YOU'LL LEARN

how to create a all about storytelling,

storyboard
Composition and

storyboarding

by mitch leeuwe
 how to create a

storyboard
Copyright © 2020 by Mitch Leeuwe

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For personal use only
by mitch leeuwe
mitchleeuwe.nl

Printed in the Netherlands

First Printing, 2020

Graphic design: Harmke Leeuwe

harmke.com
 Hi there!
Let me introduce myself. I’m Mitch Leeuwe and am an illustrator from the Netherlands. I always drew a lot as a kid. I
even had the childhood dream to become an animator at Disney. During my teenage years, I lost that dream. Luckily, I
slowly started drawing more and more. When I was 19, I began to do some freelance work as a graphic designer, which
made me consider picking up drawing again. I attended several drawing programs at schools but I learned most from
online resources. Now, I’m a freelance artist working on visual development. This means I design characters, props
and backgrounds for games, animation and toys. However, you probably know me from my Instagram where I release
tutorials and more. My goal is to create a place where people can learn the things I wanted to learn when I started out.
 For the production of animation movies there are skill is to come up with your own story and create a
always a lot of story artists and storyboard artists hired. storyboard for it.
That’s why I started learning storyboarding, because
I heard that it’s a great way to get into an animation I’ll walk you through the storyboarding process in
studio. Fun fact: when I started posting storyboards I this book. I’ll start by explaining a bit about how to
made on social media, I got hired to work on a comic! write your own story. After that I’ll dive deeper into
Introduction This example shows how learning about storyboards storyboarding and explain more about how to choose
can help you to get different job opportunities. a camera angle, make transitions, and more. The
Welcome to the world of storyboards! A storyboard and comes across well. Even when you don’t want to best way to let this information sink in is to learn by
is a sequence of still images that are used to plan focus on storyboarding it’s useful to know the basics Being a storyboard artist is a great job that comes with doing. I encourage you to take my examples and make
and visualize a story for a movie, television show, or of it because it teaches you how to create your own a lot of responsibility. You’ll be one of the first who can your own versions and learn how to draw following
commercial. This makes it a very important part of the stories, helps you to understand composition, and read the scripts (how cool is that!) and translates the the guidelines I’m giving. Step by step I’ll give you
production process as it brings your ideas to life in a gives you some practice with this process. As an artist idea of the movie director into illustrations by choosing exercises you can do yourself, making it as easy as
tangible way. it’s important to specialize and to market yourself as camera angles, camera movements, poses of the possible.
an expert in one discipline. However, there is always characters, and sometimes you even get to design
The storyboard is mostly made at the very beginning a chance that your team may ask you to assist with characters as well. Of course, you should do what you Best,
of the production or in pre-production. It gives a other parts of the production, so it’s good to have well- enjoy doing. You never know if being a storyboard artist Mitch Leeuwe
preview of the movie, to see if the story makes sense rounded knowledge across disciplines. is for you until you try it! A good way to practice this
Storytelling
 coming up with ideas
It can be quite challenging to come up with your own idea for a story. More often than not I get stuck in the brainstorming
process. My first impulse in these moments is to give up or to procrastinate by doing something totally different like
browsing the web or playing games.
Sometimes doing something completely different works for me because it gives me new inspiration and I can think about
my story again with a clear mind. You can pick up new ideas more easily when your mind is more relaxed, like when
you’re in the shower or when you’re walking outside.

That’s why research works so well. You can start with searching for a reference about your subject, read about it, and/or
watch a documentary about it. Maybe you can go out (field trip!) and find the subject in real life. This process is meant to
be fun and should give you energy. That’s how ideas are born.

