01
Product shots that move
Start from a clean packshot and get a turntable, a pour, or a hand entering frame. Motion that would otherwise need a table-top studio day.
Image to Video, Free:Animate Any Photo in 1080P
Upload one still and the official Seedance models give it motion. The subject moves, the camera moves, the light keeps behaving, and the download carries no watermark. New accounts start with free credits.
Real output
One still, one moving scene
The image below was the only visual input. The prompt described what should happen inside it, and everything else is the model holding on to the original drawing.
Prompt
Hand-drawn comic style, three people sitting together eating fried chicken, cheerful and lively atmosphere.
The uploaded still, the only visual input.
Input image
Result
Seedance output, watermark-free.
Use cases
What a single photo turns into
Image to video is the mode for material that already exists: a product shot, an illustration, a poster, a face.
02
Illustration and character art in motion
A drawing keeps its line and palette while the scene animates, which is why comic and anime frames survive the trip better than most people expect.
03
Portraits and title beats
Give a still portrait a breath, a turn, or a look toward camera. Enough life for an intro frame or a title card.
04
Archive and print revival
Posters, scanned photos, and old campaign art become moving assets without a reshoot or a fresh rights conversation about new footage.
How it works
How image to video works here
Attaching a picture is the whole switch. The composer sees the image and routes the job, so you never pick a mode.
01
Attach the still
Drop one image into the composer and it becomes the first frame. Add a second and it becomes the last frame, so the clip travels between them.
02
Say what should move
Describe the action and the camera rather than the picture. The model can already see the frame; it needs to know what happens next.
03
Generate and keep it
Output lands in the asset library at full quality with no watermark, and can be attached again as a reference for the next pass.
What you can generate
What image to video can generate here
Every row is read from the model registry the composer enforces. The inputs column says how a model takes pictures: a single first frame, a first-and-last-frame pair, or a reference group that guides identity without fixing the opening frame. The other columns are the same limits the workspace applies when you press generate.
| Model | Max resolution | Clip length | Audio | Inputs | On free credits | Starting cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.5 | 1080p | 4–30s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 30 reference images | Paid plan or pack | From 12 credits (4s · 480p) |
| Seedance 2.0 | 1080p | 4–15s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 9 reference images | Paid plan or pack | From 9 credits (4s · 480p) |
| Seedance 2.0 Fast | 1080p | 4–15s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 9 reference images | Paid plan or pack | From 7 credits (4s · 480p) |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini | 720p | 4–15s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 9 reference images | Yes | From 5 credits (4s · 480p) |
| Seedance 1.5 Pro | 1080p | 4–12s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame | Yes | From 2 credits (4s · 480p) |
| SeeDance 1 Pro Fast | 1080p | 2–12s | No audio option | First frame | Yes | From 1 credit (2s · 480p) |
| Kling O3 | 1080p | 4–15s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame | Paid plan or pack | From 10 credits (4s · 720p) |
| Kling 3.0 | 1080p | 4–15s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame | Paid plan or pack | From 10 credits (4s · 720p) |
| Veo 3.1 Fast | 4K | 4–8s | No audio option | First frame · First + last frame | Paid plan or pack | From 12 credits (4s · 720p) |
| Veo 3.1 Pro | 1080p | 4–8s | No audio option | First frame · First + last frame | Paid plan or pack | From 32 credits (4s · 720p) |
| Sora 2 | Model default | 4–12s | No audio option | First frame | Paid plan or pack | From 8 credits (4s) |
| Sora 2 Pro | 1080p | 4–12s | No audio option | First frame | Paid plan or pack | From 24 credits (4s · 720p) |
| MiniMax H3 | 2K | 5–15s | No audio option | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 9 reference images | Paid plan or pack | From 23 credits (5s · 2K) |
| Wan 3.0 | 1080p | 2–30s | On/off toggle | First frame · First + last frame · Up to 10 reference images | Paid plan or pack | From 2 credits (2s · 480p) |
- Free credits cover the three entry models, and all three take a first-frame image: Seedance 2.0 Mini, Seedance 1.5 Pro and SeeDance 1 Pro Fast. Any paid plan unlocks every row, and one-time credit packs unlock models by tier.
- Kling 3.0 has no image input of its own. Attaching a still quietly routes the job to its image-to-video sibling and bills it at that sibling’s rate, which is why it still appears in this table.
- A first frame, a first-and-last-frame pair or a reference group of stills does not change the Seedance rate; the job is priced by duration and resolution exactly like a text prompt, and the composer shows the figure before you commit.
