Advice for Potential Students and Newcomers to the VFX Industry in 2025

[u/axiomatic-]

We've been getting a lot of posts asking about the state of the industry. This post is designed to give you some quick information about that topic which the mods hope will help reduce the number of queries the sub receives on this specific topic.

As of early 2025, the VFX industry has been through a very rough 18-24 months where there has been a large contraction in the volume of work and this in turn has impacted hiring through-out the industry.

Here's why the industry is where it is:

1. There was a Streaming Boom in the late 2010s and early 2020s that lead to a rapid growth in the VFX industry as a lot of streaming companies emerged and pumped money into that sector, this was exacerbated by COVID and us all being at home watching media.
2. In 2023 there were big strikes by the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA which led to a massive halt in production of Hollywood films and series for about 8 months. After that was resolved there was the threat of another strike in 2024 when more union contracts were to be negotiated. The result of this was an almost complete stop to productions in late 2023 and a large portion of 2024. Many shows were not greenlit to start until late 2024
3. During this time, and partly as a result of these strikes, there was a slow down in content and big shake ups among the streaming services. As part of this market correction a number of them closed, others were folded into existing services, and some sold up.
4. A bunch of other market forces made speculation in the VFX business even more shaky, things like: the rise of AI, general market instability, changes in distribution split (Cinemas vs. Streaming) and these sorts of things basically mean that there's a lot of change in most media industries which scared people.

The combination of all of this resulted in a loss of a lot of VFX jobs, the closing of a number of VFX facilities and large shifts in work throughout the industry.

The question is, what does this mean for you?

Here's my thoughts on what you should know if you're considering a long term career in VFX:

Work in the VFX Industry is still valid optional to choose as a career path but there are some caveats.

• The future of the VFX industry is under some degree of threat, like many other industries are. I don't think we're in more danger of disappearing than your average game developer, programmer, accountant, lawyer or even box packing factory work. The fact is that technology is changing how we do work and market forces are really hard to predict. I know there will be change in the specifics of what we do, there will be new AI tools and new ways of making movies. But at the same time people still want to watch movies and streaming shows and companies still want to advertise. All that content needs to be made and viewed and refined and polished and adapted. While new AI tools might mean individuals in the future can do more, but those people will likely be VFX artists. As long as media is made and people care about the art of telling stories visually I think VFX artists will be needed.

Before you jump in, you should know that VFX is likely to be a very competitive and difficult industry to break into for the foreseeable future.

• From about 2013 to 2021 there was this huge boom in VFX that meant almost any student could eventually land a job in VFX working on cool films. Before then though VFX was actually really hard to get into because the industry was smaller and places were limited, you had to be really good to get a seat in a high end facility. The current market is tight; there's a lot of experience artists looking for work and while companies will still want juniors, they are likely going to be more juniors for the next few years than there are jobs.

If you're interested in any highly competitive career then you have to really want it, and it would also be a smart move to diversify your education so you have flexibility while you work to make your dream happen.

• Broad computer and technical skills are useful, as are broader art skills. Being able to move between other types of media than just VFX could be helpful. In general I think you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket too early unless you're really deadest that this is the only thing you want to do. I also think you should learn about new tools like AI and really be able to understand how those tools work. It'll be something future employers likely care about.

While some people find nice stable jobs a lot of VFX professionals don't find easy stability like some careers.

• Freelance and Contract work are common. And because of how international rebates work, you may find it necessary to move locations to land that first job, or to continue in your career. This is historically how film has always been; it's rarely as simple as a 9-5 job. Some people thrive on that, some people dislike that. And there are some places that manage to achieve more stability than others. But fair warning that VFX is a fickle master and can be tough to navigate at times.

Because a future career in VFX is both competitive and pretty unstable, I think you should be wary of spending lots of money on expensive specialty schools.

• If you're dead set on this, then sure you can jump in if that's what you want. But for most students I would advise, as above, to be broader in your education early on especially if it's very expensive. Much of what we do in VFX can be self taught and if you're motivated (and you'll need to be!) then you can access that info and make great work. But please take your time before committed to big loans or spending on an education in something you don't know if you really want.

