VFX Artist

1. What does a VFX artist actually do?

In a nutshell

A VFX artist is someone who builds the scenes a camera can't shoot on a computer and attaches them to filmed footage so nobody can tell. If the audience thinks, "That's CGI," you've failed. If nobody notices, you've succeeded.

A VFX artist creates visual effects for movies, TV shows, streaming series, and commercials. VFX isn't just the obvious stuff, like explosions, monsters, and collapsing cities. Removing wires from an actor's face, adding visible breath to a winter scene, and replacing the entire view outside a window all count as VFX. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines this occupation as people who create moving images and visual effects for movies, TV, and games. It also explains that most work in teams, splitting a project into pieces so each person handles one part.

VFX isn't something one person handles from start to finish. Roles are divided along a production process called a pipeline. Combining the VFX career map from the UK's ScreenSkills with job descriptions from Vancouver Film School (VFS), here's roughly how it works:

• Roto/Paint, Prep: You trace actors or objects frame by frame to create masks, also called mattes. You also remove wires, rigs, tracking markers, and crew members who accidentally ended up in the shot to create a clean plate. This is where you prepare the ingredients for compositing.
• Matchmove/Tracking: You recreate the real camera's movement in 3D space. This has to be accurate for the CG to match the perspective and camera shake in the original footage.
• FX simulation (FX TD): You use simulations to create effects that follow the laws of physics, like fire, smoke, water, explosions, debris, cloth, and fur. Houdini is the main tool.
• Lighting/Lookdev: You light CG objects with virtual lights and match their materials, reflections, and shadows to the lighting in the filmed footage. Render passes are also prepared at this stage.
• Compositing: You combine live-action plates, CG renders, FX, matte paintings, and roto masks into a finished shot. Color, exposure, lens characteristics, motion blur, and film grain all have to match for the pieces to blend seamlessly. Nuke is the standard tool.
• CG Generalist: You work across modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, and lighting. On a small team, one person may handle all the CG production for a shot. Maya and Blender are the main tools.
• VFX Supervisor: You oversee the entire VFX process, from planning before the shoot through filming and post-production. You work with the director, cinematographer, and producer to decide how each shot will be made, and you're responsible for the final quality. This isn't an entry-level role. You work your way up after gaining experience across departments.

A newer branch is virtual production. Backgrounds created in Unreal Engine appear in real time on giant LED walls, and actors perform in front of them. Instead of compositing the background during post-production, you can see it right there on set. In Korea, companies like Giantstep work in this area through their real-time content businesses.

Here's what "a day in the life of a VFX artist" looks like for a compositor:

• Morning: Dailies. You watch yesterday's shots on a big screen with your supervisor and lead, getting notes like "That edge stands out" or "The shadow's too dark."
• Midday: Addressing notes. You redo masks, readjust colors, and render again. Revising one shot more than ten times is common.
• Afternoon: Starting the next shot. You bring the render passes from the 3D team into Nuke and look for anything that doesn't match the live-action footage.
• Evening: If a deadline is close, your day doesn't end here. Even the BLS says that while artists generally work regular hours, approaching deadlines can mean nights and weekends.

The key is the ability to blend your work naturally with other people's work, rather than just making something great on your own. Your shot is one piece of the process: you receive another department's output and pass yours on to the next.

Why this job is cool

I'll be honest. You can stay up all night working on someone else's movie, only to have your name appear in tiny letters near the end of the credits. Still, people choose this path for a reason.

The biggest draw is being the person who puts the impossible on screen. A director writes one line in a script: "The city collapses here." The VFX team turns that line into an actual image. You're doing something neither an actor nor a camera can do.

The rewarding moments are pretty specific:

• You're in a theater, and the audience has no reaction to your shot. That's the highest compliment. It means they couldn't tell anything had been added.
• Your name appears on a production watched around the world. Dexter Studios contributed technical work to Netflix's "Squid Game" Seasons 2 and 3 and "Yu Yu Hakusho," while Gulliver Studios handled VFX for "Squid Game." Hundreds of Korean artists appear in those credits.
• It's equal parts technology and art. One day you're adjusting physics simulation parameters. Another day you're choosing the color temperature of a light.

