Animation Storyboard Examples

Animated Storyboard Examples

1. Fantasy Anime Storyboard Example

Animation storyboard examples can show what an animated scene looks like before the animating process even starts. For example, you'll notice the Studio Ghibli storyboard (not official, just inspired!) is showcasing majestic realism with the visuals and the ambient sound is considered to create a full experience when viewing the storyboard.

This Japanese animation storyboard essentially becomes an animatic example which can help test pacing and storytelling before the start of production, saving you money and time.

Animated Storyboard Examples

2. Sci-Fi Adventure Storyboard Example (Pixar’s Wall-E)

Pixar's Wall-E is a prime example of how to illustrate key story beats when it's broken down visually. You'll notice Wall-E's first interaction with Eve, and how these rough sketches can actually capture the comedic timing and pacing of a scene.

In StudioBinder, our digital storyboard software enables you to upload sketches, sync it with your script (optional), and even view an animatic of what it would look like before animation actually starts.

Watch how the final animation scene played out and how closely they followed the Wall-E storyboard examples from above.

Animated Storyboard Examples

3. Whimsical Animation Storyboard Example

Animation storyboard examples can illustrate how objects can come alive on the screen. This Pixar-inspired storyboard example uses a combination of lighting, camera movement, mood, expressions, and motion to turn a simple teapot into a complete emotional arc for the lead character.

Again, this is simply a snippet of a complete scene, so you can imagine how your imagination and creative lighting can expand on the story further.

Setting up a 5-column approach can also help with testing the pacing and mood of the scene before you actually start drawing or animating.

When you storyboard the conflict and resolution, you'll be able to save so much time in the long run and make sure that the emotional beats actually land.

Animated Storyboard Examples

4. Action Anime Storyboard Example

Anime storyboard examples just show the bold visuals and energy that has been defined by Japanese animation for decades. You'll notice in the storyboard below that it visualizes action sequences to emotional moment.

The best anime storyboards understand how to show action, speed, drama while keeping it cinematic. This 6-panel storyboard can help with fine tuning when it comes to pacing and emotional arcs in any scene. From the sharp lines and camera angles, this action scene pulls you in.

Animated Storyboard Examples

5. Romantic Fantasy Animated Storyboard Example (Aladdin)

This storyboard example from the animated movie Aladdin shows Jasmine's curiosity of the magic carpet, which leads directly into the well-known magic carpet ride scene.

You'll notice in the storyboard that it's an extremely effective way to map out how the characters interact with one another and how to showcase movement in a scene.

Watch the famous magic carpet ride from Aladdin and compare how closely it related to the original storyboard (minus minor costume differences).

Animated Storyboard Examples

6. Comedy Cartoon Storyboard Example

Cartoon animation storyboards examples should also capture the platful storytelling shows on screen before animation begins. You'll notice the sequence below shows Bill sneaking through a dark kitchen in the middle of the night with a flashlight in his hands, and he's got his eyes set on a cookie jar.

As the storyboard panels continue, you'll notice tension is still building. For example, the creaky wooden floors, the excitements, Jake's entrance into the scene, etc.

When the cookie jar falls, it's essentially showing how animatic examples can help with comedic timing.

Cartoon storyboards like this help you figure out the rhythm, expressions, sound effects, etc. before animation officially begins.

Animated Storyboard Examples

7. Mystery Anime Storyboard Example

This is a animation storyboard example of a mystery anime short film and demonstrates how visual storytelling can capture tension in a scene. The main character is named Elias, a young inventor, who works late into the night and surrounding by ticking clocks. 

What makes this animation storyboard so good is how it combines atmosphere with the tension-building suspense. The spinning clock hands aren't just visuals, they're key moments for sound design to be figured out as an animatic example. You can test the timing and mood to build suspense for a scene without any animation actually starting.

Think of a storyboard as a blueprint so you can nail the tension and emotion ahead of time.

