Role: UX Researcher & Designer
Duration: 90 hours
Skills:
ABC Methodology
User Research
UI Design
A/B Testing
Team:
UX Researcher & Designer - Blake Lemons
Users:
Professional Storyboard Artists
Animation Directors & Producers
Type:
Speculative Design Exercise
The Setup:
Pencils Vs. 0100101101s
"Why we gotta
teach the Terminator
to do my job?"
R.B.
Storyboard Artist
Problem: Professional storyboard artists resist AI integration, fearing job displacement while struggling with time-consuming technical tasks that distract from creative storytelling.
Our scene opens on a seasoned storyboard artist sitting hunched over their Cintiq, meticulously checking camera angles across a 200-panel sequence. Storyboard artists spend valuable creative time manually tracking technical rules like the 180-degree rule, horizon lines, and spatial relationships. It's crucial work, but it's not why they became storytellers.
However, when AI enters the conversation, these same artists recoil. Not because the technology can't help, but because every AI "solution" they've seen tries to do the creative work they love instead of handling the tedious work they don't.
Opportunity: The storyboard artists' reluctance revealed the real potential - AI could handle the tedious technical work that pulls storytellers away from what they love most, if they let it.
Define
Send In The Droids?
I entered this project with some obvious assumptions about AI adoption, being a former professional storyboard artist "An AI Tool for the AI-averse Artist: Designing Trust, Not Tech", but through interviews with 6 storyboard artists, directors, and producers, a different picture emerged that completely reshaped my approach. User Research revealed four critical insights:
Control Crisis:
Artists wanted AI to handle technical checks, not creative decisions.
Trust Imperative:
Every participant needed transparency about what AI was doing and when.
Job Security:
Artists feared job loss.. AI had to be positioned as "tool, not a partner."
Flow Integration
Any AI feature had to feel native to Storyboard Pro, not like a foreign element.
Old Methodologies ♡ New Methodologies
Years of animation storytelling taught me that the best narratives follow a simple pattern: establish routine, introduce a twist, then deliver a satisfying adventure.
Routine
An accountant wakes up on time for work.
Twist
But there is a giant meteor headed for Earth!!!
Adventure
So Earth sends this person to space to stop the meteor (because reasons).
Sound familiar? It's exactly how BJ Fogg's ABC methodology works.
Anchor
I mapped the new feature to the artists' natural process, making alerts to when they already expected feedback.
Behavior
The AI assistant needed to feel like a second pair of professional eyes, not a creative supervisor.
Celebrate
When artists used the tool, the interface provided positive reinforcement without disrupting flow.
Turns out, designing compelling user behavior and crafting satisfying story arcs use the exact same emotional toolkit—you just swap character development for habit formation.
Finally, with this deep understanding of the user I applied my learnings to the storyboard artists' flow.
The Setup Starter
User Story: As a storyboard artist, I want to set up the 180 Degree Rule Assistant with specific permissions and preferences, so that I can receive helpful continuity guidance without disrupting my creative process.
The Always Alert
User Story: As a storyboard artist, I want to be alerted when I create a potential 180-degree rule violation and have the ability to confirm or dismiss the alert, so that I can catch continuity errors early.
The Reviewer
User Story: As a storyboard artist who has confirmed a continuity issue, I want to review AI-generated correction suggestions and choose how to resolve the 180-degree rule violation, so that I can quickly implement an appropriate fix.
Lo-Fi Validation
When Artists Say "This Could Actually Work"
Hand-drawn wireframes became my testing ground with 6 users (4 storyboard artists, 1 director, 1 producer), immediately revealing both the power and pitfalls of the AI assistant concept.
And that immediate feedback revealed both validation and a critical oversight.
Validation:
Artists immediately appreciated the technical focus, with 5 out of 6 expressing willingness to use the tool in their workflow.
The Critical Mass:
However, the inspiration review functionality divided users. While some embraced AI-generated visual suggestions, others found them "icky" and preferred case studies of existing shots over AI-created imagery.
As one user put it:
"This feels… (raspberry sound)."
This feedback forced a fundamental rethink: the 180-degree rule detection was solid, but any AI-generated imagery had to be carefully positioned or made completely optional.
The Visual Identity:
Designing Within ToonBoom's Professional Standards
The Design Gauntlet: Creating AI features that feel native to ToonBoom Storyboard Pro while working within their established design system (a constraint that proved both limiting and creatively beneficial).
Working within ToonBoom's existing UI presented a unique challenge compared to the blue-sky design freedom of previous projects. However, my animation industry background became crucial when the AI Assistant needed to feel professionally integrated rather than disruptively foreign.
UI Replication
Alert Graphic Design
Drawing from my experience following animation studio’s style guides, I understood the importance of meeting the client where they are.
High Fidelity Reality
The polished designs underwent rigorous testing with 5 users (4 storyboard artists, 1 producer), revealing dramatic improvements from the lo-fi skepticism.
Successful
Completion of
AI Assistant Setup
Successful
Interaction with
180-degree Rule
Detection
4.8/5
Rating on
Alert System
Usefulness
(up from mixed
reactions in lo-fi)
The Technical Reality:
Trust Through Transparency
Building for professional artists required addressing concerns that don't exist in consumer-focused design. Artists rated technical consistency checks highly (4.8/5) but demanded complete transparency about AI decision-making processes.
The Design Challenge: How do you create intelligent assistance without creating black box anxiety?
Transparent Operation: The AI assistant clearly showed its reasoning for flagging potential violations, using visual overlays that highlighted the specific camera angles and character positions that triggered alerts.
Complete Control: Rather than automatic corrections, artists received suggestions with full override capabilities. Every recommendation included a "dismiss and don't ask again" option for sequences where violations were intentionally stylistic choices.
Professional Integration: The constraint of working within ToonBoom's design system became a strength. By matching their established visual language, the AI features felt like native tools rather than external add-ons.
The Resolution:
Professional Adoption is the Success Metrics
Unlike consumer apps measured in downloads, the AI Assistant's success lived in professional adoption and workflow integration metrics that actually mattered to working artists.
"Love the inspirations. They say
'here's some ideas from a robot,
your choice.' to me."
Reflection:
Artists aren't anti-technology:
Their resistance to AI stemmed from legitimate concerns about job security, not technophobia. Positioning AI as professional assistance rather than creative automation changed everything.
Pro software requires pro respect:
Working within ToonBoom's design constraints wasn't limiting (it was essential for credibility). Artists trust tools that understand their established workflows and visual language.
Transparency enables adoption:
Instead of hiding AI complexity, exposing the reasoning behind suggestions built trust. Professional users want to understand their tools, not be mystified by them.
Scaling this AI Assistant in ToonBoom
Looking ahead, the next critical development is expanding technical assistance beyond the 180-degree rule. Artists desire horizon line tracking, shot coverage analysis, and reference organization (technical tasks that support creativity without replacing it).
The challenge: maintaining the "tool, not partner" positioning while adding sophisticated features. The solution lies in continuing the transparent, optional approach while integrating more deeply with ToonBoom's professional pipeline.
This expansion would complete the technical assistance cycle artists naturally envision: catch continuity errors, suggest technical solutions, and organize production assets (all while keeping creative decisions firmly in human hands).