And I’m still a lazy ass about my posts because I have made yet another video post. Even though it took me three attempts. My apologies to the folks with slow internet. I tried to keep it short, but I rambled, so it ended up at almost eight minutes.

Sorry.

If you can’t watch it easily, here’s the readers digest version:
- I survived my first Kid vs Kat board (barely).
- My blogoversary is this week! My online baby is two years old (yikes!).
- And I’m switching software from Sketchbook Pro to Flash for various reasons. I’ll report back how that went.

I also said that if you have any requests for blog post ideas, just throw them in the comments. Because my slight writer’s block continues. I guess my brain can only handle a few things at time.

But I hope videos will suffice for the time being.

Because look! I have another stupid expression on my face! (I give up. Truly.) And in case you noticed, yes I throw the same black shirt on for shooting these videos. Rest assured I do, in fact, own other shirts.

If you can’t see the video, please click through to the blog and take a look.

Thanks for your patience and have fun looking at my goofy expressions. I’m a walking cartoon.

UPDATE: If you still can’t see the video, try over at Vimeo here http://www.vimeo.com/7811852

Sign-up for the Storyboard Club Mailing List and get a Free Storyboard Template Pack!

Get your own Mini Storyboard Critique or One-On-One Consultation! Click here for more info.

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email for probably more video posts. Cause I’m lazy.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. A Woman and Her Cintiq Oh, dear blog of mine. How I have neglected thee....
2. A Video Non-Review of ‘UP’ OK, this is an experiment. One that I may...

How I have neglected thee.

Yes, I’m kinda busy with that ‘work thing’ and all. (Damn that rent and eating thing!) But I figured something out. Like in my Mini Critiques where I’d rather record my feedback to an MP3 than write it out, I’m going to do the same here. Better some kind of post than no post, right?

Plus, you get to mock me in the process.

So I present to you: a new video post!

And look! I have another stupid expression on my face. *sigh*

It’s kind of long (almost ten minutes) so those of you with slow internet connections should go clean your toilet (you know you need to) and come back when it’s cued up.

I talk of working on Kid vs Kat, the new (oooo…ahhh) Cintiq I have and my own stupidity.

Oh, and those of you on the fabulous Storyboard Club Mailing List (see sidebar) will be getting your own little video early next week in the newsletter thingy. No, it won’t be posted on the blog. Sorry!

See? Membership has its privileges.

Without further ado…click play and enjoy! (If you are in a reader, click through to the blog to check it out.)

Sign-up for the Storyboard Club Mailing List and get a Free Storyboard Template Pack!

Get your own Mini Storyboard Critique or One-On-One Consultation! Click here for more info.

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email for probably more video posts. Cause I’m lazy.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

Here we are!

The third and final installment with Kid vs Kat creator Rob ‘Boots’ Boutilier. You can find Part 1 of the interview here and Part 2 of the interview here.

You can find the intro post where I discuss my role storyboarding on the show here.

Rob continues his discussion about storyboarding, but now from the role of being a director. You get to hear it from ‘the other side’, so this is valuable stuff.

Then a little about what to do with your own brilliant ideas.

Read, learn and enjoy.

Take it away, Rob.

11. Looking from the other side of the desk as a director, what would you say are the 3 most important skills a storyboard artist can have to make *your* job easier?

Number one is an understanding of story structure.

Scenes are not just thrown randomly throughout a script – they’re placed in a particular order to move the characters and action forward (or backward in some cases).

The more understanding you have of how and why the pieces are put together, the better storyboard artist you’ll become. (Although it can be a dry read at times and is geared much more toward writers, I would suggest getting a copy of Robert McKee’s “Story”. Or attend one of his lectures if you have the money or time to do so.)

Number two is clarity of expression.

I don’t mean expression on a character’s face, but expression of scene.

Once you figure out what the intent of the scene is, ask yourself “what’s the simplest, clearest way to express this?” Your composition, camera angles and cutting should all be an answer to that question.