When you’ve found something you like, you can make little comics or thumbnails about it like I did in this example. By
scribbling it down, you get your ideas out of your head and onto the paper, clearing space for new ideas to pop up.
 story structure moment in the story occurs, for example the hero gets an invite
to go on a journey. Usually there is some struggle and the main
character refuses or has his/her doubts about going on the journey.
Although it isn’t my goal to become a writer, knowing the basics about movie structure can in fact be useful. It’s very After finding the right motivation, the main character makes the
likely that one day you’ll work on something that uses a movie structure: such as a commercial, TV show, game, decision to go on the journey, leaves his/her ‘normal life,’ and goes
or movie. When you understand how a movie is set up, it will help you to produce artwork for it. Another benefit of on an adventure. It’s as if the hero is leaving his/her normal world
understanding the basics of movie structure is that you can feel more confident when you are talking to the director/ and enters a special world.
writer of the story because you know what that person is talking about.
While going on this adventure, the character goes through different
Most movies have the same structure: A phases. The hero could learn how to fight a dragon, but then fails.
beginning, middle and end. The circle drawing Everything seems hopeless! Then the hero learns something new
shows the journey, also known as ‘the hero’s (an “AHA!” moment) or gets an upgrade (like a better sword) and
journey,’ of a character in a story. This journey is with this can fight and defeat the dragon allowing the hero to return to the normal world. Here, a final battle for the hero
evident in ancient Greek stories for example. I awaits and with that he/she finds growth.
learned about this in the book called “The Hero’s
Journey” from Joseph Campbell. I would highly Notice that the main character returns to his/her normal world differently than when he/she left. On the hero’s journey
recommend that you read it at least once. he/she has found a new skill or an elixir, like a wise lesson. The hero is back to where he/she started (in the normal
world) but has grown as a person.
In a story following this structure, the story
begins with the main character (the hero) going Think of some famous blockbuster movies and try to see if you can find all of these elements in the story. It can be
through his/her daily routine. Then a defining helpful to take notes as you observe this so you can spot the structure.
 With each of the drawings on this page, I’m attempting to illustrate the sequence of the story. In general, a storyline
follows this flow:

1. Character’s normal world

2. An invite or call
3. The hero refuses the invite
story progression 4. A mentor persuades the hero to go on
the journey
5. The hero travels through a portal to a
This graph illustrates the progression of a story. Most stories are broken down into three acts. In the first act the main special world
character is in his/her natural habitat, the normal world. Then something happens, such as receiving a call to go on 6. The hero trains in the special world
an adventure. We are calling that the ‘inciting incident’. This is the moment that the character decides to accept the 7. The hero approaches his/her goal of
challenge. the adventure
8. The hero fails and everything seems hopeless
The adventure to the special world has now begun, moving the story into the second act. The second act takes up the 9. The hero gains insight and/or learns a lesson
largest portion of the story because this is where the character learns new skills and lessons to complete his challenge. 10. With this new insight the hero can return to
This is also the point in the story where the character struggles. the normal world
11. With this new insight the hero defeats
The climax is the point in the story where the character faces his big challenge again, but now on a grander scale or with the problem
higher stakes than before. Once the character overcomes this massive challenge, the story moves into the third act, the 12. The hero is back to his/her normal life, but the
last part of the story. The hero returns to his normal world, changed from the person he/she was before. journey has changed him/her
character archetypes

The hero is the main character in most Every hero needs some sort of This is often the character that brings In a story a hero meets a variety of
stories. In Greek a hero is a person who companionship on his journey. A comedic relief to the story, but can also challenges throughout the journey. The
protects and serves. In the story the hero sidekick, also known as an ally, helps the help the hero gain new insights. For guardian often guards the entrance to a
often faces a variety of challenges that hero with tasks. The sidekick can also example, the trickster can show the new environment of the journey, and the
we, as the reader or viewer, can relate to. add to the story by bringing personality hero a new perspective and show the hero needs to prove he/she is worthy to
At the end of a story the hero has learned elements that humanize the hero more. hypocrisy of some actions. The most pass. Often the guardian is seen as a
an important lesson or gained a new It can come in all kinds of shapes and famous trickster comes from Norse villain, but the guardian is an essential part
perspective. forms, like an animal or a robot, and mythology, Loki. of the growth that the hero goes through.
often brings comical relief to the story.

In the adventure portion of the story, the The herald is a character in a story that The shapeshifter is a person who isn’t The evil or negativity in a hero’s journey
mentor is a positive force for our hero, brings change. It can be a bad, neutral, who it seems to be. It’s often a love is often presented as a villain. It often
guiding the hero. A wise older person or a good character. In a lot of stories, interest who is one moment a perfect represents defeat of the hero, destruction,
is typically portrayed in the mentor role. it’s a character that brings a message person but a little bit later it could be or death. The villain can also be an
While learning is an important aspect to our hero that changes his life. The an insane killer. Or a friend who turns antagonist (or rival) that doesn’t necessarily
in the story for the hero, teaching is the herald can be a temporary mask or role out to be the villian. This character have to be evil and can have the same goal
significant role of the mentor. of a character in the story: it can have achetype is often a great mirror for as the hero, however, has has a different
another role at a different moment. our hero. approach to how to accomplish that goal.
composition
 what is composition?
Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements in a scene, drawing, or illustration. It is an organization
of different elements which all serve to tell the story. Composition means “putting together” and with composition you
can guide the eye and make sense of a drawing. Without composition we wouldn’t know where to look.

The example I’ve drawn shows the difference between an unclear and a clean composition. In the unclear example, all
the elements are scattered around the image without guiding the viewer’s eye to a certain point. In the example with the
clear composition, the story is clear in a split second: two people are greeting each other.

