I have an actual post in the works, but here’s a little note of interest for you Vancouver artists.

It’s pretty neat and you better hurry because at the time of this writing, it’s 75% sold out!

So get cracking.

VanArts is proud to present a Masterclass in Animation & Story Development with instructors Story Artist Matthew Luhn, and Animator Andrew Gordon, both from Pixar Animation Studios!

This exceptional 2-day event offers participants a rare and exciting opportunity to learn from the industry’s top talent. This class has toured the world, with this being one of only two North American stops in 2010.

Pixar Animation Artists Masterclass website link and phone number:

http://www.vanarts.com/pixar-vancouver

Online ticket purchase link:

https://register.beanstream.com/scripts/registration.asp?form=852

Event location:
Fletcher Challenge Theater – Simon Fraser University
515 West Hastings St., in downtown Vancouver

Event schedule/dates/times (this is a 2-day event):
Day 1:  September 24th, 9am-5pm
Day 2:  September 25th, 9am-5pm

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

Remember me?

I used to write a blog about storyboarding. Well okay, I still do… just not lately.

*slaps wrist*

And I’ve been stressing about starting up again because it’s been so long. As in…the first post back better be a GOOD ONE.

So I’m going to write a crappy one just to take the edge off, if that’s okay.

Rest assured I am very much alive and well.

I’ve just been suffering from a case of post-storyboard-contract “Lazy-ass-itis”.

Here’s what I’ve been doing.

I ended my Kid vs Kat contract at the end of May. *whew*

And survived.

I went to Hawaii at the beginning of June.

See?

Sweet, sweet Hawaii. *sigh*

Then home and relaxed some more. (That’s about when the “Lazy-ass-itis” kicked in.)

I turned down some work. (See above.)

I saw ‘Toy Story 3′. Twice.

Loved it. *sniff*

I did some summer racing with my sailing team.

Still teaching at the film school once a week. That’s all good.

I did some Mini-Critiques for people, which are tons of fun.

June stunk weather-wise, but July is gorgeous. So I’ve been outside.

Avoiding the internet. A lot.

Then I had a young house guest. And did some beachy stuff and touristy stuff.

And more outside things.

Did I mention July has been gorgeous? When it’s gorgeous in Vancouver, you go outside people!

Starting to learn a bit of golf. (I must have some Scottish in me.)

Saw ‘Despicable Me’. Very enjoyable. Very fun. (“It’s so FLUFFY!”)

Going to Montreal in August. Then coming home to some work I actually did take. Good gig.

And I finally got a blog post written! (A very bad one, but who cares?)

There will be a much better one coming soon.

I just needed to ‘break the creative dam’ so to speak.

Thanks for your patience lovely readers of mine.

– — – — –

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Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email because I will post something full of teachy goodness soon.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

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1. A Little Artist Lazy Linky-Love Post Okay, this is a cop-out. I admit it. I’m really...

I was looking forward to April ending because of all the ‘death stuff‘, then on the morning of the 30th (the last day of the month) I received an email with more sad news.

My ex-boss and friend of many years had succumbed to cancer and passed away at the age of 59.

I burst into tears. And cried all day.

But I don’t want to write another post about death (one was enough don’t ya think?). So I’d rather tell you the good stuff about my friend and one great art lesson he taught me ‘way back when’.

Call it a little tribute.

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, I used to be a graphic designer in my twenties (remember…I’m old). I worked at a small studio out of college for a year or two, then tried to go the freelancing route at 22. A bit risky. But I was still living at home so the timing was good.

Through a mutual connection, I met Steve Buist who was looking for a little extra help around his small graphic design studio. He took a chance on me and I did some work for him off and on for another two years or so.

Then he offered me a full time position. I took it and worked at D-Zign S.A.B. for the next six years until I left to pursue animation with Steve’s blessing.

Back then, the studio was just me, Steve, another guy named LP and Steve’s wonderful wife Cheryl. Steve was a boss who wasn’t a ‘boss’. His clients loved him. His suppliers loved him.

He loved his job, he loved his family and he loved cars.