You want to keep things interesting visually, but don’t get caught up with fancy angles and camera work that do nothing but confuse the intent of the scene!

Number three is learn to improvise.

I’ve said above that there’s a reason why scenes are placed in a particular order, but that doesn’t always mean they’re in the best order.

Sometimes the intent of the scene can be played more effectively by moving things around, deleting or adding to it. This is something that comes from experience, but I’ve also seen rookies that just have a natural feel for what can work better.

The gag provided by the writer is not necessarily the best gag, so if you can think of something funnier then don’t hold it back.

Also, get a feel for writing dialogue in character – sometimes the best line in a show will come from a board artist, not a writer. (Always, always, ALWAYS talk to your director before doing any of this!)

(Editor’s note: Yes! Don’t go changing dialogue without permission. It could backfire on you if they have no intention of re-recording anything.)

12. What is your biggest frustration/pet peeve with storyboard artists during production?

I just don’t have time for people who ‘crap out’ a storyboard with little thought, just to grab a paycheque… and there’s plenty of them out there.

I expect people to care about the project as much as I do. If you are wasting my time by overloading the revision department with problems that could have been solved if you gave a damn, you won’t last very long on the crew.

Bad time management is always a frustration too – it can cause a normally dependent board artist to cut too many corners in an attempt to make the deadline.

Remember that the consequence of lazy storyboarding is that other people will ultimately end up fixing your mistakes and THOSE MISTAKES WILL BE REMEMBERED by the directors you work with!

(Editor’s note: Insert warning music: “Dun, dun, duuuuuunnn!”)

13. For folks out there with their own show ideas, what do you think the reality is of getting a studio on board with your concept and it actually getting made?

Let’s be honest: the odds are against you.

But that should never stop anyone from pitching.

I had the same odds against me, but I still managed to get a series on the air. Sometimes it’s just about timing – an idea presented and rejected one year could be the toast of the networks several years later.

You need a solid concept, but you also need a stroke of good luck in finding that one person who’ll be as excited about the idea as you are.

Think about how many studios rejected George Lucas’ script for ‘Star Wars’ before he found the one guy who was willing to take a chance on it.

Studio B has a great internal pitch mechanism with the ‘BHive’.

It’s pretty rare for a studio to be willing to spend its own cash to take a chance on untested talent. But if they feel the idea is worth it, they’ll throw their support behind you.

If it’s available, you’d be foolish to not take advantage of opportunities like that and learn from the experienced people behind it.

14. What would be your biggest piece of advice for would-be creators? Your biggest warning?

Everything I mentioned before about clarity of expression should apply to pitches as well.

Kid vs Kat was a simple pitch with a clear conflict, and all the characters were there to either support Coop or work against him. There wasn’t any fat to weigh the pitch down or make it confusing.

The networks noticed that and appreciated it.

Do not go into a pitch believing that you have the greatest idea in the world, because the odds are you don’t.

Be willing to accept, or at least consider the advice of the people that you’re pitching to. Their suggestion of changing a design or adding a character is not an arbitrary one. It’s based on their experience in the industry and what audiences react to.

Remember, there’s a reason they’ve been running a studio or network for years and you haven’t.

That doesn’t mean you should roll over and change everything until your pitch no longer resembles your original vision, however.

Be passionate about your project and you just might find that passion will spread to the people you’re speaking to.

Great advice Rob.

I would just like to thank Rob for his time and generosity in making my first interview on the blog an awesome one!

And to you guys, for allowing me to be the lazy ass that I am and drag this out over four posts.: )

*hugs*

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to see how I break out of my lazy-ass-ness.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 1 Here is Part 1 of my interview with Kid...
2. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 2 Wee! It’s finally here! The day you’ve all been...

Wee! It’s finally here! The day you’ve all been waiting for!

My Birthday!!! Woo Hoo!

Oh yeah. And that interview thingy. (Just kidding Rob!)

