Career as a Storyboard Artist

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Career as a Storyboard Artist

To create and execute ideas for any movie, program, or commercial, a team of skilled professionals is required. A storyboard artist is a skilled professional who creates visual representations of stories for a variety of mediums. They assist the creative team with stylizing, sequencing, and visual portrayal of the idea during the planning phase of any production. Industries like video gaming, advertising firms, theatrical production companies, and film and television studios are all potential employers for storyboard artists. Keep reading to find out more about how to become a storyboard artist!

Storyboard artist
Source: Giphy

What does a Storyboard Artist do?

YouTube: RocketJump Film School

To create storyboards, storyboard artists gather information about a creative project as well as the production team’s aims. Storyboards are visual organizers that depict the progression of a story through several graphic frames. To understand how to represent a narrative, storyboard artists rely on screenplays and discussions with directors. To produce their illustrations, they may utilize markers and pencils or computer technology.

A creative team may be indecisive on how to style a project in the early phases of development. Artists who create storyboards assist them in better understanding their alternatives. The storyboard also allows you to modify the order of events in a story to create a more engaging plot.

While storyboard artists are vital in any media and artistic productions, animation projects require them even more. The animation style utilized in the final result is determined by the storyboard of an animated production. Storyboard views are used in live-action productions to design camera angles and lighting.

Skills Required to Become a Storyboard Artist

YouTube: Animation Story Group

The following are the skills required by storyboard artists:

  • Artistic Abilities

The ability to depict effectively in a variety of styles is crucial for storyboard artists. You can use your artistic abilities to understand written or spoken directions and create a pleasing visual impression. You get stronger at intuiting the viewpoints and character designs that appeal to viewers as your technical competence in drawing improves.

  • Creative Skills

Problem-solving, imagination, and collaboration are all examples of creative abilities. You don’t only generate visuals as a storyboard artist; you also come up with visual solutions to narrative difficulties. For example, a filmmaker could wish to convey to the audience that a character is inspired without utilizing dialogue. The capacity to perceive a scenario and represent it in a way that is both innovative and satisfactory to the filmmaker is known as creative talent.

  • Excellent Communication Skills

Clients, directors, other artists, and writers are all communicated with by storyboard artists. Their communication abilities enable them to listen actively, ask intelligent questions, and politely offer criticism. Communication skills guarantee that teams are on the same page in terms of their artistic vision and are aware of any changes that occur throughout production.

  • Collaborative Skills

By respecting the opinions of all the team members you could work with as a storyboard artist, collaborative skills build pleasant and encouraging settings. Brainstorming, negotiating between diverse creative perspectives, and taking responsibility are all collaborative abilities used by storyboard artists. Improved dispute resolution, more trust, and increased creativity are all outcomes of these work practices.

  • Computer Skills

To create their storyboards, storyboard artists employ a variety of specialist tools. They also frequently rely on hardware, such as drawing tablets, which take experience and knowledge to successfully operate. Aside from their creative requirements, storyboard artists may use spreadsheets to handle freelancing project details, word processors to write contracts, and scanners to deliver finished storyboards to colleagues or customers.

How to Become a Storyboard Artist?

YouTube: The Art of Aaron Blaise

The following are the steps towards becoming a storyboard artist:

Drawing Abilities

Source: Jorgen’s List

Developing drawing abilities is the first step toward becoming a storyboard artist. During high school, budding artists can take up art classes and practice intensively on their own. While storyboard artists do not need to have a formal education, institutions that provide a bachelor’s degree in fine arts sometimes ask candidates to show a portfolio. As a result, generating as much artwork as possible before applying to higher education institutions can assist you. Experiment with both traditional and digital media, including pen, pencil, and marker, as well as graphic design and animation software. Both resources are frequently used by storyboard artists in their work.

Attain a Qualification in Fine Arts

Earning a degree in art can help you advance your artistic talents and expand your professional network, depending on your location, skill level, and financial situation. Here are a few art degrees to think about:

Bachelor of Fine Arts: Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees are frequently offered by undergraduate colleges with well-developed arts programs. These programs emphasize the practice of certain creative forms, such as animation, graphic design, and cinema, while restricting other liberal arts and sciences areas of study.

