AI filmmaking · Storyboard
AI Storyboard Generator: How to Make a Storyboard, Step by Step
By Bolly teamPublished 8 min read
To make a storyboard with an AI storyboard generator, describe one scene, ask an image model for a numbered grid of panels, then redo only the panels that miss. On Bolly, Director's Storyboard draws a 3×3 pencil-and-ink grid and Film Storyboard a 2×3 grid of photoreal frames; a sheet is 5 credits (about $0.25) at 2K, and both run on the Free plan.
AI storyboarding: one sheet or one frame per shot
Storyboard AI on Bolly works two ways. A sheet is one image holding six or nine panels. It is the cheapest way to check pacing, shot order and composition, and it costs 5 credits whatever the panel count. A frame per shot is one full 2K image per shot, 5 credits each. Use it when a frame will become a video shot or a face must hold up in a close-up.
How to make a storyboard, step by step
Break the scene into beats
List what the audience must see, one beat per panel: six for a Film Storyboard sheet, nine for Director's Storyboard. For each beat write who is in frame, where, what changes and the shot size.
Write a style lock
Pick one sentence for the look, such as 'pencil-and-ink storyboard, gray wash, no color' or 'photoreal, 35mm film grain, sodium street light', and paste it word for word into every prompt.
Make a character reference
Generate the character once in the Character Sheet app (5 credits at 2K), download it and attach it to later runs. Attaching an image to Nano Banana 2 switches it to Edit mode.
Generate the sheet
Open a sheet app, paste the scene and beats, and run it at 2K. The app adds the grid layout, so write only the scene.
Read it like a director
Check three things: each panel's shot size matches your beat, the character looks the same throughout, and the action reads in order. List the panels that miss.
Fix panels, not the whole sheet
Download the sheet, attach it to Nano Banana 2 and ask for one panel to change with the rest kept. If the other panels drift, make that shot as its own frame instead, for 5 credits.
Download the board
Save the image from the result card or your Library and drop it into your own document or slide deck, next to your notes.
Shot types to put in your prompts
- Wide (establishing): shows the place and where the character sits in it. Open a scene with it.
- Medium: the character from about the waist up, for action and conversation.
- Close-up: a face or a key object, for emotion and detail.
- Over-the-shoulder: one character's shoulder in the foreground, the other in focus, for dialogue.
- Low angle: the camera below eye level, so the subject looks larger or more powerful.
Bolly's Create Contact Sheet app asks for these views, plus an extreme wide, of one image, each labeled. It is a quick way to see the coverage of a frame you already like: attach the frame and run it, 5 credits at 2K.
Prompt templates you can reuse
The sheet apps prepend their own layout text, so paste only the scene. This one uses the nine-panel Director's Storyboard, with the beats spelled out and the wardrobe repeated exactly.
The last bus. Noor, a woman in her twenties with a black bob, a red raincoat, silver over-ear headphones and white sneakers, misses the last bus on a rainy night. Panels: 1 wide, an empty street as the bus taillights leave; 2 medium, Noor runs, then stops; 3 close-up, rain on her hood and her face; 4 over-the-shoulder, the shelter's timetable; 5 low angle, a stray dog steps into the shelter light; 6 medium two-shot, Noor and the dog sit; 7 close-up, headlights in a puddle; 8 wide, a night bus pulls in; 9 medium, Noor and the dog step on board.
For photoreal frames, use Film Storyboard: it draws six panels, so trim the beats to six and add your style lock (night, steady rain, sodium-orange street light, 35mm film look). For a full-size frame, or one that will become a video shot, use a single-frame template like this one.
Template: [SHOT SIZE] of [CHARACTER NAME AND EXACT WARDROBE WORDS FROM THE SHEET], [ONE-CLAUSE ACTION], in [LOCATION], [TIME OF DAY AND LIGHT DIRECTION], [LENS, e.g. 24mm wide or 85mm portrait]. [YOUR STYLE LOCK, IDENTICAL IN EVERY FRAME]. No text, no watermark. Example: Close-up of Noor (black bob, red raincoat, silver over-ear headphones), rain running off her hood as she watches the taillights leave, at an empty bus shelter, night, orange street light from the right, 85mm portrait lens. Photoreal, 35mm film grain, sodium-orange light with cool blue shadows. No text, no watermark.
Redo only panel 5 as a low-angle close-up of the stray dog stepping into the shelter light. Keep the other eight panels, the panel numbers, the pencil-and-ink style and Noor's costume unchanged.