Yes, it’s Part 2 of my fabulous interview with Kid vs Kat creator and director Rob ‘Boots’ Boutilier. You can find Part 1 of the interview here. And my role on the show in the intro post here.

Today he talks about all things storyboard-like.

As an added bonus, we also have storyboard samples from Rob himself. They’re from the premier episode of Kid vs Kat, ‘Let the Games Begin’.

Enjoy!

Now I must eat cake, throw on a hockey mask and maybe kill a few teenagers. : )

7. How did you end up as a storyboard artist? Was that your initial plan?

I certainly wasn’t a natural animator, and I was told by a VFS instructor early on that storyboarding was a path I should look at.

Storyboards are like extended comic strips when you think about it: the mechanics of a gag in a storyboard aren’t far off from what you would do in a 4 panel cartoon or a larger Sunday strip.

Strips are all about being economical with your drawings and making sure the gag or situation reads loud and clear – I found that mindset ultimately helped me become a decent board artist.

My first storyboard gig was working on ‘Ed, Edd n Eddy’ at aka Cartoon.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, and looking back on it the majority of us that were there had no right to be storyboarding on a major network show. (Editor’s note: What?? Umm…yeah, you’re probably right…)

But we all learned from making spectacular missteps, and if you watched that series from start to finish you would see how skilled those board artists eventually became.

I only stayed for a few years, but I learned more about storyboarding during that time than I did at school.

8. What’s the best part about doing storyboards for you? What’s the worst?

I love the initial roughing (or thumbnail) stage – it’s the most creatively challenging time for me.

The story lives or dies based on the choices I make here: shot selection, camera angles, acting and expressions all need to work together to keep the story clearly moving.

Storyboarding for me is as much about thinking as it as about drawing, and I’ll usually spend a couple of days just reading and rereading the script until I can see the visuals clearly in my head. Only then will I start to draw.

The worst part of storyboards for me is the actual clean-up. I just find it so tedious!

My thumbnails are usually tight enough to be blown up twice their size without distortion, and my boards usually don’t change much from the thumbnail stage to final, so I always feel like I’m wasting time doing things twice. (Editor’s note: Yes. He is wasting his time. Draw thumbnails quick and dirty people!)

People always ask why I don’t just rough boards out full size to begin with (I believe we’ve had that conversation more than once!), but I find that I get bogged down with unnecessary details that way.

Tight thumbnails just work better for me, but I always advise people to not do as I do in that case.

9. Do you feel being a storyboard artist made you better prepared for the role of creator/director?

In some aspects, yes.

Whenever I would read a script I would try to look at it from the perspective of a storyboard artist.

And the story editors would inevitably get a note from me saying something like: “Are you crazy? Do you know how hard that sequence would be to storyboard?” Or: “You know, I hate drawing characters on bicycles. Make this a wagon instead.”

I also tried to make sure that backgrounds were designed at lower angles that could actually be used in the storyboard as is.

I’ve worked on far too many shows that would provide backgrounds from useless top 3/4 angles that could never be used in the board.

We tried to make the design packs as storyboard friendly as we could in the time frame we were working under. (Editor’s note: This rocked. All shows should do this.)

But as you can confirm, being a storyboard artist tends to be a very solitary existence.

You do your job with minimal contact from the rest of the crew, so it didn’t prepare me to suddenly have to deal with so many people and so many aspects of production that I would simply take for granted as already being done for me.

The schedule for a board artist is also quite luxurious compared to the schedule of a director, let me tell you! (Editor’s note: Luxurious, my ass.)

10. Any area of the directing role do you wish you were better prepared for? What was the biggest learning curve for you?

I wish I was better prepared for dealing with the network notes, to be honest.

I can be a very stubborn person and I have a nasty habit of reacting to things before I’ve fully thought it through – both are not good traits when it comes to dealing with networks.

There’s a fine art to considering another point of view and clearly making an argument for and against it, and I had a hard time learning such diplomacy.

In the end I had to realize that their notes came from the same desire we all had, and that was to make the best show possible.

