Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts
2nd Edition
Focal Press
2nd Edition
Published on 16. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
346 pages
978-0-240-81878-8 (ISBN)
Description
Successful storyboards and poignant characters have the power to make elusive thoughts and emotions tangible for audiences. Packed with illustrations that illuminate and a text that entertains and informs, Prepare to Board , 2nd edition presents the methods and techniques of animation master, Nancy Beiman, with a focus on pre-production, story development and character design. As one of the only storyboard titles on the market that explores the intersection of creative character design and storyboard development, the second edition of Prepare to Board is an invaluable resource for beginner and intermediate artists. Animators and artists will be able to spot potential problems before they cost time and money. Learn how the animation storyboard differs from live action boards and how characters must be developed simultaneously with the story. Positive and negative examples of storyboard and character design are presented and analyzed to demonstrate successful problem-solving techniques, applicable to a variety of animation projects. Featuring in-depth interviews with leading animators and storyboard artists, artists and animators alike can adapt professional workflows, techniques and problem solving solutions and add them to their own creative toolkit. Of course, no book about storyboarding would be complete without a rundown of the basic concepts of cinematic storytelling: camera angles, lenses, and composition. Artwork from an international array of students and professionals supplement the author's own illustrations. New to this edition will be a fully developed companion website featuring video tutorials highlighting the creation of animatics, good and bad pitching techniques along with updated images and even more content driven techniques.
Reviews / Votes
'Nancy Beiman has done an excellent job explaining the story development and boarding process, and I am certain this book will be a useful tool to all animation students and schools.'Brian P. McEntee, Art Director 'Beauty and the Beast' and Production Designer 'Ice Age'
'No one knows more about designing characters and creating story for animation than Nancy Beiman. Lavishly illustrated and expertly written, she draws on all her experience as a teacher, an artist and an animation industry veteran. A must-have for anyone who wants to make an animated film.'
Jerry Beck, Animation Historian, www.cartoonbrew.com
'In the library of motion picture how/to books, one topic that has not been adequately explained is the art of storyboarding. Internationally known animator Nancy Beiman draws upon her experience to create for the first time a definitive manual for the art. Lavishly illustrated and highly readable, it is essential reading for anyone serious about learning how to create stories, characters and storyboards for film.'
Tom Sito, animator, author of Drawing the Line: The Untold Story of the Animation Unions from Bosko to Bart Simpson.
'At long last we have a comprehensive new book covering the not always fully-understood areas of the animated film production processes of story and character development, and their care and feeding. Nancy Beiman, a seasoned Producer, Writer, Teacher, Story Artist, and former Disney Animator who has worked all over the globe, has authored a book which I predict will become a textbook in animation programs everywhere.'
Bill Matthews
Animation Professor
'Nancy Beiman knows that storyboards are about more than continuity and cutting; they're about character and conflict. A good storyboard has the power to make things as elusive as thoughts and emotions tangible for audiences. Prepare To Board fulfills the promise of its title by supplying readers with solid advice and illustrated examples that will help them make successful animated films.'
Mark Mayerson, Professor of Animation, Sheridan College
'Nancy Beiman has written an excellent book on
animation...Beiman is a natural for writing about storyboarding.'
AWN.com
"The author has a breezy, anecdote-packed style that makes reading about the craft a real pleasure. Beiman, who teaches animation at the Rochester Institute of Technology, is the kind of guiding force you wish you could have by your side at all times. Reading her book is the next best thing.? -Ramin Zahed, Animation Magazine
More details
Edition
2nd New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
University-level animation students, independent animators, small animation studios, educators and training professionals.
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
150 farbige Abbildungen, 25 Farbfotos bzw. farbige Rasterbilder, 75 farbige Zeichnungen
Following last edn but made tighter; 75 Line drawings, color; 25 Halftones, color; 150 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 260 mm
Width: 184 mm
Weight
907 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-240-81878-8 (9780240818788)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Nancy Beiman
Prepare to Board! Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts
Creating Story and Characters for Animated Features and Shorts
Book
06/2017
3rd Edition
CRC Press
€62.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Additional editions
Book
12/2015
2nd Edition
Routledge
€142.85
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Book
03/2007
Focal Press
€30.99
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Currently teaching animation and character design at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Nancy has worked for nearly thirty years as a supervising animator, director, character designer, and storyboard artist. A graduate of the Character Animation Program at the California Institute of the Arts, Nancy worked in development and as a supervising animator on several Disney features including A Goofy Movie, Hercules and Treasure Planet. She was nominated for an Annie award in 2000 for storyboarding Little Angelita for Disney and won a Cine Golden Eagle in 1984 for her personal film Your Feets' Too Big. Nancy is a member of the National Cartoonists Society and the Australian Black and White Cartoonists Club. In recent years she has illustrated two children's books, Duffy and the Invisible Crocodile and Basil Bigboots the Pirate for Australian writer Patricia Bernard in 2004, and taught at the Savannah College of Art And Design.
