Comic Artist - Volume 3 2016

The Dark Knight images © Warner Bros.

Workshops

BRING YOUR COMICS

SKILLS INTO FILMS

Storyboards for film sequences, just like comics, interpret and

visualise a script. Jim Cornish reveals his working method...

N

umerous comic artists also

work as storyboard artists

for film, and the disciplines

are very similar: both are all

about transforming a script

into a sequence of images. A storyboard

artist is part director, designer, writer and

cameraman, required to be imaginative

and creative and to think outside the box.

Whether it’s a Bond movie with multiple

exotic locations and stunt-driven action

sequences or a musical such as Phantom

of the Opera – a studio-based drama

where visual impact is paramount and

dialogue is limited – the storyboard

artist’s talent and skill are put to the test.

You’re directing on paper... but ultimately

you’re still just a pencil monkey.

When faced with a stack of script pages

and a blank screen or sheet of paper,

there’s always that intimidating moment

when you wonder how on earth you’re

going to get started. It’s the beginning of

a journey, and each one is different from

Jim Cornish

COUNTRY: UK

Jim has been

creating

storyboards

for the film

industry for

over 20 years, on such

blockbuster titles as

Harry Potter, Christopher

Nolan’s Dark Knight films

and Skyfall. He now lives

and works in the south-

east of England.

http://www.jimcornish.com

the last! But in reality, getting started is

the easiest part. It’s when you have the

freedom to put your ideas down, free

from the inevitable constraints that

inf luence the sequence as time goes on.

From initial script breakdown to

thumbnails, rough drafts through to

the finished distributed pages, in this

workshop I’ll aim to talk you through

some of the steps, processes and

considerations that present themselves

when storyboarding for film.

Artist insight