(Thanks Boots. Part 3 of the interview to follow next week!)

Where you can watch Kid vs Kat (the pimping continues):

In Canada you can catch Kid vs Kat on YTV, Saturdays at 8:30am, then 6 and 6:30pm (check local listings). http://www.ytv.com/programming/shows/kidvskat/

It’s also currently on the ABC in Australia.

In the US there will be a sneak peek on DisneyXD (formerly ToonDisney) Feb. 13th, before settling into its regular time slot on Feb. 21st. http://tv.disney.go.com/disneyxd/

The series will also premiere on Jetix Europe then the rest of the world will follow.

Please tune in!

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to catch Part 3 of Rob’s great interview!

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 3 Here we are! The third and final installment with...
2. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 1 Here is Part 1 of my interview with Kid...

Here is Part 1 of my interview with Kid vs Kat creator Rob ‘Boots’ Boutilier. You can catch more info about my role in storyboarding on the show in my Kid vs Kat intro post.

Lucky for my lazy ass, Rob was indeed wonderfully ‘long-winded’ in his answers. Lots of good, juicy stuff! So for ease of reading, I’m going to break it up into three posts.

The second will be on Friday, February 13th (because it’s my birthday and I want a stamp of ‘13 Feb’ on the blog). And so you don’t have a to wait a full week for the next one.

Then the last one will be up next week.

So let’s get this ball rolling!

1. Let’s start with all that great, boring stuff about you. Tell us about your background, education and why you got started in the animation business.

I started drawing at an early age with only one goal in mind: I wanted to create a daily comic strip and become the next Charles Schulz.

I started being published when I was eleven, with local and college papers following as I grew older, but since I was completely self taught up to that point I thought I needed to improve myself by taking some kind of drawing course.

Animation seemed a natural fit for me so when I was 25, I packed up and moved from Halifax to Vancouver to take an intensive classical animation course at the Vancouver Film School.

I figured animation would be something I’d just do during the day while I developed comic strip ideas at night. I thought I’d only be in the industry for about 5 years, then move on to something else.

Over 13 years later, it didn’t quite turn out that way.

2. How about a brief summary of Kid vs Kat?

Kid vs Kat is about a 10 year old boy named Coop whose idyllic life is turned completely upside-down when his younger sister brings home a stray cat of mysterious origin.

It’s obvious to Coop that the cat is some kind of alien and is up to no good, but nobody else seems to see it.

3. What was the main inspiration of the Kid vs Kat concept? How long was it brewing in your brain?

I’ve had the idea since I left VFS in late ‘96 about doing a short about a kid always defending his backyard sandbox from a neighborhood cat that always used it as a luxury litter-box.

I wanted it to be reminiscent of old Tom and Jerry, or Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons – basically just two characters constantly chasing and evading each other through a series of gags.

I picked at the idea over the years but it wasn’t until my wife and I adopted a hairless cat that the entire concept came together for me. My wife and I think our cat is the most beautiful thing in the world, but most people are just plain freaked out by her appearance.

I thought that would add to the character of the cat in my idea, and I actually wrote the pitch quite quickly on a Sunday afternoon.

4. How did the whole thing get off the ground? Was the short made first, then pitched to the studio? Or was the concept pitched with storyboards and the finished short came later? What was the process?

I pitched Kid vs Kat to Studio B Productions in late 2005 through an internal pitch program called the BHive.

They liked the idea enough to give me a green light to develop, storyboard and direct a three-minute short called “Look What My Sister Dragged In”. We worked out a rough outline of the story first and I storyboarded straight from that.

Working without a script allowed me to change action and dialogue constantly as I went along, but still stick to the basic story structure we had laid out. Once the board was done and approved by the studio execs we recorded straight off that.

After the final animation and sound mix, everybody was pleased with the result and Studio B took it to Mipcom Jr in 2006. It ended up being the 15th most watched property among thousands of shows screened there and the networks started circling it.