There are quieter rewards, too:

• Your reel from 6 months ago makes you cringe. That's proof your eye has improved.
• Pipelines are nearly the same around the world. The Nuke skills you learn in Seoul carry over to London, Vancouver, and Wellington.
• What you make sticks around. VFX from movies made 20 years ago is still being watched today.

The hard reality (reality check)

If you're even considering VFX, you need to understand how the industry works behind those impressive behind-the-scenes clips.

First, the work comes project by project. Studios hire when they land a production and cut staff when it ends. That means contract workers and freelancers make up a larger share than permanent employees. It's also why BLS statistics classify 63% of workers in this occupation as self-employed. Only 10% are employed in the motion picture and video industries.

And the studio itself can go under:

• In February 2025, the 111-year-old Technicolor Group shut down. It was the parent company of MPC, The Mill, and Mikros Animation. Employees were told on Friday that the company's finances were in serious trouble, and operations stopped the following Monday. At just one studio in Culver City, California, 217 people were laid off.
• Rhythm & Hues filed for bankruptcy in February 2013. Two weeks later, it won the Oscar for visual effects for "Life of Pi." The documentary "Life After Pi," which covered the collapse, highlighted a business model in which studios accept fixed-price contracts and then absorb the costs of production delays and last-minute revisions.

What nobody tells you:

• As deadlines approach, your nights and weekends disappear. Even the BLS's official description says so.
• Your shot might get cut. A shot you've spent weeks on can disappear entirely if it doesn't survive the edit.
• There's no such thing as "no more revisions." If the director changes their mind, you have to reopen a finished shot.
• The tools keep changing. A workflow you learn this year could be outdated next year.

2. Is this job still promising for the future?

A reality check on the job market

It's a strange picture: the market is growing, but jobs aren't. The number of VFX shots in a streaming series keeps rising. Netflix committed to investing about 3 trillion won in Korean content over four years starting in 2023, with 2026 as the final year. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, Netflix Korea said it would continue investing over the long term but didn't disclose an amount for the years ahead.

The U.S. BLS employment outlook is sobering, though. From 2025 to 2035, employment in this occupation is projected to show "little or no change (0%)." The 51,900 jobs recorded in 2025 are projected to fall to 51,800 ten years later, a decline of 100. About 4,200 openings are still expected each year, but most will replace people who move to other occupations or retire. In other words, these are replacement openings, not jobs created by growth.

Things are a little different in Korea. The rise in streaming originals brought a wave of work to domestic studios. Companies like Dexter Studios, Gulliver Studios, and Westworld work on Netflix productions, while Giantstep has expanded into virtual production and real-time content. Still, this research didn't turn up official statistics on wages, working hours, or contract types for Korean VFX workers. KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency) doesn't track VFX as a separate industry. It groups the work into broadcasting, film, and animation.

There's also a push to plan VFX before filming starts. On September 17 and 18, 2026, Netflix and KOCCA held a "VFX Pre-production Workshop" at the CKL Business Support Center in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. About 130 Korean production professionals attended. The workshop covered how to plan VFX scope, filming methods, budgets, and schedules together, starting at the script analysis stage. A Netflix VFX manager described a pre-production checklist as a safety net that protects the director's vision all the way to the final image. In a session on generative AI, the organizers said tools should support production while final decisions remain with directors and production teams. The workshop is part of the "KOCCA Netflix Production Academy," which has been running since 2024. The message is clear: the industry is moving toward building VFX into the planning stage instead of rushing to add it in post-production.

Will AI replace this job?

Here's the answer: AI isn't replacing VFX artists wholesale, but it is narrowing the path for newcomers.

Roto, paint, and cleanup are changing first. These used to involve someone tracing outlines by hand, frame by frame. Now Boris FX has officially announced that Mocha Pro can automatically generate masks with its AI-powered Matte Assist, then use those masks directly for tracking and object removal. Learning-based tools like Nuke's CopyCat are heading in the same direction. The artist's role is shifting from "making everything from scratch" to "checking AI output and fixing difficult areas like hair, motion blur, and semitransparent edges."

The BLS has included this in its official outlook, too. It says AI could reduce demand for this occupation by speeding up some animation and visual effects tasks. That's one reason behind the 0% employment growth forecast.

The problem is that roto and paint have traditionally been entry-level jobs. The ScreenSkills career map classifies roto artists and matchmove artists as entry-level roles. When those jobs shrink, newcomers lose the first step where they used to build practical experience. That's more than an individual problem. It's a question of how the industry will train skilled workers, and there isn't an answer yet.

