10 Best Practices on How to Storyboard an Animation

Animation has become an increasingly popular medium for businesses and brands looking to engage and entertain their audiences. But before the magic of animation can come to life, it all starts with a storyboard. A storyboard is a visual representation of your animation, outlining the characters, settings, actions, and dialogue that will bring your story to life.

Whether you’re creating an animated explainer video, a social media ad, or a branded content piece, a well-planned animation storyboard is crucial to the success of your project. It helps you define your objectives, refine your ideas, and ensure that your animation is on track to meet your goals.

In this blog post, we’ll explore 10 best practices on how to storyboard an animation that will captivate and engage your target audience. We’ll also share some animation storyboard examples and key benefits of why working with an animation production company will be valuable for your next marketing effort.

Benefits of a Storyboard Animation

Whether it’s a feature-length film, a commercial, or a short video, a storyboard provides a visual representation of the creative vision behind a project. The process of creating a storyboard allows filmmakers, animators, and advertisers to bring their ideas to life, communicate their concepts effectively, and make important decisions about pacing, camera angles, and visual effects.

In this section, we will explore the key benefits of having a storyboard for your animation project.

1. Improved Planning and Organization

Storyboarding is crucial in creating an animated video that effectively communicates a brand’s message. By taking the time to plan out each shot and scene beforehand, you can ensure that your animation storyboard aligns with your specific needs and goals.

Additionally, storyboarding helps to outline the entire animation production process, from the beginning to the end. This allows for a better understanding of the project timeline and resources needed, and a clearer sense of the story structure.

HOW SUPERPIXEL COMMUNICATES LAZADA’S SERVICE FEATURES AND INFORMATION THROUGH STORYBOARD

Here’s how we used a storyboard to communicate Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia ad for one of their marketing campaigns. The purpose of the ad was to introduce a new service that was aimed to help businesses and sellers increase their number of sales on their platform.

The storyboard frames showcase an animated storyboard that communicates Lazada’s service through depictions of real-life scenarios with the use of 2D characters along with an explanation of the service’s features and information. In one frame, the dashboard feature is displayed to allow viewer’s a visual guide on how the service operates – just like how a user would see it on their screen.

The use of storyboarding in this ad campaign allows Lazada to communicate all the necessary details included in their service in a visually engaging way. Yet, still allowing it to be simple and appealing for viewers to stay engaged. The storyboard frames seamlessly break down the information and features into smaller chunks – making it easy for viewers to understand how the service works and why they should use it.

2. Better Budget Management

Animation production can be a time-consuming and expensive process, but having a clear storyboard can help streamline the process and reduce the risk of costly mistakes and re-dos. It can help to identify and address any potential budget constraints early in the production process, allowing for adjustments to be made before they become significant problems.

With a well-planned storyboard, the production team has a clear understanding of the vision and goals for the animation, reducing the number of rounds of revisions and ensuring that the final product meets the intended goals.

How superpixel mapped out the story flow and visual structure using Storyboard to Communicate Mandai’s concept

Ranger Buddies is a programme by Singapore’s Mandai Wildlife Reserve that aims to nurture children on the importance of wildlife conservation. The creative team at Superpixel came up with a creative storyboard animation to raise awareness on the effects of pollutions onto marine wildlife for their campaign.

The storyboard frames for the ad campaign utilised a character dialogue to communicate the intent of the ad – depicting a short cartoon animation that is straightforward and engaging for both children and adult audiences.

This storyboard animation uses a sea lion character animation to take the viewer on a journey illustrating all the beautiful wonders of the ocean to build excitement. However, the storyboard then takes a dark turn that led to a horrifying sight of all the plastic and rubbish floating in the ocean that was carefully crafted to raise awareness. All the details of the frames successfully presented Mandai Ranger Buddies’ concept whilst allowing the storyboard to educate its viewers on the importance of taking care of the environment.

3. Increased Creativity

A storyboard animation can lead to increased creativity by providing a visual framework for your ideas. With a storyboard, you can experiment with different variations, test new concepts, and refine your ideas until they are just right.

Furthermore, using rough sketches in a storyboard can also provide an outlet for the animators and designers to showcase their creative flair and bring their style to the project. Overall, the use of a storyboard animation can lead to increased creativity, imaginative storytelling, and a more memorable and impactful final product.

What Did mcdonalds do to Promote a Successful Ad Campaign?

McDonalds used a short 3D animation for their Family Mental Wellness campaign to highlight the importance of familial support. In the pre production process for this ad campaign, Superpixel used a storyboard to meticulously plan and organise the sequence of events for this short animated film.

The campaign illustrates the battles that children might face and how family support for example, having a meal together at McDonalds can ease their troubles away. We are delighted that the campaign was successful in touching the hearts of people and increased positive consumer behaviour towards the brand whilst providing resources for families and children. The use of storyboarding helped in refining and adding critical details to make the entire ad campaign a success.

10 Best Practices for Creating Effective Animation Storyboards

When it comes to creating a successful animation storyboard, there are several best practices that you should follow to ensure a smooth and effective process.

Here are 10 best practices for creating effective animation storyboards for your ad campaign.