YTV came on board to develop it as a series, followed by Jetix Europe. I honestly would have been happy making another couple of shorts, but in less than 12 months after making the original short, we suddenly had a full series order for 52×11 minutes.

Everybody was taken aback with how fast things were suddenly rolling.

5. Did you have to make many compromises on your original vision once it started into production?

Oooh yeah.

I honestly don’t think you can produce a series like this with multiple networks serving as creative partners and NOT end up compromising on something to keep everyone happy.

In terms of story, we had decided in our initial development with YTV that Kat’s alien origin would be left a mystery to both Coop and the audience, with the truth to be revealed slowly and later on in the season.

As so often happens with networks however, there was a change at the executive level and the new person assigned to Kid vs Kat felt it would be better to just let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.

So that required a definite change in our thinking at script stage. Jetix had their own ideas of what the series should be, and once Disney came fully aboard that was a third point of view – and a very influential one – that also needed to be considered.

The voice of Coop was certainly the biggest change made from the short, and I give the networks full credit for being absolutely correct on that call.

Visually the show is pretty much what I wanted, although we compromised a bit to give the networks more of a “summer” color palette than the original short (which was definitely rooted in more of a “fall” palette).

All in all though, I would say that the characters are damn close to my original vision. The one thing we were completely uncompromising on was the idea of Kat talking… I’m so glad we stuck to our guns in that area.

6. How’s the show being received so far? What’s next and what are your hopes for the show in the future?

We’ve been getting good reviews from Australia, and YTV has really thrown its support behind the series.

I’ve received very positive feedback from people of a wide spectrum of ages. A lot of parents tell me they’ll watch the show with their kids because it reminds them of cartoons they watched as kids. Our goal was to give the series a bit of a retro feel to it, so that feels good.

I’m taking a break at the moment as the series starts its worldwide rollout, and then hopefully we’ll start work on season two very soon. I really have grown to love all these characters and the world of Kid vs Kat.

I hope we can continue well into the future!

Where you can watch Kid vs Kat:

In Canada you can catch Kid vs Kat on YTV, Saturdays at 8:30am, then 6 and 6:30pm (check local listings). http://www.ytv.com/shows/kid_vs_kat/index.aspx

It’s also currently on the ABC in Australia.

In the US there will be a sneak peek on DisneyXD (formerly ToonDisney) Feb. 13th, before settling into its regular time slot on Feb. 21st. http://tv.disney.go.com/disneyxd/

The series will also premiere on Jetix Europe then the rest of the world (yes, we are truly worldwide) will follow.

Please tune in!

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to catch Part 2 of Rob’s interview where he’ll talk about the good ol’ days of being a storyboard artist.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 3 Here we are! The third and final installment with...
2. The Kid, the Kat and the Creator: Part 2 Wee! It’s finally here! The day you’ve all been...

Way back when I started this blog a little over a year ago, I planned on documenting my experience and process of the storyboarding job I was going to be starting.

That job was the new TV show ‘Kid vs Kat’.

It’s in the categories as The Production Journal: Storyboarding Kid vs Kat. Well as you can see, it only ended up with seven measly posts (till now).

Pretty lame.

Wasn’t quite the information-packed series I had planned.

That’s because when you’re actually working on a television series, you’re busy as all hell. That’s when the ‘Hell Week’ linky-love posts would pop up.

Oh well. I tried.

I storyboarded on this show for Studio B Productions from December 2007 till June 2008 completing five 11-minute episodes.

Then I went to Hawaii.

As a storyboard artist, you work and slave on a show that you probably won’t see on TV for about a year. Not exactly a good job for people who like immediate gratification.

Well, that time has arrived!

Kid vs Kat is now airing in Canada on YTV. I’ll give you all the details at the end of the post.

What’s really cool is the show was created by a buddy of mine, Rob ‘Boots’ Boutilier. We basically started our careers around the same time and cut our storyboarding teeth together on the first season of ‘Ed, Edd ‘n Eddy’.

I’m pretty anal about brushing the eraser shavings off my desk. So he used to put his eraser shavings all over my desk to piss me off.

