Welcome, my name is Alenz,

Visual artist with formal audiovisual production
training and a controlled AI production pipeline.

Experienced in blending traditional artistry, like
drawing and directing, with modern prompting
techniques. Backed by years of international
work, based in Paris.

Alenz Atman
Visual Artist

Introduction

STORYBOARDS

A storyboard puts someone other than you through the visual language you are developing for your film. That is how you find the frames you do not need, and the ones you assumed you had asked for but never specified. Cut a few frames and you save days of shooting. Add a few and you avoid days of reshooting.

I build storyboards by hand, with AI, or with both, depending on your deadline and budget. AI produces frames in minutes. It does not decide which frames your film needs, or question the logic of the sequence. That judgment is the same at any speed, and it is the part I bring.

GALLERY OF RESULTS

From faster to richer

The presentation boards above are shown with express permission of the client. Below is a non-exhaustive gallery of possible results, from fast AI-assisted boards to fully hand-drawn ones. Every board starts from a thumbnail or rough session, so the sequence and composition decisions are mine, whatever the production method. Some use stylistic shortcuts or enhancement techniques to set the board’s intent apart from the rest.

Click on each to see the style name, or paste a screenshot into an email to discuss. You can also request a hybrid approach or reference another style. I like working differently each time.

PROCESS FLOW

Checkpoint

HOW I WORK STORYBOARDS

For Commercial Presentation Boards: I call you on Google Meet, share my screen, and quickly draw all the thumbnails to clear any doubts and avoid surprises down the road. If that's not possible, I'll send you thumbnails first.

We follow up either on WhatsApp or by email. WhatsApp is for tight control, email for batches and continuity. The process can go now directly to generation (see below).

For Shooting Boards: We have a call initially to discuss your intentions and references. We set up the scope and quality of frames you need per day. Then I start optimizing to give you that number till I surpass it. It depends heavily on the level of light and lens distortion you are aiming for.

You can call me at any time during the process. At any moment of my day
or evening.

HOW DO I WORK MY TIME IN
STORYBOARDING?

Three ways to work

By hand, by hand with AI references, or by generating frames with AI and then correcting and redrawing them myself. The levels below apply to all three. What changes is how many frames fit in an hour.

With AI

AI starts from one of two places: frames your team has already generated, or your script, which I run through a paid, private AI setup to get prompts and a first pass of the whole sequence. In both cases the first step is to look at the result together and measure how far it is from what production needs.

AI is fast, including on complex scenes, and it makes mistakes: stray details, props or anatomy that do not match the script, differences from one frame to the next. Sometimes that first pass is already all the production needs. Other times it needs work. So we agree on one level of correction, applied evenly across the whole board, from a quick professional cleanup to a detailed redraw.

Composition and sequence logic stay with me, because AI does not carry them. I cannot give a frames-per-hour figure, since it depends on how much correction the board needs.

For Commercials, by hand, in an hour:

Four fast sketch frames
Three fast and bold frames
Two frames with defined lines and a bit of hatching
One frame with light and shadow, or one frame with flat colors

For Shooting Boards, by hand, in a day:

64 thumbnails: six minutes each, 8 per hour. Heavy ink indicates light, and the narrative flow becomes clear.
40 fast sketched drawings with one layer of grays, five per hour. The light direction is understood.
32 fast sketched drawings with two layers of grays, four per hour. Bounced light is better understood.
16 inks with digital grays, shadows and grainy grays, two per hour. More depth and detail in everything, still fast and loose.
8 inks with digital grays. Very detailed work, ideal for complex VFX.

HOW DOES THE ROUGH SESSION WORK?

For commercials with AI:

With the script, I can guide a better generation process, one less prone to defects. Then the “rough session” is about how to correct it: what final quality do we expect? From a color board to realistic photos, today there are no limits to the finish, and yet inconsistencies in a photo result are harder to correct than in a sketch. This session is to agree exactly on that. Then I regenerate everything and draw over it if it is a sketch, or modify the entire board until it is coherent and well composed.

For commercials by hand:

Once I receive the shot list, I draft it in front of you as we talk. I produce a series of elevations and spatial blueprints to establish the correct camera angle for each shot.

I deliver ten to twelve thumbnails per hour. Explanation takes time, but it ensures you maintain full control over your imagery.

At the end of the session, I send you the drawings. You then review everything at your own pace before confirming. Call me to add anything we missed or to remove what you think is unnecessary.

When you approve, you give me the green light to move to the next stage.

For shooting boards:

Shooting boards are never produced all at once or at the very beginning. We schedule an initial meeting to discuss visual objectives, themes, and narrative approach. Then I work through the script in reasonable detail.

You receive batches of boards and send feedback via email, WhatsApp, or whatever channel the production prefers. At key moments, we jump into a rough session so you can correct specific scenes or reinforce moments that need your direct attention. Since I’m working continuously, you can interrupt anytime to orient me or verify I’ve captured your vision in real time.

