Hi there! I’m José Pou.
I’ve been in the animation industry since 1999, a full-time storyboard artist since 2001 and through my 20+ years of industry experience, I have developed a true passion for storytelling. I'm currently based in Ottawa, Ontario, living with my wife and our two black cats.
Over the course of my career, I have worn many hats and worked with studios across Canada and the United States. As some do, I started in backgrounds and moved my way through production, ink and paint, BG painter, BG artist, animation (traditional and digital), compositing, animation supervisor, and all of this helped prepare me for the next chapter of my career: Storyboarding and Directing!
When I’m not working on boards, you can find me drawing, painting or playing games.
So, why should you work with me?
I’m hardworking, reliable, and fun to work with.
I am passionate about bringing stories to life and sharing knowledge with the team to create a more compelling story.
I understand the moving parts of a production making me a great asset. I have worked in pretty much all the departments in studios. From production to compositing. And love bringing my leadership skills into a successful production.
Want to learn even more?
I knew from the start that I loved cartoons, funny gags and appreciated art. I just wasn’t sure how I could turn my love of drawing into a career, especially living in Nicaragua and with a family that didn’t believe art could be a profession. Thankfully, life brought me to Canada, where my skills could flourish.
In college, I followed my parent’s wishes and enrolled in computer engineering, but soon realized that wasn’t my true calling (and I hated math…bleh!). Shortly after quitting that program, I started going to the Ottawa School of Art to learn life drawing and there I met someone who told me about the animation program. I knew I had found my calling!
After college, I started working on traditional animation where I fell in love with the whole animation process. Drawing every day was an essential part of traditional animation. Believe it or not, I was soon thrown into my first storyboard, and that was my AHA! moment. I knew bringing story to life in this way was my true passion, getting to work with peers to bring the script to screen.
Now, I love that I get to storyboard for studios that are delivering incredible shows and movies around the world. I’m lucky to not only have a job I love but to have one that changes the lives of the viewers.