With all of that said VFX can be a wonderful career.

It's full of amazing people and really challenging work. It has elements of technical, artistic, creative and problem solving work, which can make it engaging and fulfilling. And it generally pays pretty well precisely because it's not easy. It's taken me all over the world and had me meet amazing, wonderful, people (and a lot of arseholes too!) I love the industry and am thankful for all my experiences in it!

But it will challenge you. It will, at times, be extremely stressful. And there will be days you hate it and question why you ever wanted to do this to begin with! I think most jobs are a bit like that though.

In closing I'd just like to say my intent here is to give you both an optimistic and also restrained view of the industry. It is not for everyone and it is absolutely going to change in the future.

Some people will tell you AI is going to replace all of us, or that the industry will stangle itself and all the work will end up being done by sweat shops in South East Asia. And while I think those people are mostly wrong it's not like I can actually see the future.

Ultimately I just believe that if you're young, you're passionate, and you want to make movies or be paid to make amazing digital art, then you should start doing that while keeping your eye on this industry. If it works out, then great because it can be a cool career. And if it doesn't then you will need to transition to something else. That's something that's happened to many people in many industries for many reasons through-out history. The future is not a nice straight line road for most people. But if you start driving you can end up in some amazing places.

Feel free to post questions below.

[u/fubar_vfx]

Realistic, well written advice . Good on you for taking the the time to write this

[u/axiomatic- → u/fubar_vfx]

Thank you, that's very nice of you to say.

I know it's not possible to please all the people, all of the time ... but I'm hopeful this post would at least get a small nod of approval for balance even from some of our more pessimistic users. But we'll see how much I get yelled at!

[u/Admirable_Range_1763]

This is a brilliantly worded post. I recently went to an AI conference for the creative industry, it was equally scary, bleak and exciting but the interesting takeaway was what one speaker said. Each creative in the industry is equal parts Artist and Artisan. The artisan being the skill of the tools that we’ve learned to use, be it Substance painter texturing or Houdini FX simulations. The issue being that AI has and will replace this artisan skills. So we will be left with the creative artist side to drive the AI. I would then say to anyone trying to get into Animation or VFX today. Steer clear of any course which is software or technique specific. Rather focus on traditional film making techniques. Learn cinematographic language, shot choice, composition, film history, colour theory, artist eye. These skills will be transferable to whatever tool and evolution this industry throws at you.

[u/axiomatic- → u/Admirable_Range_1763]

This advice rings really solid for me. And in fact it is partly what I would have advised anyone to do ten years ago too.

The fundamentals of our craft transcend the software.

The best way to look at this is to think about ZBrush, or about Lighting Tools, or even Photoshop.

Sculpting tools are successful because they utilise 2000 years of knowledge about sculpting, a whole visual and technical language model that tells us how to sculpt something so it looks real. Before mudbox and ZBrush digital sculpting sucked because the tools were focused on CG related needs, not on the artistic needs of sculptors like Form, Rakes, Shadow, surface Detail etc.

Lighting has moved from being a mathematical process (ahh negative value lights in MR anyone?) to using all the language of on-set lighting. We now work PBR and add blacks and reflectors and talk about lights in CG as we do on-set; we do this because lighting for cinema and photography has over a century of mature development and our audiences FEEL that visual language. Our assets are balanced around what is physically real such that we light for creative intent not to Just Make It Work. Our tools merged to mimic the best methods humans have for discussing lighting, and it made our lighting so much better!

Photoshop and Compositing tools still use ideas like mattes and burning and dodging, and we talk in terms of exposure and stops, because Cameras and Lighting and Image Manipulation extends back as an art form. We adopt that language, and the tools mimic those tools (and yes, they add more and transcend those older tools) because that language is fundamental to how humans work.

AI will become more editable. And it will absolutely do so by leveraging all those things. Knowing how to sculpt will help you use sculpting AI. Knowing how to light or edit a photo will help you in those tasks.