Bachelor of Arts: Bachelor of Arts degrees are offered in specialties such as studio art and visual art at colleges and universities. These more broad art degrees are usually combined with a liberal arts curriculum and more standard academic requirements.

Master of Fine Arts: Master of Fine Arts degrees are a type of graduate degree that can be pursued. You might study drawing and painting, graphic design, or cinema and television studies if you want to be a storyboard artist.

Create a Portfolio

YouTube: Film Companion

Taking part in creative projects is vital whether you enroll in an art school or continue to improve your talents on your own. Conceiving and executing artistic projects teaches one about how to cooperate with other artists and how to create production workflows. All kinds of artwork and creative projects can be added to one’s portfolio as long as it shows your ability to draw, tell tales, and develop other people’s ideas. Portfolio development opportunities include:

  • Indie Films: In order to make their films, independent filmmakers frequently take the services of friends and volunteers. Many people would appreciate the assistance of a competent artist in portraying scenes in order to better grasp the storyline and camera angles.
  • Theatre: Volunteers are also needed by local and student theatre to put on plays. Artists who create storyboards assist stage directors in deciding how to arrange objects, choreograph performers, and build the plot.
  • Small-budget Ads: Smaller firms and local enterprises frequently produce commercials with little resources. They frequently collaborate with less experienced creative experts to create and generate ad concepts.
  • Independent Projects: You could also opt to come up with a totally new project. For example, you might create an animated short that would necessitate a storyboard while also showcasing your creativity, inventiveness, and artistic abilities in general.

Build a Freelancing Profile

Storyboard Artist
Source: Roger Mason

The majority of storyboard artists are self-employed, at least in part. Create a professional website that displays the projects you’ve worked on and describes your illustrative talents if you want to work as a freelancer. Identifying businesses that might benefit from your artistic and narrative abilities and pitching to them could be a good way to get your first clients. Explain how you’ll create and deliver content that will appeal to their target audiences.

Entry-level Positions

Once you have the necessary credentials, you may apply for formal storyboard artist roles or look for an entry-level job in the animation, production, or advertising industries. Several positions can assist you in making the move to a full-time storyboard artist career:

  • Production Assistants: They aid senior creative employees in managing their workloads and facilitating day-to-day communication inside a studio. They may be in charge of coordinating assignments between artists and creative directors, as well as performing administrative duties.
  • Runner: Runners work in creative studios as well, assisting with project management. They may immediately assist storyboard artists by scanning and labeling finished storyboards.
  • Illustrators: They utilize their artistic abilities to assist clients with the decoration and branding of items. As an illustrator, you’ll be able to exhibit your ability to transform your clients’ ideas into colorful, appealing visuals.
  • Background Designers: They collaborate with storyboard artists to create a unique look. They take finished storyboards and turn them into rich backdrops that offer animation depth and aesthetic appeal.

Best Colleges in India

  • VIT University, Vellore
  • National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
  • Amity University, Mumbai
  • Artemisia College of Art & Design, Indore
  • PA Inamdar College of Visual Effects, Design, and Art, Pune
  • IIFA Multimedia, Bengaluru
  • Arena Animation, Delhi

Top Colleges in the World

Average Salary of a Storyboard Artist

In India, the average income for a storyboard artist is INR 480,000 rupees per year or $246 per hour. Starting salaries for entry-level professions start at $300,000 per year (INR 22,243,335), with the highest-paid professionals earning up to $1,380,000 (INR 10,23,87,582) per year.

Storyboard artists play a vital role in the concept creation and planning stages of any artistic project, particularly those involving film or video with a linear plot. They help with the depiction of tales and the frame-by-frame construction of scenes, whether it’s a pop-music video, a biographical documentary, an advertising campaign, a video game, or an animated movie. We hope the information provided was helpful. Follow Leverage Edu to know more about exciting and unique career opportunities!

