AI Filter · Restyle Video · Claymation look
Claymation filter — turn a photo or video into stop-motion clay
The Claymation look remakes your photo as a plasticine stop-motion figure — fingerprints, slightly lumpy shapes and miniature-set lighting. For video, the Restyle Claymation preset redraws every frame in clay and keeps the motion, camera and timing.
- Photo to claymation
- Video to claymation
- No watermark
Updated by the Kenerate AI team
On this page
Quick answer
How do I turn a photo or video into claymation?
To turn a photo into claymation, upload it to Kenerate AI Filter and pick the Claymation look: it remakes the person, pet or scene as a stop-motion plasticine figure with fingerprints, slightly lumpy shapes and miniature-set lighting, for 10 credits on the default engine. For a video, upload a 3–15 second clip to Restyle Video and pick the Claymation preset — every frame turns to clay while the motion, camera and timing stay as filmed. Neither adds a watermark.
Key facts
- Photo
- AI Filter · Claymation look (3D & Toy group)
- Video
- Restyle Video · Claymation preset · motion and camera kept
- Clip length
- 3–15 s on Kenerate Restyle · 4–30 s on Seedance 2.5
- Photo input
- JPG, PNG or WebP · up to 20 MB
- Watermark
- None
Looks
Claymation and five other handmade looks
All six make you look handmade; they differ in material. Each card opens AI Filter with the look picked.
Claymation
Stop-motion plasticine: soft clay surfaces with fingerprints, slightly lumpy shapes and miniature-set lighting.
Plush Toy
A soft stuffed toy: fleece fabric, stitched seams and embroidered eyes, sitting on a shelf.
Crochet
An amigurumi yarn doll with visible stitches, button eyes and rounded stuffed limbs.
Brick Minifig
A plastic brick-toy minifigure with a printed face, claw hands, studs and a baseplate.
Porcelain
A glazed ceramic figurine: smooth, shiny and delicate — clay after the kiln.
Vinyl Figure
A vinyl collectible with an oversized square head and black button eyes.
How to
How to use the claymation filter
Four steps for a photo. For a video, open Restyle Video with the Claymation preset instead (link in the table above).
- Time needed
- Steps
- 4 steps
- You need
- A web browser · One photo (JPG, PNG or WebP)
Step 1
Add one photo
Upload, snap with the camera, paste, or pick from History or your Library — JPG, PNG or WebP up to 20 MB. A clear subject in good light works best.
Step 2
Pick Claymation
It's in the 3D & Toy group, next to Plush Toy and Vinyl Figure.
Step 3
Add a Twist if you want
One extra instruction of up to 300 characters, such as “keep the kitchen background” or “add a tiny clay coffee mug”. It's optional.
Step 4
Apply and compare
Drag the Compare slider, then Download, Edit, Upscale, or use the clay picture as the start frame of a video.
See it in the app
Open Edit Studio and upload an image, or pick one from your history.
Watch the tour · 1:46
56 looks in 7 groups, four engines, before / after, mix two looks, add a twist, hand-offs & chat
Chapters
Engines
Which engine for claymation?
The clay look is the same on every engine; the engine decides how much likeness, setting and texture you keep.
- Default
Alibaba
Qwen Image 3
- Strength
- Fast, faithful to the face · best value (default)
- Typical time
- About 10–20 s
Open Qwen Image 3Best for
The default: quickest, 10 credits, and faithful to clothes, hair and props.
Kenerate
Kenerate Filter
- Strength
- Identity-locked re-render · bold style changes
- Typical time
- About 15–30 s
Open Kenerate FilterBest for
Identity-locked re-render: for when the clay face should still read clearly as you.
ByteDance
Seedream 5 Pro
- Strength
- Painterly & cinematic looks · rich texture
- Typical time
- About 20–40 s
Open Seedream 5 ProBest for
For richer texture — deeper fingerprints, tool marks and a soft miniature-set depth of field.
OpenAI
GPT Image 2
- Strength
- Smartest with complex mixes · toys & posters
- Typical time
- About 30–60 s
Open GPT Image 2Best for
Tagged for toys: best for a whole family or a busy scene turned into one clay set.
Times are typical, not promised. Every engine returns one image per run, and a failed run is refunded automatically.
Compared
Claymation for a photo, a video, or both
Three ways to get the clay look on Kenerate, depending on what you start from.
| Photo → clay picture | Video → clay video | Photo → clay → animated | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool | AI Filter · Claymation look | Restyle Video · Claymation preset | AI Filter, then image to video |
| You upload | One photo (JPG, PNG, WebP, up to 20 MB) | A clip: 3–15 s (Kenerate Restyle) or 4–30 s (Seedance 2.5) | One photo |
| What stays | Pose, hair, clothing colours, props | Every move, camera path, cut and timing | Your clay figure; the motion is new |
| Price | 10–21 credits per image | Per second of clip, shown before you run it | Filter credits + video per second |
| Open it | /app/tool/ai-filter?style=clay | /app/tool/restyle-video?style=claymation | /image-to-video-ai |
Credits and limits checked against the app code on 20 October 2026.
