Animate a photo with AI: write a motion prompt

See the image-to-video workflow

Watch how to attach an image and describe its movement, then adapt the practice brief to your own source.

Read transcript

You can turn any still image into a short video clip. All it takes is a picture and a motion prompt. Start by attaching your image. Here we use a watercolor of a community garden. Then describe the motion, not the picture. What moves, what the camera does, and how long it lasts. The image already shows what's in the scene. Video takes a little longer than text. Gab AI picks a video model and shows its progress while the clip renders. Here is the clip. Watch it through and check the motion against your prompt. If something is off, ask for one change at a time, like a slower camera or less movement. Now you know how to turn a still image into a moving clip.

A walkthrough of attaching an image and describing its motion. The practice prompts below are for your own source image.

Start with an image you can use

Choose a photo or illustration with a clear subject and enough space for the intended motion. Use material you own or have permission to animate. For recognizable people or real merchandise, check identity, labels and factual details before sharing the result.

• Create a source illustrationLearn more

Describe motion rather than repeating the picture

Image to video prompts tell the model what changes over time: leaves sway, water ripples or a camera moves slowly. Name what should stay steady as well. The source already supplies the composition; a long new scene description can work against it.

Motion prompts to adapt

Try these practice prompts with your own garden illustration. The first asks for leaves and ripples; the alternative limits movement to the water.

1Animate this garden illustration: leaves sway gently and small ripples move across the water. Keep the camera locked off, the layout steady and the illustrated style. Do not add people, objects, text or cuts.

1Animate the water in this garden image with small ripples. Keep the camera, plants and scene layout still. Preserve the illustrated style. One continuous shot, no added people, objects, text or cuts.

Attach your image in Chat

Open Chat, attach the source and paste your motion prompt. Choose a video workflow that supports image input. Use the text-only Video Generator when you want to start from words instead.

• Open Chat to attach an imageLearn more
• Video input and control referenceLearn more

Check motion and subject drift

Watch the entire result alongside the original image. Does the motion match your request? Did faces, labels, object shapes or background details change? Check the last frame as carefully as the first. An instruction to keep a subject steady does not guarantee unchanged details.

Reduce one source of motion

If too much moves, keep the source image and ask for a still camera or smaller subject motion. Try the instruction below, then compare the new clip with the source.

1Keep the source composition and camera still. Reduce the leaf movement to a gentle sway. Do not add new objects or change the illustrated style.

Questions about animating an image