Storyboards : motion in art

449 Pages·2007·118.57 MB·English

by  Mark Simon

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S
TORYBOARDS
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Praise for Mark Simon and Storyboards: Motion in Art
“From the business side to the artistic side and every- invited Mark to present chapters to our classes and we
thing in between, Simon shows what it takes to be are never disappointed.”
a storyboard artist. If you’ve ever wanted to create —Jeff Scheetz, Founder, Digital Animation & Visual
storyboards for your projects but don’t know where to Effects School (DAVE School)
start, Storyboards: Motion in Art could be the resource
“This book addresses several subjects that are all rele-
for you.”
vant to individuals who want to make a living from, or
—Videomaker Magazine
involving, storyboards. It is fully illustrated by a variety
“This is by far the best book on storyboarding avail- of artists, a feature that is important for up-and-coming
able. It is clear, concise and has plenty of illustrations. artists to have exposure to. There are many diverse
Highly recommended.” styles of illustration out there, but successful storyboard
—Max McCoy artists all share an awareness of certain principles of
filmmaking, which this book also covers. By virtue of
“I thank you for all the things you taught through your
its many explanations and illustrations, it presents a
book.”
broad and clear description of the business of story-
—Babak Marjan
boarding. People who want to pursue this field need to
“Your book is so informative! I can barely put it down. know that being able to draw is not the exclusive inter-
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how much your book est of a production artist, but also has cinematic con-
has helped.” ventions and marketing of their product. I recommend
—Amilee Hagon this book to my students who express interest in the
field.”
“He’s very good at what he does and has a good repu-
—Dan Antkowiak, Storyboard artist and teacher
tation in the industry. People know they’re going to get
something done well with Mark.” “I’m an illustrator myself with twenty-three years of
—Glenn Wilder, Universal’s Second Unit Director, storyboarding experience. This book is an excellent tool
McHale’s Navy for both the novice and the seasoned, old grizzled vet like
me. For the novice it explains the process, offers guides
“Definitely a person who understands all aspects of
to how to approach a board, what’s important, staging,
the business and he illustrated very well how everybody
mood, the different types of boards’ markets, billing, pro-
works as a whole to finish the project. He has no
motion...the whole gamut. For the vets, it jogs our
weaknesses.”
memory. We tend to fall into patterns of how we do
—Stephen Sawran, Cartoon Network animator
things and it gets comfortable and perhaps a bit common

“He knew exactly what he was doing and got that place...or even sloppy. The book reminded me that
across to us with his experience.” there’s more than one right way or any single solution
—Michelle Leach and that maybe the first and easiest way isn’t the best.
There are some great samples of different styles of boards
“The experience and practical wisdom that Mark Simon
from different artists and a good focus on thinking before
shares with his reader is what makes this book special.
drawing. It’s a good, useful addition to my ever-expand-
He offers an exceptional understanding of what is
ing library and anyone in the field, or wanting to be in
needed to start a career in animation and storyboard-
the field, should consider getting a copy.”
ing. He then continues by presenting an overview of his
—Steve Lawton, Storyboard artist
own patterns for entertainment industry success that are
relevant in nearly any career field. “In one word—Amazing! If you are interested in
“In addition to his own ideas, I especially enjoy the drawing storyboards, then this is the book for you. It
sharp contrasts he draws by comparing how his col- covers storyboards from the ground up. Storyboards:
leagues would handle similar projects. This is an Motion in Art also discusses resumes, portfolios,
amazing chapter that I often re-read to keep my own pricing, licensing, special effects, and much more that
thought process open. you will not find in any other storyboarding book. This
“I do teach a program in animation, and we do use book is a necessity for anyone who is truly serious about
Mark’s book in our classroom. It has been a valuable developing storyboards for a living or just for fun.”
part of our curriculum. On occasion we have even —Jason Teate, Graphic designer
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S
TORYBOARDS
M A
OTION IN RT
Third Edition
MARK SIMON

AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON
NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO
SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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Acquisitions Editor: Cara Anderson
Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison
Project Manager: Marilyn E. Rash
Proofreader: Daniel Stone
Indexer: Kevin Broccoli
Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis
Cover Design: Maycreate
Cover Illustration: Travis Blaise and Mark Simon
Interior and Cover printer: Hing Yip Printing Co., Ltd.
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK
Copyright © 2007 by Mark Simon. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights
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Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints
its books on acid-free paper whenever possible.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Simon, Mark, 1964–
Storyboards : motion in art / Mark Simon.—3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80805-5 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-240-80805-3 (alk. paper)
1. Storyboards. 2. Commercial art—Vocational guidance—United States.
I. Title.
NC1002.S85S56 2006
74.5′8—dc22
2006024506

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80805-5
ISBN 10: 0-240-80805-3
For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at
www.books.elsevier.com
06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
Working together to grow
libraries in developing countries
www.elsevier.com | www.bookaid.org | www.sabre.org
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 What Are Storyboards? 3
Part One Getting Started 9
Chapter 2 Getting Started 11
Chapter 3 What It Takes to Be a Storyboard Artist 14
Chapter 4 Education 17
Chapter 5 Materials 20

