Drawing tools and programmes

Like most storyboard artists, I'm constantly experimenting with making my boards look better ( and making the job easier for myself). I use a Cintiq for drawing on the computer-it's less than perfect, but I guess it's the best available at the moment.

I've experimented with various drawing programmes - they all have their advantages and drawbacks - and still haven't found one that ticks all the boxes. Currently my preferred programme is Sketchbook Pro. It has most of the tools I need apart from the facility to draw straight lines quickly off the vertical or horizontal (it has a good versatile ruler, but using it slows things down).

Strangely, I'm veering back towards doing all the drawings in pencil and scanning those in and adjusting level because it's more intuitive, tactile and frankly, quicker.

I've tried drawing in photoshop -it does straight lines off angle easy-peasy - but there's no tactile sense to any of the brushes I've used or created. One of the things I like about Sketchbook is that the choices are limited -Painter defeated me due to unlimited options- and the method of enlarging and reducing on-screen feels much more intuitive than any other programmes I've tried. Colouring in Sketchbook, though is a chore -I do all that in Photoshop.

Manga I've tried - good for a comic feel but slow for flicking in and out of, and I even gave ArtRage a shot. It does very little that other programmes don't do better.

What are your preferred methods and why? Over to you guys...

Stan Shaw, Color Storyboards

Won't go into what these are for, but they were my first stab at full color storyboards in a while.

Over 30 in all, they were done with the idea that they may have a life in print at sometime way way in the future.

Also technically and creatively it worked to keep the background and foreground figures separate. Used Sketchbook Pro and Photoshop plus a bit of InDesign in the organizing phase.  I talk a bit more about them on my blog.

Even though the schedule was tight on producing these, I enjoyed the chance to take the art to this level of finish.  Normally the bulk of my storyboard work is rushed and line or tone. But these benefited from a longer more thoughtful  approach, and my up front work in character and background design and concepts.  

I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions.

Update: Since the project has not been completed, I thought it best to remove the images.

Stan

When things go smoothly (the rare times, I mean)

I don't like to work fast. Or since our works are always hasty, I'd better say I don't like to work this fast.
I made this job on january 2009. The client was an agency in Milan and the product was Mini. The first call came about 6 hours pm. It was the desperate call from a new client (the very first call, when you know that he's calling you of course because his favorite artist is not available and you say yes to everything).

The brief came in ten minutes and I sent this rough scribbles (everything was made with photoshop on a cintiq):

In half an hour I received an ok with no big corrections and made this clean-up.

I sent it again to the client that answered immediately: no changes!

As I finished a couple of frames I sent them to the client to allow him to work on the presentation. The last to frames were sent about 6 am, about 12 hours after the first contact.

The client was very satisfied of the job (mainly because the idea was approved).

About one month after it was on tv. This is the video:

blogged by freekhand