Once you have worked out any story kinks in your Rough Board Revisions use the Clean-up pass to refine your drawings, add tone to strengthen compositions and fill in any needed panels to communicate story flow and camera moves. This is also where all camera notations are clearly communicated.
While old school story artists use registered paper (taking advantage of the animation disc/light table) most of you will be redrawing directly over your scans in Photoshop or using the drawing tools in Storyboard Pro. Either method will allow you to refine your images, add tone, and solve issues around having to repeat backgrounds as each shot may require multiple panels to convey action. At this point you should be working in layered drawings that will most easily translate into a Story Reel.
Points to remember about Final Boards/Clean-up pass:
- Work out staging/camera problems before the Clean-up stage
- Work digitally to take advantage of multiple layers, shot construction tools and formatting options.
- Refine drawings for better clarity. Add tone as needed to enhance composition and to underscore lighting and mood.
- Shot Numbers at this point are still fluid until the Story Reel has been edited and approved.