Whiteboard explainer videos: make a hand-drawn 'how it works' in minutes

Whiteboard explainers have been around for years because they work: hand-drawn text feels approachable, and watching words appear one step at a time makes a process easy to follow. You don't need an illustrator or a doodle app to make a short one — a title and three steps is enough.

The format

On a dotted whiteboard, the title writes itself and gets a hand-drawn red underline. Then each step appears in turn: its number is circled in red ink and the text is written out. Three steps take about seven seconds.

When to use it

• "How it works" sections on landing pages and in ads.
• Onboarding — the three things a new user should do first.
• Explaining a process — ordering, returns, booking, setup.
• Tutorial intros before a longer screen recording.

Write the steps

• Two to four steps; three is ideal.
• Start each with a verb: "Describe the video you want", "Approve the script", "Get every format".
• Keep each under eight words so it fits on one or two lines.
• Make the last step the payoff — the result the viewer wants.

Design tips

• Navy ink with a red accent is the classic look; your brand colours work too.
• The handwriting font is Caveat for Latin scripts. For Chinese, Japanese and Korean, the Skill uses a bold sans so the text stays legible.
• In 9:16, steps wrap onto two lines; keep them short.

Make it with Claude Opus 5.5 (or any agent)

The free Sketch Steps Skill renders this locally:

Make a whiteboard explainer titled "How it works" with three steps: connect your store, pick a template, publish everywhere.

Your agent writes the steps for your approval and renders MP4s in every ratio. For a list format instead of steps, see the notes app video; for the bigger picture, read how Opus 5.5 makes videos.

FAQ

Can I change the ink colour? Yes — the ink, the accent for circles and underline, and the board colour.

Can I add drawings? This Skill focuses on text and numbers so it renders reliably in any language.