Motion Transfer: Pair a Character Photo with a Motion Reference

Motion Transfer turns a character photo and a motion reference into a video. Choose a template, or bring a clip of your own. The photo supplies the appearance. The video supplies the movement.

Before you generate, watch the motion, choose one character image you can upload, and read the credit estimate for the settings on screen.

Choose a template or your own clip

The trends page collects ready-made motions. Filter with All, Dance, Pets, Rap, Performance, Action, or Creative, then play the whole preview: the main move, the framing, and the ending. Browsing or playing a preview does not start a generation. Open the trend and put photos in the labeled slots. Some trends take one photo. Others take one photo for each role.

For a clip of your own, open the studio on the home page and add it under Motion video. Use one continuous shot of one person, trimmed to a single action with a clear start and finish.

The studio also has a Motion templates tab beside My creations. A community template loads a clip, numbered reference images, and a prompt, then waits for you to generate. A classic template loads the motion video and keeps your photo. When you replace a numbered image, keep the @ImageN order on the screen.

Prepare the character image

The 35-question quiz matches you with Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, or Spike. Use that match as a pose note for a character you drew, or for art the artist allowed you to animate: quicker, quieter, or grounded.

Upload the still when you can confirm permission for it. Generate asks for that confirmation.

Keep the body readable:

• one character, with every moving part inside the frame;
• for a full-body action, the head, legs, and hooves, plus the mane, tail, and wings when the design has them;
• large markings on a plain background;
• a pose you would accept as the character's look.

Match the crop to the action. A face and shoulders fit a smile or a head turn. A dance needs the whole body, with space around the limbs. On a four-legged drawing, keep the legs and hooves visible.

Match the inputs, then read the cost

The screen you opened sets the limits. A trend page already includes its reference, photo slots, and settings. In the studio, choose the model that matches the photos you have: Seedance can use multiple images with a motion video, while Kling and Wan use one image for motion transfer. Duration, resolution, and any audio control are whatever that screen prints. Another model or another trend can show different numbers.

Model, resolution, and clip length change the credits. The workspace shows an estimate before Generate. Use that estimate. The length of a preview does not set the price.

The motion comes from the reference video. Add a scene note when the screen has a text field, and keep it consistent with the photo and the action. A trend may already include its prompt.

Sign in if the page asks. Finished clips appear in My creations.

Compare the action and the character

Play the result beside the reference and beside the still.

• The start, the main move, and the end follow the reference.
• The face, colors, markings, and body still match the still.

Each generation is a new interpretation. The face, markings, lighting, and background can shift. Keep the clip when the action and the character both still match.

When the action is a different action, replace the reference. When the character changed, replace the still. Change one input, read the estimate again, and compare the same moments.

Check a four-legged drawing

A human performance and a four-legged illustration use different limbs. Hands and hooves are different body parts, and a two-legged step is a different gait, so the movement can look unstable.

Pause where the person uses a hand or plants a foot. Look at the legs, hooves, wings, mane, and tail in that frame. Count the legs and wings. After a turn, compare the face, coat, and mane with the still. On a walk or a stance, see whether the hooves meet the ground.

Pet templates need the same kind of look at paws and overlapping limbs, because the movement has to fit that body. Use it on the legs and hooves of your drawing. Then return to the action and the character, and replace the input that diverged.

More quiz guides are on the blog.