How To Create A Storyboard For An Animated Video?
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If you hire a video animator or an animation studio to create an explainer video, they will need to have a storyboard with your script in order to know what details to produce in your animation. Often times, animators and studios can help you take your idea or your script and turn it into a storyboard – but if you want to take on that part of creating an animated video, this article will explain how to create a storyboard for an animated video, even if you have no artistic abilities.
Learn how to create a storyboard.
If you have a question about how to create a storyboard that isn’t answered in this article, you can use our contact form to ask your question or click the image below to schedule a call with a member of our production team:
What is a storyboard?
But first, what is a storyboard? A storyboard is a document that includes text and visuals to explain two things:
1). What art do the designers need to create?
2). How should the animators make the custom designed art move around?
How do you create a storyboard for an animated video?
Each page of a storyboard has four parts and you should include all of them when you make the storyboard for your animated video:
1). Script
2). Sketch/Mockup
3). Direction
4). Asset List
1). Script
When you first start making the storyboard for your animated video, begin by taking each sentence from your script and put one sentence on each page of your storyboard. It’s possible that when you create your storyboard, you may find that it makes sense to break up a sentence over multiple slides because there’s a lot of motion and design information to explain to the animators. Alternatively if a sentence needs multiple slides to explain all the motion design, have the full sentence on each page and highlight the active part of the sentence by making that part of the sentence bold.
If a scene has a lot of detail, split the sentence into multiple slides.
2). Sketch/Mockup
Each slide of your storyboard should contain a mockup of the scene that is going to be designed for each sentence of the script. Your sketch or mockup doesn’t have to look professional – it just has to be adequate enough to communicate your idea. It’s our job to take your ideas and turn it into something real. Stick figure sketches are perfectly fine – a simple sketch on paper goes a long way – just take a photo of it and include it on the appropriate page of your storyboard.
Too timid to try sketching out your ideas? Use freely available images and icons online to create a rough mockup of the scene you want us to design.
Examples Of Storyboards For Animated Videos That Were Created Using Sketches Or Icons And Clipart.
3). Direction
This is the most important part of creating a storyboard – use simple language to clearly explain what sort of motion design you want to happen during this part of the script. The more you can break down your ideas, the easier it will be for the animators to understand what they are going to animate. Simple language with bullet points is the best way to sequentially document the order of operations that needs to happen in a scene.
If you want an action to happen at a specific moment during the voiceover, it helps to say something like, “when the voiceover says, ‘____,’ do this _______.”
Use the upper right corner of the storyboard to explain to the animator what motion happens in the scene.
4). Asset list
In the bottom right corner of the storyboard, include a list of all the assets that are needed for that scene. Below are examples of some of the kinds of assets you should include in your list:
Scene Examples: blue bedroom, snowy mountain scene, busy shopping mall.
Characters Examples: old fireman in uniform with a white beard, a zebra with white and blue stripes.
Object Examples: digital alarm clock, an orange android phone.
Stock Footage Examples: video of a bumblebee, picture of the inside of a plant cell.
Audio Examples: cash register noise, glass shatter SFX.
5). Extra notes (Screenshots & Examples)
While you create your storyboard, you may find that it’s helpful to include additional information to explain the ideas in your storyboard. Feel free to insert additional slides that include extra descriptive or visual information for the animators and designers to reference when creating your video.
For example – maybe there are a few different styles of desks that you would like to see in a scene. You could include one in the mockup in a slide for your storyboard, and then on the slide after that, include 3 photos of other styles of desks the designers could use as a visual reference for the scene. Or, perhaps you want a character to walk a specific way in a scene and you found a YouTube video of a guy that perfectly demonstrates the type of motion you want to see conveyed in your animation – including a link to the video for the animators to watch will be very helpful for them.
Download Our Free Storyboard Template
We have a storyboard template that you can use to create your storyboard in PowerPoint, Pages, or Slides. Click here to download our free storyboard templates and get our quick storyboard DIY guide too.
Animated Video Storyboard Examples
Interested in checking out some storyboards that were created for real animated video projects? Take a look at our explainer video storyboard examples.
Want Help Creating Your Storyboard?
Creating a storyboard is a fun creative process that turns your words into a visual story. That being said, we know it can be a challenging creative exercise and it’s not for everyone – so if you want someone to create the storyboard for your animated video, click here to schedule a call with our production team and let us know you’re looking for someone to help create the storyboard for your custom animated video.
Still have questions about how to create a storyboard for an animated video?
Do you have a question about how to create a storyboard that wasn’t addressed in this FAQ? Use this form to send us your question and we’ll follow up with an answer. We’ll also post the question and answer to this page so other people can benefit from the knowledge.
What is Video Igniter Animation?
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We can help you create any kind of 2D animated video or 3D animation you can imagine. Check out our animated video portfolio!
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Watch our explainer video on our home page to learn more about how we can help you create an animated video. For examples of the kinds of animation our team can produce, check out the demo reel below:
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Clair Simpson – VP Marketing, Repool.com
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Pat Henderson – Founder, Path8 Productions
“Video Igniter offered us the critical combination of creative value, clear communication, and patience with stakeholder feedback. We ended up with truly high-quality design assets for our video series largely due to the extra level of commitment — and the right balance of efficiencies with flexibility in the process when called for.”
Larry Schlessinger – Sr. Creative Program Manager, Amazon Web Services
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Alex Raymond – Founder, Kapta Systems
“I am beyond satisfied with my experience with Video Igniter. The first drafts of the work were almost exactly what I had in my head when developing the concept. After that each step along the way was seamless until arriving at a perfect finished product. And all this at a tremendous value. Anyone who has considered creating a marketing video should check out Video Igniter.”
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