The Goal of Every Storyboard Artist: Eliminate the Superfluous
One of my all time favorite comic artists and animators is Alex Toth.
If you aren’t familiar with the master, he did a large volume of work for Hanna Barbera in
the 60’s all the way to the 80’s including Space Ghost and Super Friends.

His comic book work stretches back even further to the 40’s (I believe) with Zorro, and anumber of other pulp heroes.

So why am I singling out this one particular (superb) artist? Well, in all the time I’ve
studied his work, there has always been one, very clear statement that he makes about
drawing:

“Eliminate the superfluous”
It’s a beautiful, simple statement, just like his work. A quick web search popped that up as
his first rule and many of his subsequent rules follow the same line of simplification. You
can find a list of them here:- Alex Toth’s drawing rules Some people would argue that you need to be more detailed or have more world
elements in a story to be a successful storyteller. That’s great if you want to work once a
year, but real people need to get paid! Back in Toth’s day, they cranked out comic pages
that weren’t as detailed as today’s art, but none the less powerful, imaginative or clear.
Equally, his animation work was also executed for quantity and quality.
So how did he do it?
Looking at examples of his art, he has large simple shapes that do triple duty of definingedges, creating interesting shapes and leading the viewer.

Even his Design sheets were laid out like a full blown illustration! Igoo, from Hanna
Barbera’s The Herculoids, is a perfect example of Toth’s genius. This is arguably as
simple as you can make a character but the design still withstands the test of time. It’s
simple, yet has a lot of positive things going for it, a strong silhouette, simple to draw
quickly, clear signs of the actual physical composition of the character and very graphic.
So, taking what I’ve learned from Toth and applying it here to our lesson:
We are storytellers and designers. We have a very specific goal in mind to lead theviewers. And do you know what you need to get your point across and accomplish yourgoal?
Clarity!
Same with the art.
You may want to draw the heck out of a certain back ground object that looks cool, but
ask yourself if it’s important to the story.
Treat your storyboards more like traffic signs that are meant to be read in the blink of aneye and less like the Sistine Chapel.
Just like the first pass at a script, take your character designs and boil them down to theiressence. Make as few drawing lines as possible while making them recognizable. Workon a clear and unique silhouette of the character. Try to do a quick study of the character,filling a page with the same character over and over. Do a page of just facial expressions.
Really break the character down and get used to them. Once you do that, you can reallycrank out some boards with a wide range of emotions and poses.
Do that, and you’ve “eliminated the superfluous” in your characters.
We usually have an establishing shot at the beginning that defines the setting. Theseshots are usually a bit more rendered out than the rest of the backgrounds on the page orscene. It helps to establish the world we are telling our story in and invite the viewer in.
Having that establishing shot being a little more rendered, helps to keep the rest of thescene fairly simple.

Just like your character, boil your scene down to it’s essence, or most important aspects.
What do we need to tell this story? Is that fancy vase in the back of the living room
important? Does it help to establish the character’s wealth, is it an ancient family
heirloom, does it get smashed on a burglar’s head? If the answer to all of these is no andit lacks any other important plot point, maybe you shouldn’t worry about rendering it like amaster still life painter!
You should figure out what’s important to tell the story and include that. Look at that pageof Zorro art by Toth, there are maybe 4 or 5 total background elements in the entire page,
but you never feel lost as to where we are in the story.
As an exercise, try to create a space that is well grounded and as simple as possible.
Pick a place and then create a list of elements that define that place, I’ll use a gym as an
example.
In a gym you find:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Weights
Treadmill
TowelsYoga mats
Balls
People working out

With this in mind, now get to work on dressing your scene. Do the bare minimum todefine your space. See how little detail and clues you need to get that space across tothe viewer.
Do that and you’ve “eliminated the superfluous” in your backgrounds.
So we’ve got characters and backgrounds simplified, what does that leave?
For me, I would argue lighting, or value.
It can be just as important or critical to a story for many reasons. You don’t need to triple
light a scene or get a complete value range of 1-10! If anything, maybe you could getaway with having three to four main values. Like 1, 4, 6,10 or 1, 5 and 10. Keep it simple.
Use the light to separate fore, middle and backgrounds.

