Darin McGowan: The Storyboard Artist's Life

Storyboard artists live in the space between script and show: what is written and what ends up on screen. Professional storyboard artist Darin McGowan has been "boarding" for 16 years, working on animated shows such as The Wild Thornberrys and Futurama. In this interview, he explains the storyboarding process, from sketching thumbnails and pitching ideas to cleanup, and shares his insights on the industry: the advantages of working on a premise-driven show, the pros and cons of computers over paper, and what to do during the layoffs storyboard artists inevitably encounter. Darin also shares his process for writing and developing original content—a great next step for artists who want to develop their own characters.