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Hey guys,
this time we want to give you a small Guide about one of the most important issues you have to deal with as a Motion Book Artist: Storytelling. Everything starts with a blank page and the idea inside your head. But creating awesome concept arts doesn't mean that those linearts will become a great character.
Storyboard Artist Emma Coats from Pixar wrote down 22 rules of storytelling wich will help you to create your own personal masterpiece. Of course knowing the rules won't guarantee the success of your story but it will help you to get started.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
I hope this entry will help you get create more awesome stuff.
Cheers, Bernd (DarkChronicles)
this time we want to give you a small Guide about one of the most important issues you have to deal with as a Motion Book Artist: Storytelling. Everything starts with a blank page and the idea inside your head. But creating awesome concept arts doesn't mean that those linearts will become a great character.
Storyboard Artist Emma Coats from Pixar wrote down 22 rules of storytelling wich will help you to create your own personal masterpiece. Of course knowing the rules won't guarantee the success of your story but it will help you to get started.
#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.
#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.
I hope this entry will help you get create more awesome stuff.
Cheers, Bernd (DarkChronicles)
Were are on Discord as The Cauldron.
You love comics and visual storytelling? You are an artist and still try to figure out how to create a Motion Comic. (Click the link below to get more info)
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Sound Design for motion books Kickstarter
Be sure to check out this awesome KICKSTARTER. More to come. Watch this space.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1856238790/sound-design-for-motion-books
Designed by MADEFIRE Sound Designer Chris Faamausili
https://youtu.be/XtDxZrxn-QA
Monthly Feature
:thumb605791810: :thumb608566496: :thumb610816279:
Overwatchby MadefireStudios (https://www.deviantart.com/madefirestudios)
When following Mono, it was obvious that many of our weekly features were simply repeating themselves for the sake of the next instalment in the series, so instead we'll be moving to monthly features. Quality over quantity and all that. The aim is to feature a series of work at once, or focus more in depth on a single piece, and hopefully throw in an article or to.
Encouragement or dissatisfaction can be left at the bottom of the page.
This month we're pointing out a few nice pieces of motion from the Overwatch motion books that are currently being released
Weekly Feature
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Mono - The Old Curiosity Shop: Ep. 7by MadefireStudios (https://www.deviantart.com/madefirestudios)
The final episode of this arc, which ends with a boxing match for the ages and a healthy dose of ambiguity.
The use of motion is broadly split into two parts, much like the story as a whole. The first part is slower. Mono is brooding, for want of a better word, and the amount of text forces the motion the slow down with it. Motion is still used often, but it's in short simple bursts.
The second part is a little more complex when motion is used. There are more sequences (where multiple panels revealed in turn) and a broader range of techniques in use. The music als
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Comments8
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These are in fact very helpful... just wish I'd read this before I published. I haven't quite got the hang of being able to let go of certain narrative ideas and the outcome then tends toward being bloated and overworked. Really good advice, thanks for re-posting.