If you want to render something and make it look amazing, that’s great, but maybe savethat for some other project, not storyboards. Speed really is important. It’s right underclarity.
To sketch out your staging and posing quickly and efficiently helps you to keep your job.
Quality and Clarity are always #1, but a close #2 is Speed.

Storyboard Portfolio Building Tips
The most important things to always keep in mind when building a storyboard portfolio...
Clarity
This is extremely important. I can't over-emphasize how important clarity is, and yet I
don't think people grasp how fundamental it is to the job successfully. Storyboarding is allabout making sure that every story point is clear (without the crutch of dialogue or having
the artist explain what's happening), and if you can't do that, nothing else matters. Oncethe viewer is confused, whatever comes after is lost on them. Period. Also, I don't thinkpeople realize how incredibly hard it is to be clear about what you're trying to say. It takes
a tremendous amount of work and thought. I think most people don't put nearly as much
effort as they should into this discipline.
The whole point of looking at a story portfolio is to see how that person handles the tellingof a story. If I get confused at some point about what is happening in your boards and I
can't tell what's going on, nothing that comes after that will register with me. I need tofollow every step of the story to understand how the cause-and-effect of your story is
unfolding. I need to know if the applicant understands how action and reaction work toprogress a story. You may have great sketches at the end of your sequence that show
your character crying and being upset, but if I don't understand why they feel that way, I
don't know if you can tell a story. I only know that you can do nice drawings of a character
crying.
So if you want to be a story artist, you need to put a lot of effort into learning to draw
things clearly (this is difficult) and learning how to present ideas in a way that makes them
crystal clear and idiot-proof to everyone who looks at them (this is also difficult). There isalways the old advice to show your work to as many people as possible and see if they
can understand it. That can be a great tool. If you do this, remember that you have to let
people look at your work without the benefit of you standing there and explaining it tothem. Because that's how we will be looking at your portfolio….you won't be here to
explain what you were thinking. It has to be clear to us from the images alone.
The other way to get perspective on your work and see if it's clear is to simply take abreak and come back to it. I frequently look at my work in the morning and see problems
that I couldn't see the night before. Distance will allow you to have a fresh perspective on
things.
One crutch that people try to use to make their ideas more clear is that they start adding
dialogue to clarify what's happening. That's not a good way to fix clarity problems. In
storyboarding, it is always our goal to try to tell the story with the visuals alone so that theaudience would understand what is happening even if they watched the movie with thesound turned off. This is because visuals are more powerful than dialogue and canconvey the story much more powerfully than lines of speech can. We know people (andcharacters) can lie to us, so we don't always trust dialogue. We trust what we see with
our own eyes. So visuals always have more power. Because of that, we look for story
artists that can tell a great story without any dialogue. That said, a little bit of dialogue isokay. Sometimes you need it to help tell the story in the best way. Just don't rely on it tocover over confusing parts.
Look at other artists you like--especially ones that tell stories in their work--and examine
what they've done to achieve clarity. Look at films you love and ask yourself how they
achieve clarity, and if there are confusing parts, what makes them confusing? How could
they be clearer?
A couple of hints I can give you to help with improving the clarity of your work: number
one, only present one idea at a time. Only one idea can be communicated per story
sketch. Often, people will try to present two (or three) ideas at the same time. This always
leads to confusion. Change one idea per sketch to help the viewer follow along and geteach new piece of information in a clear, digestible manner to minimize confusion andmisinterpretation.
When story sketches are cut together in story reel form, each sketch is typically onscreen
for a couple of seconds. In action sequences, each sketch may be onscreen for less thana second. So it's important to present one idea at a time (as well as draw clearly) so theaudience can grasp what is happening in each sketch.
Here is an example….

