ART DEPARTMENT

Job Overview

Working under the direction of the producer, director, or production designer, the storyboard artist illustrates a sequence of scenes to help everyone involved in the production grasp the same visual image. The storyboard artist may also be called upon to sketch the production designer's ideas for various sets and locations. “A storyboard is very similar to drawing a comic strip or book,” says artist Mike Harris. “You take a sequence of events and make them visually exciting.”

“There are two kinds of storyboards. The first is what I would call a presentation storyboard. This is generally quite finished and quite slick. It may even be in color. It is to either sell the concept to the client or, in the case of a movie, to sell the concept to the people who are banking the project. The second type of storyboard is what I call a production storyboard—so that everyone on the crew is on the same page—and is less finished.” It may be no more than a rough pencil sketch.

Special Skills

A storyboard artist must be skilled in both quick sketching and in creating more detailed, finished drawings. Communication and people skills are essential to understanding the client's vision and being able to draw it clearly. “It's important as a storyboard artist to find out exactly, or as close as possible, what the client wants,” says Harris. “You have to draw them out with questions: ‘What is the character looking at? What is his problem in this scene? Is he puzzled, or angry? What's happening?’ You have to ask questions so that you can get it down on paper and everybody will understand.”

Advice for Someone Seeking This Job

To work full time as a storyboard artist, you most likely will need to move to Los Angeles or New York, where the majority of film and television production originates. To obtain work, you must have a portfolio that demonstrates your abilities. To build a portfolio, Harris suggests taking a film or television script and storyboard a few scenes. “Do them in black and white, and maybe one in color. Make sure you draw them by hand. This is a visual business. You've got to have something to show people.”

Professional Profile: Mike Harris, Storyboard Artist

Mike Harris studied commercial art and graphic design in his native England. After completing a four-year program, he found work at an advertising agency where his design skills were an asset. “I was one of the youngest people at the agency, but because I could draw, I was being used by the senior people to lay out their television commercials.”

Harris honed his skills working at several London advertising agencies before taking a job as a newspaper artist. Before computers became common-place, he designed local ads by hand and did some cartooning for the paper. Having built a strong portfolio of work, he relocated to New York City in the late 1970s. “At the time, I thought it would be pretty easy for someone like me to get a really hot-shot job in a New York advertising agency—wrong!”

While continuing to pursue advertising work, Harris took a job at a newspaper in Poughkeepsie, selling classified ads, “until I got a real job. The bad news was I found I was pretty good at it.” He quickly rose to top salesman and then to sales manager, traveling around the country to the company's regional newspapers. Transferred to Nashville, he realized he had had enough of ad sales and quit.

Recognizing Nashville's substantial television production community, Harris began promoting himself as a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and storyboard artist. “You have to be a bit of P. T. Barnum to sell yourself. I sent out promotional material at least four times a year.”

With few storyboard artists in the city, firms were knocking on Harris's door almost immediately to sketch storyboards for commercials such as “NFL: It's a Way of Life” and “Cows in the Coffee” for Purity Dairy; opening titles for the television series Spin City; and videos for many of country music's top artists, including Garth Brooks.

“Garth is a very interesting guy to work with in that he has very specific ideas about what he wants. On one occasion we were walking around the outside of a church with a pad in hand. He kept pointing out things to me that he wanted to think about. For instance, looking at the front of the church through a car windshield … Most recently, Garth did a music video and tied in a television commercial for Dr. Pepper. I was involved from the very beginning. The director, Jonathan Small, and I spent two hours or so before I even put pencil to pad, just listening to the music and trying to imagine what we could do visually. I was able to come up with several little pieces which were incorporated into the shoot.”

To supplement his income between storyboard jobs, Harris uses his drawing talents to create cartoons and illustrations for newspapers and magazines. “It's amazing how you can parlay your skills into other things.”

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