AI Animation Generator: Turn Text or Any Image into Animation
Describe a scene or upload a picture — your own drawing, a character, an illustration or a photo — and the AI animation generator brings it to life as a short animated clip in 2D, 3D, anime or cartoon style. You see the credit cost before you start.
- Free credits to try
- Text or image
- 2D, 3D and anime
- No watermark
Sexually explicit (NSFW) content is strictly prohibited.
Want a whole narrated story with the same characters? Try the AI cartoon video generator Making anime? Use the AI anime video generator
Animate an image with AI
Each clip below started as the still on its card. Hover or tap to watch it move, then use the same prompt with a picture of your own.
A child’s crayon drawing
The dragon flaps its wings and the kite dances, while the crayon lines stay exactly as drawn.
Show the prompt
Bring this child's crayon drawing to life while keeping the waxy crayon texture, wobbly lines and paper background exactly as drawn. The purple dragon flaps its little green wings and wiggles its tail, the girl waves and her kite bobs and dances on its string in the wind, the yellow sun smiles and its rays slowly spin, the green grass sways. Locked camera, hand-drawn 2D animation, playful, no text.
A flat 2D illustration
Gentle motion for a still: rain on the glass, steam from the tea, a twitching cat ear.
Show the prompt
Animate this flat 2D illustration gently, keeping the exact flat vector style, colours and composition. Rain streaks run down the window glass, the city lights outside softly twinkle, steam curls up from the tea mug, the ginger cat's tail flicks and its ear twitches as it sleeps, the woman slowly turns a page of her book. Subtle, calm, cosy loopable motion. Locked camera, no zoom, no text.
A 3D cartoon character
Full character animation: the chef flips the pancake, catches it and winks.
Show the prompt
3D cartoon animation in the same animated-film style. The fox chef flips the golden pancake high into the air with the frying pan, follows it with his eyes, catches it back in the pan and gives a proud grin and a wink to the camera. His hat wobbles, warm sunlight and drifting dust in the kitchen. Smooth expressive character animation, locked medium shot, no text.
Text to animation: clips from a single prompt
No picture needed. Each of these came from one sentence describing the scene; pick one to start from its prompt.
Vertical 3D cartoon: a young flyer soaring above the clouds
3D cartoon bee teaching gravity at a garden blackboard
2D cartoon scientist floating among equations in her lab
Vertical 3D cartoon: a boy on roller skates at golden hour
2D cartoon: two kids playing a retro console on the rug
3D cartoon creature savouring a slice of pizza
What is an AI animation generator?
An AI animation generator makes moving pictures from a description instead of from keyframes. You write what should happen — a dragon taking off, rain running down a window, a character waving — and the AI draws every frame in between, in the style you ask for. No timeline, no rigging and no animation software.
There are two ways in, and ToonBee AI does both. Text to animation starts from a prompt alone and invents the whole scene. Image to animation starts from a picture you upload and keeps it as the first frame, so your drawing, character or photo stays recognisably yours while it moves.
This AI animation generator makes short clips, a few seconds to a quarter of a minute each — the right size for a social post, a looping illustration, an animated ad or one shot of a longer film. When you need a whole narrated story with the same characters in every scene, the AI cartoon video generator builds that from a script.
How to create an animation with AI
- 1
Write a prompt or add an image
Describe the scene and the movement in one or two sentences. To animate a picture, add it with the image button: it becomes the first frame.
- 2
Choose the model, shape and length
Pick a model, 16:9 for YouTube or 9:16 for Shorts, Reels and TikTok, and the length of the clip. The credit cost updates as you change anything.
- 3
Animate and download
Press Animate. The clip is ready in a minute or two, saved to your history, and downloads as an MP4 without a watermark.
Text to animation or image to animation?
Both make the same kind of clip. What decides it is how much of the look you want to control.
Start from text when…
- you have an idea but no picture yet
- you want the AI to design the scene, the character and the camera
- you are exploring styles before settling on one
Start from an image when…
- you already have the character: a drawing, a mascot, an illustration
- the clip must match an existing look or brand
- you want only part of the picture to move, such as hair, water or sky
Tip: for a still you upload, describe only the motion — “her hair lifts in the wind, the sea rolls in” — and leave the picture to speak for the rest.
Which AI animation model to use
Every model is in the same generator. Start with the cheapest one to find your prompt, then move up when a clip deserves it.
| Model | Good for | Animates your image | Clip length | Credits per clip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H3 Max Turbo | Half the price of H3 Max at the same sizes, and the quickest render we carry. | Yes | 5–15s | 63 for 5s |
| H3 Max | Native 768p with no upscale pass. Fastest turnaround, up to 15s takes. | Yes+ Character pictures | 5–15s | 125 for 5s |
| Seedance 2 Mini | Native audio and multi-shot cuts in one clip. Longest takes we offer. | Yes+ Character pictures | 4–15s | 128 for 5s |
| ToonBee 1.0 | Writes, cuts and scores a whole video from one brief, at any length you ask for. | Character pictures | 15s and up | 1,341 for 15s |
Credits are for the model’s standard size. A larger size or a longer clip costs more, and the box shows the exact price before you press Animate.
