Best storyboarding classes online for all levels: Learn to storyboard

Storyboarding plays a crucial role during the creative process and requires some level of mastery. 

While the idea of transforming ideas into sketches might sound challenging at first, the art of storyboarding is actually really fun and an effective way to convey your creative vision!

And if you want to learn how to storyboard, you’re in luck: there are many quality storyboarding classes taught by industry experts and enthusiasts on a number of online course platforms.

Here are some of the best online storyboarding classes you should definitely check out!

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Best storyboarding classes

To help you make your storyboarding dreams come true, I’ve put together this list of some of the top storyboarding classes you can find online!

While there are many other options out there, the ones listed below offer a great balance between content, production quality, price, and duration.

Introduction to Storyboarding 

For those of you with little to no experience under your belt, this introductory storyboarding class on Domestika is exactly what you need. This is a beginner’s course, so its main focus is on the basics of storyboarding.

Some of the themes covered include learning how to draw quickly and effectively, how to compose your frames, how to develop a unique visual language, and the importance of adding notes on camera movement during this process.

You will also learn how to pitch ideas to clients and prepare presentations that will create impact on delivery — we advise looking into storyboarding classes that will give you helpful tools to help you succeed in the industry!

Learn to Storyboard: The First Steps to Visual Storytelling

Disney Studios storyboard artist Leo Matsuda has put together a comprehensive course of fundamentals for storyboard creation and covers the major value this brings to production teams.

For your class project, Leo will invite you to create a storyboard of personal life events through fun exercises and sketching tips. The great part about this course is that it doesn’t require specific materials or software. It’s more of an introductory class that encourages you to perfect your craft from scratch!

Since it’s on Skillshare, you’ll need a subscription to access the course. This runs $99 a year, but you can also get a free one-month trial, which is more than enough time to complete this and other storyboarding classes on the platform! Click below to find out more.

Introduction to Storyboarding for Animated Films

If the world of animation is something you’d like to explore, this Domestika course is the perfect place to start.

During this in-depth class, your teacher, Petra Popescu, will show you how to tap into the mindset of a professional storyboard artist and inspire you to consider different aspects beyond sketching as you build your visual story.

You’ll learn to think as a director, editor, lighting technician, and even actor to capture your vision. Like other storyboarding classes on the platform, you’ll be challenged to complete a project: creating a storyboard from start to finish for a scene, including a short dialog.

Keep in mind that this is an introduction to storyboarding for animated films and, therefore, suited for complete beginners. However, if you’re searching for something more advanced, check out the storyboarding classes further below!

Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation

Next up is this Udemy course taught by Siobhan Twomey, and like the previous suggestion, it’s the perfect choice for anyone looking to take their first steps toward becoming a professional storyboarder for animation and/or film. 

With 15 years of experience under her belt, Siobhan shares knowledge with storyboarding enthusiasts who want to work in the fields of animation, TV, gaming, or film. 

Throughout the course, your mentor will introduce you to the basics while providing you with extra materials and resources to help you perfect techniques as you learn. Knowing how to dissect scripts, draw characters, design layouts, and come up with scenes are just a few of the exciting skills you can expect to master.

Even better, this is just one of two storyboarding classes from this teacher. If you love this course and Siobhan’s teaching style, you can check out her advanced storyboarding class here.

Storyboarding for Motion Graphics: An Introduction to Main Titles

Focusing on storyboarding titles for film, art director Maggie Tsao guides students through the exciting journey of experimenting with photography and typography.

Unlike the more general storyboarding classes above, this course is primarily for motion graphics aficionados, and the angle here is focused on creating main titles, promos, and trailers. 

During this course, Maggie will use the film “Gone Girl” as a reference, and guide you through design insights, tips and tricks for image manipulation, and the importance of storyboarding for film and TV.

Know that this class doesn’t focus on actual animation but rather on the conceptual work done to bring such creative visions to life. To get the most out of your experience, some knowledge of Photoshop, access to the software, as well as a drawing tablet is advised.

Like the other Skillshare storyboarding classes in our guide, you’ll need a subscription to watch this one. However, you can think about that later and start learning today by signing up for the platform’s free one-month trial on offer now!

Storyboarding for Animation: How to Illustrate and design for Successful Motion

Focusing on the organizational skills needed to create a storyboard for animation projects, this Skillshare course is ideal for illustrators and animators. 

Taught by art director and freelance illustrator Sarah Beth Morgan, this course will provide you with the necessary tools to successfully brainstorm, create mood boards, sketch, and prepare client presentations. 

Sarah will give you a refreshing perspective on the challenges presented during the creative process and how to tackle them through storyboarding. 

This is the third and final of the Skillshare storyboarding classes in this guide, but remember that you can unlock all of them and more with a single subscription!

Remember: the platform is offering a free month-long trial you can sign up for here.