Content
GETTING STARTED
First Catch Your Rabbit: Creating Concepts and Characters
Linear and Non-linear Storytelling
Setting Limitations and Finding liberation
Shopping for Story: Creating Lists
Nothing is Normal: Researching Action
All Thumbs: Quick Sketches and Thumbnails
Reality is Overrated
Past and Present: Researching Settings and Costumes
Vive la Difference! Animation and Live-action Storyboards
Graphic Novels: Shaping the Frame
Screen Ratios: The Fixed Frame
Television Boards and Feature Boards
Technological T(h)reats
Digital Storyboard: An Interview with Elliot Cowan
Who Love Short Shorts?
Putting Yourself into Your Work
The use of symbolic Animals and Objects
The Newsman's Story Guide: Who, What, When, Where and Why
Situation and Character Driven Stories
Stop If You've Heard This One
Defining Conflict
Log Lines
Stealing the Show
Parodies and Pastiches
What If? Contrasting the Possible and the Fanciful
Beginning at the Ending: The Tex Avery `Twist' 60
Establishing Rules
Appealing or Appalling? Beginning Character Design
Reading the Design: Silhouette Value
Construction Sights
Foundation Shapes and Their Meaning
The Shape of Things
Going Organic
Creating a Character from Inanimate Objects
Across the Universe
Size Matters: The Importance of Scale
Practice your Scales
Stereotypes of Scale
Triple Trouble: Working with Similar Character Silhouettes
Getting Pushy
Beauties and Beasts: Creating Character Contrasts in Design
I Feel Pretty! Changing Standards of Beauty
A Face That Only a Mother Could Love?
Gods and Monsters: Contrasting Appearance and Personality
Location, Location, Location: Art Direction and Storytelling
TECHNIQUE
Starting Story Sketch: Composing Yourself
Tonal Sketches
Graphic Images Ahead!
The Drama in the Drawings: Using Contrast to Direct the Eye
The Best-Laid Floor Plans
Outgrowing Your Furniture
Structure: The Mind's Eye
The Wonderful World of Color Accents and Keys
Roughing It: Basic Staging
Made You Look: Using Tone and Line to Direct the Eye
I'm ready for My Close-Up: Storyboard Cinematography
Boarding Time: Getting with the Story Beat
Working to the Beat: Story Beats and Boards
Sizing Things Up
Do You Want to Talk About It?
The Big Picture: Creating Story Sequences
Turning the Page: Sequential Construction from Literature
Arcs and Triumphs
Acting Up: Identifying Acts and Sequences in your Story
Pacing the Film
Acting Out: Acts and Sequences
Outlines and Treatmets
A-B-Sequences: Prioritizing the Action
Naming Names
Patterns in Time: Pacing Action on Rough Boards
How Many Panels Do You Use in a Storyboard?
Yakkity Yak: Dialogue on the Storyboard
Writes and Wrongs: Using Transitions
Climactic Events
Present Tense: Creating a Performance on Storyboards
Working with Music
Visualizing the Script
Diamond in the Rough Model Sheet: Refining Character Designs
Tying it Down: Standardizing Your Design
Your Cheatin' Part: Nonliteral Design
Color My World: Art Direction and Storytelling
Fishing for Complements
Saturation Point: Colors and Tonal Values
Writing the Color: Color Scripts
O Tempora, O More or Less
PRESENTATION
Show and Tell: Presenting Your Storyboards
The More Things Change: The Turnover Session
Talking Pictures: Assembling a Leica, Story Reel or Animatic with a Scratch Track
This is Only a TestL Refining Story Reels
Build a Better Mouse: Creating Cleanup Model Sheets
Maquette Simple: Modeling Characters in Three Dimensions
Am I Blue? Creating Character Through Color
Creating Color in Context
It's a Setup: Testing Your Color Models
Screen and Screen Again: Preparing for Production
Further Reading: Books, Discs, and Websites
Artist's Websites
Books by Animation Character Designers, Animators, and Illustrators
Books on Screenwriting, Art Direction, and Visual Storytelling
DVDs
Anatomy Books for the Artist
Appendices: Animated Interviews
Discussion with A. Kendall O'Connor
Caricature Discussion with T. Hee
Interview with Ken Anderson
First Catch Your Rabbit: Creating Concepts and Characters
Linear and Non-linear Storytelling
Setting Limitations and Finding liberation
Shopping for Story: Creating Lists
Nothing is Normal: Researching Action
All Thumbs: Quick Sketches and Thumbnails
Reality is Overrated
Past and Present: Researching Settings and Costumes
Vive la Difference! Animation and Live-action Storyboards
Graphic Novels: Shaping the Frame
Screen Ratios: The Fixed Frame
Television Boards and Feature Boards
Technological T(h)reats
Digital Storyboard: An Interview with Elliot Cowan
Who Love Short Shorts?