Keep characters and style consistent
- Attach the same reference every time. Download the character sheet and attach it to each frame run. Nano Banana 2 lists subject consistency as a strength, and Edit mode takes several images, so a location reference can join the character.
- Reuse your words. Copy the wardrobe and style-lock lines instead of paraphrasing them.
- Change one thing per run so you can see what caused a difference. The advanced Seed field sets the random seed; reuse a value when you compare two versions of a prompt.
- Set the ratio you will deliver. Pick 16:9, 9:16 or 21:9 to match your video. A sheet has one ratio for all its panels, so make any shot that must match your final video as its own frame.
What a storyboard costs
Per-run prices from Bolly's estimator on Sep 29, 2026; a credit is worth about $0.05.
- Nano Banana 2, one image: 3 credits at 0.5K, 4 at 1K, 5 at 2K, 7 at 4K
- Two or four variations in one run at 2K: 10 or 20 credits
- Nano Banana 2 Lite, for rough drafts: 2 credits an image
- One sheet, Director's Storyboard or Film Storyboard: 5 credits ($0.25)
- Six frames, one per shot, at 2K: 30 credits ($1.50); nine frames: 45 ($2.25)
The Free plan ($0) runs the image models and both sheet apps: its 10 daily credits pay for two 2K sheets or five Lite images a day, and what you make is public in Explore. Private generations and folders start on Starter ($19 a month, 300 credits). See plans and credits.
When to move from storyboard to video
Move when the board reads well: shots in order, the character holding across panels, each shot's length known. Then turn each keyframe into a clip with Image to video, attaching the frame and describing only the motion. On Kling 3 (Starter and above), a 6-second clip is 27 credits with audio off, about $1.35. The full path to a finished short, with a cost breakdown for a 60-second film, is in how to make an AI movie.
Export and share the board
Download a sheet or frame from the result card or your Library; it is a PNG unless you change the advanced output format. The Library also lets you favorite it, move it to a folder (Starter and above) or run it again. Bolly has no PDF export, no share button on your results and no timeline, so put the images in a document or slide deck with your beat notes, and build any timed animatic in a video editor.
People, rights and labels
Put a real person in a storyboard only if it is you or someone who has clearly agreed, and never anyone under 18 (consent and likeness). Use characters and worlds you have the right to use (other people's work), and if you publish realistic AI frames, say they are AI-generated (labeling rules).
Honest limits
- It isn't dedicated storyboard software. Storyboarding AI on Bolly means image models plus two sheet apps, with no panel layout editor or shot-list field.
- Small text can go wrong. Text rendering is a listed strength of Nano Banana 2, but shot labels and notes on a busy sheet can still come out wrong. Keep your real notes in a document.
- Panels share one image. They are smaller than a full frame, and a character can drift between them, so make any shot that matters as its own frame. Panel order and numbering are requests, not rules: check them.
- One-panel fixes can disturb the rest. Editing a single panel may change the others; if it does, regenerate that panel as a frame.
Open Director's Storyboard, paste the Noor scene and run one sheet. More image prompts to borrow are in our Nano Banana prompts guide, and the rest of the film tools sit in the Film Making collection.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a storyboard from a script?
Yes, one scene at a time. Pull six or nine beats out of the scene, write one line per panel and paste them under the scene description; a whole script in one sheet leaves the model to pick the moments.
Is there a free AI storyboard generator?
Up to a point. Bolly's Free plan runs both storyboard apps and Nano Banana 2 with 10 credits a day, but generations are public in Explore and video isn't included.
How many panels should a storyboard have?
One per shot, or per change in the action. The sheet apps give you six (Film Storyboard) or nine (Director's Storyboard) at a time, so split a longer scene across several sheets.
What is the difference between a storyboard and a shot list?
A shot list is text: shot size, subject, movement and length for each shot. A storyboard draws those shots. Write the list first, then turn each line into a panel.
Can I storyboard a comic page instead of a film?
Yes. The American Comic app makes a 3:4 page with multiple panels, halftone shading and speech bubbles from a story description, at 5 credits a run.
Can I attach my own reference images?
Yes. Attach them with the paperclip and Nano Banana 2 switches to Edit mode. Use only images you have the right to use, and real people only with their clear permission.
Try the Jelly road sign template
Upload a photo and Bolly swaps you into the clip. Mix comes with every paid plan, from Starter at $19 a month, and failed runs are refunded automatically.
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