Question Time 04

Anonymous asked:
​Do you have any advice for someone who wants to pursue a career as a storyboard artist? It’s because of you that I actually started considering this as a possible career choice and I’ve been very excited about it ever since!! Is there any advice you can give? What do you recommend that I practice/prepare for? Thx for your time, love your art! :)
Original Source

WAO MY PAL, MY DEAR NONI, I helped in that decision?! 

 With career choices, I'm completely serious and if you have any other questions, shoot ahead, I will always be as clear as I can because as much as I love art and studying and the academy, it is a big personal and monetary decision. I am going to go there and say it, I did a masters degree in animation, in storyboard, and for the hell of it I wouldn't change it for anything even at the times it is more of a burden than a  blessing for me.

OKAY then, let’s do this!

My best advice to be a storyboard artist is to do storyboards. (now let me elaborate)It means to draw a lot while thinking and doing it BECAUSE of the story you are telling, I can never stress enough that it is the most important part of storyboarding even tho having good draftsmanship is also very recommended. 

Storyboarding is something you learn while you are doing it, it is about making mistakes and you always learn how to do it better every time you finish a board. Studying visual storytelling is a must  (tv shows, movies, books…) sometimes you sit there and instead of just watching something and start actively  noticing why a shot is good or bad or why is it there in the first place. For being a good storyboard artist you have to keep in mind how everything in frame helps the story. You can’t improvise experience and learning from other storyboard artists and directors is one of the most important parts. 

Right now you can find SO MANY storyboard artists and proper boards from excellent movies online it is a blessing! but most of their advice or what they say only clicks when you start to need it and use it in your own storytelling. One advice i would give to anyone wanting to do story: learn to think with a pencil in your hand,  think while you are drawing. Make mistakes and then think why those are mistakes, and correct them on the go. I am assuming you haven’t started studying yet and you are preparing to enter uni. GOOD, you are of to a head start if you already feel strongly inclined to something specific. At the same time it is important for you to learn many other parts of animation. And one of the biggest things that fuels for your own stories is to do something else. You get inspiration and learn equal important things from everything else in your life. It will always reflects on your art.
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I love sboarding, I would die to keep doing it the rest of my life, but it took me years to figure the goddamn obvious and accept it was something I liked so much. But as much as it is a passion it is also a job. It is something you want to do professionally and an art career is something that usually demands a lot of emotional energy, working with people, and projects you might not like and in this industry, you probably won’t start directly into boards. If you find along the process something you see you enjoy most or are better suit for it, don’t hesitate in also try it.