Types of Storyboards

What Are Different Types of Storyboards and Their Examples?

Thomas Howcroft

Founder of XO3D | Product Rendering Expert
BA Honours Design & Marketing

WHAT IS A STORYBOARD?

Definition.

A storyboard is a visual representation of a sequence of events, used in film, animation, video games, and other media to plan out scenes and shots. It consists of a series of drawings or images, often accompanied by notes, to show how the story will unfold, illustrating key actions, camera angles, character movements, and dialogue. Storyboards help directors, animators, and teams visualise and organise their ideas before production begins, ensuring that the narrative flows smoothly and efficiently. They are essential for pre-visualising complex sequences, aligning teams, and saving time during production.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF STORY BOARDS

Examples.

Storyboards come in various forms, each tailored to different creative needs across industries like film, animation, and marketing. Whether you’re planning camera angles, pacing, or complex visual effects, selecting the right type of storyboard is essential for efficient pre-production and communication.

Here is a list of different types of storyboards used across the industry

Traditional Storyboards
Digital Storyboards
Animated Storyboards
Thumbnail Storyboards
Written Storyboards
Sketched Storyboards
Explainer Video Storyboards
The Framed Storyboard
Shot Descriptions
2D & 3D Storyboards

Do you have a project in mind?

Traditional Storyboard.

Traditional storyboards are hand-drawn visual representations used to plan out a sequence of scenes or shots. Typically created on paper or simple boards, they consist of sketches that depict key moments, camera angles, and actions within a narrative. While not highly detailed, traditional storyboards allow creators to quickly map out the flow of a project, helping directors, animators, or designers visualize the story before moving into production. This approach is ideal for brainstorming, as it allows for spontaneous revisions and creative exploration. Despite advances in digital tools, traditional storyboards remain popular due to their simplicity and accessibility.

Overview:
Traditional storyboards consist of hand-drawn sketches on paper or boards. They depict the key scenes and camera angles, allowing for a clear visualization of the narrative without the need for complex tools.

Example:
A director for a feature film might use traditional storyboards to plot out the major beats of a dialogue-heavy scene, ensuring the camera angles and character positions work well for the cinematography.

Best for:

Quick, spontaneous idea generation
Teams or individuals comfortable with drawing by hand
Low-tech, immediate presentations

Digital Storyboards.

Animated storyboards, or animatics, are storyboards brought to life with motion, providing a rough animation of how the final production will unfold. These animatics incorporate timing, camera movements, sound effects, and dialogue, giving a more accurate sense of pacing and rhythm than static storyboards. By adding basic movement to key scenes, animatics help creators visualize the flow of action and transitions between shots before committing to full production. They are especially useful in animation, film, and advertising, where precise timing is crucial. Animatics allow teams to spot issues early, refine their approach, and ensure that the final product aligns with their creative vision.

Overview:
Digital storyboards are created using specialized software such as Storyboard Pro, Photoshop, or digital tablets. These allow for precise revisions, layering, and the inclusion of special effects. They also make it easier for teams to collaborate remotely.

Example:
An advertising team creating a commercial for a new product might use digital storyboards to visualize each scene. The software can help them tweak camera angles, lighting, and effects digitally before shooting.

Best for:

Collaborative and remote workflows
Projects requiring precise changes
Complex animations or visual effects

Animated Storyboards (Animatics).

Overview:
Animated storyboards, or animatics, are storyboards brought to life with movement, basic animation, sound effects, and sometimes dialogue. They help convey the timing and pacing of scenes, bridging the gap between static storyboards and the final animation.

Example:
An animated film production team may create animatics of a chase scene to test the pacing of the action and adjust the timing before committing to full animation.

Best for:

Visualizing motion and timing
Testing the pacing of sequences
Providing a dynamic preview of scenes

Thumbnail Storyboards.

Thumbnail storyboards are small, rough sketches that capture the basic structure and flow of a scene or sequence. These simplified drawings focus on framing, camera angles, and key actions rather than detailed visual elements. Because of their small size and quick execution, thumbnail storyboards are often used in the early stages of planning to explore different ideas and experiment with pacing. Filmmakers, animators, and designers use them to outline the overall narrative before moving to more polished storyboards. Their flexibility and speed make them an essential tool for brainstorming and rapidly iterating on creative concepts.

Overview:
Thumbnail storyboards are quick, small sketches that focus on the general layout of scenes. These are typically rough, offering a first draft of how the action will unfold, often without much detail.

