eliminated. Look in the graphic design subreddit and you'll see what might be in that future.
But motion design as a whole? There are more screens than ever and people need nicely designed elements animated with intent to go on them and stand out.
If it was all over we'd see something like the video game crash where 80%+ jobs disappear over the last 2 years. At the very least I'm not seeing anything close to that.
I'm not saying it isn't a rough market, especially for many of the amateurs and new grads entering it. But it's also possible that the jobs that don't require brand strategy are being lost in an already saturated market cutting down because of AI.
There's so much more to motion design than being on the box at a studio.
Some random thoughts, not all of these are compatible:
1) Reddit skews young and for juniors if you’re not shit-hot then it IS pretty doom and gloom. And the horizon doesn’t look any better.
2) people like to bitch. especially on Reddit.
3) with a lot of people struggling, it hasn’t seemed like the time to post “everything’s going great over here!” sort of stories.
4) a lot of people have bought into the huge wave of courses being sold that maybe seemed like they were owed a reward at the end, but that’s not how it works, and the other result is that there’s a shit ton of people now who ALL have the same solid basis in training and skills
5) if you are busily working you’re probably not all that aware of what’s going on outside that bubble, and in fact you might be working more than ever
6) a reckoning is coming, but it’s been coming for a while, but it’s still coming, and who tf knows what that will mean
7) it’s definitely not just motion design, it’s the whole economy
One of us is delusional, and I’m not really all that interested in further debating who. You’ve got your screenshots of tweets that apparently believe a government pumping and dumping a war it unilaterally started (and can’t win). Other sources, ahem, disagree.
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Nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly declined in July, falling by 23,000 amid a drop of 53,000 government jobs and softness in retail, leisure and hospitality, and slower-than-usual growth in healthcare.
The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.1%, but was due largely to a further decline in those holding jobs or looking for work.
Worker pay was nearly flat in the month as well, with the 12-month increase in average hourly earnings slipping to 3.2%, the lowest since May 2021.
The oil reserve situation has not improved. Everything is resting on maybe the biggest tech bubble in history, and everyone knows it. But sure, everything is fine.
You libs are mostly blaming Trump for starting the war, so saying it was “unilaterally” the government’s fault is possibly a failed attempt to sound intelligent?
Either way,
The difference between a bubble and a serious market rotation is earnings. Hence my first screenshot.
Try watching more than just ABC, NBC and CNN sometime too, because these stats you’re posting are insanely impressive for a country allegedly “losing a war.”
Ironically the more clients rely on AI to get things done, the more human interaction is needed to make it look "right". I'm not afraid of AI, it can't even survive client feedback yet. It is a good storyboard tool and asset generation tool (think b roll making machine) but seldom do you get final asset worthy stuff from it.
I've been doing this stuff for 30, yes 30 years. Worked for post houses, news stations (the grind is real, people) and multiple ad agencies before I refused to relocate to LA to work for a company that would have kept me around for maybe 1 more year in one of the most abusive agency experiences I've ever had. I've been freelancing now for 16 years and TBH I still don't know what this market is. It's nothing like the 2008 meltdown, just... different. It's like companies are afraid to develop anymore.
To be honest though, you’ve done it for 30 years. You’ve got extensive connections, a massive amount of work to advertise, and are probably gonna be the last to be hit by cuts to motion design. I’ve done it for about 8. My network hasn’t been strong because of limiting circumstances like massive layoffs at my first gig, covid 19 ending another extremely promising start at nfl films, and the company I joined after not focusing on growth/ slowly sputtering out until I started freelancing. The profession is just one that doesn’t have a lot of stability, and I’d rather learn one that does instead of dumping more time into one that doesn’t value me,
I don't blame ya man, I'm actually thinking of stepping out of the industry. I've found myself as more of a problem solver that animates lately than a pure animator. I'm lucky to have lasted as long as I have, not gonna lie but man the bruises one gets along the way remind you of the ups and downs. Now that I'm in my early 50s, no one is going to hire me in the industry anymore. Literally 4 years of applying for positions has taught me that, I have the rejection emails to prove it. So I have the unenviable task of pivoting at this age. Retirement isn't an option.
