Case Study: Part 4, STORYBOARDING YOUR STORY

I am now at a stage where my story is almost complete. I have re written it many times, had a few people read it, had an assessor give me feedback and most importantly had a few readings with some children to make sure my story catches their attention. I am now ready to start visualising the story. A good way to do this is storyboarding.

Storyboarding is a great way to play around with your ideas without committing too much time and effort to the finishing. It allows me to scribble down 3-4 compositions for each page and make sure I am creating the best visual for each part of the story. Another great way to use these storyboards is to turn them into a little dummy book with your words attached. This way you can really get a sense of how everything reads with the page turns and images. You want each page turn to create intrigue and interest; you want your reader to not be able to wait to see what happens with the next turn.

I have created the thumbnails for my story 'Catch that Fly.' See how I have played with movement, perspective, viewpoint and composition to find the most interesting and easy to read way of illustrating each phase of the book. The compositions I liked best are outlined in pink and will be developed to the next stage. It is important to get enough detail down that you can tell where each character is looking and what they are doing but you don’t need to see their faces or any details. These are purely a plan to allow you to tackle each illustration with the best start. Some people prefer to create more detail and start to think about the layout of the type etc; I am more loose and messy with everything at this stage.

This process also allows you to see how your story flows from start to finish. Can the reader follow what’s happening from just the text and these simple sketches? I don't think you need to be an illustrator to have a go at storyboarding as it’s not about how polished the drawings are its more about bringing the story to life. If you are planning on hiring an illustrator then still attempt the storyboarding yourself. This could save you money in the long run as the more information you give the illustrator the faster they will be on your wavelength and producing your desired results.