In this part of the book I’ll give you tips and tools to create clear compositions yourself.
 aspect ratio floor plan
When you start making a drawing, Complex compositions can be hard
it’s important to first think about what to draw. A nice trick for this is to
screen aspect ratio you want to use a floor plan. This can help you
use. This is the horizonal width of a to figure out how to draw different
screen (TV, cinema, computer, etc.) angles.
in relation to its vertical height.
So, when I draw, I often start with a
In this example you see the most floor plan. Then, I break it all down
used screen formats. Of course, you and plan it out before I start with
have even more options available the actual drawing. When you draw
to you such as phones and tablets. something like this out on paper you
Each aspect ratio has its own also see how perspective works; why
rules for compositions and camera it is that someone in the distance
movements. is smaller on screen than someone
standing closer to the screen.
 shot types
There are different types of shots
and each one their own benefits

• The ‘establishing shot’ helps to

establish a location, for example
at the beginning of a movie.
• The ‘over the shoulder’ and the
camera shots ‘two shot’ are perfect for showing
conversations or conflict.
• The ‘point of view’ demonstrates
When you are creating a storyboard you are telling the story with the use of the best camera techniques. You decide the scene through the eyes of
the vantage point of the cameras and how the story is shown to the audience. In doing so you can use different type the character, for example when
of shots, point of views, perspective, angles, movements, and transitions. In this chapter I’ll explain how all of these looking through binoculars.
elements work and can be beneficial to the story. • A ‘Dutch angle’ can be used to
make something feel strange or
When choosing your camera shots, think about what kind of shots tell your story best. In a good movie, every shot is extra dynamic.
made with a specific idea in mind. A camera shot can make or break whether the audience feels the right emotion and
gets the right information about the situation you are showing, or not.
angles
We can influence how the audience
feels about the character or subject
through the usage of different shot
techniques. Normal shots are very
commonly used for characters
because it’s neutral. If we want the
viewer to feel small in comparison
to the character, we can use a low
angle (also referred to as the frog
perspective) to make the character
appear powerful and/or large. If we
want the viewer to feel powerful and
mighty and/or make the character
appear vulnerable and weak, we can
use a high angle (also called a bird
view).
lenses
In addition to the shot type, different Our eyes are like a normal lens, this
lenses can also define the effect of is how we perceive the world around
your shot. So think about what story us. When you use a wide-angle lens,
you want to tell and choose a lens everything seems large, spacious,
accordingly. and distorted. You can use this when
you want something to look and feel
Camera lenses are named by their impressive.
focal length, which is specified in
millimeters (mm). Without going A telescope lens will give a very flat,
into too much technical detail about narrow perspective. The object that
this, all you need to know is that it is focused on is the only sharp
the smaller the lens, the wider your object in the shot and the rest is
picture. The larger your lens is, the out of focus. This is often used
narrower your picture. So, a 24mm when we want to give the viewer
lens gives a wide-angle and a 120 the impression that someone or
mm lens gives a narrower, telescope something (like a sniper, stalker, lion,
view. etc.) is observing an object from a
great distance.
 camera movements
Cameras can move during filming. Each type of camera
movement has a different effect on how the story is
experienced by your audience . These are some examples of
how you can use a ‘pan’ shot. For
• A ‘zoom in is when the camera stands still and literally example, you can use it to follow a
zooms in. moving car or something else that
• A ‘dolly in’ is when we move the camera towards an moves from one point to another.
object. It’s also completely fine to use the
• A ‘pan’ is when we move the camera horizontally. arrows in your storyboard if you want
These shots are great when you are following something or when you to make your intention for the shot
want to reveal something. extra clear.
• A ‘tilt’ can be used when you want to make something dramatic. Maybe
someone has fallen and first looks at their feet and then starts to look up
to see who made them fall.
If you want to be really specific,
a ‘zoom in’ is when the lens of a By adding these lines to the outside of the panel, you’re communicating that the camera is shaking. This could be useful
camera zooms in. However, when when there is an impact occurring in the scene, like when there is an explosion or earthquake.
the camera literally moves closer to
the object it’s focusing on, it’s called
a ‘truck in.’

‘Clockwise truck in’ and

‘counterclockwise truck in’ means
that you rotate the camera slightly
when you are getting closer to the
object you’re focusing on.

You should use a ‘truck in’ when you

want to make something extra clear,
like an emotion of a character.

