Tag Archives: Storyboard Artist

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STORYBOARD PRO 5 NOW AVAILABLE!

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Today Toon Boom announced our new release, Storyboard Pro 5! Storyboard Pro is recognized as an industry standard in storyboarding, and the studios and artists who use it to create stories are passionate about what they can do with its toolset.

Storyboard Pro 5 is available for free as a benefit for customers who own a Desktop Subscription or Perpetual license with Support. Simply go to the Toon Boom site and download your new software today.

You can buy Storyboard Pro 5 for as low as $38 per month on a yearly subscription or $999 for a perpetual licence. A full breakdown of pricing can be found here.

If you haven’t tried Storyboard Pro yet, download our free trial of Storyboard Pro 5 here. There are loads of free learning materials available to help get you started.

Storyboard Pro

What’s New

The new release of Storyboard Pro streamlines the workflow with new creative tools for artists, adds improvements to the 3D workflow, and provides better integration with editorial.

What's New

With a new more neutral UI colour scheme that reduces eye strain, Storyboard Pro 5 makes it easier for artists to accurately see the colours they are working with. Of course, for artists who prefer the original look, the traditional colour scheme is still available.

A better 3D Workflow

The 3D toolset in Storyboard Pro lets you integrate 3D models, block out camera shots and create scenes with depth. Storyboard Pro 5 includes several new features that provide better integration between 2D and 3D.

There’s the new Snap to Surface that makes it easier to position and animate 3D models on a 2D plane like a floor or wall (this feature works with 2D artwork as well). You can create layers on surfaces when you want to draw on 3D models, which is a powerful way to add 2D artwork to your 3D scenes. The 3D camera is much more responsive making it easier to position, do tilts, pans, rotations and camera rolls. And Alembic and Collada can now be imported (added to existing support for FBX and 3DS), making it easier to bring in CG content.

A better 3D Workflow

Here you see a 2D prop being positioned inside a 3D spaceship. Positioning and animation controls let you easily place your artwork, which will maintain contact with the surface no matter what changes you make.

Enhanced Bitmap Drawing Tools

Storyboard Pro has both vector and bitmap drawing tools that interact seamlessly. This provides the flexibility that artists are looking for when developing artwork from sketch to cleanup. New in Storyboard Pro 5 are customizable tips for bitmap brushes. These enable more artistic freedom and control over the look and feel.

Enhanced Bitmap Drawing Tools

Change the roundness, hardness, and angle of tips as well as add randomness to affect the resulting lines. Brush tips can be customized, and you can create your own in Photoshop, Harmony or Storyboard Pro.

Better Organization with Layer Groups

In Storyboard Pro, artists can break out their artwork into an unlimited number of layers in a single storyboard panel – for example, character line work and shading can be drawn on separate layers. This enables artistic freedom and makes it easier to edit drawings. For an even more fluid creative development process and exchange between artists, Storyboard Pro 5 features the ability group layers of drawings – making it easier to organize and share content.

Better Organization with Layer Groups

When you select a group of layers, all the layers move together. With Layer groups, artists spend more time being creative and less time searching for artwork, which is especially important when projects need to be turned around quickly.

Faster Revisions with Shared Drawings

Some drawings, like a background, are regularly reused in a storyboard. To make it easier to update this kind of artwork, you can now share drawings – use a single drawing across multiple panels. When you make a change, the artwork updates everywhere so you can move on more quickly to the next creative process.

Better Organization with Layer Groups

Qt Application Scripting

New Qt Application scripting support can help you save time by creating scripts that automate manual tasks, or you can create new tools that can be accessed at the click of a button.

Qt Application Scripting

To get you started, a number of example scripts are available in this release – delete hidden layers, export the camera path, change the timing of multiple panels simultaneously, and others.

Better Integration between Storyboard Pro and Editing

Added support for 23.976 NDF timecode enables the seamless transfer of animatics from Storyboard Pro to the editing suite making it even easier to collaborate with editors. Storyboard artists can now work with this frame rate, directly exporting animatics and timelines with panels, sound, transitions, and timing to editing suites via EDL, AAF, and XML.

For those who haven’t tried Storyboard Pro yet, now is a great time. The new features in Storyboard Pro 5 add to an already great blend of creative tools and technical capabilities that help customers increase pipeline efficiency and creative output. Try it out!