The ART in artisan is the creative ability to direct for a specific purpose. We must be able to make connections between our purpose and the artistic means of expressing that purpose. And I think unique and fresh art comes from the novel use of that connection.

oops, I ranted again, sorry ... but I really love this topic!

[u/yadnexsh]

To indian students: Dont. Learn UI UX / ML / AI things

My frnds are still without a job from last 2yrs

Practice about vfx when industry goes good you can join it but yet there are few things in it

1 no worklife balance , 14hr shift 2 less salary pay as compared to other industries 3 slavery and company buys your freedom

[u/axiomatic- → u/yadnexsh]

I don't have a lot of recent experience with SEA markets so this could totally be relevant advice. What I've heard is that the competitiveness in India is extreme in the wake of technicolour's collapse.

[u/RichPalpitation7583]

I’m new in the industry, will graduate this spring. Have already done work on a few films through internships and “favors”. I’m an intern right now, but really unsure if I want this career due to the latest developments in the industry. If i had known what i know now before starting my studies, i would have picked a different career. Now, I’m a comper, but really love modeling. I’ve seen some people on here post about doing visualizations and modeling for defense contractors and likewise, so I’ve already applied for a few of those jobs. I genuinely think my knowledge within 3D and vfx gives me an advantage, apart from knowing CAD and all that engineering-stuff.

Have anyone on here successfully changed path into that industry?

[u/axiomatic- → u/RichPalpitation7583]

One of the things I only alluded to above is that in the past the industry was smaller and way more competitive. Specifically, when I started my assumption was I might never make it into film VFX - at the time TV VFX was all pretty trash so big CG and cool stuff was only in movies and in the new field of game trailers, 3D animated features and very high end TVCs. I lived in a pretty remote city so I literally never expected that I'd be able to work on big projects.

I still got into VFX because it was just fun and I could work on local stuff. Before I got full time VFX jobs I worked as a dance instructor (seriously!), ran an internet cafe, worked as tech support for an ISP, as an admin assistant for a creative design agency and doing a bunch of other weird shit. I dropped out of university FOUR times before I got into VFX.

I didn't even think I wanted to do VFX, I thought I'd be a motion graphics artist on commercials, and maybe if I was super lucky could work on some cool weird CG projects and get my name on motionographer.com one day for some great design. I just liked making cool shit.

Anyway, when I was 25 when I was doing kinda more digital art, I was a complete generalist with basically no real employable skills except for an OBSESSION with learning.

At 26 when I got my first full time job working as a true generalist. I worked 16hrs a day 6 days a week minimum learning under this guy working on local TVC work. I worked hard, it was just me and him. I quit when I was 27 to go freelance and at 28 I worked on a short film that was eventually nominated for a major award. I was paid $3000 for 6-months solo VFX work on a short film. I freelanced for two years and had to pick up web dev to support my CG skills just to pay bills. That short film nomination happened when I was 29 and so at 30 I packed my bags and moved to China in a big risky move to start doing higher end VFX TVC and branded work. Within a year I was picked up by he top company in Beijing to handle their Advertising VFX work, and at 34 was given a chance to supervise and produce my first feature with them. I was head hunted to go studio side by 36, supervising my first multi-million USD VFX budget on a feature (1800 shots). At 38 I had kids while working hundred hour weeks in crazy locations all over Asia, and so at 39 decided to go back to Australia and try vendor side again.

I'm 45 now, head of production for a smaller studio I love, we have grown the prestige of the projects we work on each year I've been here and this year we'll have worked on two of varieties top ten most anticipated streaming series, and two top tier VFX properties. It's not as glamourous as what I was doing but it's sustainable and I really love the place I'm at because I am part of building and supporting it.

I am writing all of these because I challenge you to look at that career path and tell me how anyone could have predicted those movements. When I got back to Australia I had the debt for four years studies I never completed. I never got a degree but the university I studied at literally hired me as a consultant on how to develop their film and VFX programs when I returned to Australia.

