My name is Alex DeLeon. I have been drawing storyboards for over fifteen years and have worked with clients such as Boeing Aircraft, Dole Nutrition, Sony, LG Electronics, EA Sports, Ford Motors, Kaplan Online University and others.

I am writing this article for the beginning or even intermediate storyboard artists. I am talking about the ones who already know how to draw storyboards and what they are for, but are unsure on where to find the good clients who pay the higher rates.

It is absolutely possible to earn good money as a storyboard artist working from home with clients anywhere in the world. Good and reliable storyboard artists are in demand.

The first thing I would suggest is putting up a very simple an easy to navigate website that shows your best storyboard work. If you do not have any professional experience yet, just put up any samples that you do have.

When a client calls, be honest with them if they ask you what project the sample work is from. You can just say that it is self promotion. Do not let your lack of experience become an issue. Remember, The client has called you after seeing your work. If he didn't think you could do the job, he wouldn't have called.

Be sure to tag your website with keywords so that the search engines give you a higher ranking. There are plenty of good articles online about driving traffic to your website. Here are some websites that have a section for storyboard artists to add a link to their websites.

They are Mandy.com, NewEnglandFilm.com, Gamasutra.com, HollywoodCheatSheet.com, LA411.com, ProductionHub.com, ProducersandDirectors.com and TheArtList.com.

La411 (there is also one for NY called NY411) is the only one that costs money. There is a $50 registration fee and then every year after, your listing is free. Most of my clients tell me that they found me through Google or LA 411.

If you're not at the point where the clients are calling you. Then you need to drum up some business. There a few ways to do this.

You can send out an email to commercial and film directors, advertising agencies, commercial production companies, live event designers, music video production companies, stunt coordinators, video game companies, theme park designers, special effects houses.

These types of companies will need shooting boards, presentation boards and sketch artists.

You can find contact info for these companies in LA411 or just by searching the web. You can also find their contact info on some of the websites that I listed earlier. You can also search Google, using phrases like "storyboard artist wanted" or "storyboards needed" to find work.

Storyboard agents are not absolutely necessary. It depends on what city you live in. If you are in a smaller market town, you may try getting on with an agent to see if it works for you. When you get good at marketing yourself and can keep a steady flow of work coming in, you may decide that you do not need one.

Professional storyboard artist charge anywhere between $600 per day and higher. It is up to you to know the value of your work. Rates are listed in "The Handbook of Pricing and Ethical Guidelines." It is published every year by the Graphic Artists Guild.

When a client contacts me and asks what I charge, I tell them my day rate. I then find out what they need done so that I can give them an estimate on the number of days it will take. Get all the details you can, such as due date, aspect ratio, color or black and white, etc. Also be able to tell the client how many frames you are able to do in a day.

In some cases, I explain to the client that the amount that I am quoting them is not only based on my time but is also based on the perceived value that I am bringing to the project. In other words, it may take me three days to draw it, but I explain to the client that I am going to bill them for five. I do this when I am doing presentation boards or character designs.

The amount you charge the client is small compared to what they are going to make when their project sells. When you are doing presentation boards, it is your artwork that is going to sell the idea and make them money. Make sure you are compensated what you are worth. Be very clear and explain this to the client up front.

Negotiating the rate is something that you will have to get a personal feel for. Pricing yourself too high may cause the client to go find another artist and pricing yourself too low is not going to make you much money.

Some clients may ask you to lower your rate based on the promise of giving you more work in the future. I don't suggest taking the bait on that one. You can tell the client that if indeed they need more work from you in the future, you will consider a discount at that time. However; if you need the money, do what you have to do and take the assignment. It may help to research the client first to get an idea of what they can afford before you give your quote.

The thing you have to remember is not to seem desperate or too eager. Be cordial and professional with the potential client and remember that there are plenty of good clients who will pay you rate without question. It is just a matter of attracting them. Your work quality and professionalism will go along way in getting you referrals and repeat business.

It is also important that you put in writing that you are licensing your artwork for them to use and not giving up your ownership rights.

Artist get paid according to how their work is used. If they were going to take your drawings and sell it on coffee mugs, for example, then you should be compensated for it.

Once you and the client agree on a job; make sure that you write up a contract that details the price, what the job entails and when payment is due. I usually take a 50% deposit up front and the balance due upon delivery of the completed artwork.

Be sure to discuss up front, whether additional charges will be added due to revisions.

I will charge extra if the client decides that he wants something changed that we never talked about up front. If changes were necessary due to a misunderstanding on my end, then I would not charge any additional fees.

Good communication and listening skills will keep changes and misunderstandings to a minimum.

Anyway, these are just some tips that have helped me over the years and I wanted to share them with you.

-Alex DeLeon