# Free Storyboard Templates: PDF and Word Free blank storyboard templates in PDF and Word. Six-panel, twelve-panel and AV two-column layouts in Letter and A4, plus which to use when. --- ## Trusted by leading organizations ## Download a storyboard template Free to download and use, including commercially. No sign-up, no email. ## 6-panel storyboard template — PDF (Letter) Six 16:9 frames with action, voiceover and timing lines. Short pieces, first-time boarding, printing and sketching by hand. ## 6-panel storyboard template — PDF (A4) The same six-panel layout sized for A4. ## 12-panel blank storyboard template — PDF (Letter) Twelve empty frames, no labels. Most 60 to 120 second explainers, and the fastest way to sketch before the script settles. ## 12-panel blank storyboard template — PDF (A4) The same twelve-panel blank layout sized for A4. ## Video storyboard template — PDF (Letter) AV two-column layout: frame on the left, on-screen note, voiceover and duration on the right. ## Video storyboard template — PDF (A4) The same AV two-column layout sized for A4. ## Animation storyboard template — PDF Adds a timing ruler under every frame and a notes-for-animator line. ## Film storyboard template — PDF Shot, size, angle and camera move across the top of each frame, for live-action shoots. ## Vertical storyboard template (9:16) — PDF Four vertical frames for Reels, Shorts and TikTok. ## Storyboard template — Word (.docx) The six-panel layout as an editable Word file. Type straight into it, or upload to Drive to use in Google Docs. ## Video storyboard template — Word (.docx) The AV two-column layout as an editable Word file. ## Which storyboard template should you use? **The 6-panel storyboard template** suits short pieces with few visual changes, and it is the standard printable layout, which is why most people boarding a first video start here. **The 12-panel blank storyboard template** covers most 60 to 120 second explainers. No field labels, so it is also the fastest thing to sketch on while the script is still moving. **The video storyboard template** uses the AV two-column layout, frame on the left and on-screen note, voiceover and duration on the right. Use it when you are directing an illustrator rather than drawing yourself. **The animation storyboard template** adds a timing ruler under each frame and a notes-for-animator line, because animation has no camera and every frame has to be built. **The film storyboard template** carries shot size, angle and camera move, which is what a crew needs and an animator does not. Panel count should come out of the script rather than being decided in advance. Our guide covers [how many panels a storyboard needs](/what-is-a-storyboard), along with the five storyboard types in full. - 6-panel for short pieces - 12-panel blank for typical explainers - AV two-column when directing an illustrator - Animation and film variants for specialist work ## How to fill in a storyboard template 1. Number every panel. Reviewers need to point at one and say which they mean, and unnumbered boards produce feedback nobody can act on. 2. One moment per panel. Never show motion inside a single frame. If a scene has three beats it needs three panels, and arrows are not a substitute. 3. Write the action note even when the sketch is clear. The note is what the illustrator and animator work from, and a drawing without one is ambiguous to everyone except the person who drew it. 4. Put the narration line under the panel it plays over, taken from the locked script. Our guide to [writing a video script](/how-to-write-a-video-script-the-ultimate-guide) covers getting that draft right first. 5. Mark the transition between panels. A cut, a dissolve, or a continuous move all change how the next panel reads. 6. Leave the timing column blank until you build an animatic. Durations guessed on paper are almost always wrong, and timing is what an animatic exists to settle. - Number every panel - One moment per panel - Always write the action note - Timing comes last ## PDF or Word? **PDF** is for printing and sketching by hand. Every template here comes as a PDF, and the three most-used layouts come in both Letter and A4. It cannot be edited digitally, which is usually the point at the sketch stage. **Word** is for typing rather than drawing. The frames are table cells, so you can paste screenshots or reference images straight into them. Two of the layouts come as .docx files. **Google Docs** works by uploading the .docx to Drive and opening it there. We do not host a separate Docs copy, so the Word file is the way in. - PDF in Letter and A4 - Word .docx for typing - Opens in Google Docs via Drive upload - Free for commercial use ## What goes in a storyboard panel Four things, and nothing else. What the viewer sees at this moment, described precisely. What the voiceover says underneath it. How the frame transitions into the next one. Any on-screen text, data or interface being shown. Our guide to [what a storyboard is](/what-is-a-storyboard) goes into each of these properly, along with the five types and the mistakes people make. - What the viewer sees - What the voiceover says - How it transitions - Any on-screen text or data ## What a finished storyboard looks like A blank template only takes you so far. Below is a real board from a finished client production, shown beside the exact scene it became. ![Three complex illustrated storyboard panels from a Gerhart Process Solutions brand film, showing a vintage truck on a weigh scale and an isometric facility across a company timeline](https://pub-7ea4a39df01b46d1987f3c5c9fa321fb.r2.dev/thumbnails/board-strip-gerhart.png) Detailed panels from an industrial engineering film for Gerhart Process Solutions. The board carries the company timeline, the weigh scale, and the isometric facility. Nobody improvises a bulk bag unloader, so this level of detail has to be settled before anyone illustrates it. The finished scene is on the right. The composition barely moves between the two, because it was decided at the board stage where changing it is free. - Complex illustrated board - Timeline and equipment locked before illustration - Board panel and finished scene side by side ## Frame by frame, and what it became Motion-heavy explanation has to be planned frame by frame. These panels are from a financial aid explainer for the University of Pennsylvania. ![Six numbered frame-by-frame storyboard panels tracking a backpack as it enters a financial aid diagram, arcs across it, and lands beside the About Your Cost Of Attendance title](https://pub-7ea4a39df01b46d1987f3c5c9fa321fb.r2.dev/thumbnails/board-strip-upenn-6panel.png) Follow the backpack through the six panels below. It enters the diagram, arcs across it past tuition, dining, travel and housing, then lands beside the Cost of Attendance title. Tracking one object like that has to be drawn beat by beat, which is why this stretch of board covers only about fourteen seconds of finished screen time. The finished sequence is on the right. Same backpack, same path, same landing. - Frame-by-frame board - Nine panels for about fourteen seconds - One object tracked beat by beat ## Frequently asked questions --- ## Additional context ## Page metadata for citation - **Canonical URL:** https://motifmotion.com/tools/storyboard-template - **Last published:** 2026-08-27T19:12:55.712Z - **Primary topic:** storyboard template - **Type of content:** WebPage --- *Originally at https://motifmotion.com/tools/storyboard-template*