Good times.

As it turns out, he’s still talking to the ‘little people’ and has agreed to be my very first interview here on the Storyboard Blog. That interview will be the next post. Maybe two, depending if he is long-winded or not in answering my questions.

Being the lazy ass that I am, I’m hoping for long-winded.

So stay tooned for that!

(That’s a typo, but I’m keeping it.)

In the meantime, I’ll show you some screen grabs from one of my episodes. I’ve put my storyboard panels along with them for your viewing pleasure.

Since this was my first episode, my drawings suck.

(OK, I think they suck.)

Let’s take a peek at Kid vs Kat “Do Not Fort Sake Me”, shall we? Woo hoo!

Hopefully I will be able to show full sequences in the near future. Lots of material to learn from.

So stay tuned for the interview with Rob. Here’s the official Kid vs Kat pimping out info for Canada:

You can watch episodes @ 8:30 AM on YTV every Saturday and you can check out http://kidvskat.ytv.com for online episodes and content.

To end off, here’s one of those super fun ‘How We Make Cartoons’ for Kid vs Kat on YouTube. Rob is the shy guy at the end with the cat in his shirt.

And yes, I know everyone else in the video. Enjoy!

(UPDATE: Well, for some weird reason the video and YouTube channel is gone. If it comes back, I’ll put the video back up. Sorry about that. Grrr.)

(UPDATE: The original video never showed up again. So here’s the intro to the show instead. Enjoy.)

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to catch my very first interview with Boots.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

I’m done.

It’s over.

Not just Hell Week, but my contract. Six and a half months, five episodes, 1100 pages producing 3300 panels…approximately.

I’m pooped. But I think (I hope) I did an alright job.

If I ‘leave the environment’ while I’m working, it’s real hard to get back in the groove. So I didn’t. I only left the apartment about once a week. I had groceries delivered. My laundry usually consisted of sweat pants and t-shirts. My computer and this blog were my few links to the outside world. I’m grateful for it and for you guys reading. It really helped keep me motivated.

So for that, I thank you.

I am now officially unemployed.

When you freelance, you can’t collect unemployment insurance. So I ain’t. Did I mention that before? Well, you can’t. You’re on your own.

The industry around here is looking pretty darn slow. The word ‘drought’ was mentioned with a colleague the other day. A work drought. Nice.

I have nothing lined up.

No prospects on the horizon as far as storyboarding goes.

And I couldn’t be happier.

In a few hours I’m heading to the airport, boarding a plane and heading to a place where the above photograph was taken three years ago. Many scenes from ‘Lost’ have been filmed at that very location. I’ve seen them and said, “Hey, I’ve been there!”. It’s cool.

There will be Mai Tais involved. Yeah…that’s it.

Remember all that stuff I wrote about being smart with your money? This post and this post? Well, I practice what I preach and this is the very reason that I do. So I have the means to get on that plane and run off for the better part of two weeks and relax.

To enjoy what I worked hard to get.

I don’t make a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. After I did my taxes this year, I even said, “Gee, I really don’t make that much, do I?”

But it’s enough if you’re smart with it.

And it’s enough when you know what your priorities are.

Freedom is mine.

Not ’stuff’.

I don’t have a lot of stuff. I don’t even have a real bed for crying out loud (getting a little tried of that one though). I live fairly simply. No car, no house (yet…but I do live in Vancouver and the real estate is nuts!) and I hate to shop for clothes.

But I love to get away once in a while. I sacrificed quite a bit of my time to get here, but now that I’m here, it’s sweet.

And worth it.

Now, it’s not just about going on the vacation either.

I have money socked away in the bank. This will get me through the lean times. I’m not nervous. I’m calm. I gave up the ‘no work’ panic attacks long ago.

Because I also believe.

Every time I should have been freaking out about not knowing where my next job was coming from, I stopped. I told myself it will work itself out, that I always get work when I believe I will.

And I do. Every time.