Chapter 6 Benefits to Production 25
Part Two The Art of Storyboarding 31
Chapter 7 Drawing Quick Thumbnail Storyboards 33
Chapter 8 Sketching Perspective 38
Chapter 9 Final Storyboard Art and Clean-Up 43
Chapter 10 Storyboard Coloring 49
Chapter 11 Presentation Boards versus Production Boards 56
Chapter 12 Live-Action Boards 60
Chapter 13 Animation Boards 63
Chapter 14 Gaming and Multimedia Boards 71
v
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vi Contents
Chapter 15 Live-Event and Theme-Park Boards 74
Chapter 16 Laser-Show Boards 77
Chapter 17 Comps 80
Chapter 18 Animatics 83
Chapter 19 Previz 92
Chapter 20 Styles 95
Chapter 21 Directing Shots 99
Chapter 22 Working with Directors 106
Chapter 23 Screen Direction 115
Chapter 24 Staging and Composition 121
Chapter 25 References and Research 128
Chapter 26 Illustrated Camera Techniques 138
Chapter 27 Numbering 143
Chapter 28 Contrast and Mood 148
Chapter 29 Special Effects 152
Chapter 30 Conceptual Illustration 157
Chapter 31 Computers and Software 162
Chapter 32 Tricks of the Trade 178

Chapter 33 Presentation and Delivery 190
Part Three The Business of Storyboarding 197
Chapter 34 Résumés 199
Chapter 35 Portfolios 203
Chapter 36 Education and Skills 208
Chapter 37 How I Got Started 212
Chapter 38 Who Hires Storyboard Artists? 214
Chapter 39 Finding a Job 222
Chapter 40 Prepping for Each Job 225
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Contents vii
Chapter 41 How Productions Work 228
Chapter 42 What Producers Look For 235
Chapter 43 Pricing 239
Chapter 44 Estimating 243
Chapter 45 Billing Practices 247
Chapter 46 Licensing 250
Chapter 47 Trade Practices 254
Chapter 48 Format 258
Chapter 49 Agents and Artist Representatives 260
Chapter 50 Unions 263
Chapter 51 Business Aspects 265
Part Four Interviews 269
Chapter 52 Alex Saviuk, Storyboard and Comic Book Artist 271
Chapter 53 Mark Moore, Vice President and Senior
Executive in Charge of Production at ILM
and Former Storyboard Artist 279
Chapter 54 Sean Cushing, Executive Producer at Pixel
Liberation Front and Previz Specialist 281
Chapter 55 Josh Hayes, Director, Producer, Storyboard

Artist, and Art Director 287
Chapter 56 Tim Burgard, Storyboard Artist 294
Chapter 57 Woody Woodman, Animated Feature Film
Storyboard Artist 304
Chapter 58 Lyle Grant, Commercial Storyboard Artist 314
Chapter 59 Jeff Dates, Creative Director of Janimantion 322
Part Five Exercises 329
Chapter 60 Exercise 1: Dogfight 331
Chapter 61 Exercise 2: High Fall 333
Chapter 62 Exercise 3: Outlines 335
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viii Contents
Chapter 63 Exercise 4: Special Effects Matte Shots 336
Chapter 64 Exercise 5: TV Western 338
Chapter 65 Exercise 6: Commercial 346
Chapter 66 Exercise 7: Animation and Cartoons 350
Part Six Experiment 357
Chapter 67 A Storyboarding Experiment 359
Part Seven Appendices 367
Forms 369
Resources 376
“How to Draw” Books 376
“Making of” Books 377
“Art of” Books 377
Special Effects Books 379
The Screenplay 379
Animation Books 379
Online References 380
Reference Books 380
Storyboarding and Directing Books 381
Marketing Books 382
Architecture and Interiors Books 382
Periodicals 384
Resource Guides 385
Part Eight Storyboard Samples 387
Glossary 425
Index 429
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Acknowledgments
The information in this book comes from many years, and thousands of projects,
of working with truly talented people. Every director, every stunt coordinator, every
special effects supervisor, every animator, every editor and director of photography
and production designer I have worked with has taught me something new. They
all have different approaches to telling stories, and they are all willing to share their
knowle dge. Is this a great industry or what?
As good as the information contained here is, the art is even better. Some of the
world’s best story artists have allowed their work to enhance this text.
You are reading this book because you are interested in storyboarding or are a
fan of it. I am both. I love what I do, and I’m inspired by others who do it too. I
am a huge fan of all the art in this book and of the artists responsible for it.
My editor, Cara Anderson, has been a great help. She’s been enthusiastically
supportive and went above and beyond to help me complete this monster text.
Thank you.
I would love to say that my wife put up with the late hours of my writing this
book. But the truth is, she puts up with my late hours all the time; because of this
book (and others), because of my clients, because I’m me. She knows I love her, but
I love telling her anyway. I love you, Jeanne.
I also want to thank my twin boys, Luke and Reece, for telling all their friends
that their dad is the world’s best storyboard artist. None of the other 6-year-olds
have any idea what they are talking about, but I appreciate it anyway.
All the artists who have lent their work to this book deserve more than my
thanks. They also deserve patronage for their generosity and their talent. Make the
world a better place. Hire an artist!
ix