You can also combine a ‘truck in’

with a ‘pan.’ As you can see in my
example, it could make the shot just
that bit more interesting.
 180° rule
In filmmaking there are a lot of rules.
Of course, rules can be broken, but If you want to really add
first you need to understand the rules complexity and up your game,
and why they were created. One you can use a 360-degree
of the most important rules is the orbit shot. In a shot like this
180-degree rule. This is a guideline you rotate around the object.
for the spatial relationship between By doing so you naturally go
the characters and objects in a over the line of the camera and
scene. thus break the 180-degree rule.
However, because the camera is moving
When you follow this ‘rule’, you around the subject, the viewer is still able
keep the camera on one side of to understand what is happening. So, in
an imaginary axis between two some cases you could break this rule, but
characters with the first character the most important thing to keep in mind is
always being first in the frame. This that you should not confuse your audience
way you avoid confusion about the by utilizing the 360-degree orbit shot. If
position of the characters and objects the shot enhances the story and doesn’t
in the scene. confuse it, then go for it!
 perspective
In general, you should try to avoid Instead of making cuts you can also
flat shots. Try using perspective to follow the character while the rest of
make your shot more interesting. For the environment is moving to create
example, in the first shot you see the depth. You can use arrows in your
character ¾ from the front and on storyboard to clarify what is moving.
the left of the panel. Then as the shot Also note that, in the landscape shot,
progresses he moves to the outer the three objects in the foreground
right of the panel and rotates so you move faster than the mountains in
can see the back of the character. the background. Furthermore, by
This is more interesting than if we using objects on different levels you
only showed the character from the can create depth in the show. You
side as it brings the panel to life in a should think in terms of foreground,
multi-dimensional way. middle ground, and background.
 shot sequence

focus As I’ve explained with the 180-degree rule, it’s key that
you don’t confuse the audience. In this example I show a
sequence of shots you can see that we go from a large
view to focusing in on the focal point or character of the
sequence of shots where you, as the viewer, are getting scene. After that we focus on the gun because that’s an
In your shot you want some objects to be in focus, so the viewer’s attention is immediately drawn to that object. You can closer and closer to an object or person in the shot. This important part of the scene. To show the emotions at play
blur out other objects to make sure it is clear what the focus point of the panel is. This can also be used as a reference step-by-step transition helps the viewer understand where in the scene and build suspense, we zoom in even closer
for further along in production, so the production team can be sure to include a blur effect in the final movie. the character is. We start with an establishing shot, to set to the eyes of the main character to show the tension and
the stage for the scene. Then we focus on two characters expression the character has in that moment.
and in the next shot on a single character. In this
 how to set-up
a composition
When setting up your composition, try to With these examples I tried to find
avoid the middle unless this is intentional. rhythm and create an interesting
In some movies the director deliberately composition. Again, composition is
chooses to do this. In my experience, when about guiding the viewer’s eye in a
you avoid the middle, you will get a more specific direction.
interesting composition that feels more
natural.
 golden ratio
The ‘golden ratio’ is the number 1.618.
It is also called the ‘golden mean’ or
‘golden section.’ In the given example,
you can see that if A + B is 1000, A is
618 and B is 382. If you keep dividing
rhythm the rectangle you get a spiral. In the
We can guide the eye with rhythm. The flow in twentieth century, artists and architects
these abstract drawings guides the eye. You can started to use the golden ratio, believing
start with these shapes and draw your scene on that the golden ratio is aesthetically
top to maintain that rhythm. pleasing.
 rabatment

Rabatment is a method to create a composition by dividing the canvas into squares and using that as a guide for your
drawing. With this technique you can also use the intersection points to place the points of interest.

the rule of thirds

‘The rule of thirds’ and ‘rabatment’ are essentially simplifications of the golden ratio. They help you to avoid the middle.
With the rule of thirds, you divide the canvas into thirds and put the points of interest on the intersections (red grid).
When you divide the grid again (purple lines), you can use these intersections or divide it once more (green grid) to
have more intersection points to use.
guide with objects foreshortening
You want to guide the viewer’s eye You want to make your drawings as
in a way that follows the story that dynamic as possible, avoiding a flat
you want to tell. This is important look (unless of course this is your
because you want to be clear intention). One method that can be
with your storyline. You can use helpful with this is foreshortening.
different aspects of your story to Foreshortening is when you draw an
help accomplish this. In the example object in perspective and the part
above, I’ve shown how using clouds that is closest to the camera appears
can guide the viewer’s eye. You can bigger than the part that is the
also use other objects for this like a farthest away of the camera. Using
tree, a river, mountains, etc. foreshortening can also help to guide
the eyes, like I demonstrated with
the clouds.
dynamic shapes
When I’m storyboarding I try to draw as dynamically as possible. To make my drawing dynamic I use variation and
directions. Naturally this depends on the show or project I’m working on, but this is my personal preference.

