Top 12 Storyboard Artist Skills to Put on Your Resume
Crafting an impressive resume as a storyboard artist means showing a nimble blend of technical chops and creative spark. Lead with the skills that actually move the needle. Make it crystal how you turn words into shots, rhythm, and emotion.
Storyboard Artist Skills
- Storyboarding
- Illustration
- Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Animation Principles
- Cinematography
- Character Design
- 3ds Max
- After Effects
- Visual Storytelling
- Maya
- SketchUp
1. Storyboarding
Storyboarding maps a script into a sequence of drawings that track shots, beats, and action. You carve scenes into panels, nail camera choices, pace the flow, and give production a visual north star.
Why It's Important
It’s the plan before the sprint. A clear board aligns teams, sharpens intent, and prevents costly wandering on set or in animation.
How to Improve Storyboarding Skills
Build clarity. Build rhythm. Build shots that read in a blink.
Study story structures: Hero’s journey, three-act, sequences. Know why a scene sits where it sits.
Draw daily: Life drawing, silhouettes, gestures. Fast and loose, then refine.
Think like a DP: Angles, lenses, blocking, motivated camera moves.
Dissect great boards: Reverse-engineer films and series you love. What’s the trick under the hood?
Seek feedback: Show work early, often. Small notes now beat big fixes later.
Know the tools: Photoshop, Storyboard Pro, Blender, or pen and paper—whatever lets you iterate fast.
Stay curious: New workflows, new shortcuts, new staging ideas. Keep a swipe file.
Chase clarity: If a panel reads without dialogue, you’re winning.
It’s a loop: learn, test, trim, repeat.
How to Display Storyboarding Skills on Your Resume
2. Illustration
For storyboard work, illustration means readable, expressive images that carry plot, tone, and motion beat to beat.
Why It's Important
It turns abstract direction into concrete frames. Clean silhouettes, strong poses, and legible staging make the story unmissable.
How to Improve Illustration Skills
Tell with pictures: Emotions, cause-and-effect, visual punchlines—no captions required.
Composition first: Rule of thirds, leading lines, frames within frames. Guide the eye deliberately.
Fundamentals on lock: Anatomy, perspective, foreshortening, dynamic gesture.
Film language fluency: Shot types, continuity, eyelines, screen direction.
Iterate with critique: Rapid versions, tight feedback cycles. Keep what reads, drop the rest.
Study great boards: Compare choices across genres—comedy, horror, action—and borrow wisely.
Consistent reps beat occasional marathons.
How to Display Illustration Skills on Your Resume
3. Photoshop
Photoshop is a flexible workspace for sketching panels, blocking tones, adding value, and prepping animatics.
Why It's Important
Speed and control. Brushes, layers, selections, and color tools let you iterate fast while keeping scenes consistent.
How to Improve Photoshop Skills
Custom brushes: Build sets for pencils, inks, markers. One-click mood shifts.
Layer discipline: Groups, colors, naming. Future-you will thank you.
Storyboard templates: Standardize panel sizes, gutters, captions. Reduce layout fuss.
Shortcuts and actions: Automate repetitive tasks and map keys you actually use.
Timeline basics: Light animatics for timing checks and beat testing.
Libraries: Shared assets—characters, props, backgrounds—for consistency across sequences.
Feedback-friendly files: Clean PSDs, clear layer labels, comments where needed.
Keep up with features: New selection tools, AI assists, stability fixes—leverage what helps.
Build a toolkit that gets out of your way.
How to Display Photoshop Skills on Your Resume
4. Adobe Illustrator
Illustrator delivers crisp, scalable lines—great for clean boards, vector props, and reusable scene elements.
Why It's Important
Precision and consistency. Vectors stay sharp at any size, and edits are painless.
How to Improve Adobe Illustrator Skills
Vector thinking: Paths, anchors, shapes. Keep it modular.
Pen tool mastery: Curves without wobble. Corners with intent.
Layers and artboards: Alternate takes, beat variations, clean organization.
Custom brushes: Texture and character without losing vector control.
Perspective grid: Fast, accurate environments that read instantly.
Shortcuts: Reduce friction and speed through common tasks.
Templates: Start with a layout that fits your pipeline and tweak per project.
Ongoing practice: New features, new tricks—fold them into your daily flow.
Neat files, clear lines, quick changes—gold for production.
How to Display Adobe Illustrator Skills on Your Resume
5. Animation Principles
The classic principles—timing, squash and stretch, anticipation, follow-through, arcs, exaggeration, and the rest—make action feel alive on the page.
Why It's Important
Boards that anticipate motion and sell weight guide animators, editors, and directors. Action reads. Emotion lands.
How to Improve Animation Principles Skills
Squash and stretch: Even simple shapes. Feel the mass.
Anticipation: Set up the move so the payoff feels inevitable.
Staging: Composition that states one thing clearly. No visual mush.
Straight ahead vs. pose to pose: Thumbnail key poses, then explore transitions.
Follow-through and overlap: Hair, cloth, tails—show the drag.
Slow in, slow out: More drawings at the start and end, fewer in the middle.
Arcs: Natural paths beat mechanical lines almost every time.
Secondary action: Small moves that support the main beat without stealing it.
Timing: Cut ruthlessly. Hold when it matters.
Exaggeration: Push poses until they pop—then dial back if needed.
Solid drawing: Form, volume, perspective. Turn characters in space convincingly.
Appeal: Shapes and rhythms that invite the eye. Personality on contact.