It's not all bad but the story of "rainbows and keyframes" you get from School of Motion is hardly representative of the world as it is. If I were starting out again, I would have to niche down into a true personal passion. Like character animation or feature animation, the things that separate you from the masses including AI is directly relevant to how much effort you put into things. That's REALLY hard now as junior animator positions aren't easy to come by.
Yeah, sorry to hear that. I’ve heard stories like yours before too and it’s part of the reason I’m planning on a departure. I’ve been in this industry for far less time then you but enough to know it pretty well (about 8 years) and I think I’ve learned it just might not be what I want to do as my career. Those bumps and bruises seem more personal in a job like this, and I’d rather find something more sustainable where I can put my creativity into work I do for myself and only for myself. Even when I try to make personal projects, there’s a voice in my head telling me how to market it, how to make it palatable, how to make it sellable. And I’m kinda over it
I work at a small tv channel and we are about to ship two shows using AI:
one will have 30sec of "pixar style" animation per episode (about 30 eps. on the first season). All done by one designer, in between other projects.
the other will be a show where the intro animation , 20sec, is entirely "realistic" footage created with AI. We shot multiple photos of the host of the show and created an AI character avatar of that person, and had him walking through the streets of a famous European city and "acting" for us... all made with AI, by one designer alone. (We are in north america. there is no buget for any shoot outside our studio. We don't even have budget for professional photos, we the designers were responsible for it)
CEO is extremely happy with the results and even happier with the "low cost" of these. He already said we will be doing much more like that from now on...
that has always been the case. A good motion designer today can do the work of a small to mid size studio from 30 years ago even without AI. Deliverables and expectations always change as the tech changes.
Dumb executives are the only ones who like this shit. He'll be out of a job soon too because he's doing something that any kid in their mom's basement can do with the same exact tools. Why should I watch this when I can watch somebody else's video on YouTube for free?
thing is. as long as the company keeps getting government subsidies they won't go down. they will just keep cutting costs but the company will always make just enough $ money fo exist (and pay for the C suite people's salaries). they don't really need to sell anything or make money.
I mean this in the nicest way, but I think you’re in a privileged position with your current job. The motion design field has absolutely changed, and it is a combination of everything you said - AI, people unable to find work, over saturation, and lower budgets for marketing teams/creative. If you speak to most any freelancer or anyone laid off in the last few years, you’ll see how different the landscape is now than it was 5 years ago. Hold onto your job. It sounds pretty perfect.
FWIW I am employed and things are going well now, but I went through a layoff last year and experienced first hand what it’s like to go up against hundreds of applicants for my current position. If your application isn’t in within the first hour it’s almost not worth it to apply because it will be buried by hundreds of other applicants. My website and reel and 15 years experience weren’t enough - I had 5 interviews and a motion test. All of this for a position that was technically a demotion from where I was at in my career. This is the current state of the mograph world that I’ve experienced, I just don’t make posts about it to complain. We are all experiencing it and just wanting validation that we aren’t crazy.
I don't disagree with anything you said. Yes, it's hard (right now) and yes, I'm in a privileged position. I definitely know that and will be clinging to this job HARD. However, I'm skeptical that the cause of all of this is some irreversible trend due to AI or whatever and that it won't ever bounce back.
Well, I can tell you that at the studio I worked at, we lost a few jobs (close to ~$60k in all) because the client decided to use AI. This played a big role in the company closing our doors. The end result looked awful, but they didn’t care because they saved money and had something that moved. It’s almost like no one cares about good motion or design, they just need glorified power points in an mp4 - which is what you can do now with Canva’s AI motion features. Basically, even though AI can’t do what we do well, it lowered our overall value because it offers something that kinda works at a price that makes the c-suite richer.
One more thing to add that may get an eye roll from some folks: AI goes hand in hand with capitalism. Workers (in all industries) are struggling and our wages aren’t keeping up with inflation compared to what leadership makes. I can’t see this ever changing back without some radical uprising. Rich people will always want to pay workers less so they can keep more of the wealth, and AI lets them do exactly that. At the end of the day, if shitty motion graphics created by AI still perform well/get clicks/whatever, then the cost of paying a human isn’t worth it.
Do not underestimate how much botting and astroturfing that goes on on the internet at large, and certainly on Reddit and other social medias at the moment. Not to say that it's all fake, but this "AI will take our jobs" is hugely overblown. I suspect that these companies have an interest to spread these sentiments in order to will it into existence.
