Playground

A practical guide · FLOW

Make a photograph move with FLOW

FLOW lets you push, gather and burst the material of a photograph. Its simulation uses particles, while the visible surface stays a textured photo. You can make a subtle displacement or a stronger distortion without turning the subject into a generic field of colored dots.

Open FLOW

Core tools work without an account. Image effects run in your browser.

Watch it in the studio

Silent recordings of the real playground with the sample photo. Each step is labeled with the control's name, so you can follow along in another tab.

Photographic current 19 s · Recorded in the studio, no sound Start → Photo motion keeps a focal detail still while the surrounding photograph turns into a current. Movement sets how far it travels.
Steps in this clip
  1. Start → Photo motion
  2. Raise Movement
  3. Apply — one undoable edit
Choose a FLOW treatment 31 s · Recorded in the studio, no sound Start offers several FLOW treatments. Compare Contour study, Protected drift and Ribbon study in the preview, then apply the one you want as a single undoable edit.
Steps in this clip
  1. Open Start
  2. Contour study: a flowing paper sheet
  3. Protected drift: keep a detail still
  4. Ribbon study: one broad sweep
  5. Apply the one you like
Versions and replay 34 s · Recorded in the studio, no sound Save a named version in History, drag Replay back to an earlier moment, release to keep it, and return to any version.
Steps in this clip
  1. Play freely
  2. Open History
  3. Branch: keep this as a named version
  4. Drag Replay back in time
  5. Release to keep that moment
  6. Return to any version

FLOW / Start with a composition

Coffee current.

The cup is the anchor; the diagonal movement belongs to the table and saucer. The Sunprint inks connect both areas without replacing their photographic detail.

Coffee, original photograph
Source · Coffee
Rachel Michetti · CC0 / public domain ↗
A recognizable cup held inside broad blue currents and warm paper tones.
Actual FLOW export · 2026-10-27
Download PNG ↓ · Short MP4 ↓

Make a decision. Compare the rim and handle with the source. They should remain recognizable while the surrounding sweep gives the image a direction. Enlarge or move the protected area if a defining edge is lost.

Try it. Open Start → Photographic current. Compare the protected cup with the flowing surround, then reverse Turn or reduce Movement. Applying Start is one undoable edit; compare the preview before applying, then keep a version in History.

Open this editable example ↗Download this Start style ↓

For your own image, open Start → Load style and choose the downloaded file. Refit the focal area or crops, compare the preview and apply. The example uses an unmarked Pro output; the same creative controls are free.

Compare the earlier techniques

Actual studio exports from generated example images. These isolate layer counts, gestures and competition rules; they are not ordinary camera photographs.

The original portrait before FLOW displacement
Source portrait.
The portrait visibly displaced outward by FLOW
Actual frozen Explode result in the Riso Look. Download the GIF to see its motion.
Download the actual 1.2s GIFDownload the still PNG

Make it your own

  1. Compose before sculpting

    Load your photograph, open Start and choose Photographic current. Show source photo and fit the protected detail around every defining feature. Adjust Movement and Turn; compare the still and Preview short loop before Apply starting point. Undo restores the prior work.

  2. Bring a recognizable image

    Open FLOW and add a JPEG, PNG or WebP. Start with a face, object or landscape whose shape you can recognize after a small movement. The source photo stays separate from the changing simulation.

  3. Try one tool at a time

    Drag with Push to move material along a gesture. Hold Attract to gather it toward a point. Use Explode for an outward burst. Strength changes the force, while Return changes how the material comes back toward its resting pose.

  4. Save a still or make a loop

    Export PNG to keep the current shape. GIF and Short loop video generate a forward-and-back animation from the state at the moment you click. Free loops are 1.2 seconds and up to 480px, with a corner mark; Pro adds a 4-second export within the device limit.

Keep a direction across photographs

Save a style in Start after choosing the treatment and ink family. Load it with another photo and refit the focal area or paired crops before applying. A style holds reusable decisions; a project backup also holds the source images, History and recorded work.

Refit composition to each photo follows the new focal area while keeping the shared inks and movement. Review the face, label or defining edges on each result; automatic fitting does not guarantee recognition.

Make motion support the picture

A small push across a recognizable feature often reads more clearly than a large distortion across the whole frame. Compare the moved image with Original, then try a different tool on a saved version. Presets offer another starting point, but their appearance still depends on the photograph you supply.

In Settings, free FLOW controls include Deformation scale, Friction and Turbulence. Presets can also change forces such as gravity and vortex. These settings affect how the material moves; they do not select a sky, river or face to animate. FLOW does not perform AI scene understanding or generate frames from a text prompt.

What a loop records

The export captures the current material state, its settings and the chosen Look. It advances that private state at fixed steps, then plays the sequence backward to return toward its start. Changing a control while the file is being generated does not change that export. It is a short motion result, not a recording of your cursor or the entire editing session.

If the photograph is at rest and there are no active forces, there may be little motion to export. Make a visible displacement first. A GIF can be larger than a video of the same duration because of the format's palette and compression limits; WebM is another option for browser playback. If Video format offers MP4, choose it for slide decks and video editors. MP4 requires H.264 recording support.

Keep the page and the work under control

Animation generation has a Cancel control and bounded dimensions. A device with less memory receives a lower export limit. Video recording needs the tab to remain active; GIF is a useful alternative when video recording is unavailable. Save a still or project backup if you want to preserve the current result before another experiment.

The image effect runs locally. No account is required to upload a source into the workspace, try the tools or export a standard result. Account and payment features are separate. Your browser still needs to load the application, fonts and sample assets before you can use them.

Questions before you start

Does FLOW replace the photo with dots?

No. Particles drive the movement, but a textured mesh preserves the photograph's appearance. The three Looks change the finish while keeping the same interaction model.

Can I use a phone without motion permission?

Yes. Touch controls work without tilt or shake access. Device motion is an optional input, not a prerequisite for the core tools.

Are the free animations real files?

Yes. The example above is a multi-frame GIF downloaded from the product. Free FLOW and DUEL loops are 1.2 seconds; Pro offers longer loops. Your browser determines which video formats it can record.

Will a larger export add missing detail?

No. Static high-resolution export reuses the original photo's available detail. It does not create detail beyond the source, and animation has its own smaller size budget.