Thread by @MathiasZamecki

Study Thread ✨

A recent storyboard assignment for @jakecasterona class made me realize how bad I’m at coming up with poses from imagination. Then I remembered the advice from @radsechrist that in his early beginnings, he would warm up with sketching from Disney cartoons before storyboarding.

Just to see how Disney animators tackle their problems. And it also makes sense because you have some space to get into that “drawing groove” and not tackling cinematography, poses, choreography, foreshortening.... all at the same time!

I thought since I’m doing more action stuff, it would be good to pick up something with more action like #theLegendofKorra. I based all those studies on @kihyunryu boards who is an amazing storyboard artist director and executive producer of #legendofKorra #Voltron and now #Dota

Side note, I based all those notes on my observation and stuff I learn from the @ethanbecker70 youtube channel (which was one of Kihyun storyboard artists from what I understand on Voltron). So take it with a grain of salt

This is not necessarily what Kihyun is doing consciously(or maybe he does) those are things/patterns I found that will help me with drawing figures in the future.

Scalene Triangles (Three unequal sides) 1
-He uses this all the time to simplify the shapes of the body.
-from big shapes like whole body to smaller ones like hand or digits.
-triangles have an innate sense of motion and dynamism so use them to create dynamic gestures and poses.

Scalene Triangles (Three unequal sides) 2
-unequal sides triangles are great shapes because each line is uneven, which creates natural contrast within a shape
-also triangles are great for showing foreshortening since their tapering nature.

Emphasis on depth
- dimensionality is one of the keys to good drawing (thanks captain obvious)
- by repeating the same shape and overlapping it we create a sense of 3d form
- in this case, ears and hair buns

Insertion
- In storyboard, there is a need for speed and quick read so Insertions are a vital tool
- This is maybe not anatomically correct all the time, but again those wedges around the joints add dimensionality and depth by overlapping the masses.

Draw Through Shape
-Animation screencaps are great to study, but imho storyboards are better because of the nature of their crudeness.
-we can see some of the “scaffolding” of the drawing and thinking process that evaporates in the inking process of 2d animation production

Same Shape
- we are all simple creatures and one can spend whole life trying to learn anatomy and different muscle groups.
- but for some, what is important is the story so simplification and shortcuts like this are vital for speed and efficiency

Open Close Pose
- those are vital poses for storyboarding to showing the acting of the character
- contrast between open a close poses creates visual interest.

Flipping the Masses
-sometimes there is no place for extreme acting.
-but we still can add some interest by shifting the weight of parts in this case head and torso tilt.
-also twisting figures is another way to add dimensionality to your drawing!

- Learning
- unfortunately for this knowledge to stick you need to “practice by doing” so draw some studies from your favorite animation!
- or if you can teach someone about it (You see what I did here?)
- If you find this post useful share it with your friend

And finally, if there is something you would like to know in the future, give me a sign in the comment section that will give me the idea for a future post like this (it’s way quicker than doing YouTube videos so there is an opportunity to create more content like this)

Here is Animatic I was using as a reference!