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10 Best Online Storyboarding Classes to Take Up in 2023

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Written by, Martina Georgievska

Updated June, 22, 2023

Almost every film or television show you can imagine began as a storyboard. 

For those interested in learning how to utilise this fantastic technique to explain a concept or your vision to the audience, the following are some of the best online storyboarding classes out there.

1. Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation by Udemy (Best Course for Professional Storyboarding) | Enrol Now

2. The Animation Storytelling and Pre-Production Workshop by Udemy (Best for the Complete Process) | Enrol Now

3. Storyboarding For Motion Graphics: An Introduction to Main Titles by Skillshare (Best Storyboarding Course for Motion Graphics) | Enrol Now

4. Storyboarding for Film: Illustrating Scripts and Stories by Skillshare (Best Storyboarding Course for Sketching) | Enrol Now

5. Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking by MasterClass (Best Storyboarding Course for Future Filmmakers)  | Enrol Now

6. Elearning Essentials: Storyboarding by Linkedin Learning (Best Storyboarding Course for Educators) | Enrol Now

7. Animation Foundations: Storyboarding by Linkedin Learning (Best Course for the Technical Aspect of Storyboarding) | Enrol Now

8. Introduction to Storyboarding by Domestika (Best Storyboarding Course Overall) | Enrol Now

9. Storyboarding for Film: Illustrating Scripts and Stories by Domestika (Best Value for Money) | Enrol Now

10. Storyboarding Your Film by CreativeLive (Best Storyboarding Course for Beginners) | Enrol Now

The Best Online Storyboarding Classes Reviewed

Read through these reviews for more in-depth information on each course.

Learn to Storyboard for Film or Animation -Best Course for Professional Storyboarding

Starting at - £10.99
Pros
  • Great for first time storyboarders 
  • 11 downloadable resources
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
  • No free trial 
  • Rating: 9.9/10 
  • Platform: Udemy
  • Level of difficulty: All levels  
  • Duration: 22 lessons (1h 45m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: £10.99

This Udemy program is one of the best storyboard courses for aspiring cinematographers as it teaches all the specific skills one needs to start a career in animation storyboarding. 

During this 2-hour course, learners will become familiar with some useful drawing techniques and line art practises, as well as learn all about what camera angles and shots are and how to use them to make a script flow seamlessly. By the end of it, you will be able to analyse a screenplay, draw it out and start creating your own storyboards. 

Like all Udemy courses, this workshop is accessible on all devices and is equipped with 10+ downloadable resources, allowing you to practise your skills in your free time.

The Animation Storytelling and Pre-Production Workshop -Best for the Complete Process

Starting at - £49.99
Pros
  • Access on mobile and TV
  • Great section that focuses on screenwriting 
  • Perfect for newbies to filmmaking
Cons
  • No extra resources 
  • Rating: 9.6/10 
  • Platform: Udemy 
  • Level of difficulty: Beginner 
  • Duration: 15 lessons (52m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: $9.99 

Filmmaking is not just about using a piece of software to create moveable images—at its core is a beautifully shot and narrated story. Bringing all those elements together is what this short and to-the-point Udemy course is all about. 

The course focuses on three parts of the pre-production process: scriptwriting, storyboarding, and voice-over acting. More specifically, multimedia artist David Miller will explain how to develop scenes and characters, which tools and software to use for storyboarding, and the best way to choose and guide your voice actors. 

In the end, you will begin to see storyboarding as part of the puzzle that binds it all together, allowing you to successfully pitch your ideas to potential investors and producers.

Storyboarding For Motion Graphics: An Introduction to Main Titles -Best Storyboarding Course for Motion Graphics

Starting at - $15/monthly, $180/annually
Pros
  • Taught by award-winning art director
  • Short, bite-sized lectures 
  • 7-day free trial
Cons
  • Photoshop skills needed 
  • Rating: 9.8/10 
  • Platform: Skillshare 
  • Level of difficulty: Intermediate
  • Duration: 15 lessons (1h 42m)
  • Certificate: no  
  • Lifetime access: Limited
  • Price: Skillshare membership $15 monthly $180 annually

Geared more towards those interested in motion graphics, this Skillshare course dives deep into storyboarding titles for film. In it, instructor Maggie Tsao will guide you through the process of creating main titles through the use of photography and typography, as well as offer some tips and insights from her 10 years in the business. 

Although this course focuses more on the expression of ideas rather than actual animation, it is still a great tutorial for anyone who wants to learn storyboarding through hands-on projects and is keen to understand the concepts behind the work. It is also a great opportunity to brush up on your Adobe Photoshop skills and even pick up some new ones in the process.

