How to Create a Visual Storyboard

Key takeaways

Visual storyboards map out ideas to bring an artistic vision to life. Here are a few important things to know:

• Gone With The Wind was the first live-action film to have a fully produced visual storyboard prior to filming [1].

• Many jobs use storyboards, including filmmakers, animators, user experience (UX) designers, and content creators.

• You can use websites, applications, and software such as Canva, Adobe Photoshop, and Storyboarder to create visual storyboards.

Learn more about how to create your own visual storyboard and tips for beginning the process. Afterward, consider enrolling in the Adobe Graphic Designer: Design That Demands Attention Professional Certificate. You’ll have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with Photoshop and Illustrator to create polished, professional designs that stand out.

What is a visual storyboard?

A visual storyboard is a step-by-step process of visualizing the specific contents, shots, and movements of a creative design. If you’re creating a video, for example, and want to plan the process and flow of the story, you’d likely want to begin by creating a visual storyboard.

You may create a visual storyboard to determine the order in which you want to tell a story for television or film or to pinpoint a customer’s journey on your business’s website or mobile application.

Can ChatGPT generate storyboards?

Yes, ChatGPT can generate storyboards for you based on a prompt that you feed it. The storyboard features allow you to tell the large language model (LLM) what size you’d like the storyboard to be, the scenes you want to see visualized, and any other details that may help bring your vision to life [2]. 

The importance of visual storyboarding in design

Whether you’re outlining scenes in a film or a process in UX design, visual storyboarding can improve the process by providing a blueprint for your team to follow and look to for guidance.

Storyboards can bring your ideas to the forefront and allow you to gather feedback from other team members before beginning the design or filming process. During this time, you can identify any potential problems and take proactive steps. Storyboarding can also be a collaborative effort, enabling different team members to work together to create a shared vision.

Types of storyboards

Storyboarders typically choose from three popular types of storyboards to bring their artistic vision to life. For example, if you were mapping out a film or video, you may choose a traditional storyboard, versus an animator who would benefit from an animatic storyboard. 

Discover three types and their differences:

• Traditional: With traditional storyboards, storyboarders write the content on sheets of paper. While digital storyboards may include more detail, such as color, hand-drawn storyboards typically start by using paper and pencil to outline an artistic vision.

• Digital: Digital storyboards are those created online using software or an application. In lieu of hand-drawn images, you may use stock images or digital drawings and graphics. For example, Canva has a free storyboard tool that offers users the opportunity to choose from their images and graphics to create a digital storyboard design.

• Animatic: Most popularly used by animators, animatic storyboards give animators and directors an idea of the timing of a shot and the overall flow of an animation, as well as what the visuals will look like.

How to create a visual storyboard (step by step)

To create a visual storyboard, begin with a creative idea. Are you filming a movie or a short video? Are you planning a website design for your brand? After establishing your goals, you can then begin brainstorming ideas and choose a type of storyboard to suit your needs. Explore the additional steps you may take to create a visual storyboard:

Step 1: Brainstorm.

As you begin creating your storyboard, start by jotting down general ideas for the story you want to tell. While a storyboard typically becomes linear in storytelling, your brainstorming may have a less organized structure. It may also help to have a goal in mind before creating your storyboard. Do you want to figure out how to line up shots? Do you need help ironing out design details? The answers to these questions may help you in other parts of the storyboarding process as well.

Step 2: Choose a type.

Determine which type of visual storyboard best suits your needs. If you want to draw images by hand, consider a traditional storyboard. If you would rather choose from stock images and graphics and want others to have a chance to collaborate, seek out software and pre-made digital templates that make it easy for you to do so.

Step 3: Create a draft.

Storyboards typically contain drawings, whether by hand or digital, that depict what you want to capture on-screen. When you’re ready, begin sketching your ideas in order and writing notes below each panel with details on what you’ve drawn. You can make this draft as detailed or as general as you’d like. Just ensure you understand your drawings and the ideas you want to convey to others.

Step 4: Add visual elements.

As you continue to bring your vision to life through the visual storyboard, consider adding additional elements, such as colors, dialogue, and angles you want to capture. 

Step 5: Make revisions.

Often, your storyboard won’t be the finished product before you begin your project. You’ll want to run your ideas past your fellow creatives and make adjustments based on their feedback and ideas.

Who uses visual storyboards?

Filmmakers, content creators, and UX designers all have opportunities to utilize visual storyboarding. According to the Nashville Film Institute, Gone With The Wind was the first live-action film to have a fully produced visual storyboard prior to filming [1]. Though visual storyboards originated in the filmmaking industry, many different job titles use this resource to visualize their ideas. For example, a UX designer may plan the design of a website through a storyboard, and a content creator may workshop their next video using the same template a filmmaker does. Explore careers that use visual storyboards and how they benefit their workflow:

• Filmmakers: Filmmakers use visual storyboards to map out the shots in their films. As a filmmaker, you may add elements such as colors and types of camera angles to plan the type of motion and graphics you want to capture.

• Animators: Similarly to filmmakers, animators use storyboards to create a blueprint for the story they’re bringing to life.

• UX designers: One of the ways that a UX designer may utilize visual storyboarding includes mapping out a customer’s journey on a website or platform they’re designing. Similarly to how filmmakers plan shots, UX designers plan for situations a user may encounter when interacting with their design. This tool helps you plan and create solutions for each scenario.

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• Content creators: Content creators often post videos on social media, and storyboards can help plan these videos before shooting begins. A content creator may use a storyboard to determine timing, set the scene details, and select where they want to place audio aspects such as music or dialogue.

Read more: UX Design vs. Graphic Design: Choosing the Right Career Path

What apps do people use to make storyboards?

You can bring your visual storyboards to life using applications and software such as Canva, Adobe Photoshop, Storyboard Animator, and Wonder Unit’s Storyboarder.

Pros and cons of storyboarding

Storyboarding can save you time in the long run of a project or production, though it also runs the risk of slowing down the creative process. Discover the pros and cons of storyboarding as you determine whether creating a visual storyboard may benefit you:

Pros:

• Planning ahead: In filmmaking and videography, visual storyboarding may help you prepare for any tools, equipment, or techniques you’ll need to implement long before you get on set. This can save time in the long run, as you won’t have to address these problems when you already have a crew working and ready to start filming.

• Budgeting: In tandem with planning ahead, storyboarding allows you to begin budgeting for your project and discovering how much you’ll need to spend on equipment, team members, and other design elements.

• Visualization: Storyboarding may help you get a sense for your artistic vision and the project you want to create. Once you begin to place your ideas down on paper or a digital storyboard, the ideas can take shape and become more developed and specific. This may help other members of your team understand your creative process and help you bring your ideas to life.

Cons:

• Time commitments: Storyboarding takes time, and mapping out an entire creative process prior to beginning to design or film may delay start times. However, these delays often work themselves out as you make up for lost time by addressing potential problems sooner rather than later.

• Design constraints: When storyboards include too many details, they can create constraints that may make other members of your team feel like they lack creative control. To avoid this, remember that the storyboard is a blueprint, not a finished product, and allow for spontaneous ideas and revisions.

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