Blank 3-panel storyboard template
A beginning, middle, and end layout for reading responses, short scenes, and first drafts.
Storyboard Templates
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What is a storyboard template?
A storyboard template is a ready-made set of frames for planning what happens in a story, video, lesson, or animation. Draw or place one important moment in each frame, then add a brief note so the sequence is easy to follow.
The blank worksheets below give you room to sketch by hand. Digital templates offer a visual starting point when you want to build the sequence online. Both help you see the order of events before you commit to finished artwork or video.
New to storyboarding? Learn what a storyboard is, or start creating one.
Why use a storyboard template?
A frame grid turns a broad idea into smaller visual decisions. It helps you catch missing steps, unclear transitions, and uneven pacing early.
Which layout should you choose?
A three-frame sequence works for a short beginning, middle, and end. Six frames give you more room for actions and camera changes. The visual style can stay rough until the story is clear.
What are the benefits?
A shared visual plan makes feedback more concrete. Students, collaborators, or production teams can discuss the same frames before drafting, filming, or finishing art.
Storyboard templates in the classroom
Younger students can illustrate the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Older students can first map the story arc with a plot diagram, then storyboard its key scenes. The same frame grid can explain a science process or compare moments in a historical event. Notes beneath each frame leave space for evidence, dialogue, or reflection.
Free printable layouts
Blank storyboard templates to print
Download a three-frame or six-frame worksheet with space for a sketch, action or dialogue, and shot or timing notes. Choose US Letter or A4 paper and print in landscape orientation.
Blank 6-panel storyboard template
Six frames for a longer classroom sequence or a shot-by-shot video plan.
Prefer a digital board? Create a storyboard online.
From frames to a shoot
Free shot list template and worked example
A storyboard shows the composition. A shot list gives the crew one row per shot: what to capture, its planned screen time, what to hear, and what must stay consistent. Use these editable CSV files alongside the three- and six-frame worksheets above.
Template and example by LlamaGen · Updated · Suggest a correction
Free downloads; no LlamaGen account needed. The blank file has 12 numbered rows; the filled file has six shots. Both have the same 10 columns. Open or import them in a spreadsheet, then use its print or PDF option.
A planned 30-second repair-cafe film
This original six-shot editorial example is a planning exercise, not a filmed customer project or a generated video. Durations are planned time in the final edit, not time to record each shot. They total 30 seconds before transitions; read the dialogue aloud and revise the timing before shooting. Number the six blank worksheet frames 1–6 to match these shots.
Scroll to see all 10 columns, including Setup and Done. Done is left blank until a shot is captured.
| Shot | Scene | Duration (s) | Framing | Action | Camera / movement | Audio | Continuity / reference | Setup | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Repair cafe | 4 | Wide | A volunteer welcomes a visitor carrying a red lamp | Eye level; locked | Room tone | Blue apron; lamp stays in visitor's hands until shot 2 | A | |
| 2 | Repair cafe | 5 | Close-up | The visitor sets the broken red lamp on a marked spot | Table height; locked | Lamp placed on wood | Match the visitor's hand from shot 1; keep unplugged cable visible | B | |
| 3 | Repair cafe | 5 | Over-the-shoulder | The volunteer points to the unplugged cable | From visitor side; locked | We can repair this together | Keep the lamp on its mark; stay on the established side of the table | C | |
| 4 | Repair cafe | 6 | Insert | Show hands working on the unplugged lamp | Overhead; locked | Tool sounds | Prop-only staging; no live electrical work | D | |
| 5 | Repair cafe | 6 | Medium two-shot | The visitor smiles as the lamp lights up | Eye level; gentle push | Music resolves | Same blue apron and lamp mark; battery-powered prop effect | E | |
| 6 | Repair cafe | 4 | Wide | Hold on the lit lamp and a clear corner for a closing title | Same wide position as shot 1; locked | Voiceover: Bring one thing back to life | Stage the finished story state; leave title space on frame right | A |
Fill the fields that change the shoot
- Shot, scene and setup
- Keep shot IDs in edit order. A setup groups matching camera position, framing and lighting, not just the same room. Shots 1 and 6 share A; the medium two-shot and push in shot 5 need E.
- Framing, action and movement
- Name the subject, one visible action and the camera position. Describe a move only when it helps the story.
- Audio and continuity
- Record dialogue or sound needs, then note the reference frame, wardrobe, props and eyeline that the next shot must preserve.
