Career In Storyboarding & Concept Art

Do you know storyboarding techniques have been used since 1930 by Howard Hughes and Walt Disney?

These two great personalities worked efficiently to produce the animated films Hell's Angels and The Little Pigs. Eventually, they become the father of modern-day storyboards.

These artists established their careers in the world of ART and fascinated people with their exceptional artwork. Do you also want to build your career in storyboarding & concept art to amaze people with your artwork?

If yes, then it might open up a plethora of opportunities. Wondering where to start?

Let's guide you through establishing your career in storyboarding using a drawing tablet with a pen.

Without beating around the bush, let's get started from scratch.

What Is Storyboarding?

In simple words, storyboarding is a procedure of drawing a film's storyline shot by shot, similar to a comic book.

It is a graphic representation of how videos, series, film sequences, etc., unfold. This type of concept art helps media creators visualise the characters and the story's actions.

To build a perfect storyboard, an artist will need the best drawing tablet to create their artwork digitally. Therefore, using a pen tablet for storyboarding makes it easier for you to share and explain your vision for videos to others.

With a perfect storyboard and digital art tablet, you can show people how your video will be mapped out and what it will look like. The visual representation makes it easier for people to understand your ideas.

What Does Storyboard Artist Do?

The storyboard artist plays a crucial role in media, artistic production, and animation projects.

The simple task of a storyboard artist is to compose their boards with a drawing tablet in a way that best visualises the story of the script. They garner information, ideas and develop art through rough sketches on a digital art tablet.

This helps them visualise the beats of the story, which is known as a thumbnail pass. Moreover, to represent a narrative, the storyboard artists rely on screenplays and discussions with directors.

In short, the storyboard artists translate the script and director's vision into reality. Think of a storyboard artist as a director of an animated film or TV show.

The artist creates visuals for major scenes, including facial expressions, character poses, etc., to help understand the director.

How To Be A Storyboard Artist?

Are you wondering how to become a storyboard artist? To become a storyboard artist, one needs to have these skills that will help you build your career in storyboarding.

Here is a list of skills that are required to become a storyboard artist. Have a look below.

Skills Required 

• Creative Skills :
  An artist must possess creative skills such as problem-solving, imagination, and collaboration. You have to come up with visual solutions to narrative difficulties.
  
  
• Communication Skills :
  Since you will have to communicate with directors, clients, and other artists, you must be able to communicate well enough to listen to them actively, ask intelligent questions and politely offer criticism.
  
  
• Artistic Skills : 
  You must be able to depict artwork effectively in various styles. To create a pleasing visual representation, you must develop artistic skills to understand written or spoken directions.
  
  
• Technical Skills : 
  An artist must be well-versed in using a drawing tablet with a pen to create an artistic representation. You must be familiar with the drawing art tablet, which requires experience and knowledge to operate successfully.

Work On Your Drawing Abilities

After working on skills, your next step is to develop drawing abilities to become a storyboard artist.

During high school, budding artists can intensively enrol in art classes and practice. Further, artists can also enrol in institutions to set their careers.

It is essential to experiment with both traditional and digital media, including pen, paper, marker, tablet with pen, digital art tablet, and other software. Storyboard artists frequently use these resources in their work.
 

Grab Certification In Fine Arts

You can also earn a degree in fine arts to help you advance your artistic talents/ career and expand your professional network. The few art degrees you can enrol in include:

• Bachelor of Arts : 
  This degree offers studio art and visual art specialities at colleges and universities. Further, the degrees usually come with a liberal art curriculum and standard academic requirements.
  
  
• Bachelor of Fine Arts : 
  Colleges offer this degree with well-developed art programs. This degree emphasises the practice of certain creative forms like graphic design, cinema, animation, etc.
  
  
• Master of Fine Arts : 
  To establish yourself as a professional storyboard artist, a Master of fine arts would be the best course for you. In this course, you might study painting, drawing, graphic designing, cinema, and television studies.

Create Your Portfolio

Whether you enrol in any course or not, building a portfolio will work like icing on the cake.

You can exhibit your artwork, creative skills, and projects to directors and clients with a portfolio.

You can also mention the type of tools you're using for storyboarding, such as a digital art tablet, pen tablet, etc. It will help you grab new projects and boost your skills further.  

Try Freelancing

Freelancing is not just an excellent alternative source of income but also a great way to boost your artistic skills.

Further, you can create a professional website displaying the projects you have worked on. The website will help you describe your illustrative talent if you want to work as a freelancer.

You can also explain how you will create and deliver content that will appeal to your client's targeted audience. Get yourself a pen tablet to make your freelancing work easy.

Begin Your Journey Of StoryBoarding With XPPen Drawing Tablets!

The demand for multimedia artists like animators and storyboard artists is growing rapidly as the scope for digital art is growing.

Undoubtedly, the world is digitally-driven, and the need for visual representation will never fade away. Therefore, passionate artists who want to build their career in storyboarding must focus on developing skills and mastering over the XPPen drawing tablet.

XPPen is a top brand and manufacturer of digital drawing tablets, and we manufacture pen tablets with advanced technology. So, start your journey of storyboarding with the XPPen drawing tablet today to excel in your career. 

FAQ's

1. Is storyboarding in demand?
- Storyboarding is in demand in industries like animation, film, advertising, and game design where visual storytelling is essential.

2. How much money do storyboarders make?
- Storyboarder salaries vary widely, but experienced professionals can earn a competitive income, ranging from $40,000 to $100,000 or more annually.

3. Do you need a degree to be a storyboard artist?
- A formal degree is not always required to become a storyboard artist; however, a strong portfolio and artistic skills are crucial for success in this field.

Many professionals have degrees in animation, fine arts, or related disciplines to enhance their skills and job prospects.