How can I create a storyboard if I don’t know how to draw?

How can I create a storyboard if I don’t know how to draw?

You don't need to be able to draw to create a visual storyboard. Here a few tools and methods that can help you out to "draw without drawing":

Remix existing drawings

There are people who have already made drawings that you can re-use to create your own drawing. For example, to show a scene of a person with a computer, you just bring together two different pieces: a person, and a computer.

Innosketch Kit

I've taken 300 illustrations I've created and broke them down into small elements (like a book, a danger sign, a man, etc) that you can re-use in any program.

Get the Innosketch Kit

Storyboarding Toolkit

If you are using the whiteboard tool Miro, Ben Crothers has created a lovely template called the Storyboarding Toolkit that can be pretty helpful.

Get the Storyboarding Toolkit for Miro

Use existing illustrations

There are a lot of illustrations set that are of very high quality and are "generic" enough so that they can fit your storyboard.

Undraw

Undraw is maybe my favorite one, because it has not only a great search feature, but you can also easily change the color of the illustrations to fit your brand. Plus, did I tell you it's completely free?

Open Undraw

Streamline

If you want a bit more flexibility, Streamline has 20+ illustration sets that you can use in your storyboard. This is a subscription-based service, but you can obviously just pay it for a month while you're finishing your storyboard. It will still cost you way less than paying an illustrator.

Open Streamline

Role-play and record it

Don't know how to draw but feel comfortable with your body and acting: just role-play the different parts of your storyboard. You can then either record it in video or photos with your smartphone.

Use legos and toys

If you have a kid or still have your toys from the days when you were little, you can use these toys and legos to create tiny scenes for your storyboard.

Once you have created a scene, you can easily take a photo of it with your smartphone.

That's obviously one of the most fun ways to create a storyboard.

Q&A: Prototyping and Service Design

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  • How can I create a storyboard if I don’t know how to draw?
  • ▶️ How can I prototype a service if I'm not a designer or maker?
  • ▶️ What are advanced prototyping methods for Service Design?
  • Where can in find high quality stock videos and resources for my prototypes?
  • What's the difference between a test and a prototype?
  • What's one of the quickest service prototypes you can create?

Prototyping Planning and Strategy

  • How do you know if you're testing the right assumptions in prototyping?
  • How can you push yourself to test and iterate more?
  • How to use a Service Blueprint for better prototyping?
  • What are the different types of prototypes?
  • How many different prototypes should I build or test?
  • What should I do when I'm not sure how to prototype?

Theater prototyping

  • How can I make role-play or theatre prototyping much easier?

Digital Prototyping

  • How long does it take to create a working app with Replit?
  • What are tips when using AI code generators like Replit or Lovable to create a prototype of an app?
  • What no-code tools do I recommend for creating prototypes or pilots?
  • What's a good prompt for AI coding tools to get better UIs?
  • How I create video stories for new service ideas with AI
  • Why do I often prefer stock video over AI videos for my service prototypes?

Backstage Prototyping

  • How can you prototype and test stakeholder commitment?

Presenting Service Design prototypes

  • How to present Service Design prototypes in a mini exhibition format?