Anyone would be lucky to work for a guy like Steve. We were a little family in that studio.

I saw his three girls grow up. We knew what was going on in each others lives. We drank a lot at our little Christmas parties.

And I learned tons about graphic design.

Now, this was a time when a graphic designer didn’t mean ’someone with 3 months of training and a MacBook’.

When I started, it was markers, paste-ups, wax machines, rubber cement thinner, x-acto knives, T-squares, Letraset and stat cameras (Google it). Half of the supplies could cause some serious health issues or cut the end of your finger off! Those were the days, baby.

Everything was done by hand. It rocked.

This was how you developed a sense of design and typography. This was how you honed your compositional skills. And this was how I could eventually find the center of anything by just looking at it.

(I later translated those skills to the computer when the industry started going that way. Beyond valuable!)

But I was still young and I was still learning. I needed advice and guidance sometimes. And when something just wasn’t ‘right’, I would ask Steve what he thought.

Sometimes he told me exactly what to fix and why.

And sometimes he told me this:

“I don’t know. Just make it look good.”

We’d laugh, I’d go back to my drafting table, and guess what?

I made it look good.

Amazing.

It became a running joke between me, Steve and LP.

“Just make it look good, Karen!”

And I did.

As time when on, I ended up telling them the same thing when they asked for my opinion.

“I don’t know. Just make it look good!”

It bloody well worked.

I carry that with me to this day. And smile about it.

What’s the translation of this little bit of wisdom?

Figure it out! Stop whining! Don’t over-think it! Rework it! Do better!

Do what you need to do to make it look good.

I haven’t really used this awesome lesson when teaching storyboarding until now. Because it is different than graphic design and a storyboard can’t just ‘look good’. It needs a whole lot more.

But the lesson can work for the composition of your shots.

Just make it look good.

Is your perspective not quite right?

Just make it look good.

Can’t get that character expression?

Just make it look good.

It really works better when someone actually says it out loud to you. I think that’s the secret. If you can’t find someone to do that, bookmark this post and pretend I’m saying it to you.

Because I can be bossy that way. : )

Thank you Steve.

Thanks for the job. Thanks for your friendship and guidance. Thanks for being one hell of a guy.

And thank you for that phone call on the first of April. I don’t know if you ‘knew’ when we talked that day. But I can’t thank you enough for being able to talk to you one last time. Because when I got that sad news 30 days later, that’s really all I would have asked for.

As I go forward in this life, you can bet I’ll “just make it look good”.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

(I hearby declare April 2010, ‘The Month of Death’ CLOSED thankyouverymuch.)

NOTE: I’ve also decided I don’t want comments on this personal post. They’ll be back next time. Thanks!

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

I hope this post isn’t too much of a downer. But it might be.

Sorry.

Because it’s a little off-subject and might not have the comic snark you’re used to if you come here often. If you are new (hi!), just know this isn’t the norm and I will get back to the business of boards eventually. I’m still in Kid vs Kat vs Karen mode.

But here it goes anyway.

A man died in front of me a week ago.

His funeral was yesterday but I didn’t go because I had to work and I didn’t really know him.

But I was thinking about him. Because I witnessed the last moments of his life.

I crew on a 36 foot sailboat and I’ve been on the same boat for 9 years with mostly the same people (give or take a few over the years). That’s most of us in the picture from a happy time last year (I’m in the white hat).

We do organized races out of the yacht club on Wednesday nights and we do some weekend races throughout the spring and summer.

We had a race last weekend and since I was between boards (yay), I was happy to be able to participate in the Saturday race. We usually need 8 or 9 people to race and we were short a person. So one of the women on our crew asked along this guy Doug because she sails with him on another boat.

We all show up on time and gear up the boat. I shook Doug’s hand and said “Hi” as did the rest of us. It was a pissy, rainy day but once you’re a sailor it really doesn’t bother you. As long as you have your wet weather gear, it’s all good. At least it wasn’t too cold.

