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Being a Storyboard Artist

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Being a Storyboard Artist

I know everyone here is interested in computer animation, but I am just interested in storyboarding. I'm currently an Illustration student and I don't want to go into the Animation major because it has too much ..computer :p and I love to draw too much. My question is how much about animating should a good storyboard artist know? I hope that didn't sound too silly... I just hear animation majors becoming storyboard artists, not illustrators. Perhaps I am persuing the wrong thing? Do you have any good books to recommend? I will talk to the department, but I wanted to hear it from professionals before I dealt with bureaucracy.

Different kinds of storyboards...

For ad agencies, the board is only intended to communicate the creative idea to the agency's client who usually knows nothing about film language or animation for that matter. For this, you need to know nothing about animation.

If you are doing shooting boards, you need to know a lot about film language and camera techniques and develop a system for communicating all this on paper.

For animation, you will need to know about animation, but the lion's share of knowledge is the basic film language (wide shot, dolly-in, rack focus, etc). If you are doing a hardcore animation layout (displaying all elements that will be created in a scene), you will probably be working with a TD who knows the production limitations of the job, so if you are looking for a job, you probably only need to say that you "talk the talk" and will be able to understand that TD.

If you want to storyboard FOR animation, then you'd better know about animation.
If you want to do storyboards for, say, an ad agency, then just illustration talent itself would probably serve you.

The whole thing about storyboarding for cinema of any kind if to understand cinema--because that is the purpose of a storyboard in the first place: to explain how the film will work on paper first.

And if the schooling around you is offer too much "computer stuff", then its not the right schooling for you either.
You need to know about drawing in all capacities---anatomy, structure, line, appeal, perspective, composition, design.......AND film--how to stage a shot, cinematic flow, cutting, camera placement, transitions and film theory.

I'm a storyboard artist, I've been working on storyboards since 1990-ish. I started out as a animator/assistant animator/inbetweener.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

I'm not a storyboarder, but I've done it for my own projects here and there. I'm just wondering out loud if Artsyfartsy really DOES need to know animation to be an animation storyboarder? What I mean is, can he study storyboarding as a live action film storyboarder and then switch to animation or vice versa? Don't all the major rules apply to both? I'm guessing storyboarders don't need to know the principles of squash and strech, ease-in and ease-outs, overlapping action and all that jazz. Right?

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

I'm not a storyboarder, but I've done it for my own projects here and there. I'm just wondering out loud if Artsyfartsy really DOES need to know animation to be an animation storyboarder? What I mean is, can he study storyboarding as a live action film storyboarder and then switch to animation or vice versa? Don't all the major rules apply to both? I'm guessing storyboarders don't need to know the principles of squash and strech, ease-in and ease-outs, overlapping action and all that jazz. Right?

Aloha,
the Ape

he could pay attention and pick up a lot of the animation knowledge he needs but i think he would need to know more about film and shot composition and acting rather than animation tech

Hi

I am an animation grad student (and ex-major in undergrad) and I am also a commercial storyboard artist. I think that to become a good storyboard artist it doesn't really matter what you study - just your portfolio (it's kinda true for all things, I guess). So regardless of your major - you need good drawing skills, a good sense for cinematography (shots, cuts) and understanding of how a story is structured, and having the ability to convey CLEARLY and SIMPLY the action. these are abilities that maybe animator majors acquire more in their program - but being an illustration major shouldn't stop you! Take electives and read books about the subject (there are many good ones).
You have to realize that it is not the one frame that counts (as it is in illustration) - but the whole board and its flow.
BTW - I also suggest sequential arts departments as a good training place for SB artisrts.

Good luck!
Roy

http://www.royiddan.carbonmade.com
http://www.cartoonedout.blogspot.com

You should definetly know about animating!

Whether for animation, OR via ad agencies.

Talk to the good folks above for storyboarding animation longer than 60 seconds, but virtually all my storyboards are for ad agencies and motion design firms.

Some ad spots are live action, others animation. (I like doing the animated spots!)

Basically what everyone here is saying is that you need to know about whatever it is that you're trying to storyboard!

You can't expect to communicate to the people doing the work, if you don't know the process...good illustrator or not!;)

Anyhoo, it's fun to learn about computers and animation! I'm still learning!

(my $0.02)

Cheers!
Splatman:D