- Starting cost is the catalogue rate for the shortest, lowest-resolution clip the model offers, the figure the pricing page’s comparison table quotes. Paid plans charge below catalogue, and longer or sharper clips cost more.
Resolution cap by plan
The plan sets the ceiling and the model sets what is possible under it. A 4K-capable model still renders at 720p on free credits, and Seedance tops out at 1080p on every plan.
| Plan | Seedance models | Other models |
|---|---|---|
| Free credits | 720p | 720p |
| Lite | 720p | 1080p |
| Pro | 1080p | 2K |
| Premium | 1080p | 4K |
Last updated
Worked examples
Three image-to-video jobs, end to end
The first example is the real pair from the demo above with its unedited prompt. The other two are prompt recipes written against the same models and limits, one on free credits and one on Seedance 2.5, so you can paste them in with a still of your own.
01
Comic panel to moving scene
Before
One hand-drawn, comic-style still of three people sharing fried chicken. It was the only visual input, and the prompt restated the style rather than describing new motion in detail.
After
The same drawing in motion: the characters eat and react while the line work and the palette hold, and the composition stays where the artist put it. This is the clip shown in the demo section above.
Prompt
Hand-drawn comic style, three people sitting together eating fried chicken, cheerful and lively atmosphere.
Settings
- Model: Seedance 2.0
- Inputs: one still as the first frame
- Entry: image to video, inferred from the single attachment
02
Packshot turntable on free credits
Before
A clean e-commerce packshot: a ceramic pour-over coffee dripper on a white sweep, front-lit, perfectly still, the kind of image every product listing already has.
After
A five-second clip in which the dripper turns a slow quarter rotation on the spot while a hand enters from the right and pours water, steam rising; the background, lighting and framing stay exactly as photographed.
Prompt
The ceramic dripper rotates slowly a quarter turn on the spot. A hand enters from the right and pours hot water in a thin stream, steam rising. Background, lighting and framing stay exactly as in the image.
Settings
- Model: Seedance 2.0 Mini, available on free credits
- Inputs: the packshot as the first frame
- Duration: 5 seconds · Aspect ratio: adaptive, matching the still
- Resolution: 720p · Audio: off
Prompt recipe: no clip attached, paste it and run it.
03
Day-to-night poster with a first and last frame
Before
Two stills: a vintage travel poster of a seaside town, and a version of the same poster with the sky darkened and the windows lit, prepared in an image editor.
After
A ten-second clip that travels from the day version to the night version: clouds drift, the sea moves, lights come on one by one, and the clip lands exactly on the second frame because it was pinned as the last one.
Prompt
Slow transition from day to evening over the seaside town. Clouds drift right, waves roll gently, windows light up one by one, the sky deepens to indigo. End precisely on the final frame. Subtle camera push-in, illustrated poster texture preserved.
Settings
- Model: Seedance 2.5, paid plan or credit pack required
- Inputs: two stills as first and last frame
- Duration: 10 seconds · Aspect ratio: adaptive
- Resolution: 1080p on Pro and Premium, 720p on Lite · Audio: on
Prompt recipe: no clip attached, paste it and run it.
Questions
Image to video questions
- Which images work best, and what are the upload rules?
- A sharp, clean still with an obvious subject. Crops that cut the subject in half, heavy compression, and busy collages give the model less to hold on to. On Seedance 2.0, 2.0 Fast and 2.0 Mini the rules are JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 30 MB, at least 300 pixels on the short side and no more than 6,000 on the long side, with an aspect ratio between 2:5 and 5:2; Seedance 2.5 takes the same formats at the same 30 MB and 300-pixel floor. The composer rejects anything outside those limits before a credit is spent. Only upload images you have the right to use.
- Is it free, is there a watermark, and do I need a card?
- New accounts start with free credits and no card, and the grant is sized for a first finished clip: two generation attempts and one completed video before a plan or a credit pack is needed. Free credits run the entry models, Seedance 2.0 Mini, Seedance 1.5 Pro and SeeDance 1 Pro Fast, all of which take a first-frame image, at up to 720p. Nothing rendered here is watermarked at any tier, so the download is the clean file.
- Which models animate an image, and can I pin where the clip ends?
- Every model in the table above accepts a first frame: the six Seedance models, Kling 3.0 and Kling O3, Veo 3.1 Fast and Pro, Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro, MiniMax H3 and Wan 3.0. To fix the landing point, attach two images and they become the first and last frame; Seedance 2.5, 2.0, Fast, Mini and 1.5 Pro, Kling 3.0 and O3, Veo 3.1, MiniMax H3 and Wan 3.0 all take the pair, while SeeDance 1 Pro Fast, Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro accept a first frame only. On the Seedance models, three or more images become a reference group instead.