These are the skills becoming more valuable now:

• A good eye: Spotting immediately where an AI-generated mask is wrong. If you can't recognize a bad result, faster tools just help you make mistakes faster.
• Compositing judgment: Knowing how light, lens characteristics, and grain need to work together to look real. That comes from observation, not a tool.
• Pipeline knowledge: Understanding how the next department will use your output. This becomes more important as roles shift toward quality checks and handling exceptions.
• Technical communication: Translating a director's words into technical requirements. That's exactly the kind of pre-production collaboration the workshop emphasized.

Actual pay

According to the U.S. BLS, pay in this occupation is relatively high among arts-related jobs.

United States (BLS, May 2025, USD):

• Median annual pay: $102,030 ($49.06 per hour)
• Bottom 10%: Less than $58,600
• Top 10%: More than $177,110
• Industry medians: software publishers $127,670, motion picture and video industries $100,990, advertising $86,290
• For comparison, the median across all arts and design occupations is $58,240. VFX is close to twice that.

There's a catch. BLS wage statistics exclude self-employed workers. But 63% of people in this occupation are classified as self-employed. So the figures above cover employees, leaving out the actual income of the many freelancers who move between contracts.

Korea: This research didn't turn up reliable official data showing pay by position or experience level. Most Korean studio job listings also say "according to company policy." I won't make up numbers here. Your best bet is to check the listings at studios you're interested in and ask during the interview.

Is it right for me? (self-assessment)

You could be a good fit if you:

• Can watch a scene 100 times and still notice "those 3 pixels are sticking out"
• Are comfortable adding your work to what other people have made as part of a team
• Don't mind reading technical documentation (you'll keep learning about renderers, color spaces, and file formats)
• Can handle the rhythm of finding another project every time one ends
• Don't take feedback as a personal attack (dailies mean having your shots critiqued in front of others every day)

Honestly, you might struggle if you:

• Want to make work under your own name (VFX is about realizing the director's vision)
• Need a predictable time to leave work (that falls apart before deadlines)
• Find it hard to revise the same shot ten times
• Find it hard to live with the possibility that your company could disappear

Work-life balance:

• Mid-project: generally regular working hours
• The 4 to 8 weeks before a deadline: nights and weekends are common
• Between projects: a gap if you're on a contract. That's when you update your reel and look for the next job

3. Hard truths you need to know: the downsides

The reality of work-life balance

In this job, the release date sets your schedule, not you. The release date doesn't move, but the director's revisions keep coming until the end. Overtime fills the gap.

• The BLS's official description: artists generally work regular hours, but approaching deadlines can mean nights and weekends
• Studios often work for a fixed price. More revisions mean more hours, not more money
• When productions overlap, one person may have to meet deadlines for two projects at once

In 2023, VFX workers at Marvel Studios in the U.S. voted unanimously to join IATSE. Variety called it a "historic move." The formation of a union shows how long problems with working conditions had been building up.

Stress and mental health

This research didn't turn up a mental health survey with figures I could verify. Instead, let's look at how the work is structured.

• Daily public critiques. During dailies, your shot plays in front of the team while people point out what's wrong. In a healthy workplace, that helps you grow. In a bad one, it feels like taking an exam every day.
• Revisions with no end in sight. You hear "This is the last round" five times.
• Your effort doesn't guarantee a result. A shot you've spent weeks on can leave nothing behind if it gets cut from the edit.
• Constant job insecurity. Technicolor employees were notified on Friday afternoon and lost their jobs on Monday.

People who last tend to separate themselves from their shots. Notes about a shot are about the shot, not about you. Learning that early helps you stay in the field.

The financial reality

Don't get carried away by the image of "Hollywood VFX."

• The U.S. median annual pay of $102,030 covers employees. It leaves out the income of the 63% who are self-employed
• You don't earn anything during gaps between projects. You have to think in terms of the months you actually worked, not an annual salary
• If a studio goes under, you might never receive unpaid wages. In Technicolor's case, employees came in over the weekend to return client assets after receiving WARN layoff notices
• Software licenses, powerful equipment, and ongoing training often come out of your own pocket

Career risks

Betting your life on one studio is the biggest risk. If the company can't land a project, there's no place for you. If it goes under, your job disappears with it.

