VISUAL LITERACY

INTRODUCTION
➔ To understand what it takes to create a storyboard
image, we must first analyze what's involved in
creating a visual story.

➔ Narrative stories use visual elements that are

juxtaposed together in sequence and projected or
displayed on a flat surface for the audience.
INTRODUCTION
➔ The visual elements for these shapes are enclosed in
a bounding box or picture frame that defines the
edges of the composition.

➔ It is important to realize that the visual elements are

enclosed in a frame that allows us as artists to define
the composition.
SCREEN REFERENCE
➔ When talking about storyboards, we often refer to
the images as if they were already projected “on the
screen.” We will refer to terms such as “screen
direction,” or “camera left,” “camera right.”

➔ The direction of the action on screen.

THE STORYPOINT
➔ The story point is simply the purpose of the shot or
scene. It answers the question “why?” Our goal as a
story artist is to solve visual problems and answer
the “why” question. Why did the character enter the
scene? Why is the character afraid? Why did the
bank explode? The story point is the reason we draw
a particular storyboard panel.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
➔ Emotions can build from the beginning of your story
to the end to create a moving visual experience.

➔ In this sense we usually talk about emotions as

beats, the stepping stones in a story to create the
overall emotional response.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
➔ Understanding what techniques evoke these
emotions and when to use them is a skill that's built
through experience.

➔ It's not enough to create pretty pictures. These

pictures need to be designed to move an audience
emotionally and truly engage them in your story.
VISUAL APPEAL
➔ Appeal, as defined by the great Disney animators
Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, is that innate “…
quality of charm, pleasing design, simplicity,
communication and magnetism” in the image.

➔ Learning how to create this visual appeal in

storyboards requires understanding the basic
concepts of design and command of visual shapes.
VISUAL APPEAL
➔ Sometimes the simplest of lines and shape can
evoke great appeal and give valuable story strength.

➔ Sometimes when you look at your drawings, and

something feels off, it might actually be that the
drawing lacks appeal. Maybe the arrangement of the
shapes in your composition is too cluttered. Maybe
the facial expressions looked over-worked.
COMPOSITION WITHIN YOUR PICTURE
FRAME
➔ As a storyboard artist you should always start out
with a compositional boundary or picture frame.

➔ This helps determine the elements that go within the

composition and how they are arranged within the
box for maximum visual appeal.
COMPOSITION WITHIN YOUR PICTURE
FRAME
➔ By manipulating the elements in the composition,
you can direct the audience's eye to where you want
the eye to look.

➔ This will direct attention to the focus, or story point

and help communicate the emotional beat.
COMPOSITION WITHIN YOUR PICTURE
FRAME
WORKING WITH SHAPES

➔ Before we talk about complex shapes like

automobiles or the human figure, let's break
down the visual elements into the most basic
abstract shapes.
 Lines
➔ Lines in your composition will give a different emotional
reaction to the audience depending on how you use them.

➔ Traditionally, the more horizontal and vertical lines there are in

your composition, the more static your image will be. The more
diagonal lines you have, the more dynamic your composition
will be. Use this to your advantage when communicating an
action scene, or a subtle drama.
 Lines

FIGURE 2.3 FIGURE 2.4

Horizontals gives the feeling of Verticals also feel calm, but feel
calm-static. somewhat more active than
horizontals.
 Lines
Let's look at how these lines can divide the picture frame.

FIGURE 2.6
Lines that divide
space evenly are boring.

FIGURE 2.7
Move the lines so that
the spaces are unequal
to create visual interest.
 Lines

FIGURE 2.8 FIGURE 2.9

Parallels give us a sense of Asymmetry gives us a sense of chaos
stateliness and order. and disorder.
 Lines

FIGURE 2.10 Noble static composition

 Lines

FIGURE 2.11
Dynamic composition.
The Rule of Thirds
➔ The rule of thirds is a guide to help you avoid
symmetry in your composition. Draw lines
that divide the frame into thirds both
vertically and horizontally. The intersections
of the lines make good places to put your
visual elements. You can align objects with
the lines themselves.
 The Rule of Thirds

FIGURE 2.12
Symmetry tends to split your composition and make it seem overly stiff and formal.
(Figure 2.13) Unless this is your intent, avoid putting areas of interest along the halfway line.
The Rule of Thirds

FIGURE 2.12
(Figure 2.13)
 The Rule of Thirds

In most cases, you should put the most interesting elements of your compositions into the area
where the picture divides into thirds. (FIGURE 2.14)
 Design of the Shapes

As humans, we have been conditioned to

have specific visual stimuli evoke certain
emotions in us. With knowledge of this,
these visual stimuli can be manipulated
by the artist to invoke these feelings in
the audience.
 Design of the Shapes

FIGURE 2.15
Circles, ovals, and curves evoke feelings of friendliness, fun, and happiness.
 Design of the Shapes

FIGURE 2.16
Squares, rectangles, and right angles evoke feelings of formality and order.
Design of the Shapes

FIGURE 2.17
Triangles create feelings of aggression and dynamism.
FOCAL POINT
➔ Good composition directs the audience's eye to where you
want them to look on screen. Every storyboard needs a focal
point or center of interest.

➔ Every element of the composition should also emphasize the

center of interest. You might deliberately angle tree branches
pointing in the direction of your focal point. You can also
design the angles of tables and chairs to point and accent your
center of interest.
 FOCAL POINT
In any storyboard image, you can only have one focal point at any given
time.

