𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗦: 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝟭𝟵𝟯𝟬, 𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲.

𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

Back in the 1930s, The Walt Disney Company animators couldn’t shoot first and edit later (common for live-action then). Every frame cost dearly. So they pinned sketches to walls and called them storyboards. Simple, smart, and still pre-production’s backbone.

Fast-forward: two clever cousins joined.

• 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 (Disney again) string rough frames with timing, voice, and sound. A moving mood board that spots pacing issues early. Fun fact: originally “Leica reels” after the projectors.

• 𝟯𝗗 𝗪𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀. Like animatics, essential for CGI to check motion before costly rendering.

𝗠𝗬 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

• 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟴 Started with 𝗜𝗻𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. Clunky as a cart.

• 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟭 Apple 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 takes centre stage. Faster cropping, framing, plus video in the deck.

• 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟮 Bye Wacom. Hello Procreate 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗣𝗮𝗱 sketching + onion-skin animations.

• Post-COVID Figma dominated: near-infinite canvas made reshuffling a breeze, plus real-time collab, reusable components, and more tools... video preview sucked!

• 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗔𝗜.pro consistent AI sketches in seconds with little refinement. Not my first AI tool, but the first viable visual generator in my pipeline.

I also considered:

 • Boords tempted with script-to-board magic, but I was already paying for Figma.

 • Toon Boom lingers in mind… if I were only a 2D animator.

***Any other recommendations?***

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗨𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘

Personally, I’m no stranger to AI tools. I’ve used AI for the last seven years, but the real pivot point is here and now.

Lines between ideation, storyboarding, editing, sound scaping, rigging, and rendering are blurring fast. One day, entire pipelines may live in a single platform. This can already be seen in:

• Adobe 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 drops to beta soon (I’m on the waiting list).

• 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵 (12–18 months out) raises the bar: node-based workflows like Maxon 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮 𝟰𝗗 𝗫𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼, 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁, or 𝗡𝘂𝗸𝗲.

• Aggregators like 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 Weavy, ComfyUI, and Luvian fuse ideation, boarding, and generation in one canvas—no app-hopping.

• Add 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗜𝘁 (3D frames), 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 (relights), 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 (AI audio).

Storyboards aren’t fading. They’re upgrading and becoming the core of the creative journey, not just initial ideation. AI hands us speed and democratises skill; we just need to add some soul.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗻? 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄.

hashtag#𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 hashtag#𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 hashtag#𝗔𝗜𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