They usually try to get in 3 or 4 races on the weekends. We finished our first one and did pretty well. Then it’s clean up the lines, grab a sandwich and wait for our next start. We were in our 5 minute countdown and almost in the last minute to start when Doug was suddenly lying down in the cockpit.

Not moving.

First, it’s “Dude, you okay?”, then it’s “Did he hit his head?”. But when we rolled him over, we knew it wasn’t good.

We start motoring in to the yacht club and called 911 (thank goodness for cell phones in emergencies). We lie him down and the woman who is friends with him performed CPR.

But the boat can’t go any faster.

You can’t do anything but watch and hope. It’s such a shock and so unexpected, you’re in denial. No, no, no he’s going to snap out of it. He’s going to be okay. We’re going to have beers with him one day and talk about this.

And the boat can’t go any faster.

Even though it was only about 15 minutes till we reached the dock and the emergency workers who were there to meet us, it seemed like forever.

They worked on him for quite some time. They eventually got some vital signs. They took him up to the ambulance.

Yes, yes, yes…he’s going to be okay. Please.

Fifteen minutes later we get the call that he had died up in the parking lot.

But we all really know he died on the boat with us. From a severe heart attack. He was 57.

I shook hands with this man in the morning and less than 4 hours later he was gone.

Sad. Horrible. Live altering.

One of those things you know you’ll never forget.

Then the questions start in your head.

Why today? Why with us? What if we were further out? What if it was one of us? Why, why, why. Then there’s those big ones. The ‘what am I doing with my life?’ ones. Yikes.

We tell ourselves stories everyday.

I don’t mean the movies and cartoons. I mean all the stuff that goes on in our heads that may or may not be true. That are not fact-based.

Stuff like “I suck.”, “I’ll never get a job.”, “Everyone hates me.” On and on. Are these facts? No, they’re stories. These kinds of stories can be damaging and do us no good.

But sometimes we need the other kind of stories. The better kind.

I need a story for Doug.

Even if I knew all his ‘facts’, I’d still need this story. Just to deal with what happened.

My story for Doug is that he was a sailor. That he’s been sailing for many, many years and he loved it. That it was a twist of fate he ended up on our boat with a crew of new friends. That maybe he was destined to have that severe heart attack on that particular Saturday. Race or no race.

That maybe he lived alone. That maybe he would have been alone if he hadn’t come sailing with us that day. And if he had been alone when that heart attack hit him, no one would have known for a while. And that would have been even more horrible.

That he never knew what hit him and he didn’t feel any pain. That at least he was on the water, doing something he loved when this happened. Among fellow sailors that loved it too.

And he wasn’t alone.

Are these the facts? Doesn’t matter.

I just need to keep telling myself this story. For me and for Doug.

Rest in peace sir.

Thanks for reading. (I’ll try to be funnier next time. Promise.)

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, check out this great guest post by Marcie Begleiter and the contest details at the end.

If you don’t want to watch the video in all it’s silly glory (I mean just look at that screen grab) and just want to know who won…well, it wasn’t you.

Unless your name is Lamont Wayne. 

So congrats to Lamont, yay for Muk Muk and Olympic mitts and yay that I’m still alive and have motivation not to die before June!

Enjoy the video and hopefully I can post another one soon. With educational content and stuff.

If you can’t see the video, click through to the blog here or watch it at Vimeo here:
http://www.vimeo.com/10225639

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Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email because I will post something useful…eventually.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.

Only one birthday. Mine. Today. I’m old.

And only one contest. But it’s my first, so that’s cool.

But first a quick note to say I’m still alive.

Again. And it looks like I can only manage one post a month or so until I finish this contract that may or may not kill me.

You know you’re working too hard when you have to write “Don’t die” in your day planner. (You think I’m kidding…I actually did that. Twice.)

But enough about ‘Kid vs Kat vs Karen’. We have a guest author today! From a real author!

I’ve recommended this book before and I am doing it again. Because the new edition just came out last month. And word has it, my blog is mentioned in the resources. How cool is that? Plus it is one great book on the subject of storyboarding for live-action film.

If that’s what you want to do, get this book.

