Storyboard & Layout - Angoulême

This two-years animation program dedicated to storyboard and layout in unique in France.

Keys informations

  • Total number of teaching hours:

    Face-to-face teaching hours with an instructor: 950 hours in Year 1, 900 hours in Year 2, plus an 8- to 12-week internship.

     

  • qualification certification:

    School Certificate

  • Program highlights

    This unique program in France is dedicated to two key roles in animated filmmaking: storyboard and layout. It is held in Angoulême, in the Charente region — now the second-largest animation employment hub in France after Paris.
    The Angoulême campus is a member of the Pôle Image Magelis, a creative cluster that brings together several visual arts schools (around 1,500 students) and more than 30 animation studios employing approximately 1,500 professionals.

  • Keys numbers

    16 instructors, all active professionals: storyboard artists, layout artists, directors, animators, comic book authors…
    A 380 m² facility located just a 5-minute walk from the TGV train station.

Program overview

This storyboard and layout program (layout being the stage where storyboard shots are translated into 2D and/or 3D staging) is designed to meet the skill needs regularly expressed by animation studios.

Studios often face shortages in these artistic interface roles, which bridge the gap between the film’s creators (director, art director, screenwriter) and the animation teams. On many film and series projects, mastery of storyboard and layout directly impacts both the visual quality and production timeline of the work.
Over the course of the two-year program, students will acquire the following skills:

  • Strengthen and consistently practice observational drawing

  • Understand storytelling and translate narrative into images

  • Analyze a script and break it down into sequences

  • Build a solid film culture and apply cinematic language to storyboarding

  • Stage a story based on cinematic references and knowledge

  • Produce storyboards using Storyboard Pro, adapted to production constraints

  • Tailor storyboards to various formats and genres (cartoons, short films, feature films, etc.)

  • Construct layouts using Photoshop

  • Gain an introduction to traditional and cut-out animation in Harmony, in order to understand the challenges and constraints of animation and propose appropriate storyboard solutions

At the end of the program, students present a group project developed under the guidance of industry professionals and defend their work before a jury of professionals.

  • 1st year (SB)
  • 2nd year (SB)
année

En savoir + sur chaque année

  • The teaching approach in Year 1 focuses on developing the eye and visual understanding, particularly as they apply to image creation and staging.

    In practice, observational drawing classes strengthen and expand students’ skills through exercises based on reproducing real-life subjects (life drawing, posing, object drawing, environments). These are complemented from the start by courses that support staging and composition, such as comics, storyboard, and layout.

    A significant number of hours are dedicated to film culture, helping students build a solid understanding of both live-action and animated cinema. Students are also expected to regularly attend film screenings at local cinemas.

    By the end of the first year, students will have strengthened their drawing skills (representation, proportions, framing, colour, etc.), acquired the fundamentals of storyboard and layout, and gained proficiency with the key digital tools used in the field.

    • Tuition fees for the 2025–2026 academic year

      €7,380 (+ €900 annual administrative fees)
      This includes 950 hours of face-to-face instruction with a teacher.

    • Courses

      • Film Analysis

      • History of Art and Media

      • Environment Design & Staging

      • Life drawing / posing

      • Object Drawing

      • Perspective

  • In the second year, drawing skills are further strengthened, and students receive advanced, specialised training in storyboard techniques — including storyboarding for advertising, feature films, 2D and 3D series, cartoons, and more — for a total of over 400 hours dedicated to storyboard.

    • Tuition fees for the 2025–2026 academic year

      €7,380 (+ €900 annual administrative fees)
      This includes 900 hours of face-to-face instruction with a teacher, plus an 8- to 12-week internship.

    • Courses

      • Film Culture

      • Layout Image Editing with Photoshop

      • Digital sculpture

      • Layout posing

      • Staging and Composition Drawing

      • Animation Cut-Out

Application

  • Admission requirements

    This program is open to applicants who have completed a Level 4 qualification (equivalent to a high school diploma), either through initial or continuing education.

    Most admitted students have already completed prior training in drawing or animation (e.g., DN MADE, Bachelor’s in Animation, Art Foundation Year).

    An intermediate to advanced level in drawing is required to follow the program successfully. This level is assessed during the application review process.

    No prior experience with specific software is expected, but a basic familiarity with digital tools and the computer environment is necessary.

Admission

Métiers

  • Storyboarder

    • Animation / video games / advertising

  • Layoutman/woman

    • Animation

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