Storyboarding is an important part of animation, but it’s also an art all its own combining drawing and illustration with storytelling.
And those things are harder to combine than you might think!
They require a lot of planning and the ability to tell a story with visuals. It’s a handy skill for any animator or comic artist so it’s never a bad idea to familiarize yourself with this craft.
One of the best ways to learn storyboarding is to observe others who have already mastered the skill. We love Instagram for this!
Here’s a list with some of our favorite storyboard artists on Instagram. Find a few whose work inspires you, give them a follow, and start practicing your own boards whenever you have time.
Amelia is a storyboard artist for Disney. Her feed is a colorful mix of storyboards, doodles, character sketches, comics, and life updates.
In her account you’ll find everything from quick ink sketches to finished digital pieces and get a closer look at her process and style.
As you scroll you’ll notice how her style evolves both in the way she draws her characters and her coloring techniques.
Even if you aren’t into storyboarding and just want to look at beautiful art and funny comics in your Instagram feed, well definitely check her out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZz9gTh9QF/
Jordan is a storyboard artist for Nickelodeon so his style might look familiar.
You’ll see plenty of finished digital renderings, storyboards, quick sketches, comics, even the occasional napkin doodle.
His account is full of inspiration for storyboard artists and cartoon fans. You can also check out his Etsy shop for prints, books, and coasters featuring his work!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvwiqTABqpo/
Caroline is a Looney Tunes and Spongebob Squarepants veteran so you’ll see lots of SpongeBob sketches here.
If you’re a fan make sure to check her out.
She posts lots of short comic strips and storyboards as well as original character designs and sketches from other cartoon shows. She also includes plenty of sketchbook drawings and finished digital renderings.
In other words: she creates a lot of art in a lot of different formats and you can probably learn a lot from her feed!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7sYnMFL4g/
Kay has worked on Rick and Morty as a story artist which is pretty impressive!
You won’t see a lot of storyboards here, but she’s amazing at character design and illustration.
Many of her characters are fantastical creatures and humans with amazingly rendered facial expressions and stunning linework.
You might notice some familiar faces as well as original characters and illustrations, both digital and on paper.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsRFcqchtsR/
Alex has worked for both Nickelodeon and Marvel and creates incredible storyboards along with her own character sketches, including hand-drawn ink pieces.
Her illustration skills are incredible and she has a special knack for drawing female characters, facial expressions, and movement.
We also published a fantastic interview with Alex if you want to learn more about her history as an artist.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt3-T0BlyRA/
Ryan is a storyboard artist and animator who beautifully captures moments from everyday life in art on Instagram.
You’ll also find sketches of new characters in his own style, which is reminiscent of modern Disney films with a little more attitude.
In his account you’ll also find many characters from popular cartoons as well as original character drawings and stylized family portraits with quick sketchbook drawings. Lots of variety here.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpuu8AhBEq3/
Tim has quite a background! His style echoes classic superhero comics whether he’s drawing actual superheroes, other pop culture icons, or original characters.
Check out these incredibly detailed character drawings and keep in mind that almost everything on his account is hand-drawn on paper!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDj-DQBO9p/
If you’re any kind of animation lover then you’ll love Cheyenne’s quirky, cartoony style.
Her account is a mix of digital and hand-drawn character sketches as well as details from her life experiences so you can see where she gets her inspiration.
You’ll definitely see the connection between her fun personality and whimsical character drawings.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btzo8JalLGd/
Beth is a storyboard artist at Bento Box and her account is a blend of figure drawings, clean character sketches, scenes from her own life, and sketchbook line studies of everyday objects.
She’s great at packing a lot of personality into a simple drawing. Her characters take on a life of their own which is no easy task.
There’s a great mishmash of pieces here that’s sure to inspire any artist.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BovUzceBpgb/
Almu has worked on quite a few big projects with a lot of story experience.
Her wide-ranging style includes everything from whimsical digital paintings and character renderings to ethereal landscape illustrations and meticulous ink drawings of buildings and environments.
Her detailed environment drawings are a lot of fun to get lost in, and she’s amazing at setting a mood in her color studies.
Her figure work is also masterful, really showing off her skills as a classical artist as well as a storyboard artist.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeNqIkNlyri/
Stephen currently works for Disney Animation Studios and one look over his Instagram shows that he’s incredibly talented.
