Resume template · Updated October 2026
Motion designer resume template
Short answer
Use Meridian, the colourless default, so the resume stays quiet and your reel does the showing, with skills printed above experience where studios look for After Effects and Cinema 4D. The fictional sample animates promos at a studio: title sequences, an expressions-driven template for weekly promos, 3D product shots, and a reel breakdown with timecodes that tells a reviewer exactly what he did on each shot.
Download the motion designer sample
Adrian is a fictional motion designer. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Meridian suits a motion designer resume
Meridian uses no colour, so nothing on the page competes with the reel it is there to sell, and it prints skills above experience: the first thing a studio checks is After Effects, Cinema 4D and the renderer you know. Its labelled skill rows keep animation craft and software apart.
Second choice: Olivia. Olivia adds a bold blue header band and keeps skills first, if you want the page itself to make an impression on screen.
What goes in each section, in Meridian's order
Meridian prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Your range (2D, 3D or both) and the kind of work: broadcast, product marketing, UI motion, explainers. Studios staff by specialism, and one sentence tells them where you fit.
- Skills. Craft under Technical (animation, modelling, type, compositing), software under Tools, including the renderer and any plugins you rely on.
- Work Experience. Name projects by type and client category, and say which parts were yours: design, animation, 3D, compositing. Pipeline work such as templates or expressions deserves a bullet, since it saves other people time.
- Education. Degree or diploma with school and year. Many motion designers are self-taught or come from film or graphic design; one line covers it either way.
- Reel breakdown. A reel breakdown: timecode, project and your role on each shot. It answers the question every reviewer has while watching, which parts this person did.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Adrian Vasquez
Motion Designer, 2D and 3D
Los Angeles, CA | adrian.vasquez@example.com | (323) 555-0164 | reel.example.com/adrian-vasquez | linkedin.com/in/sample-adrian-vasquez
Motion designer with five years in broadcast promos and product marketing. Designs and animates 2D and 3D work in After Effects and Cinema 4D, from style frames and storyboards to final delivery.
Experience
Motion Designer, Brightcoil Studio, Los Angeles, CA (03/2024 to Present)
- Design and animate promos and title sequences for streaming and cable clients, from style frames through final delivery.
- Built an After Effects template system driven by expressions for a client's weekly show promos, so editors swap text and footage without opening the main project.
- Modelled and lit 3D product shots in Cinema 4D and Redshift for a headphone launch spot.
- Pitched style frames on six new-business bids; four went into production.
Junior Motion Designer, Parcel & Pine, Burbank, CA (07/2021 to 02/2024)
- Animated explainer videos and social cut-downs for software and consumer brands.
- Prepared deliverables in the formats, frame rates and safe areas each platform required.
- Created kinetic type and lower thirds for a conference livestream.
Reel breakdown
- 0:00 Streaming network promo package: style frames, animation and compositing.
- 0:25 Headphone launch spot: 3D modelling, lighting and final comp.
- 0:48 Conference title sequence: kinetic type and lower thirds.
Education
BFA, Animation, Westbrook College of Art and Design (05/2021)
Skills
2D animation, 3D modelling and lighting, Kinetic typography, Storyboarding, Style frames, Compositing, Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, Redshift, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Pitching concepts, Working with editors and producers, Taking client feedback
How to make the sample yours
Match the breakdown to your current reel
Update the timecodes whenever you recut the reel. A breakdown that points at the wrong shot is worse than none.
Say what you did on shared shots
Write "animation and comp; 3D by studio team" where that is true. Reviewers know most work is collaborative and respect the precision.
Name your renderer and pipeline tools
Redshift, Octane, Arnold or the After Effects plugins you use daily are real filters in studio hiring. Swap in your own.
Keep the delivery detail
Frame rates, safe areas and platform specs sound dull but show you can finish work without supervision.
Point the reel link at a short cut
Best work first, and short enough to watch in one sitting. Put the link in the header beside your email.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- motion design
- motion graphics
- 2D animation
- 3D animation
- After Effects
- Cinema 4D
- Redshift
- kinetic typography
- style frames
- storyboards
- compositing
- title sequences
- broadcast promos
- expressions
- demo reel
Mistakes to avoid
- A reel link buried at the bottom of the page or locked behind a password.
- Every plugin and app you have installed. Keep the ones you would use on day one.
- Claiming whole spots when you animated part of them.
- A breakdown that lists work no longer on the reel.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Does the reel matter more than the resume for motion designers?
Usually, yes. The resume's job is to get the reel watched and to answer practical questions: software, specialism, studio or in-house experience, and where you can work.
What goes in a reel breakdown?
Timecode, project and your role on each shot, one line each. It tells a reviewer what you did on collaborative work without them having to ask.
Should I list 3D software if I mostly do 2D?
Only what you use in production. A studio may hand you a 3D shot on the strength of that line.
Can a motion designer list freelance projects?
Yes, grouped as one freelance entry with the strongest clients and what you did on each. Freelance work is normal in motion design and needs no apology.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Meridian PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 7 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
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