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Ted Stearn

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What is your name and your current occupation?
Ted Stearn Director Beavis and Butthead
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
No “crazy” jobs! Just dull ones. I used to do paste up and mechanicals for advertising and publishing. Yawn.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I drew storyboards for a little known show for Cartoon Network, called “Squirrel Boy.” I had a lot of creative freedom and enjoyed being able to work with the writers on the story. It was very satisfying to create an entire chase scene, for example, without specific direction from the script. I think storyboard artists should be trusted to integrate more of their visual ideas by actually working with writers and not just be confined to following a script to the letter.  I also enjoyed directing Beavis and Butthead, because these are two characters who are actually funny. When I can get them to do physical humor, it’s great fun. The new shows that will be coming out are a bit more complex than those early shows.
How did you become interested in animation?
I was a fine art major, and even went back to graduate school in fine art, but I started getting into drawing my own comics, which made the transition to animation a little less abrupt.

Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I lived in New York for most of my adult life. I was a latecomer to animation- I did not get my first job until I was 34. A friend of mine who worked at MTV Animation told me they were looking for storyboard artists, so I showed them my sketchbook and my comics, and I was hired as a storyboard revisionist for Beavis and Butthead. I probably could not have gotten hired if it had been a more sophisticated show!

What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?
As a storyboard artist, I spend a lot of time drawing on a cintique, with the script and designs in front of me. Sometimes I have to meet with the director and the supervising director to go over my thumbnails and make necessary changes.  As a director, I spend more time coordinating my ideas with the design department. I look over the storyboards and make necessary revision notes. When I have time I draw out some thumbs for storyboard artists for specific sections. And I give specific directions to the timer, and review them when I get the exposure sheets back from the timer.

What part of your job do you like best? Why?
I like being paid to draw and I love the art of film, so it’s nice to get paid to do it.

What part of your job do you like least? Why?
I don’t like working on scripts have formulaic plots and uninteresting characters, but that seems to come with television shows sometimes. I don’t like it when I have to draw what I consider ugly character designs, because I have to do it many, many times when storyboarding.

What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
Finding steady work!

What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
I work with Storyboard Pro on a Cintique almost exclusively.

In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
It’s been interesting working with Mike Judge and Matt Groening, I get to see how show creators work and think.

Describe a tough situation you had in life.
I would say…. a couple of years ago, I simply could not find work. I was on unemployment for a long time, and it was affecting me in a bad way, I was very nervous about money. I was taking many storyboard tests, and I even took a test for a show that I had already worked on. I couldn’t get a hold of anyone to confirm that I could e exempt from a test. They said I had to take a test because the show no longer had layout artists (as is the case everywhere nowadays.) Imagine having to prove yourself as if you were a newcomer, though you were not. This is why it is so important to network with friends and let everyone know your status. It’s much more difficult to get a job from the outside. And save, save, save, because you will get laid off, if not sooner, then later. Be prepared.

Any side projects you’re working on you’d like to share details of?
I draw and write my own comics, it’s called “Fuzz and Pluck.” You can find it online at my website tedstearn.com, or go to my publisher’s site, fantagraphics.com, and look up my name under “artists.” It’s about a teddy bear and a plucked chicken and their adventures. I think it is important to always have one’s own projects in the works, it helps balance out working under others’ ideas. With my own work, I have complete freedom to do what I want. I’d like to think of myself as an auteur, and I want to stay that way!

Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Before you apply for a job:  1) Try an internship if possible. Nothing beats it for getting your foot in the door, and seeing the industry from the inside. (I wish I did it!!)  2) Make sure you have the strongest portfolio possible. Show it to your friends and/or teachers and ask their honest opinion.  3) Learn as much as you can about the craft of animation. Find the experts and learn from them any way you can.  4) Be familiar with the software that is used in your area of interest. Although, animation savvy is more important than software knowhow, in my opinion.  5) Try to meet people in the industry, and don’t be afraid to ask for their advice and help. That said, connections to people in the industry is important, but if you don’t have the chops, it still won’t get you where you want to be.

tedstearn.com

fantagraphics.com

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Henrique Jardim

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What is your name and your current occupation?
I am Henrique Jardim, currently a storyboard artist at Floyd County Productions on the upcoming animated series “Unsupervised” on FX. It’s a flash animated show made right here in the US of A.

