Stickman video maker: AI stick figure videos drawn in ink

What an AI stickman video is, and why the format works

A stickman video explains one idea with the simplest possible character: a circle, a few lines and a pen that draws as the narrator speaks. The format has been a staple of explainer channels for years because it removes everything that competes with the idea. There is no face to judge, no location to film and no stock footage that almost fits.

The drawing does two jobs at once. It gives the eye something to follow, which holds attention through the middle of a video, and it acts out the abstract part of the script: the figure points at a number, shrugs at a bad decision or walks through a flow chart. A viewer remembers the gesture long after the sentence.

Doing this by hand means sketching every pose, timing each line to the voice and lettering every label. Video Studio does that part for you. You choose the topic and the length; the stick figure, the labels and the timing come out of the render.

How the Ink stickman style is built

The style is cream paper, black ink and one red accent. A single stick figure is the narrator's stand-in. Short hand-lettered words and numbers appear beside it as they are spoken, and a red underline or circle marks the one thing to remember. Simple props such as a ship, a coin or a box diagram are drawn in the same ink when the script needs them.

Because each frame is drawn as code rather than generated by a video model, the figure has the same proportions in the last second as in the first, the lettering is set in a real font, and nothing gains an extra finger. That consistency matters most if you plan to make many episodes in the same look.

• One stick figure that gestures, reacts and walks through the idea
• Hand-lettered labels and numbers that appear as the narrator says them
• Captions placed from the voiceover's own word timings, so each word lands as it is spoken
• An ElevenLabs voiceover, background music and sound effects mixed in
• A 9:16 MP4 at 30 or 60 seconds that you download and own

Topics that suit a stickman video

Stickman videos are strongest when the idea is about people: why they decide, avoid, fail or change. They also suit history told as a sequence of human choices, and money ideas that need one number to sink in. They are weaker for anything that needs to show a real place, a real product or a real face.

How to write a topic that draws well

You only type a topic, but a good topic gives the storyboard something to draw. Name the surprise in the topic itself: "Procrastination is not laziness" gives the figure a wrong belief to drop, while "Procrastination tips" gives it nothing to act out. Topics with one turn (people think X, the truth is Y) make the cleanest 30 second videos.

Keep it to a single idea. A 30 second video holds roughly one claim, one example and one takeaway. If your topic has three parts, pick 60 seconds or split it into three videos. And prefer ideas with a concrete object: a ship, a jar of coins, a to-do list. Concrete objects become drawings; abstractions become labels, and too many labels crowd the frame.

Pacing tips for stick figure videos

The drawing should never fall behind the voice. Video Studio times every line and label from the voiceover, so a short script with room to breathe looks better than a dense one squeezed into 30 seconds. If you are unsure, choose 60 seconds for anything with a list or a timeline.

Open on the claim, not on a greeting. The first second of a short video decides whether anyone stays, so the best stickman openings state the surprising idea while the figure is still being drawn. End on the one line you want people to repeat; it doubles as a natural loop back to the start.

When a stickman video is the wrong choice

If your topic is a ranking, a hot take or a story that hangs on one dramatic line, Kinetic type usually hits harder because the words themselves are the visual. If it is a graph, an equation or a growth curve, Diagram explainer shows the data directly. And if your audience expects to see you, a faceless format will not replace a face; it is a different kind of channel.

How to make a stickman video with AI

1. 1

   Type one idea as your topic

   One sentence is enough, ideally with the surprise in it, such as "Why we procrastinate on the things that matter most". Claude turns it into a script and a storyboard of poses, labels and props.

2. 2

   Pick Ink stickman and a length

   Choose 30 or 60 seconds. The credit cost is shown before anything starts: 30 credits for 30 seconds, 48 for 60.

3. 3

   Let it render

   The voiceover is recorded, captions are timed to its words, music and sound are mixed, and every frame of the stick figure is drawn. It takes about 3 minutes.

4. 4

   Download and post

   You get a 9:16 MP4. Upload it to YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels or TikTok yourself; auto-posting is coming soon, on Pro and Studio.

Styles and what each video costs

Prices are fixed per style and length, shown before you render, and charged only for a finished video: a failed render refunds its credits automatically.

What it does not do yet

Worth knowing before you sign up. All of these are coming soon; none of them are live today.

• Auto-posting and scheduling to YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, on Pro and Studio. Today you download the MP4 and upload it yourself.
• Series and autopilot, where a new episode is made on a schedule without you starting each one.
• More styles beyond Kinetic type, Ink stickman and Diagram explainer.
• Other formats: Reddit stories, fake text conversations, brainrot and gameplay split-screen.

Questions