Illustration of Storyboards for Cinema and Advertising

Taught by Argentine illustrator Pablo Buratti, this Domestika course takes on the storyboarding process for film and advertising. 

Throughout this class, you’ll learn how these industries incorporate storyboarding in their creative productions and the relevance of planning out camera movements and angles. 

You’ll gain know-how in sketching characters, creating visual atmospheres, and translating scripts into visual art. The course focuses on grasping the concept behind storyboarding to understand how ideas come to life on the big screen.

Pablo’s uplifting personality and casual teaching style will certainly make this course worth your while! It’s also one of the longer storyboarding classes on the list, coming in at more than 4 hours long!

Storyboarding Your Film

Next up is a lecture-style course by Chris Prynoski and Christy Karacas. They might not be household names, but they’ve worked on everything from MTV classics like “Beavis and Butthead” and “Daria” to more recent animated shows like “Metalocalypse” and “Squidbillies”.

The two share their take on industry demands, the importance of storyboarding for filmmakers and production crews, and list resources and skills you’ll need to succeed as a storyboarder for the seventh art. 

The laid-back atmosphere of this course will give you the impression you’re being entertained by two very knowledgeable talk show hosts, making it a unique and fun learning experience!

For those unfamiliar with CreativeLive, you have the option to buy the course outright for about $15, or unlock 1500+ courses with a Creator Pass subscription for $15 a month if you commit to a year.

You can also save big by paying for a year upfront, which comes out to about $12 a month.

Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking

If you want to learn not just storyboarding but also more topics related to filmmaking, this amazing MasterClass course features Jodie Foster (yes, that Jodie Foster) and gives you the opportunity to learn from the best in the biz!

Through a very up close and personal approach, Jodie guides you through the process of filmmaking from finding your story to casting and editing the final script.

The best part is that you will actually get to watch Jodie Foster put a storyboard together! She admits that she isn’t much of an artist, but it goes to show that what you really need is vision and creativity, not drawing expertise. 

Like all MasterClass courses, the production quality of this course is sublime. By minute one you’ll feel like you’re sitting face-to-face with one of the most talented names in film history!

MasterClass is a subscription-only affair, and it’s pricey at approximately $200 a year. However, you get unlimited access to the full catalog, which includes more filmmaking courses from the likes of Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Ron Howard, and more.

I guarantee you won’t find that anywhere else on the web!

Storyboard Illustration with Procreate

Next up are a few more software-focused storyboarding classes. In this course on Domestika, Davis Lisboa teaches how to storyboard in full color with the popular illustration app Procreate.

Covering this process for film, advertising, and social media, the Brazilian storyboard artist will show you how to use this tool to create colorful dynamics and captivating cinematic narratives. 

This storyboarding course is ideal for comic book artists, animators, digital marketing professionals, and social media nerds. 

For this class, you should have basic notions of illustration and access to Adobe Photoshop and Procreate. If you don’t have an iPad for Procreate, you can also use a drawing tablet and any other software you prefer.

Toon Boom Storyboard Pro Essential Training

The final pick for the best storyboarding classes is a bit more technical than the previous storyboarding classes. Taught by Mark Simon, this LinkedIn Learning course is set up to teach you about one of the best pieces of software in the biz: Storyboard Pro.

Having worked as a storyboarder for nearly 30 years, Mark will reveal the full potential of this software and teach you everything you need to know.

Targeting professionals in the field, this super thorough course is a great way to gain industry insight from a storyboarding connoisseur and learn more about working in big productions. 

If you want to learn more techniques for the software, Mark has a follow-up course called Advanced Storyboard Pro. He also has a more introductory course that’s more in line with a few others mentioned earlier in the list.

LinkedIn Learning requires a $40 monthly subscription, but you can also take advantage of a 1-month free trial by clicking below. That’s more than enough time to take all of Mark’s storyboarding classes and kickstart your storyboarding career!

How to choose the best storyboarding class for you

In order to choose the right storyboarding classes for you, there are a few aspects you might want to consider. 

Since storyboarding is commonly applied in a variety of creative fields such as film, advertising, gaming, and animation, it’s important to select a course that is relevant to your industry.

Also, make sure you pinpoint what your goals are, whether it’s learning the fundamentals of drawing or knowing how to pitch ideas to potential clients: most storyboarding classes tackle a specific angle.

Select a storyboarding course that won’t put time management at risk, and look into what teaching styles you resonate with the most.

Although the majority of the storyboarding classes listed are pretty budget-friendly, some require a subscription that puts an extra time limit on your learning.

Lastly, be sure you have the required resources to do these courses, whether that’s a specific piece of software or a good old-fashioned pen and paper! 

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That’s it for this list of the best storyboarding classes you can take online! Hopefully you now have access to all the resources you learn how to storyboard from the comfort of home.