Thursday, August 26, 2010

Random Story Sketches (How To Train Your Dragon) 2006

These panels are taken from a an early first-pass in which Hiccup tries to get his stubborn, disinterested little dragon to catch fish for him. Note: Staying true to the book at the time, Toothless was portrayed as a smaller type of dragon that spoke in the third person and had a penchant for corny jokes and riddles. While pitching the sequence I had to say things like, "Toothless no want to catch fish! Toothless want more jokes!" (Ugh!) It soon became evident that the tone of the movie was sounding a bit too juvenile, and so the dragon was rendered mute. It wasn't until much later, however, that Toothless was changed to the larger Night Fury dragon that was in the movie.

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21 comments:

  1. Jenny LerewAugust 26, 2010 at 7:20 PM

    Hiccup using Toothless to fish for him, launching him from his arm like a falcon and watching him go...it was really charming stuff--and (it goes without saying) beautiful.

    Some or all of these were on paper, weren't they?

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  2. Toby SheltonAugust 26, 2010 at 9:42 PM

    Yeah, Sharpie on paper. Some of them were scanned and digitally enhanced with color or tone.

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  3. AMBUJ JOSHIAugust 26, 2010 at 9:47 PM

    amazing stuff

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  4. Clay KaytisAugust 27, 2010 at 12:51 AM

    Beautiful stuff Toby! (right-click, SAVE!)

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  5. Juan BautyAugust 27, 2010 at 1:28 AM

    Adorable! is a baby Toothless, or other dragon?

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  6. chromasketchAugust 27, 2010 at 5:12 AM

    what kind of paper do you draw on for the boards? are they pre-made panels?

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  7. Katya BowserAugust 27, 2010 at 7:13 AM

    that little toothless is adorable!! he reminds me of my little 10 pound dog :)

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  8. Toby SheltonAugust 27, 2010 at 12:02 PM

    To answer some of the questions above...Not a baby, but a different kind of dragon altogether that was smaller and less ferocious...Yes, pre-cut pads of paper with a medium tooth.

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  9. Danny ArayaAugust 28, 2010 at 11:36 AM

    I LOVE seeing these! I search daily for examples of professional storyboard sequences from these animated movies, occasionally getting lucky in DVD bonus features. Thanks a bunch for sharing!

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  10. gcastro3dAugust 28, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    Pretty amazing stuff. Any suggestions as far as drawing books or similar that you'd recommend?

    -George

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  11. Rich T.August 28, 2010 at 8:43 PM

    Toby, thanks for sharing these! Beautiful work. Even though the movie went through a lot of changes, it seems they tried to keep as much of the charm of your portrayal of this relationship as they could. It looks to me that this sequence might have inspired the bit where the little Terribles curl up with Hiccup.

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  12. Quentin LebegueAugust 29, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    !!!!!!!!!!! AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!
    This kind of stuff is just pure gold to me.
    You can't even imagine how useful it is !
    Keep them coming ! And I'd love to see a complete sequence, it would be so cool !...

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  13. OV!August 30, 2010 at 9:39 AM

    beautiful.

    >oVi

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  14. Jason ScheierAugust 31, 2010 at 4:22 PM

    FLAT OUT AMAZING WORK TOBY!!

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  15. ekuskaAugust 31, 2010 at 6:29 PM

    Yeah.. AMAZING. Thank you so much for posting these. Im on the outside looking to get into features, and seeing your work reminds me to get straight to the emotion and the moment.. and not waste time drawing throwaway details. Very nice work man.. And the KFP panels as well. awesome.

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  16. nickwatsonSeptember 8, 2010 at 11:50 AM

    terrific

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  17. DorseytunesOctober 23, 2010 at 3:36 AM

    Thanks Toby. You're drawings are inspiring. I'm studying your work to learn.

    My toothless attempt

    Thanks again!

    Joe

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  18. UnknownDecember 21, 2012 at 5:09 AM

    WOW, that is a treat for eyes. Love it.

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  19. Catherine EschJune 28, 2013 at 4:40 PM

    These are beautiful...you are a talented artist and these drawings have a lot of charm to them.

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  20. Katy HargroveJuly 24, 2013 at 5:06 PM

    Dawwwwww.... Adorable.

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  21. ArnaApril 12, 2015 at 8:15 AM

    Beautiful charming, tho different from the final movie...great to see.

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