If you have a passion for art and storytelling and want to make your mark in the film industry, becoming a storyboard artist could be a great career choice for you.
What is a Storyboard Artist?
A storyboard artist is responsible for creating the drawings that will be used to plan out an animated film. They must understand how to use visual language to convey ideas and create compelling imagery that will help bring an idea to life. They also need to have good communication skills so that they can explain their vision clearly to others.
How Do You Become One?
There are several ways that you can get started on your journey toward becoming a storyboard artist:
Attend art school or take classes at a community college or university (these types of institutions often offer programs in animation).
Work as an animator or storyboard artist on productions such as television shows or commercials until you gain enough experience and contacts within the industry so that people will hire you when they need someone with your skillset on their projects. This can take anywhere from 2-5 years depending on where you live (in big cities like Los Angeles or New York City) or what kind of work you do (if it’s
How To Become A Storyboard Artist
What is a Storyboard Artist?
A storyboard artist is someone who takes a script (or just a concept) and turns the words into a visual story.
It’s an important role because storyboard artists are in control of how others perceive the project. All different members of the production or development team look at storyboards for reference. Clarity of the boards is important. So is the “energy” in the panels.
And the storyboard artist has to convey everything from gestures to emotion, with minimal (or no) words or dialogue. They are great visual communicators, and they are an important addition to a team–whether it’s for video games, film, television shows, and other forms of visual storytelling.
What Does a Storyboard Artist Do?
Storyboard artists draw scenes explaining the story. They are visual storytellers. They don’t need many words or dialogue to tell the story. The methods that storyboarders use vary from artist to artist. In many cases, the rest of the production or development team will also influence the storyboarder’s methods.
If there is more than one storyboard artist on a team, it isn’t uncommon for one artist to mimic the other’s style. The uniformity of the storyboards help maintain clarity of the vision.
For film projects, a director’s style might influence the way a storyboard artist renders scenes. It’s great to have your own style (as long as clarity isn’t sacrificed)–but flexibility in a team setting is also very important.
In some ways, storyboard artists are drawing a comic book of the movie or video game. In addition to visualizing scenes, the storyboard artist will need to describe camera movement.
Based on preference, you can visualize scenes on the computer or by hand. A digital rendering might make it easier to share, but there’s something to be said for using a pen and paper.
While most of the work you’ll do involves drawings, there is some room for text. Technical descriptions have a place. Ultimately, the storyboard should clearly show what’s happening. That sometimes means using text to explain specifics in greater detail, or listing details from a technical standpoint.
On a video game project, storyboard artists might work on more than just visualizing the scenes. Sometimes they’ll work on levels within a game, or on elements of character design. You’ll be responsible for the visual continuity of the story.
Game Design Artist Lauren Walsh looks at storyboarding as “essentially a sketch before the finished product which allows the artist to be creative without any boundaries. It is in this “sketch” phase when an artist can explore many different concepts, themes, environments, and storytelling tools as they convey their idea to the team. Making changes to a simple storyboard before devoting precious time and resources to an idea is much easier and cost-effective”
Storyboard artists are responsible in many cases for “pitching” their boards to the director of a film or the creative head of a development team.
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It’s a time to let your excitement and enthusiasm for your work shine through. You’ve taken a concept or a script and turned it into a rough visual masterpiece. Your pitch is where you bring the visuals even further to life. You walk the director (or whoever it is) through the entire story, narrating and describing your boards.
This can involve sound effects (so start practicing your explosions and spaceship sounds now). Your drawings should speak for themselves, but that doesn’t mean you can go into a pitch and clam up.
You need to take your pitch recipient into the story and keep them there. You’re selling your visual interpretation, so your pacing and rhythm and sounds will absolutely make a difference. “In some cases, my storyboards have inspired the writing team to expand a part of the script a little further” says Walsh.
