What are storyboards?

Storyboards are a process of sketching out a sequence of events to roughly convey a story told in a visual format. They are also a means of capturing storytelling ideas to assist in the creation of a visual project. Storyboards are often created during the initial phases of a project, and are meant to establish ideas and pacing, to experiment with alternative possibilities, and to compare ideas in a relatively quick way. They’re also used for preserving ideas and for communicating with collaborators. Usually, storyboards consist of multiple boards (sometimes called panels) put together to convey a scene. Because projects often have multiple scenes, the number of boards can add up quickly. 

Projects that use storyboards can range from movies, TV shows, and commercials to animations for films and video games. The formatting process for each project is slightly different to account for the different presentation of the final media, but the basic concepts remain consistent. 

Storyboards do not need to be “good.” That is, the goal of a storyboard is to convey an idea, not to be visually appealing. Rough ideas and experimentation are great for storyboarding. Most storyboard panels take between 7-15 minutes to complete professionally, so for a personal project it might be good to give yourself a limit of 20 minutes per panel. Remember that for the most part, storyboards are disposable art, meaning that they are for disposing, re-purposing, and re-arranging ideas. 

You can create storyboards either digitally or physically, depending on your preferences and your project. The benefits of having physical storyboard is that it is much easier to make quick changes. Digital storyboards allow for using assets, copying and pasting, and using the internet to share or get feedback. Physical storyboards are usually done with cue cards or post-it notes, as those can be quickly moved around to re-order shots in a scene, and digital storyboards can be created with art programs such as Photoshop, Krita, and MS Paint, or professional programs like Toon Boom Harmony. Digital storyboards can also quickly be put together into a series of rough animations called an “animatic.”