Here I show some examples of static

vs dynamic drawing when using
special effects. I aim to maintain an
element of contrast with the shapes
in my drawings. You can achieve
this by avoiding symmetry and by
thinking of the energy flow in the
drawing. This keeps your drawing not
only dynamic, but also interesting to
look at.
positive vs negeative space
Positive space and negative space are
important parts of the composition. It’s
important to understand this tool because
power of three
it’s one of the strongest tools available for
composition you have available to you. In compositions, ‘three’ makes all
elements better than ‘two.’
Positive space refers to objects, characters, A composition of two tonal values
or other areas of interest. Negative space is can be powerful. However, at the
the area around the objects, characters, or same time it can be limiting. A
areas of interest. composition of three tonal values
already gives you significantly more
You can create different meanings, emotions, options.
or experiences by using different balances of
positive and negative space. For example: The power of three also translates
The character in the first image feels quite very well to the use of shapes, sizes,
lonely or free because of the large negative and volumes.
space around him.
how to add contrast

Contrast is important in art. It’s one of the principles that is used to distinguish one object from another.
If you manage to use contrast in a strong way, you can draw the attention to anything you want. You don’t want every
element to scream, “Look at me!” but you do want the most important subject in your composition to stand out. You
can do that by using one or more of the types of contrast mentioned in the examples on these pages. Value (1) is the
strongest and texture (9) is the most subtle type of contrast.
examples
Here is an example of using the rule These are some quick sketches of
of thirds, this time I’ve begun with compositions that are commonly
abstract shapes. In a first set up of a used in shows and movies based on
composition, it can be helpful to first the rule of thirds. This can be very
use basic shapes to figure out what useful when storyboarding. On each
an interesting composition could be. panel you can see how I used the
I would encourage you to try this for intersection of the lines to put the
yourself! important objects on those points.
This is a classic example of how to
use the rule of thirds. As you can
see, I used the shapes to guide the
eye. I started out with placing arrows
aimed at the object that I want to
draw attention to. I then use these
arrows as a guide that will eventually
be replaced by larger objects as
part of the composition. In the final
drawing I’d like to keep those flowing
lines that are guiding the eye.

Here I show an example of using the rule of thirds with a two person shot. Alternatively, you can also use two
intersecting points and add the head of the character on that, like I did with the left character in step 3. I added the grid
of the sky in the background to create extra depth in the shot.
 conclusion
Apart from using the golden ratio, you
can also use other ways to lead the
eye. Some examples of this are out of
focus, size diversity, depth, framing, open
study movies! space, effects, and more. Think about
Here are a couple of examples of what is interesting for your composition:
compositions from movies. Next time what do you want to tell and what kind of
you watch a movie, pause it and feeling do you want to evoke?
observe the composition. This is a
great exercise to improve your own Ask yourself: What fits and what could
eye and feeling for composition. enhance the way that I tell my story? The
best way to learn this is to experiment
with it and observe and study movies.
Try to understand what the writer wants
to tell the audience and analyze how
they brought that message to life via that
specific shot.
 framing
movement The same counts for upward and downward movements. An upward movement tells that the subject is going away
and a downward movement tells it is going back.

In most countries, people read from

left to right. We are most comfortable
with that. Because we are so used to
reading from left to right, it influences
what we expect to see in movies and
illustrations. When a person walks
into a scene and walks to the right,
we expect to see this left to right
movement in the next shot. It will be
confusing otherwise.

You can choose to let your character

move from right to left, but that will
communicate that the character has
forgotten something or for some
other reason is going bac to their
previous position.
 tangents
Tangents occur when lines or
points connect to each other. A lot
of people tend to connect lines on
outline points, but that could make
an unnatural image and can be
confusing. In real life, objects do not
space to move
meet each other perfectly, so when
When framing the movement of an we draw, we should recognize that
object or character, it’s important that fact. Try to overlap or separate the
the character has space to move in lines as clearly as possible.
the direction that it is moving.
storyboarding
Now you know all about composition
and storytelling, let’s dive into
storyboarding!