In the first sketch, a man in a kitchen drops dishes as he carries them.
In the second sketch, a cook tastes soup in a kitchen.
In the third sketch, both ideas are presented at once.
I made these examples for use in a talk on storyboarding, and during the talk I show eachsketch for about two seconds (with a frame of black in between). It may not be as clear
here in email form, where you can stare at the image for as long as you want, but
hopefully you can still see my point. Two ideas presented at the same time create
confusion because the viewer may register one but not the other. Also, everything in afilm is about action and reaction. If action and reaction are happening at the same time
(or two actions, or two reactions), it creates a confusing narrative. The order of events is
unclear.
The other tip I would say to help with clarity is to draw as simply as possible (while
retaining enough detail to convey the acting, emotions and required subtlety of the scene,of course). Avoid unnecessary or extraneous detail. Everything in a story sketch should
contribute to the story point of the sketch. Anything that's there for the sole purpose of
making the drawing prettier may add confusion. And we look for people who are able todraw their ideas up quickly and efficiently. Story artists have to work fast. Adding a lot of
extra detail and/or color to a drawing always makes me suspicious that the artist didn't
understand what the point of the sketch was, or might have trouble working quickly androughly when deadlines are tight.
What would you add to these sketches to make them more clear? Adding anything tothem would only hamper their clarity and unity of message.

Deciding what to leave in and what to remove from a sketch is an art in and of itself.
Obviously, if the point of a sketch is that a woman is admiring a very expensive dress in astore window, I might take the time to draw the dress in a way that makes it look fancy
and ornate, because that helps sell the story point I'm trying to make. But if the story I'm
trying to tell is that a woman is pretending to admire a dress in a store window so that she
can spy on her husband across the street, I'm not going to put time and effort into making
the dresses look ornate. That would be distracting and confusing from what's really
happening in the scene. So a big part of being a great story artist is knowing what toinclude in a sketch…and what to leave out.

I have always been a big fan of Quentin Blake's work because I feel that he has a great
sense of how many lines it takes to say what he's trying to say. He doesn't embellish with
unnecessary frills and flourishes.

I have met a few people who find his work too simplistic and plain for their tastes. But thething I admire about his work (other than the obvious energy and life it has) is that I think
it takes a lot of experience and sophistication to know just how much you can leave out
and still communicate. Animation is best when it is clear, direct and forceful without
unnecessary nuance and baggage.
If you look at Bill Peet's Disney storyboards, his early work shows a level of detail andrendering that is completely absent in his later work.

By the 1960's Bill's work is much more efficient and streamlined. Obviously,
storyboarding is about getting the idea up and trying it out quickly. So working faster andgetting it up sooner is a big help. Also, decades of having to redo and redo your sketches
as the story changes and improves will convince you to draw simply, if nothing else does.
It's not worth putting a ton of work into each sketch - because it might get replaced by abetter idea tomorrow.

Even when he does render things, it's about selling the environment and still feels much
more dashed off than his careful Dumbo work.
One last important point: a drawing doesn't have to be clean to be clear. A rough drawingthat communicates is much, much better than a cleaned up drawing that is confusing.
So those are some thoughts on trying to explain what I mean by clarity. The bottom line isthat your drawings and ideas must communicate clearly to viewers and you must be able
to tell a story without confusing or losing the viewer.