Storyboarding for Film: Illustrating Scripts and Stories -Best Storyboarding Course for Sketching

Starting at - $15/monthly;$180/annually
Pros
  • Great value for money
  • Excellent reviews
  • Plenty of downloadable materials
Cons
  • Some users found the lectures to be too fast  
  • Rating: 9.4/10 
  • Platform: Skillshare
  • Level of difficulty: All levels
  • Duration: 13 lessons (1h 17m)
  • Certificate: no 
  • Lifetime access: Limited
  • Price: Skillshare membership $15 monthly $180 annually

Another excellent storyboarding online course through top-rated learning platform Skillshare, this workshop is taught by Ryan Falkner, a filmmaker with extensive industry expertise, having worked on ER, Pineapple Express and other series and films scripts. In addition to teaching the basics of storyboarding and sketching, the instructor will give you invaluable advice on how to think like a filmmaker and see things from the perspective of the camera. 

Students begin by storyboarding a tweet before moving on to more complex topics like camera shots, angles and thumbnail sketches, all the way to covering the entire process of illustrating scripts. 

Best of all, this course comes with a vast array of extra resources and has no requirements, meaning all you will need is pen, paper and your imagination.

Jodie Foster Teaches Filmmaking -Best Storyboarding Course for Future Filmmakers

Starting at - $15/monthly
Pros
  • 30-day return policy 
  • Access to all MasterClass tutorials 
  • Insightful tips from an Oscar winner
Cons
  • Classes cannot be purchased individually 
  • Rating: 9.7/10 
  • Platform: MasterClass
  • Level of difficulty: Intermediate 
  • Duration: 18 lessons (4h 3m)
  • Certificate: No
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: $15 per month 

MasterClass is known for providing learners with inspirational lectures by some of the best and most famous names in each industry, and this course is no exception.

Taught by legendary two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, this workshop covers not only storyboarding lessons but other topics just as essential to filmmaking. These range from creating and sharing your vision with collaborators to casting and inspiring actors, as well as the importance of music, editing and, of course, storyboarding to the entire process. In short, Jodie Foster guides you through every stage of the making of a film, all the while drawing from her personal experience both in front and behind the camera.

Elearning Essentials: Storyboarding -Best Storyboarding Course for Educators

Starting at - £25.00/individual course
Pros
  • Short and easy to follow
  • Exercise files available 
  • 4 quizzes
Cons
  • Focuses only on storyboarding an eLearning course
  • Rating: 9.3/10 
  • Platform: Linkedin Learning 
  • Level of difficulty: Intermediate  
  • Duration: 21 lessons (1h 5m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes 
  • Price: £25.00 (individual course)

Unlike other courses on the list that revolve around filmmaking, this Linkedin Learning program focuses on constructing a storyboard for an e-learning course

It starts off with educator and skilled storyboarder Brett Kirkpatrick defining storyboarding and its importance in the eLearning process. He then moves on to explain different techniques for developing a successful eLearning storyboard by using real-life case studies from his own experience. 

By the end, of course, learners will be able not only to storyboard animation and text-heavy content, but they will also gain the confidence to communicate with project stakeholders and present their vision.

Animation Foundations: Storyboarding -Best Course for the Technical Aspect of Storyboarding

Starting at - £29.99/individual course
Pros
  • One month free trial 
  • Special focus on film grammar & terms 
  • Exercise file available
Cons
  • Not the best course on storyboarding for beginners 
  • Rating: 9.3/10 
  • Platform: Linkedin Learning 
  • Level of difficulty: Beginner & Intermediate
  • Duration: 14 lessons (1h 32m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: £29.99 (individual course) 

If you want to study technical film language in addition to basic storyboarding and illustration methods, this is one of the best online programs to follow.

Brought to you by one of the world’s leading eLearning platforms, this course covers the technical side of storyboarding, explaining concepts like aspect ratios and story panels. In addition, it explores film grammar by providing lectures on acts, sequences, and scenes, as well as the different types of shots and camera movements. The final section goes through the actual storyboarding procedure, paying attention to the finer details like lighting and perspective, postures and staging before looking at the completed sequence.

Introduction to Storyboarding -Best Storyboarding Course Overall

Starting at - $10
Pros
  • 100% positive reviews 
  • 29 additional resources
  • Great value for money
Cons
  • The app could be more user-friendly 
  • Rating: 10/10
  • Platform: Domestika 
  • Level of difficulty: Beginner 
  • Duration: 18 lessons (2h 30m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: $10

Looking for a beginner-friendly course that will help you master the principles of visual storytelling? This Domestika workshop, presented by award-winning storyboard creator and character designer Laura Ewing will do just that in 18 easy-to-consume lessons. 

