Whether you are an animator, a visual artist, a comic book writer, a manga enthusiast, or an upcoming filmmaker, the art of storyboarding will help you visualize your ideas and materialize your vision.
Storyboarding was first employed in animated films by the Walt Disney Studios, for the short film The Three Little Pigs, and from on, it has become a crucial aspect of the filmmaking process.
Words on a script or ideas on paper can provide a general idea. However, you cannot tell the particulars of a scene or your ideas until you sketch them out and place them visually. This is the purpose of storyboarding; it brings your vision to life in all its small details.
The art of Storyboarding might appear daunting at first if you are a complete beginner, but with the right guidance and instruction, it is an exceedingly fun process. So, if you’re interested in learning how to storyboard your ideas, this article allows you to choose from a range of storyboarding classes online, where you can learn from the experts.
1. Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation (Udemy)
This is a beginner-friendly course for curious filmmakers, artists, and writers. The course will help you learn how to draw storyboards step-by-step. Students will learn everything from drawing the story to using camera angles to breaking a story down.
You will learn the foundations of how to draw the characters and how to draw them in perspective.
Once you are through with the course, you can confidently start storyboarding your projects. Also, you can start working on your portfolio while doing the course to get that creative edge.
What You’ll Learn
- About storyboarding software and storyboarding templates
- How to draw character poses
- Digital storyboarding
- Storyboarding for the film
- Principles of animation
- About storyboarding software and storyboard templates
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Completion time: 1h 45m
Certification: No
Course rating: 4.5
2. Illustration of Storyboard for Cinema and Advertising (Domestika)
This course is available on DOMESTIKA and is taught by Pablo Buratti– a well-known illustrator. The course will teach you about the differences and similarities between drawing for an advertisement and drawing for a film. Through the course, you will be introduced to the absolute essentials of cinematographic language; framing, how to see through a lens, camera movements, action, and editing.
This course will equip you with all the skills you need to create a professional storyboard.
What You’ll Learn
- About origins and applications of storyboarding
- About Storyboarding for Film scripts
- About framing, camera locations, camera angles
- About Movement, focal length, and axis to add drama to an image.
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 4h 3m
Certification: No
Course rating: NA
3. Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Essential Training (LinkedIn Learning)
Taught by Mark Simon, among the many storyboarding classes online, this is a bit more technically inclined; the course will teach you about Storyboard Pro, a leading software for storyboard artists. Under the expert guidance of Mark Simon, you will learn all the tricks of the software and will be able to storyboard your projects more efficiently.
You will also get to have a look at how work is done in big productions by leading professionals in the field.
What You’ll Learn
- How to set up files
- How to share your storyboard with production
- How to use audio and moving cameras
- About all the time-saving shortcuts
- About real-time animatic, to better present your ideas
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 6h 36m
Certification: Yes
Course rating: 4.7
4. Storyboarding Your Film (Creativelive)
This is an online course for people interested in filmmaking; however, it can be taken up by anyone that wants to learn about storyboarding. It is taught by Cristy Karacas and Chris Prynoski, who will instruct students on making efficient and simple yet effective storyboards to navigate various filmmaking challenges.
Students will learn how to deconstruct a scene or a sequence and employ storyboards to help the camera and production.
The course will explore the purpose of storyboarding and how a script is conceptualized. By the end of the course, you will be able to create inspiring storyboards at a professional level.
What You’ll Learn
- About the tools and instruments of storyboard creation
- Different mediums and uses of Storyboarding
- How storyboards aid filmmaking
- Which projects require storyboards
Level: Beginner/ Intermediate
Completion time: 3h 42m
Certification: No
Course rating: NA
5. Storyboarding for Film and Animation Part 2 (Udemy)
This is an intermediate-level course, and anyone that wants to take up the course is expected to have a fundamental knowledge of drawing. You should also have familiarity with different camera angles and shots.
Whether you wish to learn 2d animation, gaming, or filmmaking, or you want to learn to draw characters, this course will cover all your needs.
During this course, you will learn the advanced principles of drawing for animation, like framing, composition, staging for action, and ways to lead the eyes of the audience. Students will also learn how to do Gesture Drawing and how to work with Character Model Sheets and Layouts.
