Storyboarding is an important tool that animators, filmmakers, and creators use to prepare their concepts visually before the actual production process. Since 2024, there are numerous storyboarding software options with varied features that simplify the creative process and help organize it. Listed below are the top 10 storyboarding tools for every artist this year.
"The correct storyboarding software enhances creative ideas and simplifies production work. It's just a matter of finding the right mix of features and simplicity."
What is a Storyboard?
A storyboard is a series of drawings that illustrate the essential parts of a story or project. Each drawing, called a "frame," illustrates a key moment including what's happening, where, and who is involved.Storyboards are like a movie or animation's rough draft, but it allows filmmakers or animators to show how their ideas are going to look when filmed or animated before they start filming or animating. This gives them a way of planning their story, a means of ensuring everyone knows the idea, and finding issues early.
Top 10 Best Storyboarding Software of 2024
Here are the top 10 storyboarding software tools of 2024, each designed to help you transform your ideas into clear, engaging visuals.
1. Toon Boom Storyboard Pro
Best for: Professionals and Animation Companies
Toon Boom Storyboard Pro is a popular tool used by top animation studios. It has a user-friendly design with strong features to make clear, high-quality storyboards. You can easily sketch, draw, and edit frames, it even makes organizing all scenes straightforward with its timeline feature. It also supports advanced features like camera movements, sound syncing, and special effects, making it an excellent choice for animators.
Key Features:
⦁ Advanced drawing and sketching tools
⦁ Full timeline integration for animation
⦁ Support for 2D and 3D cameras
⦁ Collaboration tools for team-based projects
2. Storyboard That
Best for: Beginners and Educators
Storyboard That is a simple tool for making a storyboard. It's made for beginners and educators. It offers templates, drag-and-drop features, and a variety of pre-made characters, backgrounds, and props, making it simple to create professional-looking storyboards quickly. It’s ideal for educational purposes due to its simplicity and affordability.
Key Features:
⦁ Pre-made templates and character assets
⦁ Simple drag-and-drop interface
⦁ Easy interaction with additional devices, including Google Drive
⦁ Perfect for educational and non-professional use
3. Celtx
Best for: Scriptwriting and Pre-production
Celtx is a fully comprehensive set in pre-production with the integrated feature of storyboarding, scriptwriting, and a scheduling set, ideal for filmmakers, animators, or game developers, as it is a complete solution. Celtx helps turn your script into a visual storyboard so that scenes and shots can be easily arranged. It is a cloud-based product where teams can work on it in real-time.
Key Features:
⦁ Script-to-storyboard conversion
⦁ Cloud-based for team collaboration
⦁ Integrated shot lists and production scheduling
⦁ Available on multiple devices
4. FrameForge
Best for: Cinematic Storyboarding
FrameForge is powerful storyboarding software designed for filmmakers, especially those who are complex in camera angles and lighting in movement. The library of 3D virtual sets, characters, and props would let you see scenes clearly and show off your film cinematography in real shots.
Key Features:
⦁ 3D scene creation for accurate visualization
⦁ Controls for camera angle and lighting
⦁ Tools that help position characters in detail
⦁ Interactive storyboard editing
5. ShotPro
Best for: Mobile Storyboarding
ShotPro is a flexible storyboarding application that's perfect for traveling filmmakers and animators who'd like the storyboarding experience on the go. The usability of ShotPro is just easy to use; this mobile device will actually allow the user to create, edit and share storyboards directly from their mobile devices.
Key Features:
⦁ Mobile-first design for on-the-go storyboarding
⦁ Full camera, lighting, and character management
⦁ Easy sharing and collaboration options
⦁ Affordable and user-friendly interface
6. Boords
Best for: Collaborative Storyboarding
Boords is an online storyboarding platform with collaborative functionality. It's well-suited for project teams working on big projects because users can develop, edit, and even provide comments on storyboards in real-time. It's great for both professionals and beginners, offering feature-rich templates and easy drag-and-drop functionality.