• Technicolor in 2025: its UK business entered administration, its French parent entered court-supervised restructuring, and assets were sold
• Rhythm & Hues in 2013: it won an Oscar two weeks after filing for bankruptcy
• Work moves between countries that offer subsidies. Studios open and close branches in cities with generous tax credits
• If AI reduces entry-level roles, the first rung of the career ladder disappears

That's why people who stay in the field don't tie themselves to one studio, one tool, or one country. They keep their reels current and maintain a broad enough skill set to join a pipeline wherever they're needed.

What drives people to leave

The same conditions we've covered are also reasons people leave the field. Here's how they add up:

• Contracts are tied to productions, so you have to find another job every time one ends
• When a studio closes, your career gets interrupted, too. That's what happened at Technicolor and Rhythm & Hues
• Overtime before deadlines repeats year after year

The takeaway: If you want to put the impossible on screen, work at the intersection of technology and art, and build skills you can use around the world, and you're ready for project-based uncertainty and deadline pressure, VFX is a path worth exploring. If a stable employer and a predictable end to your workday matter more, start by looking at related roles, such as in-house motion graphics at a broadcaster or advertising production company, or technical artist roles at game companies.

4. Legends of the field

What do these people have in common? When the tools didn't exist, they built them. As the industry moved from camera tricks to computer graphics, they didn't wait for someone else to make the software. They found their own ways forward.

Dennis Muren, the person who opened the door to the CG era at ILM

Did you know Dennis Muren took a year off work to learn what CG was all about?

Born in Glendale, California, in 1946, he fell in love with effects at age eight while filming model spaceships and dinosaurs. He went on to supervise visual effects on movies by George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron. In 1990, after finishing "The Abyss," he took a yearlong sabbatical to study computer graphics software and hardware theory. What he learned led to the liquid-metal robot in "Terminator 2," and the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" convinced Lucas that he could finally make the "Star Wars" prequels.

He won nine Oscars, eight for visual effects and one technical award, and in 1999 became the first visual effects artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The lesson: when tools change, the person who stops to learn them helps create the next era. That's exactly the situation VFX artists face with AI today.

Joe Letteri, the supervisor who took Weta to the top of the world

Did you know Joe Letteri has won six Oscars for visual effects?

Born in Pennsylvania in 1957, he works as a senior visual effects supervisor at Weta in Wellington, New Zealand. His name is associated with work that translates actors' performances into digital characters, including Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings," "King Kong," and the Na'vi in "Avatar." He was also a senior supervisor on "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" in 2022 and "Avatar: Fire and Ash" in 2025. The New Zealand government awarded him an honorary ONZM.

The lesson: VFX at its best preserves a performance, rather than showing off technology. When a digital character makes the audience cry, the technology becomes invisible.

Douglas Trumbull, the person who created the universe of "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Did you know Douglas Trumbull created Stanley Kubrick's universe while he was in his mid-20s?

Born in Los Angeles in 1942, he caught Kubrick's attention while making promotional films about spaceflight at a small animation studio. On "2001: A Space Odyssey," he and Kubrick wanted audiences to feel as if they were actually in space. That ambition later carried over into the high-resolution IMAX projection system he helped develop. He went on to start his own company and create special effects for films such as "The Andromeda Strain." He also worked as a director and inventor before his death in 2022.

The lesson: VFX is about designing an experience, not just an image. Where do you want the audience to feel they are? That's the starting point for every shot.

John Knoll, the VFX supervisor who created Photoshop

Did you know John Knoll is an original creator of Photoshop?

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1962, he created Adobe Photoshop with his older brother, Thomas Knoll. He also worked as a visual effects supervisor at ILM, leading work on the "Star Wars" prequels and the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series. He's now ILM's chief creative officer (CCO). On "The Abyss," he served as computer graphics project designer, and he also created the lens flare software Knoll Light Factory.

The lesson: if the tool you need doesn't exist, build it. For a VFX artist, programming is more than an optional skill. It's a powerful asset. The BLS also says employers look for "strong computer programming skills."

Kim Yong-hwa, the Korean director who started his own VFX company

Did you know Kim Yong-hwa, the director of "Along with the Gods," started a VFX company to make his own movie?

