#ToonChat: How Storyboarding Improves Productions

#ToonChat is an online event where animators and artists gather to discuss topics on Twitter on the last Friday of the month from 6-7PM EDT.

The topic of this month’s #ToonChat discussion is how storyboarding improves productions. We will be discussing different roles related to storyboarding, what storyboards contribute to a project, and the benefits of bringing a story artist in early. Joining the conversation are guest experts Andres Alvarez, Katya Bowser, Karine Charlebois, Mark Simon and Erick Tran.

The conversation will include the following discussion topics:

• How much influence can individual story artists have on a typical production?
• What are common misconceptions you have encountered about storyboarding?
• Do you have advice for students interested in pursuing storyboarding as a career?

About the chat:

If this is your first time participating in a Twitter chat, here is how the format works: Users meet on Twitter on Friday January 31 at 6PM EDT using the #ToonChat hashtag. Over the course of an hour, our account (@ToonBoom) will pose six questions (numbered Q1, Q2, Q3 …) to prompt responses from our chat participants. Be sure to include the #ToonChat hashtag in all your posts to make it easy for other participants to discover your comments. Respectful discussion between participants and our guest experts is always encouraged.

About our guests:

Andres Alvarez is a character design and storyboarding instructor who began his career in television animation. Andres worked as a storyboard artist and character designer for shows including Men In Black, Godzilla Animated Series, Starship Troopers, Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot as well as SpongeBob Squarepants. You can learn more about Andres' work at ADC School Online and on Instagram. Be sure to follow Andres on Twitter at @jurassic2378.

Katya Bowser is a Storyboard Artist in Burbank, CA, currently at Wild Canary Animation. She has worked for Nickelodeon, DisneyToons Studios, Epipheo Studios, and for many independent filmmakers. Katya strives to tell stories that will have a lasting impact on others, and you can learn more about her work on her website. She will be joining us in Friday’s chat as @katyabowserart.

Karine Charlebois is a storyboard artist with 23 years of experience working in children's animated shows as well as animated sitcoms for adults. She also has worked in traditional 2D animation, layout, merchandise art, animation for online games, book illustration as well as comics, and her work was featured in Storyboard Pro 7's demo animatic. You can find more of Karine's work on her website and follow her on Twitter at @kanthara.

Mark Simon, the Godfather of Storyboarding, counts more than 30 years of experience working in the entertainment industry as a story artist and director for live-action and animation, writing and lecturing, and amassing over 5,000 production credits. He is currently storyboarding the hit shows The Walking Dead, Creepshow, Black Lightning, Doom Patrol and Dynasty, and creates full animatics for each series. His courses on Storyboard Pro are available on LinkedIn Learning. You can find Mark and his books on his website and be sure to follow Mark on Twitter at @pitchtvshow.