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What is a storyboard artist and how to become one
A storyboard artist works in film, animation, or TV production. They produce the storyboard, which is a graphic organizer that plans out a director's vision shot by shot and scene by scene. Storyboard artists allow a production team to visualize how their film will go before the cameras even start rolling. Storyboard artists need to be excellent artists that can sketch efficiently in order to capture the director's notes. Besides pencil and paper, they use software such as Photoshop and InDesign to plan out a storyboard. Storyboard artists are not lone wolves. They work in close collaboration with directors, producers, and scriptwriters.
Most storyboard artists have a bachelor's degree in animation, graphic design or a related field. While it is possible to break into this field with only an associate's degree and a portfolio, art school allows storyboard artists to make valuable industry connections.
Most storyboard artists start their careers as animators or concept artists. Once they earn a promotion to storyboard artist, they can also earn an average salary of $92,425 a year.
Avg. Salary $90,053
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 5%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%
Asian 7.74%
Black or African American 4.36%
Hispanic or Latino 14.35%
Unknown 5.89%
White 66.82%
Genderfemale 30.06%
male 69.94%
Age - 39American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 39Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Storyboard artist career paths
Key steps to become a storyboard artist
Explore storyboard artist education requirements
Start to develop specific storyboard artist skills
Skills Percentages Animation 44.93% Adobe Photoshop 6.85% Fine Arts 6.71% Feature Film 4.94% Storyboard Pro 3.68% Complete relevant storyboard artist training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New storyboard artists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a storyboard artist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real storyboard artist resumes.Research storyboard artist duties and responsibilities
- Lead a team of artists to create the art and animation for motion comics aspects of the show.
- Introduce electronic publishing in order to bring print production in-house.
- Proofread and approve completed pages and convert to PDF files for uploading to the printing company FTP site.
- Page layout for scientific journals using QuarkXPress.
Prepare your storyboard artist resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your storyboard artist resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a storyboard artist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable storyboard artist resume templates
Build a professional storyboard artist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your storyboard artist resume.
Apply for storyboard artist jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a storyboard artist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first storyboard artist job
Douglas Brown
Storyboard Artist, Album Artist
At Album Artist, Douglas combined his passions for art and music , working with local musicians and venues to produce promotional material and album covers. Eventually, Mr. Brown expanded his operations to work with local businesses producing brochures, logos and other sales materials.
When the film industry in Austin began taking off, Mr.Brown began offering storyboard services to the local film community. Initially, gigs were found on Craigslist until he joined a local film networking group. Once those contacts and first few credits were established, Mr. Brown registered with the Texas film Commission. Being art of the production guidebook allowed him access to reach out to agencies and production companies statewide. To help promote himself, Mr.Brown developed a set of fake ads in storyboard format to circulate to potential clients. It was a very slow process, but it worked. Mr.Brown expanded his reach outside the state to other hotspot of film making around the country and has since worked with national clients such as iRobot, Perry Ellis, Wendy’s, Dell, GE, MTV, Trojan-enz, Domino's Pizza, Dairy Queen, and other production companies. Aside from advertising boards, Mr. Brown also has some film credits (KILD-TV, Bad Candy, Doodle) to his growing list of experience.
Average storyboard artist salary
The average storyboard artist salary in the United States is $90,053 per year or $43 per hour. Storyboard artist salaries range between $56,000 and $144,000 per year.
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Making stories. And proposing camera shots that enhances the story and character.
Plots that go nowhere.
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Updated January 8, 2025
