Now that we have most of the characters sorted out (well, sort of), let's move on to the scenes.
(The scene part should actually come after storyboarding - where we already know exactly what texts goes to which page and we can then intelligently illustrate the scene as to best fit the texts, story and flow. But sometimes I randomly pick up the scenes from the story just to practice on).
Here, I'm testing out one of the scenes where Mimi asked the little fish what's her name.
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| © Latfy Anuar Latif |
Imagine the illustration above on a 23 cm x 23 cm page. It's big!
So for this series I think there will more detailings on the drawings, so that children can stay longer on the page. Compared to the Anak Dinosaur series (where we have multiple actions/scenes in one page - see below), this series will have less number of total illustrations, but higher level of details.
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For the previous series, I worked on the storyboard first, even when the texts were not yet final. This gave me ample time to plan the illustrations and text placements, and allowed me to be more creative with the flow (two-page spread or one, flip rythm etc), – especially when I'm also writing the book. It allows me to go back to the story and re-arrange the word sequences back and forth. But it would be a bit of a hassle if the texts changed too much afterwards (I have to re-plan/sketch the whole storyboard).
Having said that, however, there is no right way of doing it. Producing picturebooks is an organic process, so there will be discussions to and fro between us (illustrator-writer-editor). Doing the storyboard at the early stage can help us see the flow of the story better, and this may help the writer in fine-tuning the texts – to create drama/suspense and enhance readers' understanding and enjoyment.
Currently I'm juggling between this series and the next one : DR Bubbles & Panda. Both texts are being fine-tuned as we speak. Here's a glimpse of the DR Bubbles & Panda draft storyboard:
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| I learned this technique from our editor - Puan Fazeila Isa. The storyboard is made on a piece of A3 paper that has been folded to provide the creases. In total we'll get 32 pages including dedication and copyright pages. 32 is also the number of pages requested by our publisher, which fits nicely with this method. |
And here's a two-page spread scene sketch based on the storyboard (page 4 and 5):
Normally I begin with placing the texts into the boxes (each box represent a page, even numbers being the left page, odd on the right) and try to see the kind of illustration that will best describe the texts. And since we work in a team, the author has already suggested into which page the text should go. Texts and illustrations should complement each other, and one cannot live without the other (our editors kept reminding us about this mantra). Illustrations should not repeat what is being said, but rather - enhance readers' understanding of the story.
Below is the storyboard of the Anak Ikan:
And here's a scene from page 4 and 5 spread:
Having a spread at the beginning of the story is not a must, but I just like the idea of giving the reader a nice big welcome when they enter a story. And I only do it if it helps with the storytelling.
Sometimes there are not a two-page spread to begin with, but became one later when you realised that you can combine the left scene with the right. Something like the sketch above. The fish in the aquarium is telling the readers about DR Bubbles choosing her as a friend. Then the next scene shows DR Bubbles making a purchase at the pet shop (next page). These two separate pages have been combined to become one seamless two-in-one scene; the fish being in foreground and the other two characters being at the back. This also gives a sense of perspective on a flat two-dimensional page, which is kind of nice :)
Part 5 of this series coming soon, as soon as the editors are happy with the manuscript! :)