Key Features:
⦁ Real-time collaboration and feedback
⦁ Customizable storyboard templates
⦁ Easy drag-and-drop interface
⦁ Cloud-based for easy access and sharing
7. Storyboarder
Best for: Free and Open Source
Storyboarder is free and open-source software that lets anyone make storyboards. It offers powerful features like a sketching tool, scene management, and the ability to import scripts directly. It also works well with tools like Photoshop for easy workflow.
Key Features:
⦁ Free and open-source software
⦁ Easy script importing and scene management
⦁ Integration with Photoshop for advanced editing
⦁ Lightweight and fast performance
8. Plot
Best for: Quick, Simple Storyboarding
Plot is just a simple and clean storyboarding tool good for making rapid-fire, easy, and quick storyboards. It's ideal for small projects or perhaps a very small team working on the baselines of storytelling without having complicated features. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible for beginners as well as experts.
Key Features:
⦁ Rapid and simple storyboard creation
⦁ User-friendly Interface
⦁ Cloud-based with sharing options
⦁ Best for quick planning before production
9. TVPaint Animation
Best for: Traditional Animation Storyboarding
TVPaint Animation is designed for traditional animators who prefer hand-drawn storyboards. It offers powerful drawing tools and a customizable timeline for planning scenes frame-by-frame. This software is ideal for those who want a more organic, traditional approach while enjoying digital conveniences.
Key Features:
⦁ Traditional animation tools with digital convenience
⦁ Frame-based timeline management
⦁ Many drawing tools and brushes
⦁ Supports 2D and 3D animation integration
10. StudioBinder
Best for: Filmmakers and Production Teams
StudioBinder is an all-around platform for film production management, coming with storyboarding among its tools. Storyboarding will facilitate the handling of pre-production tasks that would include scheduling, casting, and shot lists among others. Its user-friendly drag-and-drop interface and teamwork capabilities have made StudioBinder a popular choice for large-scale projects.
Key Features:
⦁ Integrated production management tools
⦁ Drag-and-drop storyboard creation
⦁ Collaboration and feedback tools
⦁ Cloud-based with mobile accessibility
Best Free and Paid Storyboarding Tools of 2024
Storyboarding software is a crucial tool in creating films and animations. There are so many tools that one can use in 2024 from free tools to paid options. This guide will look at the very best free and paid tools for 2024.Premium Software Options
Great premium tools are Storyboard Pro, Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, and StudioBinder. They have great drawing tools, work well with video editing, and help teams collaborate on the film. These attributes make them perfect for professional animation studios.Free Options for Newbies
If you are just starting, there are many free tools. Storyboard, Pixton, and Plotagon Story are good for beginners. They are simple to use and help you begin with storyboarding.Cloud-Based Solutions
With cloud-based applications, the way teams collaborate has changed dramatically. It is possible to work from anywhere with Frameforge, Boords, and Storyboard Pro Online. This solution makes it easy to collaborate as well as track change history. It's great for distributed collaboration.Some of the latest storyboard software to consider includes:
⦁ Canva: Canva is popularly known for ease of use in designing. It also has functionalities now for simple storyboard creation. This can be useful for new starters or someone looking for a pretty quick and neat solution.⦁ Power Production Software: This professional software is quite comprehensive in storyboard creation work by providing all tools for timeline management, script-to-storyboard features, and advanced editing tools just suitable for filmmakers.
⦁ Adobe Photoshop: A long-time favorite for artists, Photoshop’s powerful drawing and editing tools make it a top choice for creating detailed, hand-drawn storyboards, especially for animators and illustrators.
⦁ OpenToonz: OpenToonz is an open-source animation software that offers storyboarding tools with advanced features for animators by allotting customizable brushes and using frame-by-frame management. OpenToonz is suitable for people seeking free but powerful tools in the production of animation.