For a larger shoot, add location, lens and crew fields as needed. Put call times, travel and setup time in a schedule or call sheet; the Duration column here only describes the intended edit.
Review before creating frames
- Check that every shot advances a beat and that the planned durations fit the message.
- Sketch the same six numbered frames on the printable worksheet. Revise the list when the composition changes.
- Group by setup for the shoot, keeping the original shot IDs. A possible order is 1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5. For shot 6, stage the lit-lamp ending even though you are filming it early.
Take a reference of the apron, hand position and lamp mark before changing angles. If shot 3 needs more dialogue time, update that row and rebalance the total; adding time to one shot changes the 30-second plan.
For drawn panels becoming motion rather than a live shoot, use the comic-to-animation shot guide.
Open and check your download
Excel
Open the downloaded CSV. If an import wizard appears, choose Delimited, select Comma and keep Unicode (UTF-8) with the double-quote text qualifier. If the file opens in one column, use the text/CSV import option with those settings. See Microsoft’s CSV opening guidance.
Google Sheets on a computer
Open a spreadsheet, choose File → Import and select the CSV. Choose Insert new sheets to keep existing sheets, then select Comma as the separator. See Google’s import instructions.
Check for 10 separate headers, from Shot through Done. The filled example has six data rows and a 30-second duration total. CSV carries values, not workbook formulas or formatting; native XLSX files, a PDF download and account integration are not included.
Production reference: Adobe’s guide to making a shot list covers shot numbering, camera setups and audio notes. The repair-cafe story and CSVs above are LlamaGen’s own planning example; these references do not review or endorse this template.
Turn one row into a storyboard brief
For shot 3, adapt this note using your approved character and prop references:
Over-the-shoulder at the repair cafe. The volunteer points to the unplugged cable. From visitor side; locked. Continuity: Keep the lamp on its mark; stay on the established side of the table.
Copy your approved shot notes into the creator. This download does not automatically import a spreadsheet; generation and export depend on the selected workspace and account.
Explore storyboard starting points
Compare comic and animation boards with pencil, lo-fi, and manga-inspired visual styles. Each card opens its matching template page.
Create a blank storyboard
Showing 32 of 32 templates
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Which storyboard style should you start with?
Compare each preview, then open the template that fits the sequence you want to explore.
Storyboard basics
What is a storyboard?
A storyboard is a visual graphic organizer made from a sequence of drawings or images. Each frame captures one moment. Together, the frames reveal the order, pacing, and visual flow before you make the final work.
A storyboard template gives that sequence a ready-made structure. Use the blank frames above for hand-drawn planning, or browse the visual style templates to start digitally.
Useful notes can include action, dialogue, camera angle, sound, or timing. Keep them short enough that someone else can follow the idea at a glance.
See a complete three-frame example in our guide to storyboards.
Ways to use a storyboard template
The same frame grid can guide a lesson, a shoot, or a visual story. Change the notes beneath each panel to match your project.
Classroom assignments
Ask students to show three key events in a story, six steps in a process, or a visual explanation of a history or science topic.
Film and video
Plan the order of shots, camera framing, action, and timing before recording or editing a scene.
Comics and animation
Test the rhythm of a visual sequence before committing to finished panels or animated frames.
Presentations and social video
Map a short message from opening hook to final call to action so each frame has a clear purpose.
How to use a storyboard template
Start with the main moments. Simple sketches and clear notes are enough to test whether the sequence makes sense.
- STEP 1
Choose a layout
Print three panels for a short idea or six panels for a longer sequence. Digital creators can choose a visual template in the gallery.
- STEP 2
Fill each frame
Sketch one meaningful moment per panel. Add action, dialogue, shot, or timing notes under the frame.
- STEP 3
Review and create
Read the frames in order, revise gaps or pacing, then take your plan into the online storyboard creator.
Storyboard template FAQs
What is a storyboard template?
A storyboard template is a set of ordered frames for planning a story, lesson, video, comic, or animation. A blank template gives you space to sketch each moment and add useful notes.
Should I choose three or six panels?
Use three panels for a short beginning-middle-end sequence. Choose six panels when you need to show more changes, actions, or camera shots. You can print another page if your project grows.
Are the printable storyboard templates free?
Yes. The blank three-panel and six-panel worksheets on this page are free PDF downloads in US Letter and A4 sizes.
Can students use these storyboard worksheets?
Yes. Students can draw by hand and write under each frame. Teachers can use the same pages for reading, writing, science, history, and media projects.