You’ll probably recognize a lot of popular characters in his drawings so it’s fun to scroll through his account and see all the different phases, including Christmas-themed drawings, superheroes, Inktober, pigs, and lots more.
You’ll get to see storyboards from projects he’s worked on for Disney as well as original slice-of-life illustrations and fanciful marker drawings that show off his range.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwCiITsldzc/
Ari is a storyboard artist for Nickelodeon. His account is full of character sketches and one-page panel-less comics, which is an interesting style that’s worth checking out if you’re interested in comics or storyboarding.
In fact, you can fall down quite a rabbit hole just by looking through his comics.
Ari is especially amazing at facial expressions which is crucial for telling stories and creating characters through images.
His drawings ooze personality, movement, and fun. Any aspiring illustrator or storyboard artist can glean a lot from these works of art.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuckwcKFOJQ/
Gina is a pro storyboard artist for Netflix. Her style is very clean, refined, and expressive, yet her characters themselves are quirky and relatable.
You’ll find original characters and stylized pop culture characters all mixed in, as well as some practice doodles, comics, and storyboards.
Make sure to check out her hilarious and irreverent comics starring a cartoon version of herself.
They showcase not only her art skills and her storytelling chops, but her sense of humor as well.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyHKxJFUJO/
Vince works for Disney Animation Studios and his style could be described as classic Disney with a manga twist. Take a look. You’ll understand.
His account is a good blend of quick hand-drawn sketches, digital practice drawings, and finished pieces, all with a consistent character style.
Though his characters are highly stylized, his knowledge of proportions, perspective, portraiture, and the human figure really shine through.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGCrnRHH-f/
Jake Hollander is another Nickelodeon storyboard artist who recently worked on Disenchantment.
His style ranges quite a bit in mood and subject matter.
You’ll notice characters, creatures, and stylized cartoons as well as characters with more true to life proportions.
He’s clearly skilled with character design and human expression. Some of his characters are almost caricatures while others appear realistic yet extremely simple.
In his account you can find many of his storyboards, studies, and character designs. Enjoy!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnZT-8LBFtz/
Tiffany has worked for Cartoon Network and Disney, and her account showcases her artistic range as well as her writing skills.
She has a unique style which you can see in her quick colorblock character sketches.
Her characters are simple but very deliberate, sometimes becoming almost abstract, though they’re still enjoyably whimsical.
Follow her on Instagram to get updates on her character drawings, storyboards, and web comics.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwI9jFJh_Xi/
Sarah is a storyboard artist for Nickelodeon and her brightly-colored, expressive style will probably remind you a lot of your favorite cartoons.
She’s an incredible cartoonist with an eye-catching palette and energetic movement in her work. And she’s amazing at drawing character expressions.
You’ll see Nickelodeon characters and original character sketches, finished digital paintings, snapshots of storyboards, and quick sketchbook drawings.
If you’re a fan of classic cartoons then check her out!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bck8YqeB00l/
Here’s another highly skilled artist with a wide-ranging style.
Check out her account for round, exaggerated cartoon characters, anthropomorphic animals, fantastical humanoids, and relatable cartoon humans.
There’s also plenty of photos with doodles, storyboards, and life updates. She has quite a range!
Some of her characters are stylized(isn’t her cartoon self awesome?) while others are far more realistic with more lifelike proportions.
In both cases her work is lots of fun and shows a strong background in illustration. This is one account you’ll absolutely want to follow.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkeqLYLH2a1/
Ariel is a working storyboard artist for Disney Television Animation, which seems appropriate since she shares a name with one of the most popular Disney princesses.
Her character drawings are bright and colorful, full of life, and just exuding that Disney energy.
She shares lots of original characters along with fan art, comics, storyboards, and pictures from her life like travel pictures.
It’s a lot of fun to observe her work and where she gets her inspiration. This is also a great illustrator to save if you want to develop a similar style in your work.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtoU_Eklnhp/
Bryan Turner is another fantastic story artist who works on the Scooby-Doo cartoons for Warner Brothers.
His style varies from characters who look like they walked right out of the Mystery Machine to gritty warriors and muscley superheroes.
You’ll see his take on popular characters as well as some originals, both digitally created and drawn by hand, all in full color with a few B&W sketches.
By far a stellar storyboard artist worth following if you have an interest in modern cartooning or animation.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZnQKx_nvCs/