Getting Started with Storyboard Pro

Welcome to Toon Boom Storyboard Pro! In this article, you will be shown how to open a new Storyboard Pro project and start creating in a few easy steps.

If you have not yet installed Storyboard Pro, please see one of the following articles based on your operating system:

• How do I install Storyboard Pro on Windows?
• How do I install Storyboard Pro on macOS?

Step 1: Open Storyboard Pro

Once Storyboard Pro is installed, you may automatically have a shortcut on your desktop that looks something like the image on the right. If so, double-click this icon to open the program.

If the icon is not on your desktop, do one of the following:

• In Windows, open the Start menu and select Storyboard Pro from the list of programs.
• In MacOS, open Finder > Applications and double-click Toon Boom Storyboard Pro.

Step 2: Create a project

When you first open Storyboard Pro, a splash screen may appear. Dismiss the splash screen and you will be greeted by the Welcome screen:

There are many fields that can be edited depending on your needs. For now, we will only focus on a few fields as the default properties are set for commonly used industry standards and will work perfectly well for casual projects.

1. In the Project Name field, type the name you want to give your file. 
2. In the Project Directory field, choose a suitable location on your computer for the scene to be saved. The Documents folder under your username will work.
3. In the Project Title field, type the name of the story. E.g: Rover’s Walk in the Park. 
4. Ignore the other fields for now and click Create Project to open a new Storyboard Pro file.

Step 3: Get acquainted with basic views and toolbars

A new project will open in Storyboard Pro’s default workspace. We will be using the following highlighted areas for this exercise:  

1. Tools toolbar: Contains drawing, editing and transformation tools.
2. Stage view: The area where we will be creating our artwork. This view shows us all the art elements in our panel.
3. Thumbnails view: Contains a visual representation of our panels and scenes.
4. Storyboard toolbar: Lets us create (and delete) panels and scenes.
5. Panel view: Contains panel information and allows us to fill in the captions for the panel.
6. Playback toolbar: Lets us play our storyboard.

These numbers will be repeated in the next steps when these areas are mentioned, so feel free to download or print the above image to use as you follow along.

Step 4: Start Creating

1. In the Tools toolbar (1), select the Brush tool.
2. Click on the Stage view (2) and draw something in the empty space. You can increase/decrease the size of the brush by holding ‘O’ and clicking and holding the mouse/tablet pen while moving to enlarge/shrink the brush cursor. 
3. You have just created Panel 1 of Scene 1. You will also see the drawing show up in the Thumbnails view (3) under the Stage view (2). 

4. To add the next panel in the scene, locate the Storyboard toolbar (4) at the top of the workspace and click on the New Panel button.

5. You will now see two panels in the Thumbnails view (3), both surrounded by the same background to indicate they are in the same scene. Select the Thumbnails view and click on the new, blank panel.

6. The Stage view will be empty again.
7. Select the Stage view (2) and draw another image. This will be the next part of your story. 

8. Continue creating new panels and drawing to keep adding to the scene.

Step 5: Add to your storyboard

The following tips will help you finalise your storyboard:

• In the Panel view (5), you can add captions and notes for the currently selected panel.

• Create new scenes by using the New Scene button in the Storyboard toolbar (4). Add new panels to this scene as you did before.

• In the Playback toolbar (6), use the Playbutton to play an animatic of your storyboard.

• Export your project by using one of the options under the File > Export option in the top menu. See How to Export your Project for more information.

Q&A 

Question: 

Where can I learn more about the drawing tools?

Answer: 

The articles found under the Help Centre’s Drawing Tools section cover Storyboard Pro’s drawing and editing tools.

Question: 

Where can I learn more about the Welcome Screen and project properties?

Answers: 

1. For Welcome Screen settings, see Creating Projects from the Welcome Screen.
2. For project settings, see Project Properties Dialog Box.

Question: 

Why am I struggling to activate the views?

Answer: 

By default, Storyboard Pro requires that you click on each view to activate it before using its features. You can enable an auto-activate tool in your preferences so that each view activates as you hover. For more information, see How do I automatically activate a view without having to click on it?