Impossology

Now that September has arrived and school is back in session, my schedule feels more predictable. This has allowed me to make good progress on Impossology.

My current goals are to finalize the outline (which I've already completed), create sample pages, and develop a pitch for publishers. While working on the outline, my friend and fellow storyteller, Dirk Van Dulmen, suggested I try making beat boards. It’s an approach that is sometimes used in animation, but I thought it would be an interesting approach for the comic.

Dirk showed me Hayao Miyazaki's book of beat boards for Princess Mononoke, a picture book version of the movie's first draft. It proved to be a fantastic way to work out the story and character designs before moving on to the detailed thumbnails.

It’s extra work, so I'm not sure if I'll use beat boards for the entire book, but it's definitely been a valuable storytelling exercise.