Cue the saxophones. She wants to lead…the glamorous life. Of storyboarding independent animation.
In this illustrious world of independent animation, we have the luxurious and decadent activity called “figuring out which software would be best to storyboard this animated mess.” I needed to figure out which one will be best for storyboarding a project on the tiniest budgets on modest hardware. (The budget is presently: Zero.)
In testing out the Pre-Speech scene, I tried two storyboarding apps: Storyboard Pro, and an indie little thing called Storyboarder. My Animation Partner did a great job of finding different software packages to try. The scene itself was fairly simple, with not too much action and focus on character moments. So I figured it’s a good scene to road test the software.
Panel done in Storyboarder
Storyboarder
I first tried this scene out with Storyboarder. A scrappy, independently developed app with buttery smooth pencils and drawing tools. I like how this software reminded me of Celtx way back in the early 2010’s. It was lightweight and fun. It felt intuitive.
Panel done in Storyboarder
But the software had some key features missing. I couldn’t get movies to export which…would be a key feature I’d need in my pipeline. Animation requires mini exports of the storyboard animatics. No exporting…no deal. And with support dwindling, It’s unclear when the developers will release a patched version of Storyboarder. What a shame. I did like this software. Look how good my pencils looked.
Panel done in Storyboard Pro
Storyboard Pro
This is the industry standard for doing storyboards in animation. It’s also a huge memory demand on my small, sad, little Surface Pro 4. But I’m trying.
I’ve been doing all the scenes you fine readers have seen in Storyboard Pro. I can’t seem to get any pressure sensitivity going in Storyboard Pro, so my lines are kinda scribbly. That’s why everything in my storyboards looks like some mess I’d draw with my left hand. My poor little PC is chugging along. It can barely handle funky lines that look like it fell out of a late 90’s flash cartoon. My Surface is plucky. But he’s only capable of so much. I lament my inability to get these boards looking sharper.
My Poor Little Computer trying its best in Storyboard Pro
Other than how brutal it is on my hardware, Storyboard Pro is pretty great. It’s got some rudimentary camera functions. It’s easy to move panels around. The handles on the Panel’s sides can be a little slippery. My Surface can only storyboard about 2 minutes worth of footage. Somehow that feels short. I wonder if that’s a limitation of the software or my pandemic-scarred Surface.
The Verdict
In a perfect world, I would have Storyboard Pro’s editing capabilities with Storyboarder’s buttery smooth tools. I decided to go with Storyboard Pro. Now everything in the old Storyboarder pipeline has to be updated to flow with Storyboard Pro.
Panel done in Storyboard Pro
Also, I did change some of the character designs and script from the first attempt at the scene. So, I had to update all that stuff as well.
This is the Glamorous Life of the Independent animator. Making a storyboard. Re-Writing the Scene. Changing the storyboarding software package. Realizing I have to redo much of that storyboard. Shrugging.
Still beats Office Life.