{"id":57259,"date":"2015-06-12T09:46:44","date_gmt":"2015-06-12T14:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=57259"},"modified":"2015-06-12T10:34:54","modified_gmt":"2015-06-12T15:34:54","slug":"workflow-tip-storyboard-your-animations-in-adobe-illustrator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/workflow-tip-storyboard-your-animations-in-adobe-illustrator\/","title":{"rendered":"Workflow Tip: Storyboard Your Animations in Adobe Illustrator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doing an involved motion graphics piece? Use Illustrator to create your storyboards and style frames, setting you up to easily move to After Effects!<\/h2>\n

If you work in After Effects<\/strong> a good bit, you\u2019re probably familiar with Adobe Illustrator<\/strong> (if you\u2019re not, then get familiar with it! It\u2019s probably one of the most powerful and versatile tools Adobe has created). You probably know how to create and modify assets<\/strong> for use in After Effects<\/strong>, but have you ever thought of using it to plan a whole motion graphics piece from storyboard<\/strong> to style frames<\/strong>? With a little bit of setup, you can easily create client-ready<\/strong> storyboards and style frames that will transition perfectly over to After Effects<\/strong> when the time for animating comes.<\/p>\n

Creating the Artboard<\/h3>\n

The first step is to set up your initial artboard.<\/strong>\u00a0One of the great things about Illustrator is the ability to have multiple \u201cpages\u201d \u2013 called artboards \u2013 in one document. If you save the file as a PDF, each artboard shows up as a separate page<\/strong> in the PDF – perfect for sending to clients! Set up your initial artboard at your desired animation resolution (1920×1080 in the example below):<\/p>\n

\"Adobe
\nYou\u2019ll end up with one artboard in the middle of your canvas<\/strong> (the total area Illustrator allows you to have artwork in). There\u2019s a tool called the \u201cArtboard Tool<\/strong>\u201d (Shift + O), that allows you to select and move artboards<\/strong> around. I like to use that and shift the first artboard up to the top left corner of the canvas, allowing me to work from left to right, top to bottom from there.<\/p>\n

\"Adobe<\/p>\n

Illustrator does give you ability to create multiple artboards<\/strong> at once and can auto-arrange them into a grid for you, but I like to duplicate each artboard as I work, since style frames often use many of the same assets of the board before it (more on that in a bit):<\/p>\n

\"Adobe<\/p>\n

\"Adobe<\/p>\n

Starting with your first board, you can use Illustrator\u2019s awesome toolset to create infinitely scalable vector art<\/strong> for your animation. If you take the time to make it as close as possible to what you want it to look like now, your client will be able to see a nearly-finished look, and you\u2019ll have your graphics already created for you when you move to After Effects!<\/strong> Here\u2019s an example from part of project I\u2019m currently in the middle of:<\/p>\n

\"Adobe<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice a few things in this setup:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I have the relevant script<\/strong> lines above the board.<\/li>\n
  2. There are red arrows and comments<\/strong> that give direction and notes for the client.<\/li>\n
  3. My designs are pretty close to what the final will be.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Script Lines<\/h3>\n

    For my reference, I put the relevant script lines above each artboard<\/strong> in a text box. This helps me know what lines this panel references, and it\u2019s easy to make a few changes and have these included for the client if needed. Also, even though the script lines are currently outside the artboard, I\u2019ve created the text box to overlap with the artboard just a bit, which will make sure the script box is duplicated when I make a new artboard.<\/p>\n

    \"Adobe<\/p>\n

    Arrows and Notes<\/h3>\n

    When creating storyboards and style frames, bright red arrows and notes are a great way to indicate motion<\/strong> and give some context to your panels. I wanted my arrows to stand out from the rest of the art and make it obvious that they were notes, so I made them bright red<\/strong>, and grabbed a set of stock arrows that had a hand-drawn style as a differentiator (If you\u2019re interested, the set I used was royalty free, and you can find them here<\/a>). I also put my note text in a handwriting font, though of course that\u2019s entirely optional.<\/p>\n

    \"Adobe<\/p>\n

    Polished Designs<\/h3>\n

    The typical animation workflow is to do some hand-drawn storyboards, then create a couple of key style frames, then move to animation. That process works well with this set-up. You can import your scanned storyboards<\/strong> and place one in each panel to easily create a multipage PDF (or just draw your storyboards right in Illustrator if you\u2019d like). When it\u2019s time to create your style frames, you have your storyboards in the right panels as a reference. Once you get your general style, however, I\u2019d suggest finishing out your design in Illustrator rather than jumping right over to After Effects<\/strong> – while it might take you a little extra time, you\u2019ll have a better set of drawing tools, a clear overview of what your whole project will look like, and you can easily transition your artwork over to After Effects<\/strong> when you\u2019re finished.<\/p>\n

    Setting Up Layers<\/h3>\n

    Keeping your file organized will save you some headache later. I\u2019d recommend splitting everything into at least four layers:<\/p>\n

    \"Adobe<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Notes<\/strong> – This is where red arrows and text for the client\u2019s reference go. Having them on a separate layer allows me to easily turn them off when moving over to After Effects.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Script<\/strong> – Keeping your script on a separate layer helps for the same reason as notes: you can easily lock or turn off the layer when copying\/pasting assets or moving over to After Effects.<\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. Artwork<\/strong> – All of the actual designs go in this layer, except for\u2026<\/li>\n
    4. Backgrounds<\/strong> – I like to keep the backgrounds for all of the panels on a separate layer so that I can lock it when I\u2019m working on a particular panel. If it wasn\u2019t on a separate layer, the background would interfere with drag selecting objects and moving things around. One quick lock of the layer and this is no longer a problem. Just don\u2019t forget to unlock it when duplicating an artboard or copying the panel to a new file for After Effects.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Duplicating Artboards<\/h3>\n

      When you\u2019ve got a panel finished and you\u2019d like to make a new one, you can easily duplicate an entire artboard<\/strong>, allowing you to use a previous artboard as a starting point for your new panel. Using the Artboard Tool, and click and drag the artboard you want to duplicate to where you want the new artboard to be. Before you let go of the click, hold down option\/alt,<\/em> which will make a duplicate of the original artboard instead of moving it. A few things to note when doing this:<\/p>\n