To create and execute ideas for any movie, program, or commercial, a team of skilled professionals is required. A storyboard artist is a skilled professional who creates visual representations of stories for a variety of mediums. They assist the creative team with stylizing, sequencing, and visual portrayal of the idea during the planning phase of any production. Industries like video gaming, advertising firms, theatrical production companies, and film and television studios are all potential employers for storyboard artists. Keep reading to find out more about how to become a storyboard artist!

Storyboard artist
Source: Giphy

What does a Storyboard Artist do?

YouTube: RocketJump Film School

To create storyboards, storyboard artists gather information about a creative project as well as the production team’s aims. Storyboards are visual organizers that depict the progression of a story through several graphic frames. To understand how to represent a narrative, storyboard artists rely on screenplays and discussions with directors. To produce their illustrations, they may utilize markers and pencils or computer technology.

A creative team may be indecisive on how to style a project in the early phases of development. Artists who create storyboards assist them in better understanding their alternatives. The storyboard also allows you to modify the order of events in a story to create a more engaging plot.

While storyboard artists are vital in any media and artistic productions, animation projects require them even more. The animation style utilized in the final result is determined by the storyboard of an animated production. Storyboard views are used in live-action productions to design camera angles and lighting.

Skills Required to Become a Storyboard Artist

YouTube: Animation Story Group

The following are the skills required by storyboard artists:

  • Artistic Abilities

The ability to depict effectively in a variety of styles is crucial for storyboard artists. You can use your artistic abilities to understand written or spoken directions and create a pleasing visual impression. You get stronger at intuiting the viewpoints and character designs that appeal to viewers as your technical competence in drawing improves.

  • Creative Skills

Problem-solving, imagination, and collaboration are all examples of creative abilities. You don’t only generate visuals as a storyboard artist; you also come up with visual solutions to narrative difficulties. For example, a filmmaker could wish to convey to the audience that a character is inspired without utilizing dialogue. The capacity to perceive a scenario and represent it in a way that is both innovative and satisfactory to the filmmaker is known as creative talent.

  • Excellent Communication Skills

Clients, directors, other artists, and writers are all communicated with by storyboard artists. Their communication abilities enable them to listen actively, ask intelligent questions, and politely offer criticism. Communication skills guarantee that teams are on the same page in terms of their artistic vision and are aware of any changes that occur throughout production.

  • Collaborative Skills

By respecting the opinions of all the team members you could work with as a storyboard artist, collaborative skills build pleasant and encouraging settings. Brainstorming, negotiating between diverse creative perspectives, and taking responsibility are all collaborative abilities used by storyboard artists. Improved dispute resolution, more trust, and increased creativity are all outcomes of these work practices.

  • Computer Skills

To create their storyboards, storyboard artists employ a variety of specialist tools. They also frequently rely on hardware, such as drawing tablets, which take experience and knowledge to successfully operate. Aside from their creative requirements, storyboard artists may use spreadsheets to handle freelancing project details, word processors to write contracts, and scanners to deliver finished storyboards to colleagues or customers.

How to Become a Storyboard Artist?

YouTube: The Art of Aaron Blaise

The following are the steps towards becoming a storyboard artist:

Drawing Abilities

Source: Jorgen’s List

Developing drawing abilities is the first step toward becoming a storyboard artist. During high school, budding artists can take up art classes and practice intensively on their own. While storyboard artists do not need to have a formal education, institutions that provide a bachelor’s degree in fine arts sometimes ask candidates to show a portfolio. As a result, generating as much artwork as possible before applying to higher education institutions can assist you. Experiment with both traditional and digital media, including pen, pencil, and marker, as well as graphic design and animation software. Both resources are frequently used by storyboard artists in their work.

Attain a Qualification in Fine Arts

Earning a degree in art can help you advance your artistic talents and expand your professional network, depending on your location, skill level, and financial situation. Here are a few art degrees to think about:

Bachelor of Fine Arts: Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees are frequently offered by undergraduate colleges with well-developed arts programs. These programs emphasize the practice of certain creative forms, such as animation, graphic design, and cinema, while restricting other liberal arts and sciences areas of study.