shading
The most important advice I’d like
to give you is, that when you are
making a storyboard, ensure that you
don’t make your panels too complex.
Keep them as simple as possible and
only add details that add value to the
story. In this example I show how I
would shade this character. Shading
can help to convey the mood of the
story so it’s something that is adds
value to your panels. However, I perspective
try to keep it to a minimum. In my Using perspective is important for a storyboard. If you able to create a believable world. In this example, I show
example you can see that you can want to go into storyboarding, it’s definitely something I some different grids you can use to create a variety of
already accomplish quite a lot with would recommend that you learn. You don’t have to make shots. You can see what a difference it makes when you
just one shade. complex and detailed environments, but you should be use the different levels of the horizon.
shot types
When there is only one character in the frame this is lot of different characters and use many different camera
called a ‘one shot.’ When there are two characters in the shots it can become hard to follow for the audience. To
shot you call this a ‘two shot.’ Three characters in a shot make it clear, you can label all the characters so the
is called a ‘three shot,’ and on it goes depending on the audience can see which character is which. When there are a lot of characters
number of people there are in the shot. If you’re using a on the screen this is called a group
shot. I like to use this term when
there are five or more characters
onscreen, when it no longer serves
a purpose in counting the exact
number of characters on the screen.
I also like to create subgroups within
this large group of people. This
creates a composition that is easier
for the eye. You can also use them to
direct the eye to the point you want
the viewer to focus on. You can see
this in the examples.
 Here are some more tricks
and effects that I use to draw
storyboards. Sometimes I draw
silhouettes of objects with a solid
color to show that they are really
in the foreground and therefore
creating depth. You could also do
this with light silhouettes far in the
effects background to give the illusion that
they are far away.
Drawing effects in your storyboards is okay, but it can also be very tempting to go into too much detail. Here I tried
to be as clear as possible by implementing simple effects. I always try to use as few colors and values as possible.
These drawings should show that it’s very cold. By using a cold color, like blue, I can help to concretely show this to the
production team (it’s not always necessary though and depends on the project.)
 This is another example of when to cut within a scene, using this bunny that is about to eat a carrot. At the moment he
wants to start to eat the carrot he hears a sound. He starts to move his head to see where the sound came from and we
switch to a shot that reveals where the sound is coming from.

I made these examples to demonstrate that it’s a good moment to cut to the next shot when there is something that
needs to be revealed or when the focus changes to another subject.

when do you cut?

It can be challenging to decide when character 1 keeps talking we switch to the pencil. At the moment he is
to make a cut to a different shot. In over to the next shot where we see reaching for the pencil we switch to
this example, you see two characters the face of character 1 and see the a close up of the hand reaching the
talking. It starts with an over the back of character 2. pencil. We cut to the close-up while
shoulder shot where character 1 is the movement is happening. This
listening and character 2 is talking. In We also see this with a movement. helps with the continuity and makes
the next panel in the same shot you It’s basically the same as with the shot flow feel natural, instead of
see character 1 starting to speak and the speaking example. We see a jumping around.
character 2 starts to listen. And while character sitting and his hand moves
panels
Every production has its own
guidelines for storyboarding. The
types of storyboards I show here are
often seen in television productions,
like cartoon shows, but you can also
see them in other places as well.
The placement of the descriptions
can be different, but you’ll see these the scene number, panel, timing, and background used for each shot. The (for example when there is a pan or special effect happening.) DIAL stands for dialogue and is used to show what is
terms frequently on storyboard panel labeling begins with ‘A’ and a notation with the background number is being said in that panel. TRANS stands for transition and tells what kind of transition is being used between the shots.
templates. used. Timing notes how long a panel takes. BG stands for background and SLG stands for slugging and is used for notes about the timing of the dialogue.
tells the amount of backgrounds that need to be made (especially useful for
Notice how the panels and scenes 2D productions, where every background needs to be drawn separately.) You can also see a cross dissolve between the last two panels. This is noted with an “X” and is there to show the
are labeled with numbers. You’ll see Notes can be used to clarify something that isn’t covered by the other labels transition effect between two panels. See the next page for more explanation about this.
transitions
Here are some examples of different
transitions that you can use between
scenes. On the previous page I showed a
cross dissolve between two panels. How you
mark this for production depends on how
you work, what the production rules are, and Here are some more examples of effects
the type of board you’re using. So, basically, that you can use in your storyboard to
both options are correct and acceptable. communicate what needs to be done in
post-production (the phase at the end of the
Production teams on TV shows often note production of the project.)
transitions between the panels because they
often work with storyboard pages that have Cross dissolve is when the current frame
three panels (like on the previous page). For fades out into the next shot. Fade out is when
animated features (movies) you mostly see a dark shot fades out into the next shot. A wipe is when a shot slides to the side and the next shot slides in. A ripple
these transitions as shown here in the panel. dissolve is when you use a ripple effect as transition to the next shot. An Iris transition out is when you close the shot
with a circle; think of old cartoons such as Looney Tunes.
storyboard style
In this example I show my most detailed storyboard style. This is not often done because it simply takes too
When you are storyboarding you have to draw a lot of panels. So, you need to develop a style that is quick to draw. In a much time to do. It’s almost a comic. However, in some rare cases this can be asked of you, like for storyboards
lot of cases you need to be able to draw a shot within a couple of seconds. Don’t worry too much about this when you’re for a commercial. With commercials the boards are often presented to people without drawing knowledge (the
starting out. The speed is something you develop over time. I would advise to first focus on your technique and drawing client) and they need to see something that is close to the final product. Those boards are sometimes even
skills. made in color.
This is an example that is a bit more simplistic in nature. It’s still quite detailed but I left out some more details than in
the previous example. I also used a maximum of three values here, but if you have to make a lot of drawings this may
still take too much time. So, it’s up to you (or your manager) to determine how much detail and time you can spend on it.
A good rule of thumb is to make an estimate of how much time you need for one panel, multiplied by how much panels
you need to draw. This give you an indication of how long the total board will take you and if this will fit within your
planning and budget.
 Here I show three examples next to each other, with each
possessing a different level of detail.
1. The most simplistic storyboard in the series using
basic characters and only perspective guides for
the background. This approach or even a further
simplified version is sufficient. It allows you to quickly
draw the storyboard, but keep in mind that you need
to be diligent in ensuring that the story and actions
remain clear.
In these examples I have kept it 2. This version includes more details, but still only uses
simple, avoiding any excessive one shade of value. Like example 1, it is still quick to
details. In some places I only used a make and only has slightly more detail. I personally
grid for perspective and one value. wouldn’t add more detail than this because this tells
This level of detail and quite possibly the story well and isn’t very time intensive.
an even further simplified version are 3. The most advanced drawing of the options. This is
most common. There is just enough not well suited for storyboarding because it takes
detail to tell what’s going on in the too much time to draw an entire scene on this kind
panel, with nothing more and nothing of level. In some scenarios it definitely can be useful
less. to draw with this level of detail, like for commercials
where the boards need to be pitched to the client.
 planning
it out
In this shot I used a moving camera. Something like this can be hard to figure
out and requires an element of planning before you begin drawing. Often
times, before I draw a storyboard, I make little sketches to figure out how I’m
going to approach the scene.

