Animation is an engaging and versatile medium for telling stories, explaining complex concepts, or bringing brands to life. The crucial part of the animation process is creating a storyboard. Following, we’ll provide a comprehensive look at the role, creation, and benefits of storyboarding in 2D animation.

A storyboard in animation is a series of sequential drawings that serve as a visual blueprint for the entire animation production process. In animation studios, these panels form the core of the animation workflow, guiding directors, animators, and sound designers through each step of the production pipeline.

Each storyboard panel, much like a comic strip, depicts key events and actions in the narrative. Accompanying the drawings, you’ll often find detailed notes that include dialogues, narration, camera movements, sound effects, music cues, and specific character actions. These annotations are crucial for conveying the intended timing and emotion of each scene, ensuring that every element—from character expressions to background details—is precisely planned.

By mapping out the entire story in this visual format, storyboards help streamline communication across the creative team, allowing for efficient revisions and a clear understanding of how the final animation will unfold. This organized approach is essential for a smooth animation production process, making it easier to transition from initial concept to the final animated product.

Even prior to the storyboard comes a necessary element: the script. This important step forms the backbone of any animation project, outlining the story’s plot, characters, dialogues, and key actions that will take place. It provides the narrative structure that your storyboard will visually represent.

Storyboard creation involves a collaborative effort from several team members. These include the scriptwriter, storyboard artist, director, animators, producer or production team, sound designer or composer, and the client. Each role brings its own unique input to the storyboard and the subsequent animation process.

The time taken to create a storyboard can vary greatly depending on several factors, such as the complexity of the 2D animation, the animation technique used—whether cel animation or frame by frame animation—the number of characters, the level of detail required, and the artist’s speed and experience. As you can see in the pictures below, taken during the pre-production of our Spritz cocktail animation, every stage of the process was carefully planned to ensure a smooth and engaging visual experience.

As a general guide, for a one-minute animation, it might take anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks to create a detailed storyboard. However, this is a rough estimate and can change based on the variables mentioned.

Keep in mind that storyboarding is a process that may require multiple drafts and revisions to get right, and can also add to the time needed. The process should not be rushed, however, as a well-prepared storyboard is key to ensuring a smooth and efficient animation process. Especially in frame by frame, 2D Animation or Motion Graphics Videos.