Project 1: Storyboard
In the previous exercise you created a comic strip presenting your entire story using only 3-4 frames. Now it is time to fill in the gaps between those frames, creating a more complete visual outline in the form of a storyboard.
As seen in Lesson 1, storyboards are a collection of images/illustrations that show a story in chronological order. Different from a comic strip, which shows only selected moments as snapshots of the narrative, storyboards are more comprehensive, using more frames to depict the various moments of the story, and are the first step in bringing your animation to life.
Guidelines
Based on the short story you have created in Exercise 2.2 and the comic strip you have created in Exercise 3.2, create a storyboard for your character’s journey. Refer back to Lesson 1 for details and an example on how to create a storyboard. Remember, you must represent how your character(s), location(s), and the action “moves” from one scene to the next.
Keep in mind that you will use this storyboard on your final project, so you want it to be as detailed and clear as possible, so you can think through your ideas and get useful feedback before you create your final animation.
Steps to completion
Start with the 3-4 frames you have created for your comic strip. Which frames are missing and should be added so you can tell your story in a more linear way? Think about the in-between frames that were left to the imagination of the viewer in your comic strip, but that could be part of an animation and should be represented in your storyboard. Run your story through your mind.
In a piece of paper draw a series of blank rectangles (by hand, or using Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop). First, fill in the ones you had on your comic strip. Next, start filling in the blank ones. It may help to draw each frame in a separate piece of paper that you can organize on a pin-board or desk (or your computer screen), so it is easier to rearrange them and add additional frames.
Your drawings don't need to be as detailed as your comic strip, but they should have sufficient detail so each scene is clear. Don’t forget to indicate how the camera should move from one frame to the next (is it zooming in, panning left/right, tilting up/down?).
Write short descriptions for each frame, adding as much detail as needed to help you think through your final animation. Run your story in your mind again. Do you have all the frames and details you need?
At this point your storyboard page should look really messy, with a lot of notes and ideas floating around your frames. Redraw your storyboard, making sure to keep all relevant information and to add anything that was missing on the first round.
Keep in mind that this is an iterative process, so don’t be afraid to move on to a new version, but always keep the older ones for reference (if you are using a computer, this means saving different versions of your file as you progress).
Take a final look and create the final version of your storyboard by hand, or using Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop.
Post your final comic strip as a PDF file to the course page following this naming convention:
art204_project1_lastname_firstname.pdf