{"id":25953525,"date":"2026-03-19T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=25953525"},"modified":"2026-03-18T13:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:40:16","slug":"how-to-storyboarding-with-klaus-scherwinski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/how-to-storyboarding-with-klaus-scherwinski\/","title":{"rendered":"Narrative in Action: Three Knights and a\u2026 Shotgun? Storyboarding Techniques for Engaging, Effective Scenes with Klaus Scherwinski"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: This is a guest blog post article written by artist Klaus Sherwinski. The view expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the view of Wacom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Anachronism in Action: I\u2019m Supposed to Draw What?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When I set out last October to give a sketching demo on my brand new Wacom tablet, I didn&#8217;t know what K\u00f6ln\u2019s audience had in store for me. It had been a while since I last spoke at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sae.edu\/alumni\/information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SAE Alumni conference<\/a>, and I wanted to address a topic that is often at the center of my work as a storyboard artist: \u201cHow do we cram three characters into a shot, and still make it read at a quick glance?\u201d I came prepared with THREE topics to guide us safely to our goal &#8230; and then the audience threw me a curve ball!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Narrative in Action | Drawing Live Demo | SAE Alumni Convention 2025\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yjiy4JpU318?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yjiy4JpU318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the video above<\/a> to see the drawing process \u2013&nbsp;and how the audience plunged me deep into anachronism! I was filmed unscripted and live on stage at the Palladium in Cologne, Germany, during the SAE Alumni Conference in October 2025. Tools used were the <a href=\"https:\/\/estore.wacom.com\/en-us\/wacom-movinkpad-pro-14-dtha140l0z.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wacom MovinkPad Pro 14<\/a>, the built-in sketching app Wacom Canvas, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clipstudio.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX<\/a>. Well, and a few years of experience drawing professionally for games like Horizon Forbidden West, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora or Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. But let\u2019s dive right in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"336\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Sketch_Render_Comparison_HORIZONAL_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953528\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Sketch_Render_Comparison_HORIZONAL_01.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Sketch_Render_Comparison_HORIZONAL_01-980x299.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Sketch_Render_Comparison_HORIZONAL_01-480x147.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Note: The only thing magical in this composition is that there is a shotgun in a stone.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What do Pythagoras, the Pope, and a Storyboard Artist Have in Common?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Answer: <\/strong>They all think the number THREE is magical!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can only speak for the latter, but let me break it down for you what this \u201cdivine digit\u201d can mean for you in the context of setting up a complex shot that nicely guides the viewer through the image without overwhelming them. Here are the three main techniques to keep in mind. Beginners have to learn them,  professionals have to <em>live<\/em> them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rule of Thirds,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family of Three, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Three planes of depth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please note that, ideally, you think of these already as you are sketching. If you tackle them only in the rendering phase of the drawing, you will come to notice that you wasted a lot of time and energy during sketching \u2013 and no professional artist has time for that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Thirds.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953529\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Thirds.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Thirds-980x599.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Thirds-480x293.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>\u201cTarget acquired!\u201d &#8211; Robocop<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rule of Thirds: Meet me at the Crossroads! <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Rule of Thirds<\/strong> directs us to draw lines (in the above illustration, they are blue) to separate a frame into thirds and place important storytelling elements where the lines cross. There is nothing magical about these points, however. What is important is keeping everything central to the narrative in a virtual &#8220;live area&#8221; (the white outline above) and guiding the beholder&#8217;s eye <em>into<\/em> the composition without letting it escape. Having major storytelling elements on the edge of the frame would be detrimental to that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you can see, I placed the main character&#8217;s face on one of the crossing points (the blue circle). Now, how important is the knee of the knight with the halberd on the left, you ask? It\u2019s not important at all. It\u2019s only relevant that the character\u2019s face is not too high so he doesn\u2019t lead our gaze out of the picture; that knee ending up on the other cross point is just due to the circumstance of the posing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shotgun is placed centrally in the middle, cementing it as the main element (I spoke more on that topic in the video above). The shotgun is also most important because there is only ONE of it. And this brings us to our next point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Family.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953530\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Family.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Family-980x599.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Family-480x293.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Man, I\u2019m really bad at color.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2) Family of Three: Repeat, Resize, Rearrange<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We hate repeating ourselves, that\u2019s why smart people never do it in the same way. This technique is as simple as it is effective: Always include elements that you repeat in big, medium, and small versions. Indeed it doesn\u2019t always have to be three, because nature doesn\u2019t repeat itself with intent like that. How many different sized rocks can you spot? Could I have done a better job and vary it more? Perhaps I could even have included rock elements in the near foreground to give the camera a nice frame to peep through. Is this necessary however, or does this composition already work as is? That\u2019s where your personal taste comes in. No drawing tool will make these decisions for you, but that\u2019s exactly why we are fans of specific artists \u2013 we like their taste!