 

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I suppose you could say that what I am now is my crazier job because it’s my first ever ACTUAL job that isn’t freelance. But the oddest gig I’ve had is when an online gambling company from Crete contacted me out of nowhere offering me a freelance storyboard gig. I named a price and they went for it without haggling… that to me was the craziest part. I am part of a new generation of graduates who were released into a disappointing (and scary) job market. Even before graduating, I applied to many franchises like Coldstone, Home Depot, Target, etc. with no luck. With the way things were going, I’m surprised I have a steady animation job currently.

 

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I was an intern at Titmouse over in Hollywood and had a chance to animate on “China, IL” and on “Black Dynamite”. But if I am to be truthful, it means I have to be the self-centered jerk that I am. So my absolute favorite project so far was a short pilot I made produced by Nickelodeon. They were such great people to work with and I was able to create something that was very “me”. The greatest part was that I was in charge of my own art and whatever decision I made mattered.
How did you become interested in animation? 
I always wanted to be a pro skateboarder, but I was a lousy skater. Come one summer when I was in 9th grade when all my friends were traveling, I started messing with Macromedia Flash 5 (I bet kids these days have never heard of such a thing). I found myself animating for days straight. The more I did it, Continue reading

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Boris Hiestand

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What is your name and your current occupation? 
My name is Boris Hiestand, and I’m an animator/storyboard artist/character designer/voice over guy.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation? 
I worked as a waiter in a hotel and on a construction site shoveling bricks as a teen, so nothing that crazy really. I knew I wanted to be an animator when I was 14, so focused on that from an early age. I got fired from most of those other jobs as I wasn’t committed to them at all, probably because I was constantly day dreaming about animation!
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of? 
Working at Aardman on “The Pirates; In An Adventure With Scientists” was incredible, because I had never worked on a stop motion project before, and it made me feel like a student again, or a kid in a sweet shop. Being able to walk around those mind blowing sets every day was amazing. Everything you see on the screen is really there physically; the talent and craftsmanship there is truly humbling. “Hotel Transylvania” was very rewarding creatively for me because the style of movement required was very cartoony which is right up my alley. The old Warner’s and MGM Tex Avery shorts were a big inspiration, and I hadn’t seen that done well in CG before. Also, Genndy(Tartakovsky, the director) knew exactly what he wanted and trusted the animators to get on with it, rare qualities in directors of big CG productions unfortunately. It’s easier to change things in CG than it is in hand drawn or stop motion animation, so on CG productions with big budgets they tend to tell you to change shots again and again and again, which is quite draining creatively and rarely improves the quality of a scene. You become a “motion editor” rather than an animator. Genndy however pitched you the shot, you’d go and animate it, show it to him, he’d approve it, done. All the animation I did in that film is really mine, and that felt good.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I was born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands but grew up in a small town called Vught in the south of the country. I always loved drawing and was a big Disney fan, trying to master their drawing style by Continue reading
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Trevor Wall

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What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Trevor Wall and currently I am the Director of “Sabrina- Secrects of a Teenage Witch” A CGI series Which will air on The Hub and Disney International in the fall.

What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
Unfortunately my jobs previous to animation were pretty tame compared to working in the industry. I worked as a dishwasher and waiter when I was a teenager and I was driving a forklift and delivering warehouse supplies right before I started in the animation business. Pretty boring stuff compared to the insane, wacky world of cartoons.

What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
It’s usually the one I’m working on at the time, but from the past I’d have to say “Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks”.  I worked on the last season of the series as a Storyboard Director. I loved this project so much because I had Continue reading

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Where to Work: Top 100 Studios for Animation Professionals

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Animation Career Review has a list of the Top 100 Studios for Animation Professionals. Below is A-B. Click the link for a full list!

343 Industries

This is the studio that took over Bungie’s Halo series back in 2009 and released Halo 4 in 2012.  In October this year we’ll finally get to play Halo 5: Guardians and see what’s in store for the future of Master Chief. No matter where the series is headed, I’m sure 343 will consider hiring plenty more game artists in the coming years to create make Halo 6. Next year we’ll get Halo Wars 2 to help us wait.