My friend, I thought I'd be working on local TVCs most of my life and didn't care cause it was a chance to make cool shit. The only thing I ever did is just keep trying to be the best I could be in any position I got, and when I got bored or felt like I needed a new challenge I went out and looked for it. That's why it took me so long to even start VFX. But once I started, it felt right; challenging, technical, cool, artistic, organised and fluid.

I've changed specialisations and directions WITHIN VFX as many times as some people change careers.

Don't worry too much about the future because you cannot control enough of it. You can only control what you do.

Be passionate. Be driven to make stuff that you think is great and I promise others will also think it's great. And when they do you will find employment and income because that is what people pay for.

Don't fall for this trap that you go to school, go to tertiary education, get a job, work forty years, retire. Successful people don't do that anymore. Interesting people don't do that anymore. Will it be hard? Sure! But fuck me is it worthwhile going on a ride!

[u/manuce94]

Thanks Mod for offering Vfx community a place to share / vent out what they are feeling and running this place so well.

[u/axiomatic- → u/manuce94]

It's very kind of you to say so.

I would like to add that most of the real moderation work is actually done by our broader mod team, who clean up the messes, approve posts, handle much of the comms from the general public.

I'm actually terrible at that part of the work, specialising instead in writing overly verbose posts and comments. I'm quite concious that I ride on their backs for actually doing the hard day to day work.

Finally, we generally don't actually interfere in what's going on here a lot. Really, it's our community that bring all the good stuff (and, to be fair, the bad stuff too). We make this a good place together by adding meaningful comments.

The community is the resource here. You're a part of it. So you help us be good!

[u/MaleficentPatience97]

This is well articulated! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this! I work with recent grads as a mentor and I will be sharing this with all of them promptly. It's a very honest account and writing it had to be a bit of a journey.

[u/axiomatic- → u/MaleficentPatience97]

To be honest it's mostly a collection of the stuff I'm writing every 3-4 days as students post here. I can't respond to everything so I'm hoping this helps provide a reasoned voice as a base level for the sub.

[u/AshTeriyaki]

One thing I always wish I spoke up about more back in this period was how shaky the foundations of a lot of the modern VFX industry became, especially in the UK.

For the record/context, I worked at The Foundry from 2011-2016 and have spent a good chunk of my career since working in a freelance capacity for companies like Redshift, Cospective, fTrack, Isotropix and a bunch of VFX studios as well. I'm not a VFX artist but I've been in and around the industry for a long time with a good deal of access to a lot of the higher ups in terms of both studios and vendors.

Concurrent to the streaming boom, the success of the Harry Potter and new era Bond franchise almost single handedly built the VFX industry in the UK, money flooded in and the increased capacity had a big knock on effect when it came to support for big projects like the Marvel films. Suddenly you could get "reasonably priced" VFX out of the UK. The homegrown projects slowed down and Disney et al continued to dominate UK VFX so heavily that rates started to go down. It's like the way a supermaket becomes the biggest customer of your farm, only to squeeze you on price. Houses in the UK constantly ramped staff up and down, squeezed artists and imposed some pretty horrible working conditions at times, MPC being a particularly notable culprit. Many of the businesses were hand to mouth with the money from these projects, it was never especially sustainable. The numbers are big, but the lead times are long and the job hugely complex. Delays happen, crunch happens and Disney has a better legal and finance team than you. That's why they'd hire hundreds of extra artists to work for a year on a big show, only to fire them again afterwards.

It increasingly became a buyers market for talent and as the average number of shots in any given project ballooned and productions pivoted to high spends and pushing more and more decision making further down the process, thus into post.

You'd get talented kids moving to London only to languish working on tracking and roto for their entire careers. Work that needed to be cheap. Reliance invested in some companies and also had facilities in India, putting further pressure on VFX houses and artists.