1. Define the Purpose and Goals

Having a clear understanding of what you want to achieve with your animation is crucial for guiding the creation of your storyboard. Whether you’re promoting a product, raising awareness, or telling a story, defining your goals beforehand will help ensure that your animation storyboard effectively communicates your message and reaches your target audience.

2. Keep it Simple

In creating your animation storyboard, it’s important to keep things simple. Stick to using basic shapes, lines, and text for the storyboard panels. This will allow the focus to remain on the overall concept and pacing, rather than getting bogged down in the details, so that your animation storyboard effectively communicates the narrative.

3. Show, Don’t Tell

An animation storyboard is a powerful tool for visually communicating the narrative and bringing your ideas to life. Instead of relying on written descriptions, use the storyboard to effectively and efficiently convey your story in a way that captures the audience’s imagination.

4. Plan for the Story Arc

Your animation storyboard must cover the entire narrative arc, from beginning to end. Ensure that it follows a logical and coherent sequence so that the story is communicated through your animation storyboard is clear and easy to follow.

5. Incorporate Visuals

Having a skilled storyboard artist on your team can greatly enhance your animation storyboard. Using visual elements, like facial expressions, body language, and background settings, can effectively communicate the story and make it more compelling. This can elevate your storyboard to a new level.

6. Consider the Flow

Having an experienced storyboard artist on your team can ensure that your animation storyboard flows smoothly. With each panel leading seamlessly into the next, it will help maintain the pacing and keep your audience engaged. A well-crafted storyboard is a crucial component in producing a captivating animation.

7. Get Feedback

Collaborating with a skilled storyboard artist can help you achieve the desired outcome in your animation storyboard. Sharing it with colleagues, friends, or clients and receiving their feedback can ensure that the storyboard accurately reflects your vision.

8. Refine and Revise

Partnering with talented storyboard artists can bring your animation to life, but being open to feedback and willing to make changes as needed is just as important. This will help refine the concept and result in a stronger and more impactful animation.

9. Stay Consistent

Maintain consistency in the visual style and storytelling elements throughout the storyboard, to create a cohesive and effective final product.

10. Test and Iterate

Start by creating rough sketches for your storyboard, and then refine and perfect them through iteration and testing. This process will help to guarantee the final product is of the highest quality.

These ten best practices can help businesses and brands create effective and engaging animation storyboards, which can be an invaluable tool in promoting their products, services, and messages.

By following these key principles, businesses can produce an animated film that is both captivating and impactful, delivering their message to the audience, generating engagement, and meeting their set objectives.

Creating a Storyboard that Engages: The Advantages of Working with a Professional Animation Production Company

When it comes to creating a successful animation ad campaign, having an effective storyboard is crucial. But, simply having a storyboard is not enough. You need the right resources and expertise to bring your ideas to life in a way that captivates your target audience. This is where professional animation studios come in.

With their expertise and skill, they can help you create a storyboard that is not only effective but engaging and effective as well.

In this section, we’ll dive into why partnering with a professional animation production company is key for elevating your animation storyboard and bringing your ideas to life in the best possible way.

1. Expertise and Skill

Professional animation production companies have the expertise and skill to create high-quality, engaging animations that meet the needs of businesses and brands. They are equipped with the latest technology, tools, and techniques to bring the storyboard to life most effectively and engagingly.

2. Time and Cost Savings

Working with a professional animation production company can save you time and money, as they can handle all aspects of animation production, from storyboarding to post-production. This frees up valuable time and resources for other important business tasks.

3. Quality Control

Professional animation production companies have quality control processes in place to ensure that the final product meets the desired standards. This can give you peace of mind that the final product will be of the highest quality.

4. Improved Communication

Working with a professional animation production company can help to improve communication between the business or brand and the production team. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and that the animation meets the desired objectives.

5. Creative Input

Professional animation production companies can provide creative input and suggestions to businesses and brands, helping to enhance the storyboard and the final animation. This can lead to more innovative and engaging animations that stand out from the crowd.

6. Flexibility and Scalability

Professional animation production companies are flexible and scalable and can handle projects of any size or scope. This means that you can work with them on an ongoing basis, as your needs change and evolve.

7. Access to Resources

Professional animation production companies have access to a wide range of resources, including talented animators, designers, and writers. This means that you can tap into these resources to create the best possible animation for your needs.

By working with professional animation studios, you can benefit from a streamlined, high-quality animation production that meets your goals and needs. This can help to create engaging and effective ad campaigns that captivate the target audience and drive results.

Bring Your Animation Vision to Life with Superpixel

As a business or brand looking to tell your story through animation, you want to work with a production company that understands the importance of effective storyboarding. That’s where we come in at Superpixel, the best animation studio in Singapore.

Our team of seasoned storyboard artists, animators, and designers understand the significance of a well-planned storyboard. By incorporating the best practices discussed in this blog post and our proficiency, we bring your ideas to life and ensure that your animated film resonates with the target audience.

With Superpixel, you can trust that the storyboarding process will be a collaborative effort between our team and yours. We’re always striving for excellence and we never compromise on quality. We’re confident that we have the skills, experience, and passion to turn your ideas into stunning animations that make an impact.

If you’re ready to bring your story to life, get in touch with us today and let’s start your animation storyboard journey together.