He debuted with "Oh! Brothers" in 2003, then scored consecutive hits with "200 Pounds Beauty" and "Take Off." His 2013 movie "Mr. Go," about a gorilla playing baseball, failed at the box office. But the company he founded in December 2011 to make that film became today's Dexter Studios. A Pixar RenderMan profile describes Dexter as having been "founded in Seoul in 2011 as a VFX house for director Kim Yong-hwa." He made a comeback with "Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds" in 2017, which drew more than 14 million moviegoers, followed by "Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days" in 2018, which also topped 10 million. Dexter later worked on "Squid Game" Seasons 2 and 3 and "Yu Yu Hakusho."

The lesson: Korean VFX built its skills through its own productions instead of waiting for Hollywood. A failed movie left behind a company, and that company helped build an industry.

5. How do I prepare?

If you're still a student (middle school, high school, or college)

"I don't have the equipment" and "I can't afford classes" are excuses. Blender is free, and Nuke and Houdini have free learning editions. Here's what really matters.

Things you can start right now:

• Finish one complete shot. Start by adding a CG object to footage you shot on your phone. Work through tracking, matching the lighting, and compositing to get a hands-on feel for the pipeline.
• Take movies apart. Pause your favorite scenes frame by frame and guess where the live action ends and the CG begins. Then check your guesses against behind-the-scenes footage.
• Observe light. Put a cup by a window and photograph how its shadows and reflections change throughout the day. Half of compositing is understanding how light falls.

Skills to build:

• Compositing basics: Learn node-based compositing with Nuke's free learning edition, Nuke Non-commercial, or Fusion, which comes with DaVinci Resolve
• 3D basics: Use Blender to work through modeling, lighting, and rendering
• If you're interested in FX: Learn particles and simulation with Houdini Apprentice, Houdini's learning edition
• Programming: Basic Python. You'll use it directly for pipeline automation and building tools

Projects you can start this week:

• Composite an object made in Blender into a 10-second video of your room, including shadows and reflections
• Roto one person out of a video and replace the background
• Simulate a candle flame or smoke in Houdini and composite it into live-action footage

The goal isn't an "amazing reel." It's the experience of taking responsibility for one shot from start to finish. That gives you something to talk about in an interview.

Your demo reel is your resume

In VFX hiring, your reel matters more than your degree. The BLS says employers prioritize a good portfolio and strong technical skills, and Vancouver Film School puts it plainly: a strong reel gets you hired.

Korean studios are no different. Dexter Studios' careers page asks for a resume, cover letter, and portfolio. Giantstep's job listings say that for collaborative work, you must clearly specify exactly which parts you handled. If you don't, your entire team-project reel can come under suspicion.

Rules to follow when making your reel:

• Keep it short. One to two minutes. Put your best shot first.
• Include breakdowns. Show the original plate, intermediate stages, and final result side by side. The point is to show what you did.
• Keep it focused. If you're applying for compositing, include only compositing shots. A reel that mixes everything together can suggest you aren't good at any one thing.
• State your contribution. For every shot, specify something like "I did the roto and compositing for this shot; a teammate created the CG."

Where do you start? (entry-level roles)

Roto and paint, or junior compositor roles, are the most common starting points. The ScreenSkills career map classifies roto artists and matchmove artists as entry-level roles. Here's the compositing career path outlined by Vancouver Film School:

Roto/Prep → Junior Compositor → Compositor → Senior/Lead → Compositing Supervisor

You can also start directly in FX or lighting, but those roles place more direct emphasis on your 3D portfolio. Giantstep's listings require Houdini, the ability to work with simulation data, and a basic understanding of shading and compositing for FX roles. Lighting roles call for Maya, Arnold, Nuke, and an understanding of color spaces and lighting theory, including natural light.

As we covered earlier, though, roto and paint are the first roles AI is affecting. Even if you start there, make a plan from the beginning to move into compositing. Your goal is to become someone who's good at compositing because they understand roto, rather than someone who's only good at roto.

Where you can learn in Korea

I'll list only the programs offering formal VFX training that this research confirmed.