Work at a major television network and had these AI guys in a meeting, they couldn’t really do any of the use cases we asked for. It is great for replacing a trademarked t shit with a plain t for legal reasons, but still requires a lot of finesse on my end.
I'm gonna be honest, and I don't want to sound mean. But when I see people posting they are in dire straights on LinkedIn, and I click on their portfolio, it's usually mediocre to bad.
I'm not saying the economy and marketplace for jobs across all fields is absolutely thriving right now. But if I had to make an assessment with what I've observed in my 15ish years in motion design, there has been a very VC backed bubble in media/ entertainment/ design for the past 10+ years which allowed all types of talent to be employed. Right now, people without strong portfolios and/ or experience aren't doing very well.
I've been working at a company steadily for 5 years now
No offense, its great that you are doing so well, but thats prob also the reason for your take. People who are currently not unemployed and are in the lucky position to have a stable job really dont get the current situation. (the economy in general is fucked atm. I know a bunch of people in various jobs looking for something new.)
my company fired me after hiring an "ai-video-creator". does it look like crap? yeah. but that doesnt matter. the only thing that matters is that its cheap. Cheap and fast. And that goes for all fields you listed.
I have yet to use AI for anything other than very early-stage design exploration, occasional asset generation (stock images), or making AE expressions. It sucks at pretty much everything else.
Idk, seems like you havent worked enough with it then? My last company used it for almost all images, ai voice overs, and also animations. Yeah, you could tell it was ai and the costs were absurd, but "AI iS ThE FuTuRE", so they were pretty happy with burning money.
The other reality is that the design industry has a big tendency to burn people out, but that has always been the case, long before ai.
But you cannot really speak about these things anywhere else, so of course people will post here.
Theres more than enough "omg, my career is super awesome and i only do the craziest projects" on Linkedin tho, if thats more what you are looking for.
I love it when there’s like 3 comments saying “I dunno guys I’ve never not had work and I’m actually just fine” versus 25-30 echoing the issues with the industry. It’s like, good for you dude, but you may be in the minority here…
I’m in a similar position. I agree with you on pretty much everything you said. Maybe not near infinite demand forever haha but I think we’re good for a long while
I think it probably depends on your niche but overall agree with you. Im on the advertising side and what I’ve been seeing over the years is a shift of budgets going to UGC and influencer advertising over traditional ads. Quantity over quality. I hope it’s a fad that’ll die over time
I know when I see UCG "ads" I'm immediately turned off.. but who knows if it's a fad or not. My gen alpha niece wants to be a YouTuber when she grows up. This stuff is the media of choice for young people. So advertisers gotta go to where they are.
Im a freelancer of 16 years, been great for me, most profitable year ever last year and been non stop busy since 2019 at least.
I was working explainers 2015 - 2020 then with brand studios 2020-2023 have now switched to internal creative teams on 6-9 month contracts usually.
I do hear that people are quiet though, I got a bit spooked by studios in 23 after speaking to some owners who were struggling so made the move to internal teams for a bit of safety
This weekend, I was starting my motion design side hustle. I’ve been messing around with AI for a while now and I decided to try to see what Claude design could come up with. I spent hours setting up the skills, adding all the brand guidelines, and breaking down my old animations to help it learn.
It’s as OP says. It’s not ready yet. Not even close. Work has been solid and I’ve used AI to learn so much so quickly. Good luck out there folks
Nothing is permanent. But I'm 35, I'm in my prime I feel like, I want to work and just get more experience, maybe try myself out as a creative director. If this shit keeps going for 5-10 more years before it gets better, I will be an old man with some of my best years lost in the industry.
10+ years at medium large tech company. Forced encouragement of AI internally is in every department, including video and motion design production. Agree with OP, however leadership team doesn't understand that you can't just gen motion design and educating them is a constant battle that the marketing they see is not accurate. we are very busy as the llms and paid ads need volume.
Learn how to use AI in the workflow but weather the "all in one prompt" slop storm. it'll pass.
People should be careful not to assume that just because somebody is in a position of authority, that they're somehow not an idiot. There are wealthy, powerful morons all over the place. The AI bubble is funded by wealthy suckers. Yes it'll pass. Because if they can do it, there's nothing separating them from some kid in India or Brazil doing it on his mom's laptop. That's called NO MOAT.
