It’s taken a long time to get here. A long, long time. So why did it take so long for me to start storyboarding the best parts of the script: the whale and the surfing?

My entire two-second pitch for Hurricane Vendetta is “teen girl surfer revenge whale story.” But it took me a long time to figure out how best to present that. Where do I start? Should I start with the party dress scene? Should I get straight to the surfing and hijinx? What do I show of the good guys? How do I design any of those characters? I have to design weapons now too, don’t I? Blargh.

But good news, I worked it all out. By the time I wrote my third script revision I knew I had nailed what I wanted. It’s fun, it’s bubbly, it’s cute, but it’s also intense and insane. And it showcases what these surfer kids can do like a good pilot should. Now I can finally storyboard the surf sequences! Woohoo.

So these are some of the storyboards for the opening sequence. They’re still fairly rough, but I’m very excited at how this scene is coming together. If this was a Saturday morning cartoon when I was a kid, this would legit be my favorite show. Here are some more background shots leading to this creamy goodness…