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notice how the knights are shown, varying in size but also in pose. They are indeed the core of the storytelling in this image. Their poses are going from holding their weapon ready with both hands (the one farthest away from us), to freeing a hand to potentially grasp at the central object (the knight on the left), to kneeling down and establishing contact with the ground with one hand while using the other to keep his comrade back (the knight nearest to us). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main knight has obviously dropped his staff weapon already (as it&#8217;s not visible in the frame), thus giving him more opportunity to act. This diversity in pose gives us a form of sequential storytelling; an illusion of movement, all in one single shot. What it also does is give us what is called a scale cue. Assuming human beings of similar age are also of similar size we can deduct that the smallest knight is also the furthest away from the camera. I have also employed another technique to help with creating depth, and it\u2019s the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Depth.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953531\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Depth.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Depth-980x599.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Depth-480x293.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Worst stage lighting ever!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3) Three Planes of Depth: Values, Detail, Color<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I am aware we don\u2019t have color in this one; blue and green are just to identify planes of depth. Storyboard artists rarely use color, but if you check out our recording of the live demo, you will notice me addressing what is called stage lighting in this context, i.e. the purposeful changing of the light\u2019s color depended on how far from the observer we are. The big point here however, is that depth is more important than almost anything else. Techniques like overlap and scaling \u2013 see above \u2013 are great for creating depth, but so are value and detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notice how the main subject of our image is the knight up front getting a close up look at the shotgun (blue). We use the darkest areas and biggest amount of highlights for everything on this plane. We draw the most texture on the uniform, show ornaments on the pauldrons (armor), and give the face the most rendering; we create the most volume and employ strong outlines on this main character and his object of desire thereby making them pop to the front of the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Compare this to our second knight character (green, the middle plane). No black areas, less highlights, thinner line work and no separating outline. The overall shape is just a medium grey flat area, something I haven\u2019t even done for the third one. The third and smallest knight is very washed out, and his face is so rudimental that we can\u2019t even discern eyeball from eyebrow. He becomes one with the background plane. It\u2019s very easy to zoom in on a digital drawing tool in order to draw all that detail; not giving in to this takes restraint. And that was actually my last point for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Narrative in Action | Sketch to Final\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Tk8taD8gecs?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stop While You Can!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I started out as a comic book artist for Heavy Metal Magazine 20 years ago, so I am very prone to over-rendering, i.e. \u201cdrawing details where we know they are, but our eyes normally wouldn\u2019t actually perceive them.\u201d That said, details in comic books can work slightly differently than in storyboarding, and I\u2019m happy to talk about that another time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Case in point, I\u2019ve just started on a comic book short story for publication later in 2026, which is easy because the Wacom MovinkPad line comes with a free trial license for Clip Studio Paint, the preferred drawing app for Mangaka and comic artists around the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I hope I could inspire you to pick up the pencil or stylus yourself and give it a shot (no pun intended)! Looking forward to catching you on another digital excursion or at a real-life game, art, or animation event soon!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:22px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1100\" height=\"672\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Final.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953532\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Final.jpg 1100w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Final-980x599.jpg 980w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Final-480x293.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1100px, 100vw\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>\u201cWait, did I leave the stove on?\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25953533\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Headshot.jpg 500w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2026\/03\/Klaus-Scherwinski-Headshot-480x720.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 500px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.storyboardklaus.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.storyboardklaus.com\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Klaus Scherwinski<\/a> is a veteran storyboard artist who contributed to games like Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Horizon Forbidden West, and many other projects. When he doesn\u2019t give master classes on visual storytelling he is very busy creating concept art, comic books, illustrations and indeed storyboards for clients around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Follow his work at <a href=\"https:\/\/storyboardklaus.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">his website<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/storyboardklaus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artstation.com\/klausscherwinski\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ArtStation<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Klaus Scherwinski is a veteran storyboard artist who contributed to a variety of major video game franchises. In this guest post, he gives crucial storyboarding advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":25953527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2317,2345,2338,6072],"tags":[6153],"class_list":["post-25953525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-drawing-painting","category-gaming","category-how-to","category-movinkpad","tag-klaus-scherwinski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25953525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25953525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25953525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25953527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25953525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25953525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25953525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}