Storyboarding software for Portfolio

 As part of the animation, I will be doing storyboarding as it is an essential part of animating. Storyboarding gives references and key frames for animation and how scenes will play out. However for the 2-3 minute animation, not much of storyboarding is required. I will be looking at what app I will be using and how to use it for my portfolio project.

 The app that I will be using is simply called 'Storyboard' and it will be used on my iPad. Storyboard is a simple gallery app with playback feature, by opening the app, a blank screen is shown.

 I selected the '+' button on the top right corner to create a new storyboard project. Once a new project is created, I drew one frame on the canvas to start with the storboarding.

 Storyboard, just like a conventional drawing app, has layers features as well. This allows me to add subtle details about how a frame or a scene will go. For example I drew a green line to show the movement of the hand. However one drawback I faced was that the layer feature is fairly limited, it can only display 3 layers at once. I particularly find this frustrating because this limits me in frames on what I can do to make sure I get a clear picture for storyboarding.

 Another feature I find very useful is the dialog window, the icon on the bottom left with '^' symbol will pop up a separate window.

 This dialog option is very useful, I will be putting important notes on to how the scenes will play out. I can also add information about the action and what sound effects will be used in that particular scene.

 Once key frames are made, the gallery will be filled with drawings in an order, starting from left to right. 

 

 Each frame is given a number automatically so it is easier to identify which frame being edited or played.

 All in all it is a useful program, one that will allow me to keep in track with my animation and making sure that what scene needs particular attention for the animation. However one disadvantage about this app is that this is also a in-app purchase, meaning to get the features such as removes limits on frames, onion skin and size persistence. I find this frustrating to enjoy the privelage of using simple tools but at the end of the day, the animation is not highly sophisticated, so I can ignore the drawbacks.