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Tools

This New Storyboarding Software Is Both Free And Open Source

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A new piece of software – both free and open source – wants to upend the market for digital storyboarding applications. Meet Storyboarder.

Storyboarder is intended to be a fast and simple tool, with six drawing tools and easy-to-rearrange panels. The app is also integrated with external software, allowing for the ability to do roughs in Storyboarder, and with the click of one button, refine the artwork in Photoshop.

Storyboarder software.

Other capabilities including an option to import storyboards drawn on paper by taking a photo of the panels with your phone, and the Shot Generator, which allows the user to type a description in the sidebar and instantly get properly positioned 3D models, over which details can be added.

Boards can be exported to Premiere, Final Cut, Avid, PDF, and animated GIF formats.

Wonder Unit, the small design studio that developed Storyboarder, explains on their website why they made it free:

Wonder Unit’s primary objective is to develop great stories and produce movies. For the past few years, we’ve been developing software tools for internal use. The development and use of processes and technology is incredibly important for creativity. Because we are just one studio, we feel that it would be a waste for only us to benefit from these tools. Creativity shouldn’t be a competitive sport. We believe a rising boat should lift all tides – or at least try to. If we share our tools and processes, ideally, the creative ecosystem will benefit. There is no competitive advantage to keeping tools and tech private – at least for us.

Storyboarder is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, and can be downloaded HERE.

If you have used Storyboarder already, feedback in the comments would be welcome on how it compares to industry-standard Toon Boom Storyboard Pro as well as online tools like Boords.