Composition studies
I wasn't satisfied with the composition of many panels on my storyboard for episode 35. The little break I took last week-end at Penguicon was a good time to take a bit of distance. Meanwhile, I decided to read again my books. The sentence under caught my attention:
"Howard Pyle used to say that he liked to do fifty thumbnail sketches for every illustration. Even if he felt confident of the first one, he had to do the other forty-nine anyway just to be sure." ~ Imaginative Realism, James Gurney, page 30.
Even if I don't have the time budget to do fifty thumbnails per panels; I could nonetheless try to paint a couple of iterations for the most problematic ones. Especially the key 'exposition' shots, because I have rarely problems with the composition of the reaction shots.
After some experimentation, the result of this experiment was fruitful; I have now a better understanding of the layout of my scene, and I could make many more iteration than the one on the screenshot above (many more not effective were just painted over). I'll now backport that to the storyboard and continue the production. For sure, I'll include this step as mandatory now in my future productions.
