Question Time 03

Anonymous asked:
​I want to become a storyboard artist, and I was wondering if you had any advice for someone who’s about to go into college. Classes to take, things to avoid, how to get work experience, anything you wish someone would’ve told you going into it?

​Original Source

OH DEAR!

I am glad you want to get into storyboard :’) You are starting and what I am telling you here is a broad view for the 3 years or so you are going to spend in college. I do not have a single idea what kind of program you are in, and each has its own variations and links to the industry and stuff like that. Anyway!

Storyboard artists work with composition,  storytelling continuity and establish relationships between characters and assure the flow of the sequence. They balance “strong drawing skills with good knowledge of anatomy, staging, acting and the ability to think quickly” .All must come naturally to the storyboard artists. and that is why you better try different types of stories, techniques, and audiences, as well as study composition and narration in finished products like movies, ads and TV shows.  

The main issue is that getting started with storyboards is not exactly easy, since there is not just one way to do storyboards, no 12 principles or specific rules and it can go from mainstream to completely experimental. Some projects will require reworking one scene several times or drawing into the model and others will be great with roughs…

Your aims are to be adaptable because you never know where you are going to end up working or in what kind of projects…And when you are starting, you want to figure out what are your strengths and what you are not so good at. 

What kind of courses?

• Life Drawing is a must, illustration and design is also good, i will say painting is great since it could helps a lot with color composition and of course, animation. From my experience, it is better if you know how animation works,so your boards wont be a mess for the animators and designers. Also to really understand your place in the whole process. 
• Also, anything to do with visual storytelling, or storytelling in general, from children’s books to cinematography. 
• There are many books that are amazing about cinematography and storytelling for animation. it is good to watch how others work, from the roughs and thumbnails, the internet is your friend to find this.
• Learn your softwares, this comes with time and is not a No. 1 priority but in the long run, it is important.. For storyboarding it goes mostly to photoshop and storyboard pro (and sometimes tv paint, i’ ve seen it) . Even when some professionals may tell you that it is not that important, and that if it is a good board it doesn't matter, it does matter for studios and junior position jobs.

Have in mind that internalizing any of this takes time and practice, but it is worth it when you are boarding you want to be thinking if the framing is dramatic enough or the expression funny as you want it to be, not much about the drawing (but you still want it to be clear and good)

And do not be afraid to ask questions.  Many of the animators and storyboard artists are really happy to answer any questions about being part of the animation industry, and they are often more accessible through their own social media. 

things to avoid?

• Not giving yourself time to learn the basics (in animation, in life drawing…in storytelling and in working on groups) 
•  Avoiding feedback…if you want to imrpove, then this is the only way. Sometimes you are so much in your head that it never ends on the drawing :\
•  Being  attached  to your drawings. Storyboards are a tool for planning. they are not supposed to be pretty (i absolutely love them but that is just my opinion..). And most importantly, while boarding you discard drawings, whole scenes A LOT of them. and that is perfectly okay it is all of the planning process.
• taking any kind of feedback and criticism too personal. Kinda difficult BUT everyone is there to make the final thing better. If something can be better, then…you can make it better or you can learn to make it better. 

how to get job experience?

create a portfolio and talk to people. but do not exploit yourself

Tell your teachers and fellow classmates that you are looking for industry experience, and this one come in hand with being able to demonstrate it with your work. If they see you are a good part of the team, they will let you know if they see something available.

Remember that you start from the beginning (as revisionist and assistant ) and it is a great way to improve while working with other professionals AND to show them you are a person they want to work with. You do not have to start as a storyboard artist and that is okay too. There are many many ways to get your foot on the door. …i would say the most valuable thing for ANYONE working in animation is to be a good person. for people dealing with deadlines and last minute changes, you want to work with someone reliable and just plain nice.   

When you want to be a storyboard artist and your goal is to work at an industry level a big part of it is about working on teams and relying on other people’s  abilities to get the most of a project, big or small. and having a broad understanding of various parts of the project is an advantage so do not be afraid to net involved in other aspects of animation.

And finally, i would say a good tip is to find something that fuels your fire and practice with it and enjoy it. Not all will be perfect but you will learn about your own way of doing it. IMO  posting your work online is good, since you learn what form of storytelling is more effective and you start being okay with sharing your work, but take this with a grain of salt because the social media world  is messy and does not reflect your actual worth as an artist. Just if you find it fun to share your stuff, do it. We all love to see more art.Finally, and after a big wall of text I hope it is helpful, I will link you to my MA animation blog…because it has everything form my MA including my final reflections on the industry and portfolios for sboard.

The only way to become good at telling stories visually is by doing it. And screwing it some times, all is part of a process.
If you have any more questions, i’m here to help
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Make mistakes.  Take feedback. Improve.