better identify as being real. The storyboard poses are the best poses possible to reveal and
show off each character.
Characters in storyboards are posed in extremes. That means the poses are the most
exaggerated poses in that scene with an imaginary and dynamic line of action shooting
through each one. They are bold! They make a statement! All key poses are drawn, showing
the starting and stopping poses of each action. Distinct changes are made between each pose.
That way the layout people will draw strong, exaggerated poses, giving animators and assis-
tants strong action to animate. Otherwise scenes would be boring, and not much would
happen. Poses are drawn “in silhouette.” If all you could see of a character was a silhouette,
you could still make out the action. Silhouetting makes the action clearer and quickly rec-
ognizable. Figures 10.1 through 10.5 show examples of silhouetting.
Storyboard for Writers 157Figure 10.1 (a) The action here is not instantly clear. (b) It should be silhouetted like this instead.
Figure 10.2 (a) The action is silhouetted against the sky. (b) Effective down shot on characters sil-
houettes their action.
Artwork by Alvaro A. Arce.