What You’ll Learn
- How to breakdown a script and select the right shots and camera angles
- How to tell a story visually by making storyboards for scripts
- Directing techniques; how to cut a scene, how to make the audience identify with your character
- How to best compose your shots
- About Gesture Drawing and making dynamic characters
- Editing in films
Level: Intermediate
Completion time: 1h 6m
Certification: Yes
Course rating: 4.7
6. Master Storyboard Skills for Commercials and Video Games (Udemy)
This particular course is crafted by Mo Yang and is available on Udemy. The course will instruct the students on the Fundamental Storyboarding skills used for TV Commercials, Video Games, and Live Action.
The course expects you to know the Basics of Photoshop. This course is suitable for anyone from a graphic designer to a concept artist, illustrator, movie director, or animator. The array of skills this course will help you gain will provide you with a creative edge in your work.
What You’ll Learn
- Fundamental Storyboarding skills
- Art skills like; drawing skills, composition, perspective
- About Camera movement and various camera lenses
- The purpose of Storyboarding
Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Completion time: 1h 45m
Certification: Yes
Course rating: 4.8
7. Introduction of Storyboarding (Domestika)
This course on DOMESTIKA was created by Laura Ewing Ferrer, an established Character Designer and Storyboarding artist. For anyone who is interested in visual storytelling and wants to implement storyboarding for that purpose, this course will interest them.
The course will instruct the students on how to create character design for animation using photoshop. Students will also explore the particulars of composition and framing and learn about different kinds of camera shots.
Like a few other storyboarding classes online, this class is self-paced. It contains 18 lessons with 29 other additional resources to learn from.
What You’ll Learn
- About perspective theory and how it is applied to storyboarding
- The language of cinema
- How to work with the axis line
- How to deconstruct an analyze an animated movie clip
- Ways to present your storyboard to others
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 2h 30m
Certification: custom certificate if you are a plus member
Course rating: NA
8. Learn to Storyboard: The First Steps to Visual Storytelling (SkillShare)
The beginning of storyboarding can be traced back to the Walt Disney Studios. This course on Skillshare is taught by Disney Studio’s storyboard artist Leo Matsuda. The course covers the fundamentals of storyboard creation.
This is an introductory class that teaches storyboarding concepts from scratch. So, if you are a complete beginner, do not worry; this course is accessible and easy to follow.
Even if you don’t have software for digital storyboarding like photoshop, you can take this course and learn storyboarding manually on drawing paper.
What You’ll Learn
- To storyboard your life (Project)
- Impressive ways of visual storytelling
- About various tools for storyboarding
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 1h 41m
Certification: No
Course rating: NA
9. Introduction To boarding for Animated Films (Domestika)
This course will certainly be one for anyone interested in the world of animation. This course is available on DOMESTIKA and is taught by Petra Popescu. In this course, you will learn how to think like a director and envision your story in all its details, from lighting to the setting of the scene and even acting.
This is an easy-to-follow, beginner-friendly course, so you do not need any previous experience with storyboarding.
What You’ll Learn
- About camera angles and the editing process
- The purpose of storyboarding
- About perspective, composition, character relationships, acting, and animation
- How to present your work successfully
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 3h 46m
Certification: No
Course rating: NA
10. Manga Drawing Basic Course / Story Writing & Storyboarding (Udemy)
When it comes to visual storytelling, Japanese Mangas are prime examples of how to tell inspiring and moving stories through meticulous drawings. If you are interested to learn how to draw mangas professionally, this course is perfect for you.
However, if you want to learn how to storyboard your ideas, this course will be a good way to approach it. Through making mangas, you will be able to acquire the skills you need to plot your ideas visually.
During this course, you will create your original manga premised on Japanese folklore, “Momotaro.”
What You’ll Learn
- Japanese manga drawing skills
- about the basics of storytelling
- Basics of Worldbuilding
Level: Beginner
Completion time: 44m
Certification: Yes
Course rating: 4.9
Conclusion
If you want to learn to storyboard, plenty of storyboarding classes are available online. The trick is to find a class or a course that answers your needs. The list above mentions a range of storyboarding classes online that you can choose from and add another skill to your creative resume.
If you are in the creative field and are interested in the art of storytelling, storyboarding can be a useful skill to achieve clarity and depth in your ideas. Visualizing a story will allow you to work on its nuances and help you enhance your storytelling skills. It also helps you plan your production.
Whether you want to learn to storyboard professionally for filmmaking or animation or to learn to work on your storytelling skills, the courses above will help you with all your needs.