FIGURE 2.19
FIGURE 2.18
Design the elements of your composition
to emphasize the focal point
 STORY TIP
➔ If your story beat is confusing, or the
composition starts to get cluttered, it could
be that your focal point is not clear.

➔ Begin removing elements of your

composition until you find a clear focus to
better serve your story beat.
FOCAL POINT

FIGURE 2.20
Primary focal point.
FOCAL POINT

FIGURE 2.21
Secondary focal point.
FOCAL POINT

FIGURE 2.22
Tertiary focal point.
DEPTH
➔ One elusive concept for young artists to achieve is a sense of
depth in a storyboard. The default tendency is to create a flat
image with little perspective or depth cues.

➔ Once you are conscious of different tricks to achieve depth

and limit depth when necessary, it becomes easier to produce a
convincing storyboard image.
 Lines

FIGURE 2.23
Deep space. FIGURE 2.24
Flat space.
Perspective
➔ The two dimentional representation of three-dimentional
objects.

➔ Perspective is one of the most useful tools to create the

illusion of depth. You should use a perspective grid in almost
every frame you draw.

➔ The grid is a quick and easy shorthand to establish the camera

height and to give a sense of depth within the frame.
One-point Perspective
➔ One point perspective is based on the concept that the lines
and shapes in a drawing can be located in reference to a single
line, called the horizon line, and a single point, called the
vanishing point.
Two-point Perspective
➔ Create two vanishing points on the horizon line leaving a space
between the two points. By drawing lines radiating down from
both of the points the lines intersect creating a two-point
perspective grid. Two-point perspective gives us a more
dynamic way to show two sides of an object.
Three-point Perspective
➔ Three-point perspective takes into the account the concepts of
up, down, length, and breadth.

➔ Start with a two-point perspective, and add a third vanishing

point projected vertically upward or downward from the
horizon line. Vertical lines, such as the sides of a building, will
converge on the third vanishing point. This helps the sense of
depth by exaggerating the distortion of the objects relative to
the camera height.
Three-point Perspective
CHEATING PERSPECTIVE
➔ You don't have to draw the horizon line and
the grid lines with a ruler. In a quick sketch
your vanishing points and converging lines
might not exactly line up. What's important
is the overall sense of objects converging to
the vanishing points.
 TIP

➔ Draw the perspective grid in every

frame to help you create the
composition and to establish the
camera height.
Cheating Perspective

Learn to draw your perspective

grid freehand just by imagining
where your vanishing points and
horizon line should be.
HANGING PERSPECTIVE
➔ Hanging perspective is a storyboard artist's
secret weapon. Figures and objects of the
same height will be cut off at the same place
on the horizon line even if they're located at
different distances within the scene. Objects
will seem to “hang” on the horizon from this
intersection point.
Hanging Perspective
 Hanging Perspective

FIGURE 2.39 FIGURE 2.40

Figures “hanging” from the torso. Figures “hanging” from the knee.
STORYBOARD MAGIC: THE GRID TRICK
➔ Having a perspective grid in your storyboard is an incredibly
powerful tool not only to add depth and describe the camera
height but also it can be just as useful to change the nature of
the shot completely.

➔ Simply by changing the direction of your perspective grid, you

can indicate a different camera angle without redrawing your
subject.
Hanging Perspective
Contrast
➔ Contrast, we will define here as the difference or
similarity between objects. Contrast can help define
the focal point of a shot as well as create depth.

➔ The eye is attracted to what is different. A light

object will stand out if everything else is dark.
Contrast
➔ Play with the amount of contrast between objects to
affect the emotional response of the viewer. By
contrasting shapes or isolating a color you can easily
create a focal point within your image.

➔ You can juxtapose different objects and elements in

shape, color, value, size and almost any attribute you
can think of.
Contrast
➔ Big vs.small
➔ Triangular shape vs.circular shape
➔ Dark vs. light
➔ Sharp focus vs. soft focus
➔ Moving vs. still
 Contrast

FIGURE 2.45 The circular shape stands out in a sea of angles

Contrast
These gray boxes have different
levels of contrast and, therefore,
have different emotional weight
to the viewer. The first set of
boxes gives a feeling of calm and
unity. The second contrasting
shapes are more dramatic and
tense. Value and color contrast is
also a way to help achieve depth.
Light images feel closer to us.
Dark images recede. With color
images, warm colors feel closer
and cool colors recede
Foreground, Middle Ground, and
Background
➔ When composing your shots, always try to incorporate a
foreground, a middle ground, and a background. The
more you can show these elements, the more depth your
composition will have.

➔ Our natural tendency is to flatten things out and draw

images that are on one plane. Force yourself to break
that tendency. Even in a close up shot, you might be able
to add a foreground or background object.
Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background
Overlapping Forms
➔ By not intersecting lines of an object, we
perceive one object to be in front of another.
This overlap creates the illusion of depth.
Overlapping forms can exist within the
human figure, or with different objects
within the scene.
Overlapping Forms
Change in Size
➔ With a single object a change in size from
one frame to the next creates a sense of
depth. Objects that grow appear to come
closer and objects that shrink appear to
move further away from us. This change in
size of the objects within the scene adds
visual interest and depth to the shots.
Change in Size

FIGURE 2.59
Avoid profile shots and
stage your compositions
so that characters and
moving objects will
change size within the frame.
Questions?
References
Stroyboard Design Course:Principles, Practice and Techniques: The Ultimate Guide for Artists,
Directors, Producers, and Scriptwriters
Giuseppe Cristiano 2007

Professional Storyboarding
Rules of Thumb
Sergio Paez and Anson Jew, 2013