Animation Foundations: Storyboarding

Get started in storyboard animation. Learn storyboarding techniques for illustrating action, angles, shot composition, character, and drama.

Storyboard artists tell the story of an animated cartoon. They illustrate the script, plan shots, demonstrate action, and maintain continuity between scenes. Becoming a storyboard artist starts with the foundations: an understanding of film grammar (including types of shots, acts, sequences, and transitions) and techniques for illustrating action, angles, composition, character, and drama. In this course, Dermot O' Connor demonstrates all these fundamentals and more, using a software-agnostic approach that combines theory with practical technique. Watch the lessons come together in the final animatic, and then download the free exercise files to start practicing on your own.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Exercise files

1. Technical

• Aspect ratio and frame rates
• Story panels

2. Film Grammar

• Acts, sequences, and scenes
• Types of shots and camera moves
• Transitions

3. Boarding

• Animation vs. live action
• Staging and composition
• Direction of action
• Lighting and depth
• Poses and staging
• Dos and don'ts
• A finished sequence
• Animatics and layouts

Conclusion

• Next steps