How to Check Your Storyboard and Design for Continuity

Overview: Continuity is a crucial element of an illustrated book’s design, as it ensures a cohesive visual experience for readers. Inconsistent character details, settings, or styles can disrupt the reader’s engagement and reduce the overall impact of your book. To create a professional and polished final product, it’s essential to review your storyboard for continuity in character appearances, settings, and artistic style. In this article, we’ll discuss how to check for continuity across all spreads of your illustrated book and provide tips for maintaining consistency throughout your design.

What Is Continuity in Illustrated Book Design?

Continuity in illustrated book design refers to the consistent appearance and style of characters, settings, and visual elements throughout the book. This means ensuring that characters look the same from one spread to the next, that environments are depicted with the same level of detail and coloring, and that the overall artistic style remains cohesive, even if scenes or environments change.

Lack of continuity can lead to confusion and disrupt the flow of the story, making it difficult for readers to follow along. For example, if a character’s size or appearance changes drastically from one spread to the next, readers may become distracted or disengaged.

How to Check for Continuity in Your Storyboard and Design

Follow these steps to check your storyboard and design for continuity and ensure a cohesive visual experience:

1. Review Character Consistency Across Spreads

Characters should appear consistent throughout the book. Pay attention to:

• Size and Proportions: Make sure characters’ sizes and proportions remain the same across spreads. Avoid having a character appear larger or smaller without a narrative reason (e.g., distance or perspective).
• Expressions and Poses: Check that characters’ facial expressions and body language align with the events of the story. Avoid having characters display emotions or poses that contradict the narrative.
• Physical Details: Ensure that characters’ physical details, such as hairstyles, clothing, and accessories, are consistent across all illustrations. Small details like eye color or markings should remain unchanged.

2. Evaluate Settings and Backgrounds for Continuity

Settings and backgrounds should remain consistent in style, perspective, and coloring:

• Setting Continuity: If the story takes place in the same environment for multiple scenes, make sure that the background elements (e.g., buildings, furniture, trees) remain consistent in appearance.
• Perspective and Angle: Maintain consistent perspective and angles for recurring settings to avoid confusing shifts in viewpoint.
• Color Palette and Lighting: Use the same color palette and lighting for each scene within the same setting. If a scene takes place in different lighting conditions (e.g., day vs. night), make sure the change is deliberate and visually clear.

3. Ensure Consistency in Artistic Style

Artistic style refers to the overall look and feel of the illustrations, including the use of shading, textures, and line work. Consistency in style helps create a unified visual experience:

• Shading and Textures: Ensure that shading techniques and textures are applied consistently across all spreads. Avoid using highly detailed shading on one spread and flat shading on another unless it serves a narrative purpose.
• Line Work and Brush Strokes: If using line work or brush strokes, make sure they are applied uniformly throughout the book. Changes in line weight or stroke style can create a jarring effect.
• Illustration Detail Level: Keep the level of detail in the illustrations consistent. Avoid having highly detailed illustrations on one spread and overly simplified ones on another.

4. Look for Consistency in Visual Storytelling Elements

Review other visual storytelling elements, such as color schemes, patterns, and motifs, to ensure they are applied consistently across the book:

• Color Schemes: Use consistent color schemes for recurring elements, such as characters’ clothing or setting details. Changes in color should be deliberate and meaningful.
• Patterns and Motifs: If using patterns or motifs (e.g., recurring symbols or designs), make sure they are consistently applied and maintain the same style.

5. Review the Flow of the Storyboard

Look at the entire storyboard to see how the story flows visually from spread to spread:

• Flow of Action and Movement: Ensure that action and movement are depicted consistently and logically. Characters should move naturally from one spread to the next.
• Transitions Between Scenes: Make sure transitions between scenes are smooth and do not create abrupt visual or narrative shifts.

Best Practices for Maintaining Continuity in Your Design

Create a Style Guide for Reference

Develop a style guide that includes character sheets, color palettes, and reference images. Use the style guide as a reference to ensure consistency across all illustrations.

Use Templates or Guides

Use templates or guides to help maintain consistent proportions and placement of elements. This can be especially useful for recurring settings or complex illustrations.

Make Adjustments in the Storyboarding Phase

Use the storyboarding phase to make adjustments to continuity issues. It’s easier to fix inconsistencies at this stage than in the final illustration stage.

Solicit Feedback from Others

Ask others to review your storyboard and point out any inconsistencies they notice. A fresh set of eyes can help identify areas for improvement.

Review Continuity Regularly

Continuity checks should be a regular part of your design process. Review the storyboard multiple times throughout the project to catch and correct any issues.

Final Notes: Maintaining continuity in your storyboard and design is essential for creating a cohesive and professional illustrated book. Use this guide to review your characters, settings, and artistic style across all spreads, and make adjustments to ensure a unified visual experience for readers.