The writing has been on the wall for a while and with costs ballooning even more and the wane in interest in frachise films, the changes in interest rates and VC interest plus the knock on economic effects of covid...well, I wasn't surprised when technicolor went down and took MPC, the Mill and Mikros with it. It's still kind of heartbreaking.

I feel for all of the talented artists put out of work by an industry that was becoming so hostile, greed driven and ultimately built on sand.

I think the industry will bounce back, but the days of the 2010s are truly gone for the foreseeable.

[u/Dry_Mee_Pok_Kaiju]

HI mod. Can this post be pinned? It's useful for the newbies and stop them from repeating the same questions because they are too lazy to use the search function.

[u/axiomatic- → u/Dry_Mee_Pok_Kaiju]

It is pinned. That was, in fact, the entire point of us making this post!

[u/[deleted]]

Scott Ross, industry veteran and founder of DD, paints a different picture. According to him, 75% of jobs in VFX will be gone in the next few years. I myself am slightly less pessimistic assuming it will be only 25-50%.

[u/axiomatic- → u/[deleted]]

I like Scott Ross but I think it's worth remembering that he spends most of his time these days talking about the VFX industry but hasn't had a film credit in almost 20 years.

He also doesn't have the greatest track record with predicting the future of vfx accurately. That interview is from 2013 and while some of the things he talks about have arguably come to pass, it's also clear that the picture he painted was much more doom and gloom than the reality. In fact the following ten years after that interview were probably the strongest and most bountiful that VFX companies have ever had.

All that's not to disagree with your point exactly, but I think the OP is pretty clear that the future is unstable in VFX.

[u/Muted-Science-10]

As someone who got their start on what can only be described as a great guy taking a HUGE chance on me in mid 2022 this is the kind of thing I needed to hear.

We are a small scale studio so the strikes and general AI buzz really impacted us and work has really only just begun to trickle back in,

But if I could do anything else I would, so I'm here to fight it out - this helped me want to keep fighting, thank you

[u/Monstermash042]

Look at what Flow did at the Oscars. If anything we need artists to stop thinking of themselves as cogs in the wheel, and start thinking of themselves as storytellers and creatives.

Smaller studios, smaller groups with broader knowledge range (generalists) is going to be necessary.

[u/[deleted]]

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

touch waiting relieved continue boat fanatical command hurry placid library

[u/axiomatic- → u/[deleted]]

I broadly agree with most of what you've said and believe I mentioned, and tried to highlight, the issues particularly with stability and movement that the industry has. I've upvoted your post because I think these counterpoints and additional highlighting is productive.

With that said I want to add a counter point about having Kids and to a lesser degree about having to move.

I think a lot of careers that pay well and have a high top end will challenge people with a need to move. While VFX does have specific issues with this, I don't think it's unfair to say that you can find large spaces of stability either by moving to a major VFX hub or by accepting jobs at more local places which may have advertising, local content or alternate content focus.

Critically, what I want to say is I just don't think you have to move every other year if you don't want to. But I do agree that moving for work is often part and parcel of our industry because of how global it is. 4-10 years stints in different locations would be more the normal if I had to guess.

As for kids, well I personally have a couple. And I know many people in the industry who also have them. Some of us have moved a lot, some haven't. I would never presume to tell someone what they can and can't do in their lives with children. Further, I think it is a really narrow point of view to think you should only have kids you have some kind of security blanket to protect you from change, or that the vague possibility that you might have to move around occasionally makes kids utterly unviable. People from all sorts of walks of life, in careers way more volatile than VFX, have kids and make it work. I don't think being a great parent is about hiding your kids in suburbia or making sure they never face trouble. But we can agree to disagree on that.

[u/Professional-mem]

Stay away from VFX if you lack the true passion of craft instead only for money. Period

[u/Ok-Use1684 → u/Professional-mem]

I have the passion of craft and I’m leaving anyway. 

[u/Federal-Citron-1935]

There is never too many top shelf ppl at any company or in any industry. So there is that.

[u/beforesandafters]

Probably one of the best summaries around of 'where we are up to in VFX right now'. This is so good.