Putting Yourself into Your Work
The use of symbolic Animals and Objects
The Newsman's Story Guide: Who, What, When, Where and Why
Situation and Character Driven Stories
Stop If You've Heard This One
Defining Conflict
Log Lines
Stealing the Show
Parodies and Pastiches
What If? Contrasting the Possible and the Fanciful
Beginning at the Ending: The Tex Avery `Twist' 60
Establishing Rules
Appealing or Appalling? Beginning Character Design
Reading the Design: Silhouette Value
Construction Sights
Foundation Shapes and Their Meaning
The Shape of Things
Going Organic
Creating a Character from Inanimate Objects
Across the Universe
Size Matters: The Importance of Scale
Practice your Scales
Stereotypes of Scale
Triple Trouble: Working with Similar Character Silhouettes
Getting Pushy
Beauties and Beasts: Creating Character Contrasts in Design
I Feel Pretty! Changing Standards of Beauty
A Face That Only a Mother Could Love?
Gods and Monsters: Contrasting Appearance and Personality
Location, Location, Location: Art Direction and Storytelling
TECHNIQUE
Starting Story Sketch: Composing Yourself
Tonal Sketches
Graphic Images Ahead!
The Drama in the Drawings: Using Contrast to Direct the Eye
The Best-Laid Floor Plans
Outgrowing Your Furniture
Structure: The Mind's Eye
The Wonderful World of Color Accents and Keys
Roughing It: Basic Staging
Made You Look: Using Tone and Line to Direct the Eye
I'm ready for My Close-Up: Storyboard Cinematography
Boarding Time: Getting with the Story Beat
Working to the Beat: Story Beats and Boards
Sizing Things Up
Do You Want to Talk About It?
The Big Picture: Creating Story Sequences
Turning the Page: Sequential Construction from Literature
Arcs and Triumphs
Acting Up: Identifying Acts and Sequences in your Story
Pacing the Film
Acting Out: Acts and Sequences
Outlines and Treatmets
A-B-Sequences: Prioritizing the Action
Naming Names
Patterns in Time: Pacing Action on Rough Boards
How Many Panels Do You Use in a Storyboard?
Yakkity Yak: Dialogue on the Storyboard
Writes and Wrongs: Using Transitions
Climactic Events
Present Tense: Creating a Performance on Storyboards
Working with Music
Visualizing the Script
Diamond in the Rough Model Sheet: Refining Character Designs
Tying it Down: Standardizing Your Design
Your Cheatin' Part: Nonliteral Design
Color My World: Art Direction and Storytelling
Fishing for Complements
Saturation Point: Colors and Tonal Values
Writing the Color: Color Scripts
O Tempora, O More or Less
PRESENTATION
Show and Tell: Presenting Your Storyboards
The More Things Change: The Turnover Session
Talking Pictures: Assembling a Leica, Story Reel or Animatic with a Scratch Track
This is Only a TestL Refining Story Reels
Build a Better Mouse: Creating Cleanup Model Sheets
Maquette Simple: Modeling Characters in Three Dimensions
Am I Blue? Creating Character Through Color
Creating Color in Context
It's a Setup: Testing Your Color Models
Screen and Screen Again: Preparing for Production
Further Reading: Books, Discs, and Websites
Artist's Websites
Books by Animation Character Designers, Animators, and Illustrators
Books on Screenwriting, Art Direction, and Visual Storytelling
DVDs
Anatomy Books for the Artist
Appendices: Animated Interviews
Discussion with A. Kendall O'Connor
Caricature Discussion with T. Hee
Interview with Ken Anderson