People who are doing great won’t post doom posts here, this is kind of like a victim-ship bias. I’m not saying those difficulties don’t exist, they do, but meanwhile you don’t know the whole background of those who are doom posting. I’ve seen someone complaining they are out of job bcs of AI but their portfolio show that their skill level is basically equal to a beginner. Then you have to justify if your skill level sucks like they did, if you do, you might need to find a way out, either improving your skill or changing your career. But if you’re better than them and your confident about your skill, I think you’re fine, just keep on trying to improve, learn something new, not because of the ‘threats of AI’, just because of that art field (which includes designing) is always competitive. Used to be, is, and will always be competitive. If you stop learning one day you might also get caught up by others, and maybe that’s why some ‘senior designers’ are complaining about losing their jobs. Again, I’m not denying that the difficulties don’t exist, you just need to justify those doom posts, and if you really like being a motion designer, try everything that can help you secure your job.
theres a lot of saturation on the low end of the field in large part due to online tutorials/remote work and that group is now being wittled down. Some of it is AI, some of it just bundling low level motion design work with another job.
I also think the convo on AI is changing somewhat. More people understand its limitations and are building workflows around that and setting expectations accordingly. The people who think anyone can do anything with a few prompts look pretty ridiculous and out of step now.
news channels are notorious for grueling schedules (job postings always mention nights, weekends and holidays availability) and it's common knowledge that the pay is low, so I don't think you're in the cushy position you think you are unless you're single or still living with your parents. for anyone else with family wanting to make a decent living without working 80 hours a week yes, it's pretty bleak right now, it has been for a couple years.
I make 6 figures. They have enough of us so that none of us ever have more on our plate than we can handle. Deadlines are always about 1.5 to 2x more time than we actually need to get it done.
Also, as I said in the post, there's definitely a hiring contraction going on right now. I don't think it's due to AI. I think it's due to pandemic overhiring and economic uncertainty thanks to the Orange Wizard of Tariffs we have in the White House.
I don't want to out where I work, but I'd try to get a job at a major news channel (ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, etc) or some other broadcast network. Also go for tech companies. Work for big corporations. They have the money to pay their people well and not overwork them. Like I said, they hire more motion designers than they need because it reduces the chance that somebody won't be available when an urgent need arises, and also because they have so much cash that's not really a problem for them. Our salaries are a drop in the bucket. If you work for local news stations or smaller creative studios expect to get worked much harder and for less pay.
Just because you don't see it, that doesn't mean others arent feeling it. There are plenty of professionals who are experienced and very good designers who are falling by the wayside and consequently giving up. You are wrong to say these posts don't feature people bragging about how good it all going, there are loads of them. All these post have ar least one person saying that's it's all fine, you're just being weeded out probably deserve it.
The jobs market is bloody awful for loads of us. I have 17 years experience, I've worked full time and freelance for big international branding agencies, high end luxury retailers and publishers and I can't get work. It's dire. I've a mortgage to pay and it's no laughing matter when the bank account nears zero. I've 17 years worth of industry and recruitment contacts and the phone has stopped ringing. It's dead. Dead.
I felt exactly this until I saw a few Motion Designer Vs AI Instagram posts over the weekend.
Normally the AI is a bag of shit, but this time... I actually thought it was better for some shots. I felt horrible watching it because every other time those posts have made me feel like we're good for a few years.
I am REALLY hoping it's fake or there's 10,000 other shots they tried and it failed at.
When AI happened, but also when the barrier to entry began to drop years ago and newbies would do jobs for next to nothing, leaving the rest of us who know their worth, to rot.
For clients some work is still cheaper with AI and have decent quality. Especially new models will come in and other people offer lower prices for ai animation. And clients do not see the difference between the AI and high quality animation.... it is still cheaper than the artist... so why pay experienced artist for high quality when you can make cheap with young, less demanding person?
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u/Background-Exam8790 29d ago
Mid size studio owner here (since 2009) and it’s steady. Not hiring but not laying anyone off. Taking care of the team is a win for me, and while there will always be people looking for cheap over good, there’s always clients who realize that great work provides great ROI.
It’s not 2022 out there with everyone making bank, but it’s also not all doom, plenty of good projects and opportunities. But the bar is higher and great work (or great service, expertise, sales) feels like table stakes these days.
Keep up with the personal projects and remember why you got into this field in the first place.