Developing Characters, Environments, and Story Boards

Instructor Mary Jane Begin is an award-winning illustrator and author of children’s picture books, a Rhode Island School of Design graduate and professor in the Illustration Department.

In this course, Mary Jane will help viewers learn about the components of developing a visual narrative and learn about best practices for creating more believable characters, authentic worlds and compelling, dynamic visuals that tell a story.

She will cover the following topics

• Creating a cast of characters
• Developing characters through multiple iterations
• Creating a turn-around
• Inventing environments
• Designing images/storyboards
• Layout and understanding light, stylization, and overall pacing of imagery.

Mary Jane will also guide viewers through developing compositions, creating depth of field and merging real and imaginary worlds. The course will come to life through real-world projects both from Mary Jane and from other masters of the industry.

• Class Introduction
• Start with Words and Ideas
• Drawing it Out: Creating Character Shape and Gesture
• Exploring Movement, Facial Expression and Costume Design
• Developing a Cast of Characters with Style
• Color Scripts
• Developing a Style
• Creating Compositions with Perspective and Dramatic POV
• Storyboards, Animatics and Layouts
• Creating Rhythm and Continuity Between Scenes or Pages
• Consideration of Light, Stylization and Overall Pacing
• Terms for Making Books
• Critique of Audience-Submitted Illustrations