Jun 18, 2020

Storyboard Notes: 10 Tips from Cartoon Network Artists

Log on to Annecy's online platform and scroll through the glamorous talks with renowned feature directors and you'll find yourself here.

Cartoon Network's "Art of Storyboarding" program brings together senior artists from the studio's shows to offer their different perspectives on what it takes to do this job well. One thing they agree on is that storyboarders deserve more recognition. [Participants include Julia Potts, creator of "Summer Camp Island" and former writer of "Adventure Time"; indie cartoonist and "Summer Camp Island" storyboard artist Alabaster Pizzo; "Amazing World of Gumball" series director Mick Graves, and Chuck Klein, who has storyboarded for "Gumball" and many other shows and is currently supervising producer of "Apples & Onions."

The participants throw advice at students and young artists, much of it applicable to seasoned professionals, condensing the 45-minute talk into 10 tips:

1. Know your character. Pizzo begins by drawing the design several times. In doing so, he becomes fond of the character: "It's almost like I know it personally." Klein often performs their gestures and expressions himself, on his desk or in front of a mirror.

2. Don't start by painting your favorite scene. That's a surefire way to run out of time, Potts says. The ideal approach is to storyboard the film chronologically, without concentrating too much on specific parts. If a scene is unsatisfying, leave that scene and move on. Pizzo begins by drawing a bird's-eye view of each scene: "It really helps me keep things organized."

3. Don't be too pompous about your work. You should look at the storyboard as two doctors would look at a corpse they are about to operate on. The storyboard belongs to no one. Graves points out that artists must constantly rework their storyboards, whether because of changes in the script, direction, or for other reasons. It's part of the process."

4. Sketch on Post-it notes. Both Potts and Graves love this method. "You can never be too precious when you work this way," Graves notes. We work fast and small."

5. Study film. Detailed drawing skills are helpful, but not essential for storyboarding, Graves said. In this job, "it's more important to be able to communicate your ideas," he says. He advises artists to spend time absorbing the visual language. "If you understand the film language, you can go to ...... that works too."

6. Don't be too flashy - especially in comedy." Graves says, "It's easy to overwhelm a joke if you make it beautifully staged with dynamic angles and all sorts of things. Pizzo agrees that simplicity is key.

7. get known. Pizzo suggests ways to get yourself out there: "Go to events, talk to people, participate in social media, contact people you think are your peers, build a portfolio of work, post a lot online, ask questions, ask about jobs.

8. Be professional. Potts' advice: "Be punctual, keep the board clean, be a resource for people to consult and collaborate with. Klein agrees: "Don't just call. Don't just do what the script says. And hit the save button regularly. Pizzo lost a lot of work during the blackout.

9. stay motivated. As a young man, Klein was told by a producer that he "couldn't work in this industry." He took it as a challenge, worked hard, and finally got a job in the animation industry at the age of 34. He admits that he doesn't work as fast as his colleagues - "I'm struggling" - but his passion is what keeps him going.

10. personal work. Potts recalls that he was always doing his own thing in between jobs. All of my ideas and future work came from those personal pieces."

(Top image: storyboard for "Summer Camp Island")