Animated Storyboard Examples

8. Musical Romantic Fantasy Animated Storyboard (Beauty and the Beast)

This storyboard sequence from the animated film Beauty and the Beast shows the famous scene of Beast transforming after Belle declares her love. These are the earliest sketches that were drawn by Disney artists, Chris Sanders and Brenda Chapman, and it perfectly captures the emotional shift in the scene as Beast reveals the Prince.

This storyboard example shows the power of visual storytelling and has now become one of the most memorable scenes in film animation history.

As you'll notice from the video below, the storyboard was directly referenced during the final scene in Beauty and the Beast.

Animated Storyboard Examples

9. Dark Fantasy Animation Storyboard Example

Let's talk about some dark fantasy animated films, similar to Coraline or Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. This genre of animation storyboard examples can push your story into even darker tones. For example, in this gothic-heavy storyboard, the visuals carry unease in every shot. From the child clutching her rabbit, the fast-ticking clock, dark hallway, etc.

When it comes to atmosphere, mood boards and storyboards are vital.

This gives you an opportunity to also figure out the timing as tension continues building, scene-by-scene. How long should a close-up hold for until the next reveal?

Storyboarding in this way helps you maximize the suspense for something like a dark fantasy horror movie. You can plan out the jump scares and emotional beats early in the pre-production process to save hours of costly rework later.

Animated Storyboard Examples

10. Sci-Fi Action Animation Storyboard Examples

Now here's an example of a sci-fi action animated storyboard and how to pre-visualize with neon lighting. You'll notice plenty of glowing props, rooftop chases and even a drone chasing shot, all inside this one storyboard.

Storyboarding also has the added benefit of experimenting with lighting design choices and camera movement to really visualize the scenes. You might realize that your project might be closer to Blade Runner's cyberpunk world-build vs. the Spider-Verse. This will ultimately keep the tone of your storyboard consistent, for all the scenes in your script.

Animated Storyboard Examples

11. Dark Superhero Animation Storyboard Examples

The beautiful thing about storyboards is that they can be so different from one another, from the world-building to the tone. Or aesthetically, whether you decide on using hand-drawn sketches, reference images, opt for black and white vs. color, etc.

If you're planning a neo-noir film, dark action or dark superhero film, this is the ideal animated storyboard example for you. Notice the atmosphere, sound, and pacing comes across very clearly in this one-column approach to your storyboard. When would you want to create a 1-column storyboard? It could be for fight scenes, car chases or character introductions. 

In this example, watch how Iron Phantom's entrance is staged like a film noir detective film, from the rain-slicked alleys, cloudy weather, and neon signs. 

Animated Storyboard Examples

12. Sci-Fi Classic Animated Storyboards (The Iron Giant)

This storyboard example from the animated movie The Iron Giant (1999) shows how facial reactions and comedic timing is handled in a professionally animated movie.

When Hogarth angrily tells Giant that he just ate a piece of metal art, Giant pauses (as he continue thinking), and then yanks the metal out of his mouth. This not only capture the Giant's personality, but also the pacing of the scene.

Storyboards can show the performance, pacing and the comedic timing of a scene. 

In the final animated film, you'll see how close the animation followed the storyboards (from the camera angle to the pacing). Watch the video below:

Animated Storyboard Examples

13. Fairy Tale Animation Storyboard Example

The best animation storyboard examples aren't just for visualizing scenes because you can also read the scene while looking at the storyboard.

For example, this fairytale storyboard shows the script to the left, and it aligns with the princess meeting the rabbit. This is hugely useful because it makes it easier to sync tone, pacing and the visuals all on the same page.

Plus, you can catch issues early on if you notice that the emotional beats aren't coming across as they should be. For example, maybe after re-reading the screenplay, you may realize that a close-up is useful in a particular spot.

This storyboard example highlights how the storyboarding process is essentially a bridge between the screenplay and the animation production process. There's a reason that it's called a storyboard, key word, "story."