Example:
An animation director might sketch out thumbnail storyboards during the brainstorming phase to quickly capture the narrative flow of a short film, refining it later.

Best for:

Early stage planning
Rapid visualisation of ideas
Outlining the overall sequence of a project

Written Storyboards.

Written storyboards rely on descriptive text rather than visuals to outline a sequence of events, camera movements, and key actions in a scene. Instead of sketches, they provide detailed descriptions of each shot, including character positioning, dialogue, and transitions. Written storyboards are often used when visual detail isn’t critical or when a project’s focus is more on narrative and structure. They are common in fields like radio, podcasts, and documentary filmmaking, where the story relies heavily on audio or interviews rather than visual effects. This format allows directors and teams to communicate the flow and intent of a scene clearly without the need for extensive drawings.

Overview:
Written storyboards use text to describe the action, camera movements, and shot details rather than images. They are often paired with rough sketches or used in environments where visuals aren’t the primary focus.

Example:
In documentary filmmaking, a written storyboard might describe the flow of interviews and voiceover transitions without requiring complex visuals, helping the director plan the narrative structure.

Best for:

Projects where dialogue or narrative structure is more important than visuals
Teams that need clarity on shot descriptions without extensive visual elements
Non-visual content, like radio or podcasts

Sketched Storyboards.

Sketched storyboards are hand-drawn, offering a more refined level of detail than thumbnail storyboards while remaining relatively loose and flexible. These sketches typically include key elements like character poses, basic backgrounds, and important props, providing a clearer visualization of how each scene will unfold. Sketched storyboards allow creators to explore composition, camera angles, and action with greater precision, making them useful in both the conceptual and development stages of a project. They act as a bridge between rough ideas and more polished visualizations, giving directors, animators, and designers the flexibility to refine and adjust scenes before final production.

Overview:
Sketched storyboards are more refined than thumbnails but less detailed than final boards. They allow creators to develop the scene further with better character detail, backgrounds, and initial lighting.

Example:
A video game designer might use sketched storyboards to outline the main action sequences in a game, showing how the camera will follow the character through the environment.

Best for:

Refining ideas after thumbnails
Communicating with clients or team members before final decisions
Medium-fidelity visual planning

Explainer Video Storyboards.

Explainer video storyboards are tailored specifically for outlining the flow and structure of short, informative videos that break down complex topics or products. These storyboards combine both visual and textual elements to show how the video’s key concepts will be introduced and explained through animated sequences, transitions, and voiceovers. They often highlight specific moments where graphics, text, or diagrams will appear, ensuring clarity and engagement. By mapping out the timing, narration, and visuals in advance, explainer video storyboards help streamline the production process, ensuring that the final video is cohesive, easy to follow, and effectively communicates its message to the audience.

Overview:
These storyboards are designed specifically for explainer videos. They typically include both visual elements and text to outline how concepts will be introduced, what animations will be used, and the transitions between sections.

Example:
An educational software company might create an explainer video storyboard to outline how a new app’s features will be demonstrated visually while a voiceover explains the steps.

Best for:

Creating instructional or marketing videos
Clarifying complex concepts visually
Scripted animations for corporate or educational purposes

The Framed Storyboard.

The framed storyboard is a structured and organised type of visual script where each shot or scene is clearly separated by a defined frame, often resembling the layout of a comic strip. Each frame contains a visual sketch, along with accompanying notes about camera angles, shot descriptions, or dialogue. This format is particularly useful for projects that require a detailed breakdown of every scene, helping to ensure consistency in framing, composition, and timing. Filmmakers and animators use framed storyboards to present a clear, step-by-step representation of the narrative flow, making it easier to plan transitions and visualize how the scenes will appear on screen. It is ideal for more formal presentations or pre-production planning, where precise communication is key.

Overview:
Framed storyboards clearly delineate each frame or shot using borders, ensuring that every scene and camera angle is mapped out precisely. This method is often used for presentations and formal pre-production planning.

Example:
In a TV series, a director might use framed storyboards to carefully plan out each shot of a scene, including where the camera should be positioned and what part of the action it should capture.

Best for:

Formal presentations to producers or stakeholders
Structuring complex sequences with multiple camera angles
Ensuring consistent framing and composition

Shot Descriptions.

Shot description visual script focus on providing detailed notes about each shot in a scene, emphasizing technical aspects such as camera movements, framing, and character actions rather than just visuals. Each panel typically includes a brief sketch or a simple outline of the shot, but the emphasis is on the accompanying text, which breaks down specifics like whether the shot is a close-up, wide shot, or involves a pan or zoom. These visual script are particularly useful in guiding the technical crew—such as cinematographers, directors, and editors—through the production process. By clearly communicating shot intentions, camera angles, and movement, shot description storyboards help ensure that everyone involved understands the precise vision for each scene, reducing confusion and streamlining production.