So in celebration of this second edition of  ‘From Word To Image‘ by the awesome Marcie Begleiter, I bring you a guest post by her. About a little twist to storyboarding  and pitching a film.

Then there will be some details on the little contest we’re having. I’ll give you a hint…FREE BOOK. Signed by the author. (Okay, that was more than a hint.)

Take it away, Marcie!

Visual Pitching: Storyboards on Steroids

By Marcie Begleiter
Author of From Word to Image: Storyboarding and the Filmmaking Process

Since the mid 1980’s my film activities have covered storyboarding, set decoration, art direction, prop design, graphics and even gassing up cars…basically, when a producer or director called, my attitude was ‘You need it, I’ll do it’ (within reason, of course )

The pre-viz work in particular was developed once the financing has been secured, the heads of the production team chosen and then we raced against a production schedule to complete the prep work before the cameras rolled.

But lately a particular request has arrived on my desktop that’s a bit different in character.

Visual Pitching’s time has come.

With production financing a challenge in the best of times, many a director and producer are looking to walk into meetings with more than a practiced verbal pitch. Bringing in visual research that focuses on characters and settings, presenting key frames and flipping though storyboards or even showing animatics in pitch meetings have often been a key to selling Action and SciFi films.

But these materials can also bring inspiration and an expanded avenue of communication to pitches for all manner of projects including character driven stories, romantic comedies or indie dramas.

What comprises a visual pitch?

At the simplest level, it helps to  convey the look and feel of the story and how it will be told in images. There can be references to lighting, to other classic films, to character appearance and even how the film will be shot. Key frames, what I sometimes think of as ‘storyboards on steroids’, are sometimes used to give a snapshot of particular moments of high action or emotion.

These boards are often rendered in color with plenty of detail – quite a bit more developed than the typical editorial board, but not as tricked out as a full-blown production illustration.

Balance is crucial.

Some directors wish to avoid creating a presentation which conveys a sense that all the critical decisions have been made. Some producers want the opportunity to give creative input (did I say “some”?) and being presented with an over-blown visual presentation can backfire.

Including a short scene with traditional storyboards is also an option. Especially with writers who want to direct their own material, an editorial storyboard functions as a ‘dry run’ for showing mastery of visual storytelling as well as, more specifically, editing, shot selection and pacing (if you present it as an animatic).

Spreading the word about visual pitches can be a service that designers and artists provide to ‘above the line’ filmmakers who might not be as familiar with the practice.

It can also provide additional opportunities for you to work on films before the films are fully financed. And if your key frames and storyboards help to ‘seal the deal’ it’s a good bet that the filmmakers will be back for more once the production clock has begun to tick!

About Marcie:
Marcie Begleiter is a designer and writer working in the film and motion media industries. She is the owner/founder of Filmboards, a company which creates visual pre-production material for pitches as well as production and has worked as art director, illustrator and set decorator on dozens of projects for production companies such as HBO, ABC, Tristar, and New Line Cinema. In academia she was Founding Director of the interdisciplinary program at Otis College of Art and Design and is on the Graduate faculty of the Department of Broadcast Cinema at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. She also has served on the faculties of AFI and the International Filmschule in Cologne. The second edition of her bestselling book, From Word to Image; Storyboarding and the Filmmaking Process, has just been released.

To Contact Marcie and see upcoming events visit www.marciebegleiter.com

You can also  order a signed copy of her book, From Word to Image: Storyboarding and the Filmmaking Process by emailing marcie@marciebegleiter.com

You can also buy the book from Amazon and many fine book stores.

Thanks Marcie!

Now about that little contest…

[UPDATE: The contest is officially CLOSED. I\'ll be posting the winner soon. Thanks to all who entered!]

Marcie has graciously decided to GIVE AWAY a signed copy of her book to one of my fantastic readers!

Wee!

How do you enter? Just leave a comment on this post. You can leave more than one, but your name is only counted ONCE.

How do you win? I will literally print out all the comments, cut them up and pull one out of a hat. Probably on video to show it’s legit.

When is the deadline? Let’s say one month from today. March 13, 2010.

