Animate Story

Turn photos and ideas into anime-style visual stories — generate scene-by-scene illustrated narratives.

You have access to image generation through the OpenLabor API.

How to Generate Images

use images GENERATE '{"prompt":"...","model":"flux-schnell","aspect_ratio":"9:16","num_images":"1"}'

Styles

The same pipeline supports multiple visual styles. Always ask the user which style they want, or default to anime.

Pipeline

Step 1: Story Input

The user provides either:

• A photo of themselves or a scene (to be anime-fied)
• A text description of a story they want illustrated
• A topic/theme ("my morning routine as anime", "startup founder origin story")

Step 2: Scene Breakdown

Break the story into 5-8 scenes. For each scene define:

• Scene number and description (what's happening)
• Type: "anime" (AI-generated) or "real" (user's original photo)
• Image prompt for anime scenes
• Caption/text overlay (short, punchy text for the scene)
• Mood (epic, chill, romantic, dark, funny)

Example breakdown:

Scene 1: [anime] Hook — dramatic wide shot establishing the world
Scene 2: [real] User's actual photo — the "real me"
Scene 3: [anime] The struggle — character facing a challenge
Scene 4: [anime] The breakthrough moment
Scene 5: [anime] The transformation — before/after contrast
Scene 6: [real] User's photo again — "back to reality"
Scene 7: [anime] The vision — where they're heading
Scene 8: [anime] CTA scene — bold text with call to action

Step 3: Image Generation

For each anime scene, generate the image:

use images GENERATE '{"prompt":"[scene description], anime style, manga aesthetic, vibrant colors, dramatic lighting, studio quality, detailed illustration","model":"flux-schnell","aspect_ratio":"9:16","num_images":"1"}'

Style prompt suffix — always append to every anime prompt:

anime style, manga aesthetic, vibrant colors, dramatic lighting, studio quality, detailed illustration, cinematic composition

Aspect ratios by platform:

• TikTok / Reels / Stories: 9:16 (vertical)
• Twitter / LinkedIn: 16:9 (horizontal)
• Instagram feed: 1:1 (square)

Model selection:

• flux-schnell — fast drafts, $0.003/img (~5s)
• flux-dev — higher quality, $0.025/img (~15s)
• imagen-4 — alternative style, good for text rendering

Generate all scenes in parallel for speed — don't wait for one to finish before starting the next.

Step 4: Assemble the Story

Present the scenes in order with:

1. Each generated image
2. Scene caption/text overlay
3. Transition notes (if creating video)

Step 5: Refinement

Once the user reviews:

• Regenerate specific scenes with adjusted prompts
• Try different models for better quality
• Adjust style (more dramatic, more subtle, different color palette)
• Add or remove scenes

Story Templates

"Day in My Life" (anime edition)

1. Wake up scene — cozy bedroom, morning light
2. Real photo — actual morning routine
3. Commute/travel — dramatic city scene
4. Work scene — focused character at desk
5. Real photo — actual workspace
6. Achievement moment — celebration/breakthrough
7. Evening — peaceful sunset scene
8. CTA — "Follow for more"

"Origin Story" (startup/brand)

1. The problem — dark, frustrated scene
2. The spark — lightbulb moment, dramatic lighting
3. Building — montage of work and progress
4. The struggle — obstacles, rain, darkness
5. Breakthrough — explosion of light and color
6. Today — confident character, bright scene
7. Vision — epic future landscape
8. CTA — brand name, bold typography

"Product Launch"

1. The old way — dull, frustrating
2. Enter the hero — product reveal, dramatic
3. Feature 1 — action scene showing benefit
4. Feature 2 — another action scene
5. Feature 3 — climactic demonstration
6. Transformation — before/after split
7. Social proof — characters celebrating
8. CTA — "Try it now"

"Tutorial / How-To"

1. The goal — what you'll learn 2-6. Step-by-step scenes, each illustrating one step
2. The result — completed outcome
3. CTA — "Save this for later"

Prompt Engineering for Anime

Character Consistency

To maintain consistent characters across scenes:

• Describe the character the same way each time: "young woman with short black hair, blue eyes, wearing a white hoodie"
• Keep the style descriptors identical across all scenes
• Use the same model for all scenes in one story

Mood Mapping

Platform Optimization

• TikTok/Reels: 9:16, bold text overlays, 5-8 scenes max
• Twitter thread: 16:9, one image per tweet, 7-10 scenes
• Instagram carousel: 1:1, clean design, 5-10 slides
• LinkedIn: 16:9, professional tone, 5-7 scenes

Guidelines

1. Always use 9:16 for vertical/story content unless specified otherwise
2. Generate scenes in parallel for speed
3. Append the anime style suffix to every prompt
4. Start with flux-schnell for drafts, upgrade to flux-dev for finals
5. Keep stories to 5-8 scenes — too many loses engagement
6. Each scene should have a clear purpose in the narrative arc
7. Include a CTA in the final scene