Storyboard Artist

Definition

Storyboard artists interpret scripts and director notes into a sequence of hand-drawn or digital panels that illustrate key actions, camera moves and composition. These visual stories serve as blueprints for cinematography, editing and animation.

Historical Background

Storyboarding originated in the 1930s at Walt Disney Studios, where artists like Webb Smith and Bill Peet pioneered sequential art to streamline production. The method spread to live-action filmmaking, becoming essential for planning complex action scenes, visual effects sequences and timing musical numbers.

Workflow

1. Script Breakdown: Identifying scenes, beats and camera requirements.
2. Thumbnail Sketches: Rapid small-scale drawings to establish pacing and framing.
3. Refined Panels: Detailed drawings with character poses, backgrounds and annotated movement arrows.
4. Animatics: Timed video sequences combining storyboard panels with temporary soundtracks and scratch dialogue for previsualization.

Collaboration

Storyboard artists liaise with directors, cinematographers and production designers to ensure feasibility of shot concepts. Animatics produced from storyboards guide layout, animation and VFX teams in the next pipeline stages.

Trivia

• Some storyboard artists become directors, leveraging their deep understanding of visual storytelling.
• In commercials, tight budgets often require storyboard artists to work closely with clients in real time during pitch meetings.