Custom is the tool in Animation Studio that turns your own image into a short video: you choose the image, describe what should move in the scene and draw the path the camera should follow directly on the image. The result is a 5, 10 or 15 second MP4; the camera follows your path, the price is shown in tokens per second before you start, and if the video cannot be produced the full amount is refunded.
Use Custom when you want to bring a single frame to life instead of picking a ready-made animation style: a product photo, a scene you made in Image Studio, a poster or a drawing. For the wider picture of image-to-video work, see the photo to video post.
Where do you pick the image?
There are two ways into Custom. The first is Animation Studio itself: open the Custom card on the Animation page or go to /app/animation/custom in the app. In the image field, Pick from library lets you choose an image you made or saved earlier, and Upload adds a file from your computer. JPG, PNG and WebP are accepted, up to 20 MB.
The second way is the Turn into animation button. It appears on result cards in Image Studio and on images in your Library; click it and the image arrives in Custom already selected. That way you can animate an image right after making it, without downloading and uploading it again.
How do you describe the motion?
In the Motion field, write what should move inside the scene: "The wind blows her hair; she smiles and turns her head to the camera", for example. You do not need to describe the camera here; the camera is directed by the drawing below. Short, concrete sentences built around one action work best.
If you are stuck, use Write with Sam; if you already wrote something, use Improve with Sam. Sam looks at the image and at the camera plan you drew and rewrites the prompt; the estimated cost appears as a small token figure next to the button, tokens are refunded if Sam cannot answer, and Undo brings back your own text. Anything you do not want to see in the result goes in the Avoid field under the main prompt; details are in the Avoid field guide.
How do you draw the camera path?
In the Camera section you draw, with a finger or a mouse, the path the camera should follow over the image. If you don’t draw, Sam picks the camera. When you do draw, the app turns the path into a Camera plan and lists each part.
- Choose the Camera path tool and draw a line over the image in the direction the camera should travel. A line to the right moves the camera right; a line upwards moves it up.
- Choose the move type. With Rotate the camera turns in place; with Slide the camera travels sideways or up and adds a sense of depth.
- Set zoom and roll. In or Out sets how much the framing tightens or widens, and roll to the Left or Right tilts the camera gently around its axis.
- Check the start and end framing. You see two frames on the image: the area visible at the first moment of the video and the area visible at the last. The camera moves between these two framings.
- Read the camera plan. If you drew a path with turns, the plan splits it into parts; each part is shown with an axis and a direction, such as "Pan right", "Tilt up" or "Zoom in".
Paths with turns are split into at most three parts, and each part lasts at least 3 seconds. The parts are joined into one video: each part starts from the last frame of the previous one, so there is no visible cut at the join. That is why a 5 second video has room for one part and a 15 second video for up to three. For the vocabulary of camera moves, see the camera movement glossary.
Object arrows
With the Object motion tool you draw an arrow from an object to where it should move; up to three arrows. You can optionally name each one, such as "bird" or "boat". Arrows are added to the video as part of the prompt: they describe which way the object should go, but there is no guarantee it will follow the exact line you drew. The camera path, on the other hand, is set by the start and end framings, so it is applied far more precisely.
How do you choose length, aspect and quality?
Length is 5, 10 or 15 seconds. Aspect can be 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1; the app suggests the ratio closest to your image and you can change it. Quality has two tiers:
- Draft: 720p, fast and economical. Good for trying out the camera path and the motion.
- Standard: 1080p, best quality. Pick it for the final video you will publish.
At most two Custom videos can be produced at once; to start a third, wait for one to finish.
How much does Custom cost?
Custom is priced per second. The list price (the Basic plan rate, ×1.0) is 24,501 tokens per second for Draft and 32,667 tokens per second for Standard. The Free plan applies a ×1.3 multiplier and Pro a ×0.8 multiplier; the Price line in the form already shows the figure with your multiplier applied, together with your balance.
| Length | Draft (Basic) | Standard (Basic) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 seconds | 122,505 tokens | 163,335 tokens |
| 10 seconds | 245,010 tokens | 326,670 tokens |
| 15 seconds | 367,515 tokens | 490,005 tokens |
A 5 second Standard video, for example, is about $0.98 worth of tokens at the Basic rate; the same video is about 130,700 tokens on Pro and about 212,300 on Free. The price is the provider’s real cost plus a 40% service fee. Current prices are always on the pricing page; plans and packs are explained in the tokens and plans guide.
What happens while the video is made?
When you press Create video the job is queued and its status is shown step by step: queued, preparing the frames, animating part 1/3, joining the parts. Animating each part can take a few minutes; you can leave the page and the job carries on in My works.
When the video is ready, Download saves it as an MP4, or Again with this image lets you try a different path or motion. If the video cannot be produced, the full amount goes back to your balance and the job card says Refunded. The job page also has a source link showing which image the video was made from; see the source lineage guide.
Tips for better results
- Start with Draft and 5 seconds; once the path and the motion look right, make the final video in Standard.
- Keep the framing away from the edge of the image. Leaving some room at the edges when you zoom or slide gives cleaner results.
- Use one camera move per part. If you want both a pan and a zoom, split the path into two parts.
- In the motion text describe the action in the scene, not the camera; the camera already comes from your drawing.
Frequently asked
Do I have to draw a camera path? No. If you don’t draw, Sam picks the camera. But if the motion text is empty as well, the video cannot start; fill in at least one of the two.
Why is the video split into at most three parts? Each part lasts at least 3 seconds and starts from the last frame of the previous one. Three parts is the limit that keeps the joins smooth in a 15 second video.
Why weren’t my object arrows followed exactly? Arrows are added as part of the prompt; they describe the object’s direction but do not guarantee the exact line. Naming the object and its direction in the motion text as well makes the result stronger.
Do I get my tokens back for a failed video? Yes. If the video cannot be produced, the full amount is refunded to your balance automatically; there is no need to open a support ticket.
How is Custom different from the ready-made animation styles? The styles build a film from a story, with scenes, narration and music. Custom animates one image along the camera path you draw. To choose between styles, see the guide to choosing an animation style.