Bachelor of Arts: Bachelor of Arts degrees are offered in specialties such as studio art and visual art at colleges and universities. These more broad art degrees are usually combined with a liberal arts curriculum and more standard academic requirements.

Master of Fine Arts: Master of Fine Arts degrees are a type of graduate degree that can be pursued. You might study drawing and painting, graphic design, or cinema and television studies if you want to be a storyboard artist.

Create a Portfolio

YouTube: Film Companion

Taking part in creative projects is vital whether you enroll in an art school or continue to improve your talents on your own. Conceiving and executing artistic projects teaches one about how to cooperate with other artists and how to create production workflows. All kinds of artwork and creative projects can be added to one’s portfolio as long as it shows your ability to draw, tell tales, and develop other people’s ideas. Portfolio development opportunities include:

  • Indie Films: In order to make their films, independent filmmakers frequently take the services of friends and volunteers. Many people would appreciate the assistance of a competent artist in portraying scenes in order to better grasp the storyline and camera angles.
  • Theatre: Volunteers are also needed by local and student theatre to put on plays. Artists who create storyboards assist stage directors in deciding how to arrange objects, choreograph performers, and build the plot.
  • Small-budget Ads: Smaller firms and local enterprises frequently produce commercials with little resources. They frequently collaborate with less experienced creative experts to create and generate ad concepts.
  • Independent Projects: You could also opt to come up with a totally new project. For example, you might create an animated short that would necessitate a storyboard while also showcasing your creativity, inventiveness, and artistic abilities in general.

Build a Freelancing Profile

Storyboard Artist
Source: Roger Mason

The majority of storyboard artists are self-employed, at least in part. Create a professional website that displays the projects you’ve worked on and describes your illustrative talents if you want to work as a freelancer. Identifying businesses that might benefit from your artistic and narrative abilities and pitching to them could be a good way to get your first clients. Explain how you’ll create and deliver content that will appeal to their target audiences.

Entry-level Positions

Once you have the necessary credentials, you may apply for formal storyboard artist roles or look for an entry-level job in the animation, production, or advertising industries. Several positions can assist you in making the move to a full-time storyboard artist career:

  • Production Assistants: They aid senior creative employees in managing their workloads and facilitating day-to-day communication inside a studio. They may be in charge of coordinating assignments between artists and creative directors, as well as performing administrative duties.
  • Runner: Runners work in creative studios as well, assisting with project management. They may immediately assist storyboard artists by scanning and labeling finished storyboards.
  • Illustrators: They utilize their artistic abilities to assist clients with the decoration and branding of items. As an illustrator, you’ll be able to exhibit your ability to transform your clients’ ideas into colorful, appealing visuals.
  • Background Designers: They collaborate with storyboard artists to create a unique look. They take finished storyboards and turn them into rich backdrops that offer animation depth and aesthetic appeal.

Best Colleges in India

  • VIT University, Vellore
  • National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
  • Amity University, Mumbai
  • Artemisia College of Art & Design, Indore
  • PA Inamdar College of Visual Effects, Design, and Art, Pune
  • IIFA Multimedia, Bengaluru
  • Arena Animation, Delhi

Top Colleges in the World

Average Salary of a Storyboard Artist

In India, the average income for a storyboard artist is INR 480,000 rupees per year or $246 per hour. Starting salaries for entry-level professions start at $300,000 per year (INR 22,243,335), with the highest-paid professionals earning up to $1,380,000 (INR 10,23,87,582) per year.

Storyboard artists play a vital role in the concept creation and planning stages of any artistic project, particularly those involving film or video with a linear plot. They help with the depiction of tales and the frame-by-frame construction of scenes, whether it’s a pop-music video, a biographical documentary, an advertising campaign, a video game, or an animated movie. We hope the information provided was helpful. Follow Leverage Edu to know more about exciting and unique career opportunities!

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