Introduction to Storyboarding for Animated Films

A course by Petra Popescu , Storyboard Artist

Storyboard Artist. Leipzig, Germany.
Joined August 2021

Learn to visually interpret a script and capture the emotions of the plot and characters with your drawings

93% positive reviews (58)
3,371 students
Audio: German
German · Spanish · English · Portuguese · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch

Learn to visually interpret a script and capture the emotions of the plot and characters with your drawings

There are more than 100 different ways to express an idea. But there's only one that can make your audience laugh or cry. In this online course, Petra Popescu teaches you how to think like her, a professional storyboard artist, whose job is to plan how a film sequence will look on screen by wearing many hats. According to Petra, she's a director, camera operator, editor, actor, and lighting technician all rolled into one, playing the role of each with a pen in hand.

Learn to immerse yourself in another universe and the characters who live there, as well as explore the best way a camera can capture a story. For the final project, draw a storyboard for a scene with a short dialogue following your teacher's professional approach, from the script analysis and initial concepts to a rough board and the final art. Discover just how much emotion a look, a pose, or a slight hand gesture can convey!

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What will you learn in this online course?

18 lessons & 21 downloads

Analyzing the Script
8 minutes, 25 seconds
Creating Thumbnails
15 minutes, 36 seconds
Creating More Thumbnails
17 minutes, 10 seconds
Storyboarding in Photoshop
10 minutes, 18 seconds
  • 93% positive reviews (58)
  • 3,371 students
  • 18 lessons (3h 46m)
  • 21 additional resources (9 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: German
  • German · Spanish · English · Portuguese · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a storyboard for an animated film, taking a professional approach to your work. You can use the material Petra provides, like the script, character design, and setting, or work on a personal project with your own materials.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone who wants to learn how to visually interpret a script and tell stories efficiently through images, whether as a storyboard, editorial illustration, or conceptual art.

Requirements and materials

Some drawing skills and experience are required for this course.

The industry standard for storyboarding is Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, but you can complete your final project with just pen and paper or a program like Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, or Procreate.


Reviews

3,371 Students
58 Reviews
93% Positive ratings
  • More reviews

Petra Popescu

A course by Petra Popescu

Teacher Plus
Storyboard Artist

Petra Popescu lives in Germany and works as a freelance storyboard artist in the animation industry. After graduating with a degree in graphic design, she found her calling during the first few projects she worked on as a prop and character designer and director's assistant. She started exploring the world of black-and-white Japanese comics at a young age thanks to anime series Dragon Ball, sparking her life-long fascination with the expressive power of a few simple lines and shading.

The current aim of her art is to elicit intense emotions from her audience using minimal resources. Her work ranges from film projects and video game cinematics to US and German children's shows, as well as movies and series for Netflix.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • About Me
    • Inspirations
  • U2

    Introduction to Storyboarding

    • What Are Storyboards and What Is Their Function?
    • Introduction to Cinematography
    • Film Editing
  • U3

    First Steps to the Storyboard

    • Analyzing the Script
    • Creating Thumbnails
    • Creating More Thumbnails
    • Storyboarding with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro
    • Storyboarding in Photoshop
  • U4

    Storyboard Rough

    • Into the Depth 1
    • Into the Depth 2
    • Characters
    • Acting and Relationship of the Characters
    • When Do We Cut and Why? Hook-up
    • 180-Degree Rule
  • U5

    Final Touches and Application of Your Storyboard

    • Cleanup
    • Presenting Your Storyboard
  • FP

    Final project

    • Introduction to Storyboarding for Animated Films

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Introduction to Storyboarding for Animated Films. Illustration, 3D, and Animation course by Petra Popescu

Introduction to Storyboarding for Animated Films

A course by Petra Popescu
Storyboard Artist. Leipzig, Germany.
Joined August 2021
  • 93% positive reviews (58)
  • 3,371 students