How do you get the book? Marcie will contact you by email and then mail it to you. So make sure the email address you use in the comments is one you use and check!

What do you have to say in your comment? It really doesn’t matter. But “Happy Birthday Karen” is a good choice [UPDATE: OK, that\'s kinda old now...as am I.  "I wanna book!" is good] and “Marcie Rocks the Casbah” isn’t bad either. Or even a knock-knock joke. Whatever. You won’t be judged on the comment itself (but gee whiz, have fun.)

Easiest contest ever, right? And let’s face it, I don’t exactly get hundreds of comments around here so your chances are pretty darn good. So comment! Enter! Get a signed book that’s awesome!

And if you don’t win, buy it anyway.

That is all.

You may now go about your Valentine’s Day bitterness and Olympic Games watching. (Not that I care all that much about the Olympics but…Woo Hoo Vancouver!)

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Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to make sure I didn’t die.

(And uh, just ignore that “related post” below. This is a different kind of contest. Oh, the irony…)

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

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Wee! The first official post of 2010!

(Finally.)

And what better way to kick it off than the second part of my interview with Paul Briggs? You can find the first part of my interview with the ‘The Princess and The Frog’ story artist, here.

Enjoy Part 2 and don’t forget to click on the illustrations to get a better view of Paul’s awesome work!

What’s a ‘typical day’ for you as (current) Head of Story when you’re in production?

A typical day as a Head of Story is managing a team of Story Artists to help the Director get their vision up on screen.

That doesn’t mean I completely buy into it. In fact, I feel the biggest part of my job is always being honest and open in questioning and confirming what the Director wants. Together as the story team, we work really hard in supporting or challenging the idea that is being presented on the screen.

There’s also the scheduling side of it all, but that’s no fun!

Is there a process for assigning certain story artists a particular sequence to work on? Do you go with their strengths or is it the ‘luck of the draw’ for them?

We have some pretty incredible board artists at the studio that can do a wide range of scenes but most tend to gravitate to sequences that appeal to them more. So you want to assign sequences that people will have the most fun boarding.

You know you’re going to get incredible work from them but I always like to try and push people out of their comfort zone for a sequence or two. It really challenges them and forces them to keep their skills sharp and grow as a story artist.

The best artists are the ones that you can hand any sequence to and know you’re going to get something special back.

Are feature boards still done with paper and pencil and set up in a story room? Or have things gone completely digital? What are your typical working tools?

You know it all depends on the artist. Some guys here still work on paper but a lot of us work digital now. Whatever makes you comfortable but also allows you the freedom to quickly sketch your ideas down and not become precious with them.

I normally work in Photoshop on a Cintiq and use another program to pitch in. When I’m boarding I actually limit myself to 2 custom brushes, 3 to 4 levels and only 4 different gray values (no color unless absolutely necessary to make a story point.) This limited palette forces me not to get caught up in all the bells and whistles.

I concentrate more on the just getting the idea down rather than a pretty drawing. We pitch all digital on screens that our boards are projected onto.

What is your process for working?

Whether I’m issued script pages or not I always start by breaking the sequence down. I’ll ask myself – “What’s the point of the sequence ? Why is it in the movie? Where is the character at in this point of the journey?”

Once I’ve established all of that then I’ll thumbnail – I usually do 2 – 3 thumbnail passes. I try and get all of my thinking out in these rough thumbnail stages. My first pass is usually really, really rough like jotting notes and scribbles down on a legal pad. Then I’ll do a second pass of thumbnails on a long story pad.

I’m not so much concerned with staging and cinematics – I’m more focused on character at this point. I do a third pass of thumbnails and in this pass I refine a lot of things. Finally, I pin my third pass up on a story panel and redraw it all digitally. That sounds like a lot of work but it’s really not. I work really rough and I never get precious with my early drawings.

After that, I pitch to the directors and the story crew and get notes!

How was it to go back to traditional animation for this film? Is there really much difference for the story team as opposed to working on a 3D film? If so, in what way?