After my last job (before this one), I also had no prospects. I had been visiting the studio and they were all booked up with board artists for this show. There was nothing on the horizon. I stayed calm and told myself it’ll be fine. It’ll work itself out.

A few weeks later they called. One of the artists dropped out and they wanted me on this job. It was the combination of my visit at that time (telling them I was free) and my not worrying, that got me this gig.

So I’m back in no man’s land again. And I’m fine. Because I believe I will be.

Try it.

(And be smart with the money that you do make.)

And this is good news for you guys.

I have more plans for the blog and now I have the time to do them! I’ll be adding more resources like book lists and DVD recommendations.

I’d like to do some movie reviews and story analysis.

I’ll be doing more educational posts of real examples with screen grabs and stuff. I’ll be showing more of my own work and building a portfolio site onto here.

I plan on writing an ebook or two. And there’s a few other things in the works. I’m grateful for the time and freedom to get started on all that.

I’d like to give a huge welcome to some new readers here that came over from Carlo’s blog! Bear with me till the end of June while I kick back and recharge the ol’ batteries.

Good things to come.

I will be popping in to Internet cafes to check my email and the blog. So feel free to still leave comments. It may just take me a while to answer, OK?

I’ll probably even write a post next week ‘on location’. I don’t know about what, but don’t expect anything too deep…I don’t plan on using my brain that much.

And last but not least…

The new Incredible Hulk movie opens this weekend and our very own Live-Action-Go-to-Guy worked on it! So if you go check it out, report back here to Adrien and give him your review. If you loved it, tell him!

And if it sucks…well, he didn’t write the thing! Give him a break!!!

OK people, I’m off. Thanks again for reading…this blog has kept me sane and I love doing it. I’ll be coming by soon and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in July.

Take care and I’ll have a Mai Tai for all!

*passes out in the sand*

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to see if the next post has any redeeming qualities.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

It never fails.

I get all ramped up for starting a new storyboard. I have a good outlook and tell myself I can do all this work and still have time for the other things I want to do. Like write a blog post . I get the little things around the house done that I didn’t have to time to do during the last storyboard. During ‘hell week‘. I’m free and clear to sit down and work.

Then it happens.

Nothing.

I sit and sit and stare and stare. I get up, I sit down. I get up and do things I shouldn’t do. The things that working from home draw you to. Like check email. Like see what Britney did today. Like clean the bathroom. Then I say. “Enough! Get to work!”.

And I sit and I sit. And I stare and I stare.

Nothing.

This could go on for days. It’s horrible.

Then the bad thoughts show up. “You do this every time!” “Why can’t you just get it done?” It’s not really procrastination because I’m still there. Sitting. Trying. My brain is everywhere but where it should be. My silly, unfocused brain.

Nothing.

Then…a little trickle of drawings manage to come from my pencil. Finally! OK, here it comes…little by little and not nearly enough. But it has started. The drips of creativity. A little bit of optimism to make me get up and try again the next day. It’s still not enough and I start to worry about the deadline. Always worrying about the deadline…because I’m neurotic that way.

The little glimmers of panic are on the horizon. I feel them coming. I get a bit more done but it’s still not enough. More panic. More feeling bad. Then finally…

Whoosh!

Look at me go! Page after page, drawing after drawing. What was I worrying about? I’m fine. This will get done. No quality lost. Just clear and focused and getting the thumbnail drawings done. Silly me! Telling myself bad things. Thinking the worst. Geez, I’m flying through this stuff. Then before I know it and in amazing time, the thumbnails get done.

Whew. The ketchup finally flowed.

I hate that ketchup bottle, but it’s the story of my work life. I don’t think it will ever go away. I guess I just have to accept it. The thumbnails get done and life continues. Then it’s on to the final storyboard panels.

And it happens.

Nothing.

Dammit.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

OK, so how did the first storyboard treat me? Well, not too bad.

