Mr. Miacca

Storyboards

Set in a small town during the fall.

Mr. Miacca's wife just recently passed away. The small town accuses Mr. Miacca of murder. (She was unknowingly allergic to a plant and Mr. Miacca is a gardener. The plant in question was given to Mrs. Miacca by her mother-in-law.)

Tommy walks to school everyday. His mom warns him to not take the shortcut through the woods where Mr. Miacca lives. His mother also lectures him about being late to school and she inadvertently causes him to be late.

He takes the shortcut to avoid being late and the school bully's. It is unusually dark and creepy when Tommy sees Mr. Miacca digging. Tommy assumes Mr. Miacca is digging a grave, so he runs away.

Tommy is scolded by his teacher in front of the whole class. He is picked on by the other students because of this. (Children mimic adult behavior.)

When Tommy walks home from school, he gets jumped by the bully's. He is punched in the face and passes out. On the way home from the grocery store, Mr. Miacca finds Tommy laying on the side of the road and takes Tommy home with him.

Tommy wakes up in Mr. Miacca's brightly colored home. Tommy goes outside and notices all the seeds and plant bulbs. Mr. Miacca plants a tree into the hole while Tommy watches.

Then, Mr. Miacca feeds a deer and a couple of birds. Tommy realizes that Mr. Miacca isn’t so scary after all.

Tommy trips and falls into a deep hole meant for a tree. He wakes up in his own bed and hears talking downstairs. Mr. Miacca told Tommy's mother he had been bullied at school which is why he cuts through the forest.

The last image is Tommy's mother reaching out to her son.

Project History

I originally started this project in Fall 2012 as a class project. We were given a basic story

(Mr. Miacca) and told to make this story into storyboards. We could change the story, which I did. The original was too dark for my taste. I kept the title (Mr. Miacca) and the original character names (Mr. Miacca and Tommy). I added Tommy's mother.

I am taking this project to a new level. I am a much better artist than I was 6 years ago. I originally attempted to draw everything in Photoshop and it turned out decent for a school project, but it is not nearly perfect. The framing of each panel is flat and the drawing is subpar, which is why I am editing this project. This is just for my own amusement. I like the original idea and see the potential within this project and I think it could be something quite exquisite when it is finished. Below you will find the difference between now and 6 years ago.

Background Design

Character Design

Mr. Miacca

Mr. Miacca is my most interesting character in this story. He has an intimidating figure. He stands about 7 feet tall. He writes freelance articles for gardening and he does not own a car. As you can see in my character outline below (if you click the images, they get bigger), he is a gentle person not capable of murder.

Tommy & His Mother

This story centers around Tommy's relationship with his mother. She works as a waitress and does not pay attention to him as much as she should. She is a single mother. Tommy's father died while deployed in the army. I have one picture of her in the pictures below. She is a stern woman.