Meet Ari Castleton | Storyboard Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ari Castleton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ari, what matters most to you?
Boundaries are very important to me. Whether its for other people/myself I want to know what line that shouldn’t be crossed is. I try to clearly define my boundaries in most aspects of my life like my relationships and work, that way everyone (including myself) is on the same page and whatever task at hand can be accomplished. It sounds intense haha, but it just comes down to preventing bigger issues down the road by communicating clearly from the beginning. Easier to put out sparks than fire, you know?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I work as a Storyboard Artist/Director in animation, meaning I get a script written by a writer, and then spend the better part of 7ish weeks drawing out the episode. This consists of close to 1000 (give or take) images that sequentially play out to help everyone visualize how the episode will play. Think of a storyboard artist as the camera person/cinematographer, we have to plan out the shots in order as well as have the characters act out the script. It’s a lot to juggle but there’s a lot of fun in it, especially the more you get to know the characters and the show.

I think I’m just trying to make stuff that I would want to look at, trying to make myself laugh and all that. Especially when it comes to storyboarding, you’re not really drawing your own characters or designs, so what you can add in the acting and all the little nuances is where I try to express myself the most. It’s those little moments where you can make your room of cranky artists laugh during a storyboard pitch, because you added one little drawing of a character blinking, that feels so immensely good. The pieces I’m most proud of are usually very simple and clearly executed, where you can tell what exactly is happening and (hopefully) feel something from it; this goes for storyboards and more illustrative pieces. Something I always advocate for when I’m directing storyboard artists is clarity and inventiveness over all. Don’t sweat the fine details, just clearly show what you’re trying to say and be clever about it!

My professional path was relatively straight forward. I studied animation at CSU Fullerton (about an hour south of LA), without much of a backup plan much to moms chagrin haha. I had always enjoyed doodling and making comics with my friends but this was the first time I seriously considered it as a professional career. My dad has a friend who worked at Pixar, so he knew it was obtainable which helped me convince my mom that I wasn’t throwing my education away. The biggest stepping stone was getting involved with my school’s animation club, The PMC, and in turn getting a Nickelodeon internship. My time there opened my eyes up to the studio culture and the SHEER amount of talent the artists there had. My main takeaway was I had to be that good to work there, so with my few remaining years left at school I went all in on storyboarding. Eventually it paid off when I applied for a full time storyboard position at Nick about a year later, my old intern boss helped me get my work looked at, and they agreed to bring me on board. Looking back, I was a huge liability for them; a fresh out of college artist with zero storyboard experience, but they saw something in me and I didn’t wanna let them down. I worked as hard as I could to catch up and eventually started to pursue directing, as it was naturally the next step up in the chain of command. After hopping around a few shows and some freelance, you can still find me storyboard directing at Nick!

Looking back, I wouldn’t say it was easy but I definitely made it harder for myself. For some ungodly reason, I set this imaginary doomsday timer on myself to be the best I can be, as quickly as possible. I was incredibly lucky and given so many opportunities in my first few years of working, this included developing a show (spoiler: didn’t work out!!), that I thought I was supposed to just keep wanting more, sooner. I was constantly doing unpaid overtime, grinding on the weekends, constantly driving myself to the brink of burnout and setting this wild expectation in my head that “I have to be here by this point or I’m a failure”. I was probably a lot to be around at this time in my life haha. I think I would tell my younger self and anyone else on the same path to just slow down, take your time and learn from others. There’s so many incredible artists and people out there that can have the biggest influence on you, no matter how good you think you are. Also, don’t work unpaid overtime you bozo!! You’re literally doing your job, so get paid!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am not the best person for this haha, I love my routines and whoever is unfortunate enough to have me as their guide would be subject to that.

DAY 1: We hang around Altadena/Pasadena/Sierra Madre. Coffee at Coffee.jpg in Sierra Madre, then we head out to shop at Blue Rooster art supplies in Pasadena. If we’re feeling zesty, we can hop over to Huntington Gardens and do some sketching and talking. After, we head to my place and grab some Prime Pizza and watch a movie or some youtube vids. Keep it simple.

DAY 2: Coffee at Mandarin Coffee in Pasadena, its trendy and crowded so we book it after. We go to home depot and they help me with some house chores in the afternoon. For dinner, we go to Eagle Rock and find a bar/dinner spot and hangout there for the night. The Fable/Walts is great.

DAY 3: We are both tired at this point, but they’re in town and we gotta do something. We take a metro to Chinatown, get some coffee from Thank You coffee and hangout around there for a few hours. If we’re still holding strong, we continue on the train to Little Tokyo and get lunch there, maybe some okonomiyaki. We go to Kinokuniya after and look at books and more art supplies. We take the metro back to Pasadena, grab some dinner in Old Town Pasadena, maybe something fancier like Agnus. We are bloated and tired at this point, head back to my place and sleep early.

DAY 4: We are feeling large and bloated, I make us some coffee at home then we go to The Post rock climbing in Pasadena to work out. We are both not great at it but feel better for working out. We take it easy and maybe do a BBQ at my place, invite some of my local friends to meet my bestie. We walk over to Altadena Food and Bev to get some supplies and fancy drinks. Lite up the bonfire as well. Good simple day/night.

DAY 5: Beach time baby!! We swing by Coffee.jpg again and then I take them Zuma Beach and we cruise along the coast and get some lobster rolls after. We get back in the evening and maybe catch a movie in theater. Nothing scary.

DAY 6: We go to Koreatown for coffee (maybe Document Coffee) and get some good food. I tell them about galbi- jjim and we wait an hour to get it at Sun Nong Dan. We are so full after and head over to Griffith Park to chill out in the grass. If we’re up for it, maybe a light hike or walk along the LA River bike path. We head back home and have a home cooked meal.

DAY 7: Time for them to go, they ask me to drop them off at LAX and instead I tell them about the Flyaway bus and take them to Union station instead. We stop my Coffee.jpg before they leave.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this to The Pencil Mileage Club, a small but mighty animation club at California State University, Fullerton. Truly, they helped me come out of my shell and gave me the courage/encouragement to pursue my passion.

Website: https://www.aricastleton.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castletoons/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ari-castleton-92324355/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AriCastleton007

Image Credits
Marie Lum (photo of me playing guitar)
Amanda Rynda (photo of full band playing guitar)
Pencil Mileage Club (me speaking to students)