The biggest difference in boarding for traditional versus CG animation is the camera moves. You’re limited in how much you can do with the camera because it’s a painted set and not virtual environment. However, that can be a blessing more than a curse – I think a lot of times camera moves are obnoxious and unmotivated in a lot of CG films.

Any thoughts on the subject of 2D vs 3D? (Not that it’s a war or anything…)

As long as it’s an emotional and entertaining story I’ll watch/work on it whether it’s hand drawn, CG, stop motion or paper cut outs!

Do you think hand-drawn animation is back for good? Are there more hand-drawn films in the works at Disney now?

I sure hope so. I love the art form so much. It was so exciting when The Princess and The Frog was starting up and hearing that ‘paper being flipped’ sound again. There’s nothing like taking a stack of animation paper and rolling a scene.

I remember the first scene I saw was of Dr. Facilier by Bruce Smith and I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. It was like seeing an old good friend return again.

I believe we have more hand-drawn films in the works… but I’m not sure I can say what!

What’s your best piece of advice for people who dream of working as Story Artists in feature animation? How important is education? Experience? What should they have in place before applying? Who has the best shot? (I gotta ask…the people want to know.)

This is a great question!

It’s difficult to be a Story Artist because you have to be skilled at two things.

Being a storyteller and an artist! Hence the name.

The artist part of it is difficult enough and people struggle with just this for a long time. It doesn’t matter where you get your education, but your drawings should convey entertainment, staging/composition, cinematics, mood, acting, gesture, anatomy, perspective, strong silhouettes, energy and tone.

That’s a lot and even once you’ve got it down, you never stop practicing and improving upon these things.

Never stop learning.

When you’re confident with your drawings you can focus on visually telling the story. This is the most difficult thing to learn and practice because you’re basically writing with drawings.

It’s about communicating an idea through your drawings. The people that have the best shot at working in Feature Animation as a Story Artist are able to submit a portfolio of entertaining fresh ideas that read clearly in drawings.

Here’s my biggest teaching advice: It’s okay to eavesdrop! The greatest education I always get is in listening to people talk about their lives. Engage them and ask questions. Old people are always the best to listen to!

People make some very important decisions in their lives – some good, some bad, but it defines character and that choice in my opinion is what makes a great story.

What’s your all-time favorite animated Disney film as a *viewer* and why? What was your favorite one to work on and why? (Besides ‘The Princess and The Frog’, of course!)

My favorite animated film is Pinocchio. It’s a story that’s perfect for animation and it’s a beautiful film. There are so many great moments and messages in the film. Dumbo is a close second with The Incredibles coming in third.

I’ve worked on some amazing films but… I think my favorite is still to come!

~Thanks so much Paul!~

Visit Paul Briggs’ Blog at:
www.pbcbstudios.blogspot.com

For more information on submitting a portfolio to Disney Animation please visit: www.disneyanimation.com

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to catch more cool interviews in the future!

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

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Well, well, well. Look at me.

I’m writing a post! No lazy-ass video this time! Because I have one awesome interview for you!

I bring you Paul Briggs, Story Artist on Walt Disney’s ‘The Princess and The Frog’.

(UPDATE & CLARIFICATION: Oops, my bad! Paul was not, in fact, the Head of Story on ‘The Princess and The Frog’. He was a Story Artist. But he *is* Head of Story on a current, untitled project at Disney at this time. Sorry everybody! I’ve made corrections to this post since publishing it.)

How cool is THAT?

I feel all special and stuff.

And there are original thumbnail and storyboard drawings from him! Feel free to drool on your screen.

But before we get to it, I want to wish all of you a very HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON! Whatever that holiday may be for you.

If it’s nothing…well have a great weekend or something.

This interview is a juicy one, so I’ll be splitting it up into two parts. You get this one now to read at your leisure till 2009 is over. Then you’ll get the rest sometime in January 2010. (2010? My word, where does the time go?)

And the way I’ve been posting in my ‘Kid vs Kat’ haze, this could be the last thing your hear from me till June or something.

I kid, I kid! (Maybe.)

So without further ado, I bring you Paul Briggs, current Head of Story at Disney and proud new Daddy.