Why use the ToonBee AI animation generator
Text or image, one box
Type a prompt, add a picture, or both. The same generator handles text to animation and image to animation, so there is no second tool to learn.
Your character stays yours
An uploaded picture is kept as the first frame, and the models that take character pictures can follow several of them, so the face and outfit do not drift.
Cartoon styles, not only realism
2D, 3D animated film, anime, crayon, flat illustration, comic: describe the style or upload a still in it, and the animation keeps it.
Several models, one price list
Pick between fast, cheap drafts and models with native sound or longer takes, without opening separate accounts.
The price before you press
The box shows the credit cost of the clip before you generate. If a generation fails, its credits come back automatically.
Grows into a whole story
When one clip is not enough, the AI cartoon video generator turns a script into a narrated video with the same characters in every scene, on the same account.
What people make with an AI animation generator
Bring drawings to life
Children’s drawings, sketchbook characters and comic panels, animated without redrawing a single line.
Moving illustrations
A gentle loop for an illustration, a poem post or a book cover: wind, rain, falling leaves, drifting stars.
Social clips and Shorts
Vertical 9:16 clips for TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts, or 16:9 shots for a longer edit.
Mascots and animated ads
A brand mascot waving, a product in a cartoon scene, an animated ad without a studio. Commercial use is included.
Kids’ channels and lessons
Short animated scenes for kids’ content and explainers, ready to drop into an edit.
Fan art and anime moments
Animate your own character art or an anime-style scene and share it as a clip.
AI animation generator vs other ways to animate
Three common routes to an animated clip, and where each fits.
| Template and stock video tools | ToonBee AI animation generator | Motion-template apps | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Stock footage and templates assembled to your text | New frames drawn by the AI from your prompt or image | Your character moved by a preset dance or gesture |
| Your own picture | Placed into a template | Becomes the first frame and moves | Mapped onto a preset motion |
| Styles | Whatever the library has | 2D, 3D, anime, crayon, illustration and more | Mostly the source picture’s style |
| Best for | Business explainers | Original animated clips and shots | Memes and dance trends |
Template tools are quickest for a slide-style explainer, and motion apps for a dance trend. For an animation that does not exist yet, generating it is the shorter road.
Is the AI animation generator free?
You can start free: every new account gets 100 credits, with no card and no subscription. A 5-second clip on H3 Max Turbo, the cheapest model, is 63 credits.
Plans start at $39 a month for 5,000 credits, about 79 clips of 5 seconds on H3 Max Turbo. Prefer not to subscribe? A one-time pack is $49 for 4,000 credits that never expire.
Every plan, the free one included, covers all models, commercial use and downloads without a watermark.
Good to know before you start
- One clip runs up to 15 seconds. ToonBee 1.0 makes whole edited videos from 15 seconds; for a story told across many scenes, use the cartoon video generator.
- A clear, well-lit image animates best. Busy pictures with lots of small text tend to wobble.
- Describe one main movement per clip. Several actions at once usually look rushed.
- If a generation fails, its credits come back automatically.
AI animation generator FAQ
Is there a free AI animation generator?
Yes. Every new ToonBee AI account gets 100 free credits, with no card needed. A 5-second clip on H3 Max Turbo costs 63 credits, so you can make your first animation before deciding whether to pay.
Can I animate my own drawing or photo?
Yes. Add the picture with the image button and it becomes the first frame of the clip. Then describe only the movement you want — the wings flap, the hair lifts, the camera pushes in — and the rest of the picture stays as you made it.
Can AI turn text into an animation?
Yes. Type a scene in a sentence or two, including the style and the movement, and the AI animation generator draws the whole clip. A good prompt names the character, what it does, the setting and the look, for example “2D cartoon, a fox chef flips a pancake in a sunny kitchen”.
How long can an AI animation be?
A single clip runs up to 15 seconds. ToonBee 1.0 makes an edited video of 15 seconds or more from one brief, and the cartoon video generator builds narrated stories of several minutes from a script.
What animation styles can I make?
2D cartoon, 3D animated film, anime, flat illustration, crayon and children’s drawing, comic and more. Name the style in the prompt, or upload a picture in that style and the animation keeps it.
How do I keep the same character across several clips?
Start each clip from a picture of the character, or use a model that takes character pictures and add the same ones every time. For a story with a recurring cast, the cartoon video generator fixes each character once and reuses them in every scene.
Can I add voice and music?
Some models generate sound with the clip. For narration, dialogue and music across a whole video, use the cartoon video generator, which adds them for you.
Is there a watermark, and can I use the animations commercially?
There is no watermark, and commercial use is included on every plan, the free one too: client work, ads, monetized channels and products you sell.
Do I need animation skills or software?
No. It runs in your browser, so there is nothing to install and no timeline to learn. If you can describe the movement, you can make the animation.
Make your first AI animation
Type a scene or upload a picture, and watch it move in a minute or two.
Start with the free credits