Overview:
Shot descriptions focus on the specific details of each shot, including the type of shot (e.g., close-up, wide angle), camera movement, and character actions. These can be part of written storyboards or combined with visual sketches.

Example:
For an action movie, shot descriptions might detail how a car chase will be filmed, specifying camera angles, movements, and which characters are in focus during each sequence.

Best for:

Communicating the technical aspects of cinematography
Helping directors and cinematographers align on shot details
Ensuring precise camera movements and actions

2D & 3D Storyboards.

2D and 3D storyboards are used to visualize scenes with varying levels of depth and perspective. 2D storyboards are flat, traditionally hand-drawn or digitally created, depicting scenes in a simplified, two-dimensional space. They are ideal for projects like animated films, commercials, or simple video sequences where depth and camera movement are minimal. On the other hand, 3D storyboards, often referred to as previsualization (previs), use 3D models and environments to create more dynamic representations of scenes. These allow filmmakers to explore complex camera angles, movements, and spatial relationships, especially in action-heavy or visual effects-driven productions. 3D storyboards offer a more immersive preview, making them ideal for projects with intricate choreography, stunts, or CGI elements, helping directors and production teams ensure that every shot works in three-dimensional space before full production begins.

Overview:
2D storyboards are flat, hand-drawn or digitally rendered illustrations, while 3D storyboards (often referred to as previs) use 3D software to create models of the characters and environments. 3D storyboards can show the camera’s movement within a 3D space, offering a more dynamic and realistic representation of how the final scene will look.

Example:
A VFX-heavy film might use 3D storyboards to plan out a complicated explosion scene, testing different angles and camera movements in a virtual environment before shooting on set.

Best for:

Complex visual effects and action sequences
Pre-visualizing 3D environments
Projects requiring detailed camera movement and spatial planning

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FAQ.

What is a storyboard?

A storyboard is a visual representation of a sequence of events, often used in film, animation, and marketing to pre-visualize scenes. It consists of a series of drawings or images, sometimes accompanied by notes, to plan out camera angles, character actions, and narrative flow.

What are the different types of storyboards?

Some common types of storyboards include:

Traditional Storyboards
Digital Storyboards
Animated Storyboards (Animatics)
Thumbnail Storyboards
Written Storyboards
Sketched Storyboards
Explainer Video Storyboards
The Framed Storyboard
Shot Descriptions
2D & 3D Storyboards

How are traditional and digital storyboards different?

Traditional storyboards are hand-drawn on paper or boards, while digital storyboards are created using software. Digital storyboards offer more flexibility for revisions, sharing, and adding effects or layers, while traditional ones allow for quick, organic sketching.

What is an animatic storyboard?

An animatic storyboard is an animated version of a traditional storyboard. It incorporates timing, camera movements, sound effects, and dialogue to create a rough preview of the final production, helping teams visualize pacing and transitions.

What are thumbnail storyboards used for?

Thumbnail storyboards are small, rough sketches used in the early stages of planning to quickly outline the composition, camera angles, and flow of a sequence. They help organize ideas before more detailed storyboards are created.

What is the purpose of shot description storyboards?

Shot description storyboards focus on providing detailed technical notes for each scene, outlining specific camera movements, angles, and actions. This helps directors and cinematographers ensure a clear understanding of the shot’s technical execution.

When should I use 3D storyboards instead of 2D?

3D storyboards are ideal for projects with complex camera movements, action-heavy sequences, or intricate visual effects, as they allow for more dynamic representations of the scene. 2D storyboards are simpler and work well for less complex visual planning.

How do explainer video storyboards help with production?

Explainer video storyboards outline the flow of an instructional or promotional video, incorporating both visuals and text to plan how key concepts will be introduced and animated. They help structure the video, ensuring that information is communicated clearly and engagingly.

Can storyboards be used outside of film and animation?

Yes, storyboards are widely used in advertising, marketing, video games, web design, and even presentations. They help organize visual content and narrative flow, making them useful for any project that involves planning a visual sequence.

Do I need to be an artist to create storyboards?

No, while artistic skill can help, the primary goal of a storyboard is to convey ideas clearly. Basic sketches or written descriptions can effectively communicate the narrative flow, especially in early planning stages.

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