Once you've gotten your sketch the way you like it, it's time to turn your concept into a more refined storyboard. A storyboard is like a blueprint or graphic organizer for your finished product. Storyboards are most often used as a pre-production step for film and television. It helps directors, producers, and cinematographers get an idea of how each shot will look, what the camera will be doing, where the actors will be standing, what sound effects will be used, and more. One of the reasons we're doing a comic for this project is because a comic is very much like a storyboard, and later projects (like your animation, video, and video game) will require storyboards to develop. The better you get at conveying ideas and narratives visually through sequential art, the more effective all your future projects will be.
The open source 3D software company Blender produced a cartoon in 2008 called Big Buck Bunny, about a rabbit who gets revenge against a trio of sadistic squirrels. Here's a storyboard from a pivotal scene:
Click to enlarge
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, Blender Foundation / www.bigbuckbunny.org
Notice the thought that goes into each shot. The camera angle, poses, facial expressions, and even the lighting are are planned out in detail, with arrows showing the motion of each character in frame. Here's the final, produced scene from the above storyboard.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, Blender Foundation / www.bigbuckbunny.org
Since this assignment is an illustration, you don't have to worry about sound effects and camera movement. But your storyboard can help you visualize the most critical elements of your digital narrative, including where everything will go in each panel, what the subjects and backgrounds will look like, and the word choice and placement of any speech bubbles.
Click the button below to download and print a template for your storyboard. If your outline is more than 4 panels long, you can print multiple copies. Alternatively, you can create your own storyboard template to match your narrative if it won't easily fit in the template.
When you're done, scan your storyboard or take a picture of it to turn in to your teacher. Your storyboard will be graded using the following rubric.
|
Criteria |
Ideas and Composition |
2 Points: You've brainstormed an original and interesting premise for your digital narrative that tells a short joke or story. |
| 2 Points: You've arranged all elements on your storyboard page to clearly separate the characters and foreground from the setting and text. | |
Comic Conventions |
4 Points: You apply comic conventions to your storyboard, such as character and setting. speech bubbles and text boxes, and emotional cues. |
