Storyboard artist to special effects artist
A storyboard artist already meets 42% of what the special effects artist role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.8/ 100
1 How much of what a special effects artist is expected to do is already part of a storyboard artist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the special effects artist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A special effects artist role treats 9 of its required skills as things a storyboard artist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT software specifications
- adapt to type of media
- analyse a script
- design graphics
- develop animations
- follow work schedule
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 12 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A special effects artist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a storyboard artist background worth leading with.
- already held develop animations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held study media sources information skills
- already held design graphics communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held consult with production director communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage feedback communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held adapt to type of media communication, collaboration and creativity
All 12 carried skills, including the 9 the special effects artist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn digital arts required
- still to learn digital compositing required
- still to learn motion graphics required
- optional, not held 3D lighting optional
- optional, not held motion capture optional
- still to learn computer equipment required
- still to learn computer graphics required
- optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
- optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
- optional, not held Synfig optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
- still to learn create moving images required
- still to learn follow a brief required
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
- optional, not held manage portfolio optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
- still to learn finish project within budget required
- still to learn provide multimedia content required
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a special effects artist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 12 skills that carry over
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held design graphics skill
- already held develop animations skill
- already held follow work schedule skill
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held multimedia systems knowledge
- already held study media sources skill
- already held consult with production director skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held manage feedback skill
14 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held 3D lighting optional
- optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
- optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
- optional, not held Synfig optional
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
- optional, not held motion capture optional
- optional, not held operate 3D computer graphics software optional
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- optional, not held manage portfolio optional
- optional, not held render 3D images optional
21 held skills the special effects artist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply 3D imaging techniques skill
- not needed by the target role cameras knowledge
- not needed by the target role consult with motion picture producer skill
- not needed by the target role create 2D painting skill
- not needed by the target role create animated narratives skill
- not needed by the target role create digital images skill
- not needed by the target role create original drawings skill
- not needed by the target role create sketches skill
- not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
- not needed by the target role digital content creation skill
- not needed by the target role familiarise with personal directing styles skill
- not needed by the target role film production process knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role perform image editing skill
- not needed by the target role photography knowledge
- not needed by the target role present storyboard skill
- not needed by the target role select illustration styles skill
- not needed by the target role use digital illustration techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use storyboards skill
- not needed by the target role use traditional illustration techniques skill
- not needed by the target role work with playwrights skill
14 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn digital arts required
- still to learn computer equipment required
- still to learn computer graphics required
- still to learn digital compositing required
- still to learn motion graphics required
- optional, not held 3D lighting optional
- optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
- optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
- optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
- optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
- optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
- optional, not held Synfig optional
- optional, not held graphics editor software optional
- optional, not held motion capture optional
Common questions about this move
Can a storyboard artist become a special effects artist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A storyboard artist already covers 42% of what a special effects artist is expected to do: 12 skills carry over, 9 of which the special effects artist role treats as required.
What skills does a storyboard artist need to become a special effects artist?
9 required skills are missing, plus 14 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is digital arts.
How hard is the move from storyboard artist to special effects artist?
Its learning distance is 60.8 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.