Sources: Kenerate AI Filter (the tool) · Kenerate Restyle Video (the tool) · Wikipedia — Clay animation · Aardman Animations
FAQ
Claymation filter questions
8 questions
How do I turn my photo into claymation?
Upload the photo to Kenerate AI Filter, pick the Claymation look and press Apply. It remakes you as a stop-motion clay figure — plasticine surfaces, fingerprints, slightly lumpy shapes, miniature-set lighting — while keeping your pose, hair and outfit colours. The default engine, Qwen Image 3, returns one image in about 10–20 seconds for 10 credits.
Link to this answerIs there a claymation filter for video?
Yes: Restyle Video's Claymation preset. Upload a 3–15 second clip (or up to 30 seconds on Seedance 2.5), pick Claymation and every frame is redrawn in clay while the motion, camera and timing stay as filmed. It's priced per second of clip, and the studio shows the credits before you run it.
Link to this answerIs the claymation filter free?
Free to start. New Kenerate accounts get starter credits, enough to try the Claymation look on a photo. After that, a photo costs 10 credits on Qwen Image 3 or Kenerate Filter, 14 on Seedream 5 Pro and 21 on GPT Image 2; credits come in one-time packs, with no subscription. Results have no watermark.
Link to this answerHow do I do the claymation filter for TikTok?
Film a short vertical clip, upload it to Restyle Video and pick the Claymation preset; the restyle keeps your framing, so the result is ready for TikTok or Reels. Or turn one photo into clay with AI Filter and animate it in image to video.
Link to this answerWill the claymation still look like me?
As much as clay can. The face gets simplified, so likeness comes from your hairstyle, glasses, facial hair and clothing colours, which the look keeps. Use a waist-up photo, and try Kenerate Filter, the identity-locked engine, if the face drifts.
Link to this answerDoes it work on pets and objects?
Yes. Every look keeps each subject in the photo, so a dog, a cat or a coffee cup turns to clay too. The video demo at the top is a latte being poured, restyled with the Claymation preset.
Link to this answerWhat's the difference between Claymation and Plush Toy?
Claymation is plasticine with fingerprints and tool marks on a miniature set. Plush Toy is fleece fabric with stitched seams and embroidered eyes. Both are in the 3D & Toy group, and AI Filter can blend them at 70/30, Even or 30/70.
Link to this answerWhat photos and clips work best?
One clear subject or a small group in good, even light — photos as JPG, PNG or WebP up to 20 MB. For video, short and steady clips work best. Only use photos and videos of people who agree to it.
Link to this answerIn depth
Claymation filters, explained
What makes a picture read as clay, how to keep it recognisable, and how to get it moving.
On this page
What makes a photo look like claymation?
Real clay animation is plasticine sculpted over wire frames and photographed one pose at a time — at 24 frames a second, animators usually shoot two frames per pose, about 12 poses for every second of film. What our eyes read as “clay” is the evidence of hands: fingerprints, slightly uneven surfaces, soft rounded shapes and the warm lighting of a miniature set. The Claymation look asks for exactly those things.
How do I turn a video into claymation?
Use Restyle Video, not AI Filter. Upload a clip, pick the Claymation preset and run it: every frame is redrawn in plasticine — the preset asks for visible fingerprints and tool marks, handmade miniature sets and soft studio lighting — while the motion, camera and timing stay exactly as filmed. Kenerate Restyle takes 3–15 seconds (a longer clip is trimmed to its first 15), and Seedance 2.5 takes 4–30 seconds up to 4K. It's priced per second, and the studio shows the credits before you start.
- Short, steady clips with one or two people work best.
- Bright, even light helps the clay texture read.
- Film vertically for TikTok or Reels — the restyle keeps your framing.
Claymation of yourself: keeping the likeness
Clay simplifies faces, so likeness comes from what's around the face: hairstyle and colour, glasses, a beard, and the colours of your clothes, which the look keeps. Use a waist-up photo so the outfit shows, and switch to Kenerate Filter, the identity-locked engine, if the face drifts. Only use photos of people who agree to it.
Claymation, plush or brick toy?
Claymation is plasticine with fingerprints. Plush Toy is fleece and stitched seams; Crochet is visible yarn; the brick-toy look is shiny plastic with studs. AI Filter can blend two looks into one image at 70/30, Even or 30/70 — Claymation with Plush Toy, for example, gives a soft clay figure in a felt world.
Can I make claymation from a text prompt?
Yes. Image Studio has a Claymation style in its style picker (3D & Digital), which adds handcrafted stop-motion clay texture and miniature-diorama lighting to whatever you describe — useful for clay characters and scenes that don't start from a photo.
Turn it into clay
New accounts get starter credits. No subscription required.
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