How to make a whiteboard animation video, step by step
Seven steps to a whiteboard animation: one idea, a script, a storyboard, drawings, narration, timing and export. By hand, with software or with AI.
By the Chasca team 4 min read
To make a whiteboard animation video: pick one idea, write a short script, split it into scenes, draw each scene, record the narration, time every drawing to the word that names it, then export with captions. You can do each step by hand, with whiteboard software, or hand the whole thing to an AI generator. Here is each step, and what changes depending on the route you pick.
Step 1: Pick one idea and one viewer
The most common mistake is trying to explain everything. Write down:
- Who is watching (a new starter, a customer, a Year 6 class).
- What they should know afterwards, in one sentence.
- Where they will watch it (a phone in portrait, a laptop, a slide in a meeting).
That last one decides the format: 16:9 for YouTube and courses, 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, 1:1 for LinkedIn and feeds.
Step 2: Write the script
The script does most of the work. Aim for about 150 words per minute of video, and keep the whole thing under six minutes; one to two minutes is plenty for a single idea.
A structure that works almost every time:
- Hook (first 10 seconds): a question or a surprising fact.
- The idea, introduced through an everyday comparison.
- How it works, step by step.
- One real example.
- A question for the viewer, a short pause, then a one-line answer.
Write for the ear: short sentences, contractions, no jargon until you have explained it. Our guide to writing an explainer video script has a fill-in template.
Step 3: Storyboard it into scenes
Split the script into scenes of one idea each, usually 10 to 30 seconds long. For each scene, sketch:
- A heading of two to five words.
- A handful of drawings: only things the narration mentions. A drawing nobody talks about is decoration, and decoration costs attention.
- Arrows that show how the pieces connect.
- The word in the narration where each drawing should appear.
Sticky notes on a wall work fine for this.
Step 4: Draw the scenes
This is where the three routes split:
- By hand: draw on a real whiteboard or paper while a camera films from above, then speed the footage up. It looks authentic, but mistakes mean redrawing.
- With whiteboard software: place drawings from a library on a digital board and set each one to “draw on”. It is flexible, but every drawing and every timing is placed by hand.
- With an AI generator: the drawings are chosen and laid out for you, scene by scene, from the script.
Whichever you pick, keep drawings simple and bold. They should read clearly on a phone screen.
Step 5: Record the narration
- Record in a quiet, soft-furnished room (a wardrobe full of clothes is a classic home studio).
- Keep a relaxed pace, around 140 to 160 words per minute, with a short pause after each scene.
- Sound like you are explaining to a friend, not reading to an audience.
No microphone or no time? Text-to-speech voices have become natural enough for most explainers, including in other languages.
Step 6: Time each drawing to its word
This is the step that makes a whiteboard video work. Each drawing should start appearing as the narrator says the word that names it: not a second before, not five seconds after. When pictures and words arrive together, viewers don’t have to hunt around the screen, and research on cueing shows that improves both recall and understanding.
By hand, this means nudging each drawing’s start time in your editor while listening back. AI generators time drawings to the narration automatically.
Step 7: Add captions and export
- Captions: most social video is watched muted, so burn in captions or attach a subtitle file (SRT or VTT).
- Export: MP4 in the aspect ratio from step 1.
- End card: your question and a one-line recap, not a wall of logos.
The fastest route: AI does steps 2 to 7
With Chasca, you give it a topic in a sentence, or a PDF, slide deck or link, and it writes the script, storyboards the scenes, draws each one stroke by stroke in time with the narration, and adds captions, usually in about a minute. Then you do the part only you can do: check it. If a line is off, fix your prompt or document and make it again in about a minute; subtitles, style and music change for free.
| Route | Time for one minute of video | Skill needed | Easy to update? |
|---|---|---|---|
| By hand, filmed | A day or more | Drawing, filming, editing | No: redraw and refilm |
| Whiteboard software | Several hours | Scripting, timing, voice | Partly |
| AI generator | About a minute, plus your review | Knowing what you want to say | Yes: make it again in a minute |
Whichever route you choose, the rules in steps 1 to 3 matter most. A clear idea, a tight script and one idea per scene make a good video in any tool.
To compare the tools for each route, from VideoScribe and Doodly to AI generators, see the best AI whiteboard video generators.
Video transcript What the narrator says in the 1:03 explainer above.
Picture sticky notes on a wall: one idea per note, in order. Want to make a whiteboard animation? Pick one idea and one viewer, write a short script, then split it into scenes. Plan a few drawings per scene, each tied to a word you'll say.
Draw by hand, use whiteboard software, or use an AI generator. Record your voice somewhere quiet; a wardrobe full of clothes works. Start each drawing as you say the word that names it. Like those sticky notes, pictures arrive in order, so viewers don't hunt around the screen.
Add captions and export in the format you picked for your viewer. Chasca can handle steps 2 to 7, usually in about a minute; you check and edit. What makes the drawings easier to follow? Each drawing appears when its named word is spoken.
Questions people ask
A script, simple drawings, a recorded voice and a way to time each drawing to the words. By hand that means a board, a camera and editing software; with whiteboard software it means the program and a microphone; with an AI generator it means only a prompt or a document.
By hand or with drag-and-drop software, a polished one-minute video usually takes several hours to a few days, most of it spent scripting, drawing and timing. An AI whiteboard video generator can produce a first version in about a minute, which you then edit.
Yes. You can film yourself drawing on a real board with a phone, and several tools have free tiers. In Chasca your first two videos are free, up to a minute each, with a small watermark and no card required.