You could use a floor plan like I show here to figure out how you want
each shot to look like, drawing where all the cameras are and what kind of
movement they make. This can be very useful when you’re planning out your
storyboard, especially when there is a complex environment or when there is a
lot of camera movement.
camera movements
In this case the bird is flying past
the camera. To draw this, you need
to have a basic understanding of
perspective. That is why I absolutely
recommend learning perspective
when you want to draw storyboards.
Drawing something like the example
below with the camera in front could
help you to figure out this scene as
well. So, before you spend a lot of
time drawing the storyboard, first
draw a quick and rough sketch for
yourself so you can conceptualize
your ideas and check if they work in In this scene, the camera zooms out and you can see more of the environment. The camera doesn’t stand still but
practice. instead flies alongside the bird and the mouse, so you’ll see parts of the background passing by.
In this next series, we’re flying
with the camera behind the bird.
The bird flies under the bridge, a
great opportunity to create a cut
in the scene, as we can use the
bridge as a reference. Using the
bridge as a reference will help
our viewer to associate the two
scenes, eliminating any confusion.
Once we see the bird go under
the bridge we then see the bird
coming out from under that same
bridge in the next shot.

In this next shot (on the right) the camera rotates during the scene. The bird and the mouse fly over the camera and
the camera follows them until it’s rotated ninety degrees. Again, I made a doodle to show how the camera moves. As I
mentioned earlier, doodles like this can help to visualize what you have in mind. Sometimes you need to make a quick
doodle to figure out if your idea works or not.
create your own
storyboard
One way to get a job as a storyboard artist is to create a storyboard portfolio and apply to studios that need storyboard
artists. Before you can do that, you need to develop content for your storyboard portfolio. To develop a storyboard
portfolio that truly reflects your unique style and ideas, I recommend that you create your own story and use that
to make your own storyboard. This shows that you understand the principles of writing a story and then know how
to translate that story into a script and that script into a storyboard. It demonstrates that you can execute the entire
process. Try to create something that you would like to work on, something that really interests you. So, if you would like
to work on animated features for the family, create a story that is geared to that purpose.