There is a difference between capturing intention and translating it into frames that work. The first is conceptual; the second is craft. Both are essential, one follows the other, and everyone on set must understand both once I’ve finished. That clarity prevents costly mistakes during production.

TIME CONTROL
AND HOUR VALUE
IN STORYBOARDING

For Commercials:

Hourly rate varies according to a private agreement between you and me. Factors that affect this rate are the speed of exchange, how far ahead the deadline sits, and whether you're an emerging company. The quicker the exchange, the further ahead the deadline, and the newer your organization, the more economic flexibility the agreement can accommodate.

I prioritize emerging companies because I understand how difficult it is to launch.

Every hour spent is logged and can be justified. I track everything with Clockify. I charge for time, not for frame count.

Simple frames cost less. Frames with foreshortening, multiple likenesses, complex lens effects, or deep perspective require more time. My workflow is structured to budget generously, which means there is always comfortable margin for revisions. Unused budgeted time is not charged.

For Shooting Boards:

Day rate plus frame-count agreement. Both are negotiated at the project start. Price adjusts according to work intensity (quality), frames per day, project duration, and payment timeline.

Lower intensity, fewer frames per day, faster payment,and shorter duration all create room for economic flexibility. I'm not seeking easy work, but I'm pointing out the levers available to reach a better agreement.

IP CLEARANCE WITH STORYBOARDING

Copyright requires a human author, and a text prompt alone does not meet that standard. For agencies building pitch decks with AI-generated frames, this is a real exposure: material generated by AI without sufficient human authorship is generally not protected in the US or the EU.

I work the way your project needs: fully by hand, by hand with AI references, or by generating the storyboard with AI and then correcting it myself. When AI is involved, I still start from a simple thumbnail sketch, redraw and rework the frames so the final work carries human authorship, and I keep a record of what was drawn and what was generated.

Whatever happens later in production, that first layer of work stands on firm ground.

GOOD CAUSES

Every service on this page is offered at its lowest fee if the project serves a good cause. Film direction included.

STORYBOARDING LIST OF STYLES

Non-exhaustive list

The styles you see here are:

Fast Sketch: Just to get the point across.

Fast & Bold - Open Lines: The fastest first level of definition.

Fast & Bold - Blunt Lines: Thick, pressure-sensitive lines that focus on clarity over detail.

Fast & Bold - Art Brush: Apparent definition with lots of movement.

Fast & Bold - Fat Lines: Definition focused on strong, fast clarity.

Fast & Bold - Texture Brushes: A multiplicity of texture brushes expresses special VFX (fire, ice, etc.).

Defined Line: An equilibrium of detail and simplicity.

Defined Line with Ink: Shadows with increased contrast give weight to the figures.

Defined Line with Ink + Multiple resemblances: To be able to recognize the cast stars.

Defined Line with color highlight: Direct attention to one point in your frame.

Defined Line - Arrow Flight: Perspective drawing with notation of camera path.

Defined Line - Camera Movement: Use of the special inner frame to narrate camera moves.

Defined Line + Lens Distortion: Perspective volumetric calculation to approximate lens effects.

Defined Line + Hatching: Volume and light, hinted by some extra lines.

Defined Line - Ghost Touch: Soft pressure lines to express the delicacy of a subject.

Defined Line + One layer of greys: One direction of light can be expressed.

Defined Line + Spirit Light: One layer of greys erased in a way that simulates abundant light.

Defined Line - Real pencil with real watercolor highlight, mounted in Photoshop.

Shooting Boards - Inks done with Art Brush plus loose flat greys. Fast iteration with atmosphere.

Shooting Boards - Clean Ink and greys. Fast Sketch, inked plus loose greys and grain. Cinema board workhorse.

Shooting Boards - Grainy Darks: When dark atmosphere is of the essence. Allows photobashing for fast pseudo realistic results.

Shooting Boards - Misty Blurs: When motion blur tells the story.

Shooting Boards - Real Ink and greys: Ink on paper + digital greys. For a stronger presence and a classical feel.

Shooting Boards - Rage Pencil: Drawing done through "attacks" (hard, intense lines in an A3). Shadows are done through hatching in the same directionality of movement.

--All Shooting Boards include "Arrow Flight", "Lens Distortion" and "Camera Movement". Done faster.--

Simple Greys + Spirit Light: Enough greys to understand light plus strong light effects.

Simple Greys + One Color Highlight: Enough greys to understand light plus one accent in color.

Light and Shadow: From deep inks to very soft greys. The most adaptable to all terrains. Camera path can have shading indicated too.

Duotone: Greys used to indicate light and shadow, confronted by another color with its own
scale of values. Ideal when the color of the product is the theme but fast iteration is needed.

Flat Colors: Palette is more important than light directionality. However, light directionality can be more than hinted within.

Flat Colors with gradients: Creates a feeling while remaining simple.

Flat Colors with Art Brush: Color applied with texture allows more detail of independent colored elements. Ideal when small color forms need to be present in color.

Simple Volumetric Color: A selective palette with a light direction.

Volumetric Color: Light direction and colors worked alike.

Alenz Atman