Shay Commander

My approach with storyboarding is interested with the environment, interaction, and body language. I always want to see more stories interested in the setting. Asking yourself “why is my story set here and why couldn’t it be set anywhere else?” consider yourself, understand your story, try to find something inside of it that is entirely unique in that way. Make characters that couldn’t fit in any other world, draw worlds that don’t belong in animation- find something that breaks the rules, even in little ways. My work on “Starcrossing” includes tapestry design elements and consideration for 3D and 2D animation interacting- bringing the old and the new together for something entirely modern.
I was first invested in entering animation as a career when I looked into Pendleton Ward’s personal work- I understood then that animation could be about anything you want. Animation was about pushing the boundaries of what could be captured in real life. Limbs could move in any way you liked- eyes could blink sideways- hair could have a personality. Animation, to me, goes past understanding literal movement- it can twist and contort the body to show complex inner feelings that you could never interpret from real life. It's body language to it's highest degree. 

When I’m not waxing stupidly poetic over design- I'm also a contracted illustrator and comic artist! You can find some of my published work in “Sensory: Life on the Spectrum” published by Andrews McMeel.