idea for a story

Here you can see the story idea I came up with. I started with
a basic concept and used that simple idea to develop the story
further. You don’t have to be a fantastic writer. After all, that isn’t
the job you’re applying for. What I made is essentially a synopsis.
This is sufficient for what we want to accomplish, so write it
draw the main characters
as short and concisely as possible. Think of it as an elevator
pitch or when you describe a movie to a friend on your way to Once the synopsis is written you can draw the characters that you want to use in the story. These drawings can be
the cinema. Try to write something that grabs the attention and rough doodles or finished characters, that’s up to you. The main thing to keep in mind is that the characters should
interest of your target audience, enticing them to come and see match with the story. Go back to the beginning of the book and use the archetype characters (hero, villain, mentor,
your feature. sidekick, etc.) as a reference to help you draft the right characters for your story.
story beats & thumbnails

Now you can begin writing the script. I wanted

to keep it short and sweet, so I limited myself
to one sheet of paper. You can see that I
divided the story into four parts (to the left Once I have drawn my thumbnails
of the thumbnail drawings). Part one is the next to the text of the script, I
beginning of the story (Act I.) Part two and then illustrate the most important
three represent the middle part of the story, aspects of the story, referred to
where the main part of the story occurs (Act as storybeats. Storybeats are
II). Part four is the last part of the story (Act storyboard panels that are the beats
III). This is how I typically work and approach of the story. In other words, they
a storyboard project. I read the script and are shots that show the most critical
start drawing all the thumbnails to the side elements of the story. This also gives
of the text to imagine how I would visualize an overview or outline of how the
these parts of the story. Alternatively, some storyboard is going to look, without
people prefer to start drawing the storyboard having to draw every panel yet.
right away after reading the script and don’t
need to draw thumbnails. Try both methods
and see what works best for you.
draw the panels!
In my opinion, this is now where
the real fun starts! You can now
draw all the panels of the story. I
think my finished storyboard had
approximately two hundred panels.
That is, however, quite a lot and for
a portfolio project you don’t need to
draw your story to that extent. For
your portfolio, you should try to make
at least one scene of your story that
shows a beginning, middle, and
end. You can also create a short
story to keep the work required for
your portfolio within a reasonable
timeframe. It’s entirely up to you
how in depth you want to go for your
portfolio.
 conclusion
& thank you
 that's it!
develop to excel at being a storyboard important to experiment for yourself
artist. I hope that I didn’t scare you off and develop your own story!
If you like to storyboard there are great opportunities for able to design characters and backgrounds at a minimum from pursuing this specialization, but Try to have fun with it. When you’re
you. These days there is so much content that is being basic level, because storyboard artists are part of the I wanted to be as clear as possible having fun and draw frequently, you
made. Movies, streaming content, commercials, and other production at an early stage. Sometimes the drawings about what it entails. It is a discipline will continuously grow. As I’ve said in
types of content are abundant with new content endlessly from the visual design department aren’t available yet, so that takes a lot of time to learn. Try my previous books, we are gardens
in development. All of those productions need storyboard it’s possible that you as a storyboard artist would need to to tackle these things one by one so that need water (practice) to grow.
artists. visualize them. you aren’t overwhelmed by it. Please So give your development water
The fun aspect about being a storyboard artist is that Sometimes they (the person that hired you) also want you remember that nobody is ever a as frequently as you can and you
essentially you are a ‘jack of all trades’: a director, casting to contribute additional ideas for the story. In most cases, complete expert at the beginning, will reap the rewards. We humans
member, actor, and cameraperson all in one. This is also the script isn’t really visual and you as a storyboard artist we all constantly learn and evolve in tend to overestimate what we can
what makes it very challenging to become a storyboard have the ability to add visual gags, emotion, and create our skills and development. You can do in a short amount of time, but
artist; you need to be truly cross functional with a wide and exiting action scenes. I recommend that you look up always start as a storyboard assistant we truly underestimate what we can
complex skill set. storyboards from your favorite movies and take a close if you want to learn more about this. accomplish in a long period of time.
You also need to be able to draw quickly on the fly and look at them. Learn from them. You can also watch some The assistants make adjustments So, take your time and take it one
able to deliver and adjust quickly. Storyboards don’t have available films detailing the making of a movie, study to the storyboards after feedback step at the time. Most importantly, Contact me
to be pretty or perfect, but they must be clear. Skills that movies, and/or watch a movie and draw a storyboard from or clean them up for the storyboard enjoy the journey! Instagram Mitch Leeuwe
are helpful to practice as you train to be a storyboard artist it. You could also pick up your favorite fairytale book and artists. These are great opportunities Patreon patreon.com/mitchleeuwe
are figure drawing and basic perspective. Another handy create a storyboard of it as if it’s a movie. to learn from more experienced Best, Gumroad gumroad.com/mitchleeuwe
skill that can help you become a storyboard artist is to be In summary, there are a lot of skills that you need to artists. However, it is always Mitch Leeuwe Website mitchleeuwe.nl