- What resolution and length can an animated photo reach?
- Length follows the model: 4 to 30 seconds on Seedance 2.5, up to 15 on Seedance 2.0, Fast and Mini, Kling 3.0 and O3 and MiniMax H3, up to 12 on Sora 2 and Seedance 1.5 Pro, up to 8 on Veo 3.1, and 2 to 30 on Wan 3.0. Resolution is capped by the plan before the model: 720p on free credits, then for non-Seedance models 1080p on Lite, 2K on Pro and 4K on Premium where the model offers it. Seedance itself stops at 1080p, which Pro and Premium unlock. The source image does not have to match the output size, but 1080p output from a small upload will look soft, so start from the sharpest still you have.
- How many credits does animating a photo cost?
- The starting-cost column shows each model’s catalogue rate at its shortest, lowest-resolution setting, before plan discounts; the composer prices the exact job before you press generate. A first frame or a reference group of stills does not change the Seedance rate, and on Kling 3.0 the job is billed at the image-to-video sibling’s rate. Longer and sharper clips cost more, every paid plan charges below catalogue, and failed generations are not charged.
- Is seeddance.io the official ByteDance site for Seedance?
- No. SeedVideo AI at seeddance.io is an independent platform, not a ByteDance property. It runs the official Seedance model API alongside Kling, Veo, Sora, MiniMax and Wan, so the Seedance output you get here is produced by the model ByteDance publishes, but the workspace, the credits and the plans are ours. Model names belong to their respective owners, and nothing on this site is endorsed by them.
- Can I use image-to-video output commercially?
- Commercial use is included on Pro, Premium and the annual Lite plan, and not on free credits or the monthly Lite plan. The file is identical across tiers; the licence differs. Because this entry starts from your own picture, the rights question is mostly about the input: product photos, artwork and portraits you upload must be yours to use, and a licence from us does not cover a photograph you do not own.
- How long does an image-to-video generation take?
- Usually a few minutes, the same as a text prompt on the same model: the progress bar is paced off per-model estimates of roughly half a minute for SeeDance 1 Pro Fast, about a minute and a half for Seedance 2.0 Fast and around four minutes for Seedance 2.0, with Kling and Veo in the one-to-two-minute range. Longer clips, 1080p and busy periods stretch those numbers, and the workspace shows an “about N min left” estimate. Free credits and Lite run one job at a time; Pro runs four in parallel and Premium eight.
- How do I keep the product or character consistent from the still?
- The still already does most of the work: identity, palette and composition carry over from the first frame, while fine detail can drift as motion increases. To hold them through a longer or busier clip, keep the camera move modest, describe the action rather than re-describing the picture, and use the first-plus-last-frame pair so the ending is pinned too. For a series, attach the same product still as a reference on every generation, up to 30 references on Seedance 2.5 and nine on Seedance 2.0, and feed finished clips back in as references for the next pass.
- Image to video or video to video for a product?
- If all you have is a photo of the product, use image to video: the still becomes the first frame and the prompt supplies the motion. If you already have footage of a similar product, video to video on Seedance 2.5 keeps the set, the lighting and the camera and swaps the object for the one in your still, which is usually faster than staging the shot again from a single frame. When both are available, animate the packshot for hero motion and edit the footage for catalogue variants.
Choosing an entry
Image, text or video: which entry fits
The three scene pages share one composer. What you attach decides the entry, and the model you pick decides the ceiling.
A still is the right entry when the look is already decided and the job is to give it motion. When nothing exists yet and you want to explore quickly, start from text to video and write the shot instead. When you have footage that is almost right, use video to video and describe only the change, so the camera, set and timing you already like stay put.
The model choice is separate from the entry. Seedance 2.5 is the pick when the still has to survive a long clip or travel through several shots, because it holds up to 30 reference images and runs to 30 seconds. Seedance 2.0 Mini is the pick for a quick turntable on free credits, and the first-and-last-frame pair works across most of the table when the ending matters as much as the start.
When the clip has to land on a specific picture, attach the closing image as well: first and last frame to video lists the 11 models that take the pair, what each charges per second, and a worked example with both frames and the full instruction.
Keep going
Where to go next
A still is one of three ways in. Pick the entry that matches what you already have.
Free credits
Upload a still, get a scene
Drop in one photo, say what should move, and download the take without a watermark. Free credits on a new account.
Animate an image