We added two new ink styles to Animation Studio. In Ink Landscape the camera glides over an endless Chinese shan shui painting: misty peaks, pines, pavilions and boats. Sumimation turns your story into an ink wash painting that comes alive on rice paper: dry-brush strokes, drifting mist, calm and slow motion, detailed faces and a single red accent.

Both render MP4, WebP or GIF and work in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1. For detailed use, see the Ink Landscape guide and the Sumimation guide.

Why ink?

Ink painting is a tradition that says a lot with very little: empty space, mist and a single brush stroke are enough to build a landscape. That language suits both calm backgrounds and short poetic stories. We cover the tradition itself in the sumi-e and shan shui article.

We built the two styles for different needs. Ink Landscape generates no images; the landscape is drawn by our own engine, which makes it very economical. Sumimation is for narrated stories with characters; each scene is prepared as an ink painting and animated while keeping the paper texture.

Which one when?

  • Ink Landscape: A presentation backdrop, a meditation or music video, a long and calm background clip. You can choose the palette (Ink, Sepia, Blue-green, Night, Yeşilçam or Auto) and the season.
  • Sumimation: A fable, a poem, a brand story. Unlike the epic mood of Wuxiamation, it is calm, poetic and keeps faces realistic.

Tips

  1. In Ink Landscape, write the story as a journey: “A traveller walks from misty peaks to a lakeside pavilion.” The landscape never ends; the camera glides from scene to scene.
  2. If you leave palette and season on Auto, the director may vary them per scene. If you want one mood throughout, pick them yourself.
  3. In Sumimation, write sentences that put the main subject in the foreground; distant mountains and mist appear only when they suit the scene.
  4. Take a short preview on Professional first; once you see the style suits you, make it longer.

Ink is not only in Animation

The same landscape engine lives in other studios. In Design Studio, the “Ink landscape” layer is true vector artwork that goes into SVG, EPS and PDF/X, and it is free. In Website Studio you can pick it as a background that flows behind the page as visitors scroll. In Story to film you can switch on ink transitions for the opening, chapter breaks and ending; details are in the ink transitions guide.

How much does it cost?

In Animation, every production is priced with an itemised token estimate before it starts; when the job ends, actual use is measured and the difference is refunded to your balance. Ink Landscape generates no images, so it is among the most affordable styles; Sumimation costs more because it includes scene images and animation. The Free plan applies ×1.3 and Pro ×0.8. Current prices are on the pricing page; samples of both styles are on the Animation page.

Frequently asked

Does Ink Landscape include characters? The landscape can include small figures, pavilions and boats, but the style is a journey through scenery; Sumimation suits stories with characters better.

What is the difference between Sumimation and Wuxiamation? Wuxiamation is for epic martial-arts legends. Sumimation is a calm, poetic ink wash style with realistic faces.

Which formats can I download? Both styles download as MP4, WebP or GIF and work in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1.

What happens if a production fails? The full price of a failed job returns to your balance.