The concept of storyboarding exists because, without a structured advancement to the animation phase, your efforts will become futile. Storyboarding itself has become a lucrative profession and with the right expertise, you can raise the bar of your career standards. However, that does not happen overnight and practice might certainly be important but you should know a few things about storyboarding before you even begin to practice.
If you happen to be a storyboard artist eager to work with a renowned animation video company then you should start following the following tips.
Tell your story
The entire basis of an animation depends upon how well executed and written the story is. This notion is known as storyboarding but that does not mean one should write a story with a stagnant essence instead, it should possess the ability to enliven emotion and a sense of association in the mind of the viewer.
The background and overall environment of the animation matters but the characters in the video matter the most, as they are the ones who form the story. Analyze what could happen in the next panel of the animation, how the characters would react and how the audience would perceive their actions.
Be visually clear
Clarity and conciseness in a visual storyboarding matter as it lets you form intricate details, elements, and objects. Most of the time, artists tend to overlook small details and that is not right.
That is why the concept of storyboarding exists as you can easily form a flow of the story and the panels needed for the animation. Either you can create small thumbnails or you can give a full page to one drawing and edit it accordingly. Whichever approach you choose, you should never forget to be clear and concise.
Character gestures and poses
You have to understand the anatomy and structural design before you proceed to draw your character. This also includes the postures, gestures and the poses you want to add to the design.
However, you cannot entirely rely on poses if you want your character to have some visual movement as well. Keep the balance between the two and pay attention and emphasis to only what matters.
If a character is walking then it is certain that its posture would stay the same but if you were designing a fight scene then you would have to be dynamic about it.
Draft a rough visual panel
While the need to make a rough sketch of your character design is important but it is better to visualize it into the form of a story panel. Design the visual inside a small thumbnail and add all of the necessary objects and elements into it. Once that is done, transform the thumbnail into a complete panel of your animation. However, create a full panel only if you are content with the structure and alignment of your drawing inside the panel.
Leave space for movement
An animation is made up of different panels. A view of the single panel does not even last for a second so you have to merge multiple thumbnails to bring movement into the animation.
However, to make it happen, you would need to give space in the background of your canvas. If you cramp the character into one of the main panels then you would have to follow the same theme for others as well. Try to leave extra blank room in the drawing so you can compose it for the movement of your character. Also, do not cramp the character or objects into a single screen instead keep them away from the edges to make it spacious.
Originally posted on January 22, 2019 @ 1:16 pm
