How To Make A Whiteboard Video Without The Whiteboard In 7 Steps! By After Effects Tutor: Chris Neff

Step 1 Plan your content No one can skip this first critical step. From my experience the first decision you have to make when creating a whiteboard video is to decide whether you’re going to tell a story or portray a concept about your content. Telling a story is effective because it appeals to emotion and should be relatable to the viewer. You’ll want to portray concepts if you’re advertising a product and showing how it solves problems or something. It has to be thought out enough to know how you want to present it—once that’s in place make a story board, script, etc.

Step 2 Draw your content out on sketch paper This is a truth that not many people believe: “You can draw.” Some people are really good at it and others not so much. But everyone can copy and everyone can try to replicate something they’re looking it. Drawing from scratch definitely takes talent—so if you can’t draw from your mind to paper look up various art styles from the internet (especially comics) to find something that is easy enough to replicate—and once you’ve got it down you need to personalize/customize it. Otherwise you’re ripping off someone else’s style. If all else fails find someone who can draw and have him or her do the initial sketches. It’s okay that these are sketches and imperfect. You should avoid shading or using too much detail.

Step 3 Trace your drawings with markers For this next step you’ll get the chance to fix any errors you made with your sketches. Using better paper (but not too thick) you can lay it on top of your sketches and with various width sharpies you can trace over it. This is where the lines will count most. Again be sparing with detail and if you need to shade it make sure it’s kept to a minimum. Consider using cross-thatch shading ( and-entertainment/fine-art- techniques/drawing-101-shading- techniques/) but again, sparingly! and-entertainment/fine-art- techniques/drawing-101-shading- techniques/

Step 4 Scan in or import your drawings onto a computer This step is pretty straight-forward. As far as scanner settings go try to get your image to the best contrast possible with a good DPI ( is plenty).

Step 5 Convert your art into vectors using Adobe Illustrator The coolest step by far is this next step. Illustrator is a powerful vector tool and it can take almost any image and make a vector out of it including your drawing. Open your image or import/place it in Illustrator and click “Image Trace” and it will automatically convert your drawings into vector art. Then click the “Expand” button and then the “Direct Selection Tool” so that you can delete outside white space. If you want to add any colors this is the place to do it. You can also add shading or whatever else you want to make the artwork shine.

Step 6 Import your vectors into After Effects Open After Effects and import your artwork. After Effects also works with vector art so you can resize them and not lose any quality!

Step 7 Use After Effects to create your whiteboard video The last secret is to find the best revealing and disappearing wipe effect (found in transitions). Remember, the appeal of whiteboard videos is that they give a hand-crafted look charm and that they’re revealed little by little. People will still be captivated to watch the image take form and then disappear as if it were being erased.

Good Luck! From there all you have to add is add your audio, render it out, and viola! You have a whiteboard video that people will watch like any other whiteboard video. For more awesome tutorials using After Effects go to