• Chungkang College of Cultural Industries (Convergence Content School): It explicitly lists VFX among its areas of study and career paths and offers project-based training using Unreal Engine. Graduate destinations include VFX companies such as Wysiwyg Studios.
• KOCCA Netflix Production Academy: This is training for working professionals, run by Netflix and KOCCA since 2024. It covers planning, production, and post-production, and held a VFX pre-production workshop in September 2026. It's aimed at industry professionals rather than students, but it gives you a window into what the industry needs.

Other university departments and private training schools aren't listed because I couldn't verify their names and curricula on official pages. Wherever you go, use one standard: where have graduates' reels gotten them hired? Look at which studios hired the graduates, not the school's promotional materials.

If you're switching from another field

VFX is relatively open to career changers. Your reel can stand in for a degree.

Experience that transfers well:

• Photography and cinematography: If you already understand light and lenses, you can pick up compositing quickly
• Programming: This leads directly into pipeline TD and FX TD roles. Python and math are your strengths
• Architecture and industrial design: You can directly apply your 3D modeling skills and spatial awareness
• Game art: Unreal Engine experience transfers directly to virtual production
• Motion graphics and video editing: The move into node-based compositing has a relatively low barrier

Realistically, your first role will be junior. Your years of experience in your previous job won't transfer directly. But if your reel shows the expertise you built there, that can give you a distinctive advantage in hiring.

Essential skills

• High priority: compositing judgment, the eye to make live action and CG look like one image
  • Resources: Nuke's learning edition and Foundry's official courses, analyzing movie frames
• High priority: 3D basics, working through the full process from modeling to rendering
  • Resources: Blender's official materials, completing a small scene in Maya or Blender
• High priority: understanding light and cameras, lighting theory, lens characteristics, and color spaces
  • Resources: shooting and compositing your own footage
• Medium priority: Houdini and simulation, essential if you're pursuing FX
  • Resources: SideFX's official tutorials
• Medium priority: Python, automating repetitive tasks and building tools
  • Resources: the Python API documentation for Nuke and Houdini
• Medium priority: Unreal Engine, virtual production and real-time rendering
  • Resources: Epic Games' official learning materials
• Lower but growing priority: evaluating AI output, the eye to catch errors in automatically generated masks and cleanup
  • Resources: trying tools like Mocha Pro's Matte Assist and collecting examples of where they fail

6. Learning resources

Official free learning materials

• Foundry Learn, official courses from Nuke's developer. Covers everything from compositing basics to advanced workflows (https://learn.foundry.com/)
• SideFX Tutorials, official tutorials from Houdini's developer. Use them alongside the free learning edition (https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/)
• Blender, free 3D software and its official manual (https://www.blender.org/)
• DaVinci Resolve, the free version includes the node-based compositing tool Fusion (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve)

Understanding roles and career paths

• ScreenSkills VFX career map, a map of industry roles created by a UK industry organization. Shows which jobs are entry-level and where you can go from them, all on one page (https://www.screenskills.com/media/oa3csza0/2756-vfx-industry-career-map-interactive-feb25.pdf)
• VFS compositor job guide, explains which departments compositors collaborate with and how their careers progress (https://vfs.edu/content/compositor)
• BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, the U.S. government's career outlook. It's the authoritative source for pay, employment, and education requirements (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/multimedia-artists-and-animators.htm)

Korean studio careers pages (a window into what the industry wants)

• Dexter Studios careers (https://dexterstudios.com/ko/careers/)
• Giantstep careers, each listing spells out the software skills and portfolio requirements for the role (https://www.giantstep.co.kr/career.php)
• KOCCA Netflix Production Academy, training for working professionals from Netflix and KOCCA (https://welcon.kocca.kr/en/info/business/1956652)

Where to post your reel and get feedback

• The Rookies, a platform where students and junior artists post their work and get feedback from the industry. It also has a VFX career guide (https://www.therookies.co/)

Keeping up with the industry

• VFX Voice, a magazine published by the Visual Effects Society (VES). Covers how productions are made and the issues facing the industry (https://www.vfxvoice.com/)
• Boris FX blog, developer announcements that show how far AI-powered roto and masking tools have come (https://blog.borisfx.com/press/mocha-pro-unveils-ai-powered-rotoscoping-and-masking)

One last thing. Compositing one shot from start to finish this week matters more than going through every resource on this list. Even if it's rough, make a breakdown and save it. When you look at that shot again in 6 months, you'll see how much you've improved, and that progress becomes the first page of your reel.