Professional Advice from our friends at Dreamworks.

Whenever I think of animation and comics, storyboarding is always that one step I forget about. When my thought process starts I'm already motivated to get down to the actual process of making the actual product. It's not unlike how I write music, which in that case is a perfectly acceptable method, but that's just one media. Combining motion, art, and possibly sound is usually best done with some planning ahead. So once again, we have the storyboard. What can our friend Ben Caldwell teach us about them?

-Use dimension. Even 2d animations still have a sense of depth to them. It may just be pen(cil) and paper, but the characters and elements in that scene are still imposed in a three dimensional world. Caldwell recommends using grids firsthand. They imply the presence of a ground with a better sense of angle. When it comes to the final shots, depth is a vital element, and it's best to get that as early as possible.

-Give purpose to actions. You know how in horror movies especially there are all kind of odd camera angles at some points? These all have a purpose. They build an atmosphere and can develop a sense of fear or helplessness. But this also applies to character actions. It's all logically an action and reaction basis. Something happens, character responds. If your character is in the middle of a run cycle but appears to have no explanation as to why, the animation loses any emotion or feeling developed. 

-Connect both your characters and environments. Many already know the theory of foreground, middle ground, and background. This still applies in animation. In your storyboard you need to have a presence of all three or you're stuck to a true 2d platform which severely limits actions you can take. Camera angles and dynamic shots require basis in this theory if you want depth. As for characters: KEEP TRACK OF THEM. Sure it may sound like an obvious tip, but if you have individual scenes for each, it's pretty easy to confuse them when they haven't been very defined at this point. 

What I myself can tell you is that a storyboard should be thought of like a really simplistic comic. You connect the key poses and dialogue points in each scene. What the animation does is connect these key points with movement. It's a basic thesis for me at least. 

Secondly: Never get too deep into it. Remember this is only one step in the process, and taking your sweet time to make a masterpiece is counterproductive to making the final piece. That being said, storyboards are an excellent template to work off sequential art with, but that's a different topic.

Now how about a question? When did the storyboard process start? In animations earliest moments it seems nonexistent, although Disney appears to have used it very early on.

Bottom line is I'm definitely going to look deeper into how I storyboard from now on. My initial idea of it being like a precursor comic wasn't too far off the mark, but I still have to develop these key ideas. Hopefully we'll see some progress in the future!