A-1 Pictures

This is simply one of the hardest working animation studios in the anime industry today. In 2014 and 2015 combined they have released a new season for twenty four different anime series including the highly anticipated Sword Art Online II and Persona 4 The Golden: Animation. Sure, they often collaborate with other animation studios to complete so many shows, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen a 2D animation studio deliver such an intense schedule of releases in such a short amount of time.

Aardman Animations

If you fell in love with the stop motion clay animation in Chicken Run or the Wallace and Gromit films, then this is a studio name you probably know well already. In 2006, they entered the computer animation industry with the film Flushed Away, and since then they’ve worked on the films Arthur Christmas (2011), The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012), Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) and they’re currently at work on Early Man (2018) and Shaun the Sheep 2 (TBA).

Animal Logic

My prediction from last year for this Australian studio hasn’t come true yet, but I’m still holding out hope! Illumination Entertainment hired Mac Guff to create most of the film Despicable Me for them, and then used the massive profits to buy the studio outright. Warner Bros. Animation went through a similar symbiotic relationship with Animal Logic, which animated all of The Lego Movie for them, so I still wonder if an acquisition is on the horizon. Either way, Animal Logic just opened a new office in Vancouver a few days ago, so they’re doing just fine! Both offices are hiring, so check them out!

Anzovin Studio

This animation company is located in Massachusetts and offers services in storyboarding, animation, graphic design, game art, software development, Maya plugins, character designs, character rigging, and can work in Maya, Mudbox, 3DS Max, ZBrush, VRay, Substance Designer, and all the Adobe CC products. Their rigging tools look superb, and it’s no surprise they’ve worked with famous clients like Bungie, A&E, PBS Kids, Microsoft, Syfy, DreamWorks Animation SKG, and Sea World. If you want to work on lots of different projects over a year instead of a huge neverending project over many years, then this could be the perfect studio for you.

Bardel Entertainment

The name “Bardel” comes from the names of its married founders, Barry Ward and Delna Bhesania, and they formed this Vancouver animation studio in 1987. Together they’ve handled plenty of large projects in the past, but what’s really gaining them global recognition is The Prophet and their hilarious art in the new television show, Rick and Morty. One of their other ongoing projects is doing all the animations for VeggieTales and VeggieTales in the House.

Bento Box Entertainment

This California studio is one of the younger ones on the list, but already has several hit series under its belt. Founded in 2009, they’ve already helped worked on Neighbors from Hell, Bob’s Burger’s, Allen Gregory, Brickleberry, Out There, Murder Police, and Bordertown. Add in the Web series The Awesomes and Gloves and Boots, as well as the films Achmed Saves America and Madea’s Tough Love, and you’ve got one of today’s most promising young studios.

Bethesda Game Studios

If you’re a gamer, then all I have to say is the Fallout series and The Elder Scrolls series. Enough said? Enough said. Not a gamer? Then this is a studio name to remember; even when it’s been years since they’ve released a game for either series, I still listed them as one of the most influential video game studios in the world. When Skyrim came out in 2011, the Internet was a quiet wasteland for a few days as everyone unplugged to play the expansive game. Forums went dry, comments sections were barren, and no one got insulted on YouTube for a whole sixty seconds once. Then, a few days later, the Internet damn near broke when everyone came back all at once and discussed the game everywhere and anywhere on every dot com imaginable, which made for one of the most memorable months the net has ever experienced. This November, Fallout 4 will finally be released! Prepare yourselves!

BioWare

One of the oldest game studios on this list, BioWare was founded back in 1995 and has been relevant ever since then. Its famously memorable storylines rely heavily on award winning writing, making it a highly competitive studio to get employed at. Lately they’ve been releasing several games for the series Dragon Age and Star Wars: The Old Republic, and are now looking to launch another Mass Effect title. They’ve got a lot of exciting things in motion, but they also have a lot of job applications, so bring your best and see if you can get an interview.

Blizzard Entertainment

In one word, legendary. Blizzard was legendary long before they became an Activision subsidiary. Sometimes Blizzard gamers can be notorious for only playing Blizzard games, but even when that’s not the case, the loyalty is still strong. When Blizzard releases a game, almost everyone plays it, regardless of their demographics. For decades they have released the most breathtaking 3D animated cinematics the world has ever seen, even when compared to the best films the box office has to offer those years. They only hire the best, but the projects they tackle are so huge that they hire a lot of employees, so if you want to be one of the thousands of names listed in their next credits list, then apply and see what happens!

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