Introduction to Storyboarding is designed for illustrators and aspiring storyboard artists who want to add more narrative to their production while also touching upon the industry’s fundamentals. As such, it covers all the basics, from learning how to draw to analysing the construction of a scene. The course is rounded off with a personal project in which you create a storyboard of your own—a great chance to show off your skills and assess your progress. 

Illustration of Storyboards for Cinema and Advertising -Best Value for Money

Starting at - $10.99
Pros
  • 16 additional resources 
  • 99% positive reviews 
  • Available on app
Cons
  • Basic drawing skills required
  • Rating: 9.8/10 
  • Platform: Domestika 
  • Level of difficulty: Beginner 
  • Duration: 19 lessons (4h 3m)
  • Certificate available 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: $10.99 

Clocking at 4+ hours, Illustration of Storyboards for Cinema and Advertising is one of the longest on the list, as well as one of the easiest to master. The main reason is that the instructor, Pablo Buratti, a storyboard artist who has collaborated with film directors Pedro Almodóvar and JA Bayona, is able to transfer years of experience into 19 easily-digestible storyboarding lessons

Approaching storyboarding as a professional project, the instructor will teach you how to visualise a narrative screenplay, break down scenes and use different tools to add drama. You will then use these techniques to create a storyboard of 20 cartoons, with Pablo guiding you through the entire process.

Storyboarding Your Film -Best Storyboarding Course for Beginners

Starting at - $8/individual class
Pros
  • Content available offline 
  • Casual lecture-type classes 
  • Video lessons shown in HD
Cons
  • Some might find it too theoretical  
  • Rating: 9.5/10 
  • Platform: CreativeLive
  • Level of difficulty: Beginner 
  • Duration: 10 lessons (3h 42m)
  • Certificate: No 
  • Lifetime access: Yes
  • Price: $8 (individual class) 

You don’t have to be Da Vinci to be a good storyboard artist. In fact, with this beginner-friendly CreativeLive course, all you need is the desire to learn to be able to successfully use storyboards as the basis for your production. 

Instructors Chris Prynoski and Christy Karacas will cover the fundamentals of storyboarding and go over the best tools and instruments employed in the trade by using some of their original and pre-existing work as practical examples.

This workshop has only ten lessons yet boasts about four hours of content. As a result, it tackles all the challenges in detail without being too demanding—perfect for those learning to storyboard for the first time.

How to Choose the Best Online Storyboarding Classes? 

With a myriad of online courses available, it can be hard to find one that ticks all the boxes. 

These are the factors you should consider before you sign up for storyboarding training online. 

Select your field of focus

Storyboarding is used across several creative areas, including cinema, marketing, gaming, and animations, so it’s critical to choose a course that is relevant to your field of interest

You should also clearly define what you hope to accomplish with the course (do you want the basics of sketching or do you want to learn how to pitch ideas to potential customers), so pick one that will provide you with the most comprehensive skills for your needs. 

Chose a suitable level of difficulty

You don’t want to get stuck with a class you don’t understand. That’s why the difficulty level is a must to consider before enrolling in a storyboarding class. Luckily, most storyboard courses available online do not require previous knowledge or skills; however, you should always check the requirements before signing up for a subscription. 

Look for extra features 

In addition to the basics, a good storyboarding online course should have some extra features, ranging from certification to offline access to resources. Being able to view course content on mobile and tablets is another plus, as is lifelong access to course materials, i.e. so you can still view lectures and practice files even after you complete the course. 

Find the right teaching style 

Think about what teaching style resonates best with you. Do you learn better from bite-sized lectures, or do you prefer longer classes? Do you want a lecturer-type course or a more interactive one with real-world examples?  

Once you know the answers to these questions, you won’t have a problem picking from the best online storyboarding classes

Make sure you are ready to learn

Read up on the required software solutions for the course you choose and ensure that the device you are using is equipped with all of them. You wouldn’t want to get started with a course just to find that you don’t have the right software for the job. 

FAQ

How can I learn storyboard online?

Luckily, learning to storyboard online has never been easier. All you need to do is find a course that suits your needs and take it from there.

Is storyboarding difficult?

As with any creative job, storyboarding requires a lot of technique, patience and, most importantly, imagination. However, if you are determined to make this your profession, you should definitely invest your time and money in an online course. After all, nothing beats learning from professionals.

How do you storyboard an animation?

Storyboard animation is a visual storyline that showcases the flow of a video using animation sketches, photographs, or illustrations. To create a tale, all of the main scenes and events are drawn and placed out chronologically in the animated video. But to be able to learn these skills quickly and conveniently, check our list of the best online storyboarding classes and find the one that meets all your needs.