STORYBOARD ARTIST FIRST STEPS (3 /8) : About the PORTFOLIO of a BEGINNER STORYBOARD ARTIST

 Lets go for what sboard artists in big companies do, and how it overlaps in even smaller companies

In my attempt to be a hireable and competent storyboard artists  with a place in the current animation world I browsed the internet to find websites and online portfolios of storyboard artists that had graduated in the last two years, from around the world. I was mostly interested in people already working in the industry, but I also checked the ones made by graduates of Calarts, Gobelins and Sheridan, renowned schools that most of the big studios have as first choice for new jobs. I also grouped together the portfolios of full freelance artists and a specific category for British animation graduates currently working in the UK.

To see so much examples helped me figure out the industry standard, which will work in benefit of my own portfolio and my possibilities to position myself in the industry. I noticed that display order gives a strong sensation of professionalism. Having all the samples organized in a clean, straightforward way allows to appreciate the skills and strengths of the portfolio owner. Also, I saw that social media presence and relevance is essential to keep the network alive and find projects to work on. It is also useful to list the softwares one can work with and to have the CV available on the websites.

​The other big characteristic of portfolios of professional artists is that, even if their main focus is storyboard, the majority of portfolios display more than storyboard samples: they show character animation and work on design, a lot of them also add comic and illustration samples to show their proficiency in visual expression.  Storyboard artist for Dreamworks Animation, Kris Peran, points how his practice as storyboard artist for animation feature films is shaped by his ability to understand the animation process and how storyboarding is about solving problems before they happen in a more developed stage of production. He also mentions that storyboarding is the practice of “communicate with pictures as fast as you think”. (Peran, 2014)

In general, portfolios must be memorable, easy and fast to read.

Knowing all the requirements and qualifications for being a storyboard artist in the animation industry locally and internationally , I was able to fully understand my ultimate goal :
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to Develop a Profesional Portfolio.

It is stressful to think that the portfolio should show everything you are capable of, without any backup, but if it achieves that, it will be a success. Thinking what you want your portfolio to transmit is key to go somehwere with it