Enjoy!

What is your background, education and how did you get started in the animation business?

In 1984 I was 10 years old and I was in a mall at a Walden’s Bookstore and came across ‘The Illusion of Life’ by Frank and Ollie. Even though there was no way we could afford it, my Mom bought it for me and I spent the rest of the day slamming into people, benches and planters because I couldn’t take my face out of that massive book.

That was the day I fell in love with wanting to do animation.

I went to college at the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, Missouri but I wasn’t focused on animation at the time (even though I found out later that Walt himself as well as the great Marc Davis both went to KCAI!) I was focused on doing sculpture, ceramics, painting, and really solid drawing.

I was busy experimenting, having fun, and making a million mistakes and learning from them. A lot of my classmates were talented draftsmen so I was constantly focused on learning and trying to better myself as an artist. We had some amazing drawing classes –including one where we went to a medical university and drew from cadavers for a week!

One of my instructors pressured me to submit a portfolio to the Disney Internship but I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. He pestered me enough that at the last minute I threw a drawing portfolio together in a week and mailed it off. To my surprise and disbelief they called me a couple of weeks later to tell me I was accepted! I was 20 and packed everything in my Jeep and moved to Orlando to work at the Florida Animation Studio.

I trained under Pres Romanillos (supervising animator Shan Yu for Mulan) and David Tidgwell (Head of Effects.) At the end of the program they were hiring in special effects to work on Mulan and I was brought on as an inbetweener!

How did you end up as a story artist? Was that your original plan?

It was great being in special effects animation but I always wanted to do story. I always loved the development of characters and journeys to another world. In effects I saw how a sequence traveled from beginning to end through the animation pipeline and I was constantly examining why those sequences were in the film.

There were some sequences that I was really frustrated with and thought – “This isn’t working at all! I could do better than this .” So I decided “that’s it, either get into story or shut up!” So I really started to focus my learning. I started analyzing film, reading books, and showing my story tests to people I respected and admired.

It’s important to get advice from people who are constructive but aren’t afraid to be honest with you. Dean Deblois is an amazing story artist and a good friend and he gave me great honest feedback.

Story was a LOT more difficult than I expected. I failed over and over and over again but I never gave up and eventually with the right guidance things began to click. In 2001, I was accepted into a story training program and have been boarding ever since! Everyday is a challenge and it constantly keeps all my creative skills in check and I love it.

Can you give us a quick synopsis of ‘The Princess and The Frog’ without giving much away?

The Princess and The Frog is a really tender love story between two people that aren’t looking to fall in love with one another but the more they’re together they discover they were meant for each another.

How does a new film idea get to the production stage at Disney? Are ideas usually pitched from the directors? Do other artists ever get to pitch ideas?

The way films are developed at Disney now is filmmakers pitch 3 ideas to John Lasseter and he guides projects into development. He has filmmakers pitch 3 ideas because he believes the problem with creative people is that they often focus their whole attention on one idea.

So right at the beginning of a project, you unnecessarily limit your options. John is really sharp and he is amazing at finding the world in which a movie is made. I think if you have three really strong ideas John will listen to them whether you’ve directed before or not. He loves being entertained by great ideas.

When an idea is decided upon, do they move right to some preliminary story sketches and storyboarding? Or will a writer get hired first to write (or in this case, the director start writing) the script? What’s the usual process?

Once a project is moved into Development, the Director is surrounded with all the tools necessary to flesh out the world. He’s normally working in broad visual beats supported by Story Artists and Visual Development Artists drawing imagery and ideas and doing tons of research.

Lasseter is constantly checking in on the process and when he feels it’s at a stage that’s ready, a writer is brought in and starts to write the script. After John is satisfied with the script, we board! We normally screen 3 passes of the film before it ever goes into production.

It’s exhausting! But we do this because it’s never going to be right the first time – but we tear it down and figure out what does work and rebuild. There’s something about seeing the visual images that reveals all of the story problems but also starts to reveal the true entertainment of the film. Every time we rebuild it, we rebuild stronger and better.