I hadn’t boarded in almost nine months. And the show before that, I did on the computer in Flash. So I hadn’t done a storyboard on real paper for quite some time. It’s good. I like paper and the feel of the pencil on it. Digital and paper both have their pros and cons but I’m content to be doing this one the good old fashioned way.

So I had the director’s meeting and picked up my materials. Then I got home and organized all those materials. Then it was about two weeks of thumbnailing out the whole show. And I gotta tell ya, the thing turned out to be a beast.

It would have been about 250 pages for an eleven minute cartoon and that’s pretty huge. Usually an average page count for eleven minutes is 160-180 pages (remember that’s three panels per page). At least it used to be. Good thing I had my thumbnails! After some discussion with the director, I managed to cut out about the equivalent of 50 storyboard pages.

So it was gonna roll in around 200 pages. OK, I could live with that. It’s better for the show to time in a bit long than too short. Much easier to cut things out than add things in after the fact. But if I know it’s way too long, there’s no point in drawing all those extra pages knowing they will be cut out in the end. It just wastes everyone’s time.

Then it’s down to business. Drawing all those pages. Deep breath…

The best way to get through it is to keep telling yourself, “Slow and steady wins the race.” You can really psych yourself out by just focusing on how much there is to do. I set small goals of what I want to accomplish that day only and just worry about that.

I actually write all the daily page numbers on a post-it note and cross them out as I finish each page. Sounds kind of silly, but it helps to see the progress and little accomplishments. To be honest, I don’t always make it. Then it’s make-up time in ‘hell week’. Fun, fun.

I rough out the pages in light blue pencil then go over that in black, blue or purple Col-erase (TM) pencil. I chose black for this episode (no particular reason…but it does photocopy great). They have a much better feel than regular graphite pencils and don’t smudge as much. They’re close to a Prismacolor® pencil, but better.

As I complete my day’s quota, I also label those pages at the end of the day. I really recommend this. There’s nothing worse than spending eight or ten hours (or more!) trying to label a whole storyboard at the end. The spelling mistakes increase and you get pretty bug-eyed. Plus I like the idea that the pages in the ‘done’ pile are really done. I’ll get into more detail about labeling a storyboard in a future post.

So did I make it? Well, I can’t lie (plus the director might be reading)…it was officially due on a Friday and I needed “that last valuable weekend”. It’s amazing what you can pump out in that last weekend…truly. So it was all fine. First thing Monday morning…no real harm done.

I also made a photocopy for myself. But I can’t show it on the blog (or anywhere else for that matter) because of contract stuff. So I may post older storyboards when illustrating something. This is your portfolio people! Keep a copy for yourself.

Now it’s on to storyboard number two. Deep breath…

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. Production Journal – A Million Little Drawings OK, maybe not a million…but lots! I’m talking about...
2. Getting the J-O-B Part 2: Building a Storyboard Portfolio Hell Week is over. I’m in recovery and I’ve...
3. Ten Tips for Tackling a Storyboard Test What? There’s a test? Nobody said anything about there...

The other is that I survived hell week and it wasn’t that bad. Didn’t really work past 4 am so I consider that a good one (as in no all-nighters). I’ve had much worse which could be good material for a later post. Ahh, the war stories we animation types love to tell…

Since I didn’t write in the Production Journal as much as I would have liked for this first show, I’ll be giving a wrap up in the next post. I’ve been in recovery (mostly mental) for the past two days. Sometimes you just gotta rest. Then gear up to do it all over again. So I’ll be back very soon…I hope some of you are still sticking around.

In the meantime, do you have a good “worked myself to death” story? My worst one is losing a week’s worth of work (220 panels) while working on the computer and then re-doing it all from memory with the final stretch being 44 hours straight (OK, with a few naps in there). Chock one up for doing storyboards on paper!

Have at it. : )

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. Some Suggested Reading While I’m In Hell Week I wish I could be writing more than I am...
2. A Little Hell Week Potpourri I am in the midst of my *final* Hell...
3. Some Non-Hell Week Links Remember ‘Hell Week‘? That was when I was up...