What is the industry doing now and in the future?


What is the industry doing now and in the future? 💭


Joseph Barbera, Hayao Miyazaki, Butch Hartman, Dan Povenmire, Chris Sanders.

What do these five names have in common. Answer, all of them are well known storyboard artists that aided or even created leading shows like Tom and Jerry, Spirited Away, Fairly Odd parents, Phineas and Ferb and How to train your dragon. Likewise, they have all effectively mastered the art of visual storytelling to grasp their audience and leave an impression on society.   

 

Which brings us to this week's question:

🌟 What is the state and future of your specializations industry and how do you aim to enter it?

 

If the intro hasn't given it away I plan to specialize in becoming a story artist, one that works in both storyboarding and animatics.

 

Storyboard artists work in the pre-production section of the animation industry. They tend to work in house with other artists including the director to create a visual and engaging representation of the script. Furthermore, the storyboards are sometimes done by the director and/or creator themselves though many studios still do separate these jobs. Two common examples of studios that work with storyboard artists are Disney and DreamWorks who have most of the Production done under one roof but there are also studios like Ninoc Studio, who worked on Arcane, that have expertise in pre-production and assist/collaborate with other companies.


You may have noticed I haven’t talked much about animatics yet. Well animatics are an extension of storyboarding where the boards are timed and edited together. Though they are two separate things nowadays some companies tend to link them together as one. Even stepping on the feet of animators at times. But that's another topic. 

 

Talking about trends there have been shifts in the animation industry itself such as the growth of "self-employment and self-entrepreneurship activities among graduates in local and global economic trends” this has led “to the birth of small scale animation studios" in various parts of the world partially Asia (Abdul Manaf et al., 2020, p. 10). Looking even further into the future AI programs have even been considered as a tool for storyboarding. Since, storyboarding is a lengthy process with a tight deadline it can be difficult to get ideas out efficiently and consistently. However, AI programs like Midjourney are being considered to help shorten down the time it takes to draw panels allowing for adjustments to be made more effectively (Together, 2023). Humans will still be needed for composing and creating the storyboard but so far it just helps to speed up the drawing process.

 

Okay, let's step back a bit and consider some logistics. "According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, the demand for multimedia artists and animators, which includes storyboard artists, is growing by 5%. This is expected to result in nearly 3,200 annual job openings through 2031. The reason behind this increase is a growing need for animation and visual effects in various forms of media" (Bercenas, 2023).  

 

Considering all this there are different paths into becoming a storyboard artist although the most effective way and the way I aim to enter it would be to start by earning a creative bachelor degree. Mine will be in Animation as I feel that will prepare me more for the production side of things and aid in my skills and portfolio work. Likewise, next I will continue to grow, develop and expand my skills as I’ll need to be able to actually produce good work and even gain experience through courses or internships. Similarly, I will need to prepare a professional portfolio showcasing all my best work including demonstrating my ability to use storyboarding tools like photoshop or Storyboard pro. Lastly, I will apply for entry level creative jobs and begin my journey in the workforce. 


Becoming a story artist will take time and I will need to continue to change and adjust to these ever growing trends and tools in the industry. But on the other hand, that's what makes it so enticing! 😄







References

Abdul Manaf, A. A., Hamzah, F., & Abidin, A. (2020). Small scale studio setup (4s) creation : Current trends in animation industry entrepeneurship. International Journal of Applied and Creative Arts, 3(1), 10-20. https://doi.org/10.33736/ijaca.2269.2020

Bercenas, G. (2023, April 20). How to become a storyboard artist guide (Skills & salary). Professional Resume Help From The Experts | JobHero. https://www.jobhero.com/career-guides/careers/planning/how-to-become-storyboard-artist#:~:text=or%20development%20timelines.-,How%20Do%20You%20Become%20a%20Storyboard%20Artist%3F,annual%20job%20openings%20through%202031

Ninoc Studio. (2022). Who we are. https://ninocstudio.com/who-we-are/

Oleksandr. (n.d.). Woman draws a storyboard for an animated film on a white board. Careerfoundry. https://d3mm2s9r15iqcv.cloudfront.net/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/What-is-a-storyboard.jpg 

Pantoja, T. (2022, September 15). Should storyboards be fully animated pieces? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ndwaYmJxZBQ

Ranker. (2019, June 15). List of famous storyboard artists. https://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-famous-storyboard-artists/reference

Together. (2023, May 24). The future of Storyboarding: How AI is changing the game for creatives. Together Agency. https://togetheragency.co.uk/news/the-future-of-storyboarding

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