Practice in cycles: rough, review, refine.
How to Display Animation Principles Skills on Your Resume
6. Cinematography
Cinematography is visual storytelling with lenses, light, framing, and movement. For boards, it’s how you make moments breathe.
Why It's Important
Shot choices define mood and meaning. Smart coverage solves problems before anyone rolls a camera.
How to Improve Cinematography Skills
Serve the story: Map emotional beats to specific shot language.
Compose with intent: Thirds, leading lines, headroom, negative space. Design the gaze path.
Light the idea: High key, low key, color contrast—shape the feeling.
Vary angles: High, low, Dutch, long lens compression vs. wide-lens intimacy.
Plan movement: Pushes, pans, tracks—motivation over spectacle.
Collaborate: Align with directors and DPs so the boards reflect the shootable plan.
Good cinematography on paper saves days in production.
How to Display Cinematography Skills on Your Resume
7. Character Design
Character design shapes who we’re following—silhouette, attitude, gestures, and visual cues that stick.
Why It's Important
Memorable characters carry scenes. Consistent design keeps continuity tight across sequences.
How to Improve Character Design Skills
Start with the role: Goals, flaws, status. Design that supports function.
Know anatomy: Real or stylized, structure makes poses believable.
Silhouette first: Recognizable from a distance. No guesswork.
Expression library: Faces and body language for the full emotional range.
Color with purpose: Value hierarchy and palette that signal identity and mood.
Sketch relentlessly: Do pages of variations. The best version shows up late.
Get critique: Peer review reveals blind spots fast.
Study the pros: Break down why great designs read so well.
Iterate until the character “acts” even in still frames.
How to Display Character Design Skills on Your Resume
8. 3ds Max
3ds Max offers 3D modeling, layout, and quick previs—handy for complex scenes, tricky camera moves, and spatial problem-solving.
Why It's Important
When 2D sketches can’t show it cleanly, lightweight 3D previz clarifies blocking, scale, and action.
How to Improve 3ds Max Skills
Nail the basics: Interface, transforms, pivots, simple modeling.
Think storytelling: Cameras, staging, horizon lines, lens choice for mood.
Apply animation principles: Keys, spacing, arcs—enough to sell the beat.
Render smart: Quick lighting setups for readable stills without heavy render times.
Keep learning: Track updates and study efficient previs workflows.
Practice on briefs: Short sequences, tight deadlines—simulate production pressure.
Share for notes: Community feedback tightens your eye and your speed.
Use 3D as a clarity tool, not a time sink.
How to Display 3ds Max Skills on Your Resume
9. After Effects
After Effects lets you animate boards, add motion tests, and rough timing, so beats land with intent.
Why It's Important
Animated boards sell pacing and transitions. Clients “see” the cut, not just the drawings.
How to Improve After Effects Skills
Keyframe fluency: Easing, graph editor, timing polish.
Scripts and plugins: Automate, standardize, and speed up the repetitive bits.
Storyboard-specific passes: Anticipation bumps, parallax, simple camera moves.
Light 3D: 2.5D and basic model integration for depth when needed.
Stay inspired: Watch motion breakdowns. Borrow pacing tricks.
Keep renders quick and iterations frequent.
How to Display After Effects Skills on Your Resume
10. Visual Storytelling
Sequential images that carry plot, subtext, and mood. Clarity first. Surprise right after.
Why It's Important
Everyone aligns on the same vision early. Directors, DPs, animators—less confusion, stronger choices.
How to Improve Visual Storytelling Skills
Composition and framing: Control eye flow and emphasize what matters.
Learn from comics and film: Study how pros build tension, release, and reveal.
Board often: Short prompts, varied genres, quick constraints.
Get notes: Fresh eyes catch muddled beats instantly.
Watch with intention: Pause on strong shots; sketch why they work.
Color and light: Use value structure and palette to steer emotion.
Make it readable at a glance. Then make it memorable.
How to Display Visual Storytelling Skills on Your Resume
11. Maya
Maya brings robust 3D tools for previs, camera blocking, and complex action that’s tough to sketch flat.
Why It's Important
For sequences with heavy choreography or spatial puzzles, Maya showcases intent with precision.
How to Improve Maya Skills
Master the core: Navigation, constraints, outliner hygiene.
Camera craft: Lenses, depth of field, motivated moves that serve the beat.
Story-driven scenes: Build only what sells the idea; keep files lean.
Daily drills: Rebuild favorite shots; mimic timing and layout.
Join communities: Share tests, trade notes, learn faster.
Track updates: New features can mean big time savings.
Use it to clarify action, not to overbuild worlds.
How to Display Maya Skills on Your Resume
12. SketchUp
SketchUp is quick 3D for rooms, sets, and camera tests. Great for precise perspective without fuss.
Why It's Important
Fast block-ins of environments give you reliable staging and continuity from shot to shot.
How to Improve SketchUp Skills
Shortcuts: Build muscle memory for modeling and navigation.
Extensions: Add tools for camera animation and scene management when needed.
Scenes: Save angles as beats in your sequence. Iterate quickly.
3D Warehouse: Pull in base assets to focus on boards, not prop modeling.
Tags (layers): Toggle visibility to isolate sets, props, or camera paths.
Rendering plugins: Lightweight renders for mood and readability.
Keep current: New features often shave minutes off every shot.
Model just enough to sell the moment.
How to Display SketchUp Skills on Your Resume