Character and Personality
Storyboarding has changed and evolved over the years. Storyboard artists are now
expected to put more information into their boards than ever before. In particular, story
artists are expected to deliver boards that contain specific expressions and poses forevery character in every scene. At any animation studio, nobody is expected to draw thecharacters exactly on model (we don't even have designs yet when we start boarding
anyway), but the poses, expressions and acting for each character is expected to beclear and readable, as well as the right kind of acting for the character in that particular
moment. We are trying to develop the characters and explore their personalities. So weneed to be as specific as we can be about who they are, how they act and how they
think.
Some people don't really see the point of this. Sometimes people say that--if a story was
really working--you could simply block in stick figures and still have a good version of thestory reels.
I understand where this type of statement comes from. Sometimes directors wantextremely subtle nuances in storyboard acting and they can expect so many poses that it
no longer seems like story boarding…it's more like animating. That's frustrating andcauses board artists to question why we're putting so much work and polish into theboards when the audience will never see them.
But at the other end of the extreme, I would say that stick figures wouldn't suffice to tell
any story, no matter how "good" the story was. Stick figures don't really convey
personality and don't do well at conveying expressions and acting. And it's very importantto get a sense of who the characters are, what they're feeling and thinking, and why
they're doing what they're doing. It's hard to get into a stick figure's "head". And those
things are important. After all, what the characters are thinking and feeling are the things
that drive the story forward and make the viewer care about the events that are
happening on screen.
In other words, to say that stick figures are sufficient to storyboard a movie is to suggestthat the characters are of minimal importance within a story. That a story is merely events
that happen, and who or what is affected by these events is not of consequence. But inmy opinion that's fundamentally wrong…it's impossible to separate the characters fromthe story. Story and character are the same thing. The events of the story happen
because the characters make them happen by their decisions and the actions they take.
And they make their decisions and take actions based on the events that unfold as thestory progresses.
So I would say that stick figures are not sufficient for storyboards because they wouldn't
give you insight into what the characters are thinking and feeling, which is of vital
importance to making the audience care and feel emotion. At the same time, I agree withpeople who say that you don't need to get super specific and elaborate subtle expression
changes in story boards. When you focus too much on details in storyboarding, you tend
to lose sight of the shape of the overall story. And feature storyboarding is all aboutfinding the shape of the overall story. Animation is the place for nuancing subtle
expression changes….once the story and characters are figured out.
So with all that in mind, when I look at story portfolios I look for people who can draw
characters in a way that expresses personality and character. I look for people who draw
poses and expressions that are appropriate for each character and give me some senseof who they are. I don't like it when people draw the same "stock" poses foreverything….when every character has the same walk pose, or if every character has thesame cliched pose to convey that they're "thinking", or if every character has the exact
same expression when they get angry…that's a sign to me that the artist doesn't reallythink deeply about character. They're just using the same poses for everything and notpushing themselves to find distinct expressions and poses that are unique to thatcharacter and to what is happening to them in the moment.
By way of example, "anger", in particular, is an expression that people tend to draw astock version of on every character. But every character has a different level of anger thatthey can reach….someone like Cruella deVil has a much deeper level of anger than say,Rapunzel does. And they're going to express their anger in vastly different ways. And
how often is a character really "angry"? That's a broad term that doesn't imply specifics.
Rather than drawing a character that's "angry", ask yourself: what is the specific thing
they're reacting to, and what is the response this character would have? Are they irritatedin this moment? Or livid…or infuriated….or ready to cry in frustration…or in a murderous
rage…or whatever. Know exactly what your character is thinking, and push yourself tofind the best pose and acting that fits the specifics of their inner feelings. And don't use
the same acting twice, even for the same character! Always find a fresh take for theacting of each moment, a new angle on the character that makes them feel alive and real
(to both the audience, and you, as you try to learn who they are and get inside theirheads).
AppealI think that it's very important for Story Artists to have a drawing style that is appealing(that is, pleasing to look at). Again, this is one of my more controversial opinions. Not allof my co-workers agree that appeal is an important requirement for story artists. After all,as I pointed out, nobody outside of the studio will ever see the storyboards. Boards are
just a tool, a blueprint of the movie. Who cares if the story sketches are appealing?
Years ago I would've agreed with that sentiment. But over the years I've noticed what adifference that appeal can make in story sketch. After all, the way story sketch is viewed
is that we edit all the black and white story sketches together and record our own voices
as temporary dialogue to represent the whole film. So we end up watching 90 minutes ofstory sketches without the benefit of (real) actors, color, or the movement and life thatanimation will (eventually) bring to the film. It can be tedious. And if you add unappealingdrawings to look at on top of that….it can affect the way you feel about the story and you
may end up finding problems where--if the sketches were just a bit more appealing--youwouldn't see the same problems.
That probably sounds crazy. I understand that. If the story is solid and working….whocares if the sketches are appealing or not? Well, part of it is just human nature. People
like looking at things that are easier to look at. And when story sketches are easier to lookat, it just makes the experience of watching them more palatable and enjoyable. It draws
you in and encourages you to keep watching and follow the story and characters. And
you can focus on the story and what works and what doesn't, instead of being distracted
by clunky drawings that are unpleasant to look at.
It's just like software. You can write a great, useful program that works well but has anugly interface. And people will use it….but they will have a better experience using the
program if it has an attractive interface. That's just the way humans are wired. And you
can rail against it and complain about how unfair it is…or you can put work into making
your drawings more appealing.
And again, appealing drawings have the advantage of giving viewers a better sense ofwhat the finished product will look and feel like, which is important. The closer story
sketch can replicate what the finished product will look like (within reason, of course), themore everyone will get a sense of what's working and what isn't. When people discuss
the film and talk about how to make it better, they all have one clear impression of what
the film is going to be. They aren't all having to make judgements about how the story
reels will be changed as they're translated into the finished film. This helps everyone talkabout the film and get quickly on the same page about what works and what doesn't.
There aren't huge gaps in the understanding of what everyone is looking at.
So I look for applicants with a certain amount of appeal in their drawing. It doesn't have to
be Mary Blair, but if you like to draw like Robert Crumb (and there's nothing wrong withthat) I might feel like you're not the best fit for the job.

