Micro Project: Line of Action

Solid Drawing.

One of my principles of Storyboarding is Solid Drawing. This is, however, an extremely broad term that doesn't yet offer a means with which you could successfully the principle. Solid Drawing means different things to many people, depending on tastes, style, technical skill, and the area with which illustration is applied. 

Solid Drawing in a Storyboarding context means this: successfully communicating body language, expression; economy of line; weight and mass to figure work; clean posture reads. To an animator, this will sound familiar. Indeed this is an animation principle that shares much in common when placed in a Storyboarding context. Below is an example of Solid Drawing within a Storyboard.

There is one methodology with which I'd like to offer in order to fulfil all of the above requirements. Another incredibly useful skill borrowed from Animation: The Line of Action. Not in Editing terms where you deal with the 180 degree rule. But rather, the invisible line that dictates posture, expression and movement in any figure work. More importantly, any good figure work. 

The Line of Action can be found anywhere.

Life Drawing.

Photography.

Character design.

Comic Book/Graphic Novels.

Children's Books.

Storyboards.

The Line of Action methodology for drawing.

Applying the LoA in a Storyboarding context may seem easy at first, but it's even easier to make the mistake of assuming it's the same as the above but within four lines of a frame. This methodology offers a way in which you can use the LoA in your figure drawing intelligently for better Storyboards. 

Below are my examples of the chief advantage of LoA in my thumbnail boards. More importantly, how they help to not only fulfil the Solid Drawing Principle, but also the Framing and Composition. 

The LoA here helps to  frame the focal point of the image, being the pressured man.

Here the symmetry appears pleasing to the eye, with the natural 'window' in the center.

An interesting way to 'split' the frame compositionally through an abstract arc.

Another example of symmetrical LoA's dividing the frame. And yet the context here is omitted, in that the fact our three characters are at varying distances from one another is irrelevant to the effect of the LoA.

The LoA can draw the eye to a certain point in the frame,  in a disguised manner.

They can also compliment the shapes and forms already existing within the frame. The way the explosion rag-dolls the people compliments the circular shape of its cloud.

A simple yet effective way of borrowing Animation's LoA into the context of Storyboarding in any form: Film; Telivision; Animation.

However, this is not the only means with which the Solid Drawing can be achieved. The Line of Action becomes one half of the leg-work. What about the subsequent mark-making? 

(see post: Line of Action Part 2: Mark-making.)