Exposure in Storyboards
So I’ve been thinking a lot about Devin Korwin’s tutorial on exposure in painting. (See previous post) I think it is a very useful thing to keep in mind when you’re storyboarding, especially when working on scenes with strong, story-driven lighting.
Of course when working on a storyboard we usually only use black, white and a small number of tones. It is different than the color information Devin is trying to get right. But I think understanding exposure is still a very useful skill to bring to the table. Especially if you connect it to exposure as it works in film and photography, since it is basically our job to give an impression of the frame as it will look when being shot on camera.
So what the exposure in painting tutorial breaks down to for me is this, you either expose for the light or you expose for the shadow. If you expose for the light, all objects that are caught in the light will be clearly defined and detailed but the parts of the frame that are in the shadow will be dark and flat. If you choose to expose for the shadow it means that all parts of the frame that are in the shadow will have detail to them, but the parts where the light is will be over-exposed, meaning, flat and lacking detail. In general it is unrealistic to have detail in both the shadow parts and the fully lit parts.
I find this concept helpful because it will make it easier to board panels where the lighting plays a specific role. If you’re boarding a scene where to people are talking on a terrace it might not really be of much importance, and even though exposure will definitively play a part in the final frame you might not need to worry about it. But if you're boarding a scene where somebody steps from a sunny street into a dark store it might help you to quickly set the scene.
In this post I have selected a number of examples from animation production, or personal work by professionals from the animation industry. All these images have strong, story driven lighting and I believe that Devin Korwin’s theory on exposure applies to all of them. Some are exposed for light, others for shadow. (I determined myself if these images are exposed for light or shadow, you might not agree, if you feel I get it wrong feel free to let me know in the comments)
1. Scott Watanabe, concept art from The Princess and the Frog
A wonderful drawing. Tiana stands in the old factory where she wants to build her restaurant. This image is exposed for shadow, showing detail in the darker places and the light falling in from above is over-exposed.
2. Storyboard panel by Chris Palmer
A dark and suspenseful image. (Not sure what this is from, possibly a personal project) Even though the room is dark the image is exposed for the available light, not the shadows. Note how the big drop shadows hitting the woman are all flatted out. We only see detail in the places hit by the soft light from the candle.
3. Breach, by Clio Chiang
A few years back Clio Chiang did a wonderful run of MerMay sketches. (Where you do a mermaid drawing every day during the mont of May) This image is exposed for the shadows. Note how the most detail is under water. The bright sky is almost flat, but if you look closely you can make out some clouds.
4. Storyboard from Coco, by Dean Kelly
Exposed for the shadows, notice how we don’t seen any details in the brightly lit background. All the detail we can see is in the parts kept in the shadow. A fitting choice for a shot where a character is revealing the darkness inside him. (Also notice how Dean Kelly uses contrast in detail to lead the eye. The overall panel has little detail, except for the area around de la Cruz’s eyes)
5. Storyboard from Lady and the Tramp, by Joe Rinaldi
A wonderful and classic story moment. Lit by the candle on the table Tony and Joe serenade the two love birds, erm, love dogs . . . ? The shadows are dark and flat, the visible detail is in the areas where the candle light hits: this image is exposed for light.
6. Storyboard from Coco, by Ronnie del Carmen
Exposed for the light. Hector and Miguel go to Chicharrón to borrow his guitar. His house is dark, Chich is lying in his hammock. In this panel you see we can only make out the details in the areas hit by the light from the moon. I love how Ronnie didn’t draw in any detail in the dark edges of the frame. This is a perfect example of why I’m interested in exposure for storyboards, it can add mood and atmosphere and if you know what you’re doing you’ll need to draw less to achieve it!
7. Concept art from Jungle Book, unknown artist
Isn’t this a great drawing? But the exposure in this one confused me a bit! At first I figured it was exposed for shadow, the light hitting Mowgli and Bagheera is really flat and without any details. The shadow area around them does have detail to it. But then the statue is only detailed in the area where it is touched by light? Note how the details disappear higher up and in the background, where the sun isn’t able to find a way through the canopy. So my conclusion is that the image is exposed for the indirect light, the reflection of the sun coming through. The place where the sun hits directly, the spot where the characters are standing is over-exposed, the reflection of this bright spot is what lights the statue and that’s what the image is exposed for.
8. Next 5 panel, by Lissa Treiman
Another tricky one, because this scene (from one of my all-time favorite Next 5’s) has some extreme light and shadows. It is set in a dark church, in the middle of a sunny dessert. So while the only light inside comes from the candles, the light outside is super bright as the sun is high in the sky. And that light finds its way into the dark church. But if we look at the characters we see that the detail is in the light areas, the parts of their body left in the shadow are flatted out. So I believe this one is also exposed for light.
9. Storyboard from Monster’s University, by Louis Gonzales
Mike is sitting alone in the dark. There’s some light coming though the blinds and it seems as if there’s an open door just off-screen, a shaft of light falls across the room. This example is closest to the example in the previous post: if you expose for light use two shades for the light and one dark shade for the shadow, if you expose for shadow use two shades for the shadow and one bright shade for the light. Note how Mike is a different, darker grey than the rest of the shadow-are, while the places where the light is are just flat white. This storyboard is exposed for shadow.
10. Storyboard panel, by Austin Madison
A panel from a Next-5-like story game, where Austin Madison drew a short storyboard inspired by the word ‘squire’. Our attention goes to th e character in the foreground, who is standing in the shadow. In the background we see a knight suiting up, the sun is falling on him through the open door of the tent. The detail is in the shadow areas, the light is flatted out: this panel is also exposed for shadow.
These are my thoughts. Hope you like these examples. (I sure do!) As I mentioned above this is my opinion, I could be wrong. I’m also aware that most if not all of these examples were made by people who weren’t thinking about exposure in this way. But that doesn’t mean their work doesn’t adhere to this theory!
