Storyboards
Help sell your ideas, transforming your script and visions into visual communication as handcrafted detailed illustrations
Storyboard production can be complicated and appear stressful. After 13 years of experience in creating storyboards for animated music videos, animated explainer videos, and animated whiteboard videos, Anders Sundstedt has found an approach that has led to many multi-award-winning animated videos and satisfied clients worldwide.
Storyboard Production for The Big Balloon to the Moon – Animated Music Video
Above is a recent storyboard Anders Sundstedt created for the successful multi-award-winning animated music video we made. This music video is 13 x award winner and many other awards at international film festivals. The video was storyboarded, directed, designed, animated, illustrated, and edited by Anders Sundstedt.
The Completed Music Video – Karl Baudoin – The Big Balloon to the Moon
Karl Baudoin – The Big Balloon to the Moon (14th June, 2022).
Our process is straightforward but flexible. We usually start by asking the client for a script for the video, if it’s an explainer video. If it’s a music video, we ask the artist about the song, what they have in mind, and their idea for the video, and based on that discussion, we create a storyboard that outlines what the scenes/shots are for the animated music video.
Storyboard Production for Wonder – Animated Music Video
Above is the most recent storyboard Anders Sundstedt created for the animated music video ‘Wonder’. This music video was storyboarded, directed, designed, animated, illustrated, and edited by Anders Sundstedt, like att the videos on this website.
The Finished Animated Music Video – Tom John – Wonder
Tom John – Wonder (14th April, 2023).
What makes Sundstedt Animation unique and different from most storyboard providers, is that we have the experience of also creating all the animated films and videos that we storyboarded, from scratch. We have actually animated every short film and animated music video on this website. There are lots of examples that we storyboarded, directed and animated in the portfolio:
We use our storyboards to plan and create all the artwork and compositions we need to create, plus what characters and animations we will need to create. The storyboard is a reference, but the actual look and composition is often different from the storyboard sketches. For example, the storyboard sketches are very rough and quickly drawn, unlike the highly detailed, clean and refined artwork in the video.
Here is another example of a storyboard page for an animated music video we created for the rap artist Francis, followed by our finished animated music video:
Storyboard for Francis – Trinity – Music Video
Completed music video – Francis – Trinity
Francis – Trinity (Animated Music Video)
Anders Sundstedt is a video director, storyboard artist, animator and illustrator of all the award-winning short films and videos on this website. Anders storyboards, directs and creates all videos himself from scratch. He creates a storyboard to help him plan out each scene and it’s contents, composition and actions. The storyboard also helps us figure out the required artwork, props, characters and backgrounds we need to create for the video.
The storyboard is often in a stick-men type of style, but sometimes a little more detailed. If we want the storyboard to be more detailed and actually be a start of the art direction, design/look of the shots, then we may take much more time in drawing the storyboard more like what the actual shot will look like, but for most storyboards it is only a simple reference.
Here is another example of a roughly sketched and partially coloured, internal storyboard, followed by the final animated explainer video we made for Eco-Schools:
Eco-Schools Explainer Video Storyboard
Completed Eco-Schools Explainer Video
Eco-Schools Animated Cartoon Explainer Video
So, if you are interested in a storyboard for an animated video, animated explainer video, whiteboard video or animated music video, please remember we can actually create the animated video for you as well, as an independent animation studio. This means you work directly with us, and you don’t need to use separate storyboard and video production studios. Because the storyboard artist Anders Sundstedt is also the creator of all our animated videos, he can both help visualize your ideas into storyboards and then make an awesome 2d animated video based on his storyboard ideas.
Here is one more example of our explainer video storyboards, followed by the final animated explainer video we created based on our storyboard:
Pfizer Explainer Video Storyboard
Completed Pfizer Explainer Video
How we create storyboards
01 Storyboard Brief
The most important part of storyboard production. We can take the brief either via email, over the phone or face-to-face, to ensure we have every detail to tell your story. For music videos, we learn what’s in your head and turn it into a storyboard. For an explainer video or other short films, we follow the clients written script, that provides any narrative plus a brief description of the scene content. (Sometimes the client provides a simpler storyboards at the start, in addition to their script. This helps to better understand what’s in the clients head.
We can then take the client script/storyboard and work out the official storyboard for the film or video, ready to be animated. Since we are used to creating all the short films or videos we have storyboarded in-house, we have kept the visual style of the storyboard simple and sketchy, but if client would want a more detailed, refined, complex and coloured storyboard, this is something we can do (for an example, see the storyboard at the top of this page for the Big Balloon to the Moon music video).
Here is one more example of one of the storyboard pages for the handcrafted animated music video for the rap/hip-hop artist Kÿpe, followed by our finished animated music video:
Kÿpe – Poka – Music Video Storyboard
Completed Kÿpe – Poka – Music Video
Kÿpe – Poka (Good-bye) (Animated Music Video) 2020
02 Storyboard Production
We provide an initial sketch drawing to work out the content and composition. We can then send this to the client for approval. This is usually followed by a line drawing to show more detail. Finally we colour the frames to bring them to life. Colour is optional, but we usually do it to give a better idea of the tone. Sometimes we use grayscale instead, like for whiteboard videos, as they are often not coloured.
03 Storyboard Delivery
We deliver the stroryboard digitally in the format that you have asked for. Typically these are PNG images or a PDF. We use a resolution sufficient to print out the boards on paper, if this is something you are interested in.
Here is another relevant example of the storyboard we created for an animated music video for the duo The Lark and the Loon, followed by the completed animated music video we handcrafted:
Storyboard for The Old Red Rooster Music Video
Completed music video for The Old Red Rooster
The Lark and the Loon – The Old Red Rooster (Official Music Video). Animation Director, Illustrator & Animator: Anders Sundstedt. 2018