Staging, Blocking and Storytelling
The other big component of story sketch, of course, is that the story artist has to have aknowledge of film making. A story artist has to know how cutting and editing works, andhave a good understanding of how to use staging (where the camera is placed to best tell
the story) and how to use blocking (how the characters move through the scene) to tell
the story in the most powerful way possible.
There's no better education than looking at movies and asking yourself why the director
placed the camera where he placed it and why the actors are doing what they're doing
within the scene. Does it work? Does it not work? Could it be better?

I really look for Storyboard applicants that aren't afraid to move the camera and pickinteresting angles--not just for the sake of interesting angles--but to tell the story in thebest way and make the viewer feel what the story artist wants them to feel and toenhance the telling of the story.
This is another new wrinkle that has become the job of story artists in recent times. For
many years, story artists at most animation studios would concern themselves more withpresenting ideas in a clear way than with picking specific camera angles. As camera work
has gotten more sophisticated, and production schedules more compressed, it's become
more important (and expected) for story artists to make decisions about layout and where
the camera ought to be placed.
The layout department will still interpret the work as they see fit and they will change andimprove the staging to better tell the story, but if the story artist has made choices about
the best place to put the camera, it gives the director a better tool to discuss when he or
she issues the scene to layout. And again, it'll give everyone a better idea of how thescene is working when they look at the film in story sketch form.

Entertainment
I look for Story Artists that are able to get a sense of entertainment into their work. At theend of the day, every moment in a film should be entertaining. That doesn't mean every
moment has to be funny. Dramatic moments should be compelling. Action sequences
should be exciting. Sad moments should feel genuine and real and not cloying andmanipulative. So I always look for people who know how to present each idea in a way
that's interesting and draws me into the story and characters. It doesn't matter how great
the idea of a scene is if it's not executed in an entertaining way. I've been doing boards
for a long time, and on every movie scenes get boarded and re-boarded and re-boarded.
There are always certain scenes that just aren't working until the right person re-boards
them with their own personal "take"…and suddenly the scene works for the first time. It's
all about taste and knowing what each scene needs to work just right. I can't articulate it
any better than that…more than anything, it's about having good taste and good instincts,
and they come with time, practice, research, and non-stop self-motivated training.
So overall, I look for portfolios that have a good sense of entertainment. Whether the
portfolio contains storyboards of a dramatic scene, an action scene, or a comedy scene, I
look to see if they've been handled in a compelling, interesting, entertaining, or comedic
way. But clarity in the draftsmanship, compositions, and storytelling are always
paramount!