The story is the base on which everything will be supported on. If it’s not right, everything will crumble around it in down the line.

What was the biggest difference between working with Ron Clements and John Musker compared to directors you’ve worked with in the past? Do they do anything in a unique fashion?

Working with John Musker and Ron Clements is an amazing experience.

First of all, these guys love animation. It’s in their blood and it’s inspiring to sit in the story room and hear them talk about animated films and their personal experiences working in the animation industry.

The next biggest reward to working with them is they have a very strong vision and the experience to carry it out. They’re strong leaders that really know how to craft a film. I learned an incredible amount by watching how they would shape a sequence for The Princess and The Frog through story, editorial and into animation.

The one thing about John Musker is you have to be careful what you’re doing. He’s known for his caricatures and you never want to give him material to draw from! There have been times I’ve looked up to see his keen gaze on me and I know something is being put to paper that I’ll regret later.

~End of Part 1~

Thanks Paul! I’ll have the second part of this interview with many more drawings from Paul in January.

Stay tuned and Happy Holidays!

Visit Paul Briggs’ Blog at:
www.pbcbstudios.blogspot.com

For more information on submitting a portfolio to Disney Animation please visit: www.disneyanimation.com

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email to catch the second part of this great interview!

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

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1. Behind The Storyboards of The Princess And The Frog – Part 2 Wee! The first official post of 2010! (Finally.) And...

And I’m still a lazy ass about my posts because I have made yet another video post. Even though it took me three attempts. My apologies to the folks with slow internet. I tried to keep it short, but I rambled, so it ended up at almost eight minutes.

Sorry.

If you can’t watch it easily, here’s the readers digest version:
- I survived my first Kid vs Kat board (barely).
- My blogoversary is this week! My online baby is two years old (yikes!).
- And I’m switching software from Sketchbook Pro to Flash for various reasons. I’ll report back how that went.

I also said that if you have any requests for blog post ideas, just throw them in the comments. Because my slight writer’s block continues. I guess my brain can only handle a few things at time.

But I hope videos will suffice for the time being.

Because look! I have another stupid expression on my face! (I give up. Truly.) And in case you noticed, yes I throw the same black shirt on for shooting these videos. Rest assured I do, in fact, own other shirts.

If you can’t see the video, please click through to the blog and take a look.

Thanks for your patience and have fun looking at my goofy expressions. I’m a walking cartoon.

UPDATE: If you still can’t see the video, try over at Vimeo here http://www.vimeo.com/7811852

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Get your own Mini Storyboard Critique or One-On-One Consultation! Click here for more info.

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email for probably more video posts. Cause I’m lazy.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

Some related posts other readers have enjoyed:

1. A Woman and Her Cintiq Oh, dear blog of mine. How I have neglected thee....
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How I have neglected thee.

Yes, I’m kinda busy with that ‘work thing’ and all. (Damn that rent and eating thing!) But I figured something out. Like in my Mini Critiques where I’d rather record my feedback to an MP3 than write it out, I’m going to do the same here. Better some kind of post than no post, right?

Plus, you get to mock me in the process.

So I present to you: a new video post!

And look! I have another stupid expression on my face. *sigh*

It’s kind of long (almost ten minutes) so those of you with slow internet connections should go clean your toilet (you know you need to) and come back when it’s cued up.

I talk of working on Kid vs Kat, the new (oooo…ahhh) Cintiq I have and my own stupidity.

Oh, and those of you on the fabulous Storyboard Club Mailing List (see sidebar) will be getting your own little video early next week in the newsletter thingy. No, it won’t be posted on the blog. Sorry!

See? Membership has its privileges.

Without further ado…click play and enjoy! (If you are in a reader, click through to the blog to check it out.)

Sign-up for the Storyboard Club Mailing List and get a Free Storyboard Template Pack!

Get your own Mini Storyboard Critique or One-On-One Consultation! Click here for more info.

Read the Storyboard Blog by RSS Feed or by email for probably more video posts. Cause I’m lazy.

© 2007-2010 Karen J Lloyds Storyboard Blog - All Rights Reserved.

No related posts this time.