COMMUNICATION OVER ILLUSTRATION 01 DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
What Size Is It?
The Importance of Scale
I had an Art Director at College from New York and she was quite a formidable Spirit. She always had tons of drawing hacks for storyboards, or anything really. She was like a miniature Jewish Gandalf, full of wisdom and in command of herself.
She would always advise to “stay on model” I never really could appreciate those words until I was creating storyboards for a cast of characters who all looked similar to one another and there was an abundance of them.
I then had the experiential aptitude to be able to appreciate the value of being able to keep your characters to their appropriate and relational scale.
Storytelling and Story Creation is Fundamentally Based On Relationship, As Is The Nature of LIFE.
EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
Keeping these relationships consistent and in a dynamic and contrasting state of uniqueness to be able to identify a characters particular makeup and their role in the story is a good vibe to be aware of.
Having a character line up and at the start of production of your storyboards is mind map for you, the story artist to be able to comprehend and maintain a consistent standard of relating .
EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
Villains are sometimes larger and heavier than the heroes in terms of a characters scale. This can induce an unconscious sympathy for the smaller characters against more menacing and imposing shape presences.
Having small or cute characters that have ferocious or outlandish expressions or characteristics is a dynamic and contrasting way to utilize scale for comedic or dramatic effect too.
The display in scale for a character along with their relationship to other characters is determined on many factors.
You can utilize certain aspects of your scaling applications in character and environment to creatively convey the story points and visual story telling end goals.
Characters will display scale variations relative to each other, and scale is additionally determined by backgrounds and props.
The Backgrounds Literally Put The Characters Into Perspective In Terms of Their Scale To The World In Which They Exist.
EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
A characters scale can vary from sequence to sequence and there will always be size relationships to consider. Scale is established by designing the props and environment with the characters relating to and within them.
Insufficient visual information can cause confusion so conveying your elements with clarity using your story tools and delineated creative thought proves a sweet feel.
Asking yourself if your scales of character relationship and character to prop/environment can prove to be a very supportive inquiry to keep your shots looking solid and dialed in to a consistent and fluid feel.
Composition & Staging – Creating Dramatization To Lead The Eye
The dramatization portrayed by your compositions will first catch your viewers eye and then direct the eye to the CENTRE OF INTEREST.
These dramatizations can be created by various devices.
A character may bend their body in a certain shape to provide a direction of interest, or an abstract environmental design may point towards it, intersect it, frame it, circle it or bend around it.
The character or centre of interest may be accented by colour difference, contrast or tone, isolation, or balance the composition in importance.
EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
Compositions can balance like a scale with equal weights, to areas of interest. Any small, isolated object of great importance can balance an enormously huge object.
Polarity is the nature of existence, so utilizing it well in visual storytelling is a creative tool worth investing.
In staging, characters are fit and woven together like a larger tapestry in a group with rhythm lines, straight lines that align and areas that fit in patterns.
Your tools as a visual storyteller are magnified in the use of horizontal, vertical, diagonal, circular and curved rhythm lines and aligning these visual dynamics with your characters and their environment will be the proof in the pudding of your mastery over them.
Your audience and their viewpoint as well as your impact upon them is of value for you to consider in every shot you frame.
It is a sweet feel to go from the General to the Specific.
A broader view of the entirety of the flow of your choices that are well-thought-out and cohesive can go a long way in visual storytelling to a thrive which brings us to our next and final storyboarding tip for this particular post.
Does It Read Well In Silhouette?
The use of line delineates your drawings and SILHOUETTE is a test of whether your lines have successfully depicted the pose you are aiming to convey to your viewer(s). A drawing made with a single line and no shape means you have to communicate with line alone.
A drawing may have all the parts and aspects of the drawing you are investing, but can still not read well in silhouette.
Passing the silhouette test just means a drawing that is staged to read clearly and concisely even if and when it is completely blacked in.
The drawing tools you have as a storyboard artist exist with your line and your shape quality and application. A variety of lines can add to a shape’s interest by contrasting straight and curved lines, short and long lines or heavy lines contrasting against fine lines.
Remember your relationships of polarity and using them to created dynamic visual interest. Shapes are the tools that are able to be animated.
Simplifying Complex Drawings Into Simple Shapes
To summarize these tips for this post: EFFECTIVE DRAWING HACKS FOR STORYBOARDS
1. SCALE
Watch the scale of your characters, to each other and to their environment.
Use scale to create contrast, drama and/or comedic impact.
2. COMPOSITION & STAGING
Create lines or designs with the characters or environments to direct the audience’s eye to the centre of interest
Be creative about how you frame and compose your SHOT SELECTIONS
Be creative about how you stage your characters in relation to each other and the camera depending upon the effect you intend to convey.
Use your arsenal of lines and shape to create dynamic story frames.
3. DOES IT READ WELL IN SILHOUETTE
Being able to convey the information you need in black shapes is a visual aid to clear and concise visual storytelling.
Demonstrating clear and concise character or prop elements in clear and delineated silhouette is a winning tool!
4. SIMPLIFYING COMPLEX DRAWINGS USING BASIC SHAPES
Use basic shapes to breakdown complex subjects.
Always work from the GENERAL to the SPECIFC to keep the broad vision alive and aware for fluidity of movement and remaining loose and free with your applications and not get bogged down in the details.
HAPPY CREATING
