Whiteboard Animation
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How to make drawing animations from many images at once

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TL;DR Two ways work today. Ask an AI agent to do the whole folder: connect the WhiteboardAnimation.ai MCP server to Claude Code, Cursor or another MCP client, point it at a folder, and it uploads every picture, starts every drawing and gives you one link that saves up to 20 videos at once. We ran three pictures that way on 1 November 2026: all three drawings were finished 31 seconds after the first one started, cost one credit each, and opening the link saved three MP4s in 23 seconds; on the free plan they carry a watermark. Or run an open-source script: whiteboard-animator (PyPI), Image to Animation Offline, Sketch2Motion and smaller GitHub projects turn an image into a reveal video with OpenCV, potrace or Manim plus FFmpeg on your own computer. Only Image to Animation Offline takes a whole folder by itself; with the others you loop over the files yourself.

Upload a pictureBrowse examples

Ways to batch images into drawing videos

What each one does with many pictures. Our row comes from our own run; the open-source rows from each project’s README, read 1 November 2026. We did not run the scripts.

Batch image-to-drawing-animation options. Sources at the end of the page.
ToolHow the picture is drawnMany pictures at onceYou needOutputCost
WhiteboardAnimation.ai through MCPA hand draws the picture’s own lines, then its colour, region by regionYes: the agent starts every picture in a folder; one link saves up to 20 videosAn MCP client (Claude Code, Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT…) and a free accountMP4 or WebM per picture1 credit a picture; 5 free credits, 720p with a watermark
whiteboard-animator (PyPI)Finds the ink on a white background, writes text word by word, traces outlines, then fills shapes with brush strokesSeveral images in one command become one joined video; a separate video per image means a loopPython 3.10+, FFmpeg; CPU only, an 83 MB text detector comes with the packageMP4Free, MIT licence
Image to Animation OfflineA grayscale sketch first, then the colour fills inYes, on desktop: pick a folder and every image in it becomes a video, in a queueThe Windows or Linux app, or Python; Android app without folder batchVideo file per imageFree, MIT licence, no watermark
Sketch2MotionThe image is traced into an SVG (potrace), then Manim draws the paths; a colour mode traces up to 16 colour layersNo: one image at a time in its web interface or scriptsPython 3.9+, Manim, FFmpeg, potraceMP4, 16:9 or 9:16Free; no licence stated on GitHub
heatherstreet/whiteboard-animatorEdge detection turns the image into a pencil sketch, revealed left to right with a hand following the edgeNo: one image per commandPython 3, OpenCV, Pillow, FFmpegMP4, 1920 × 1080 by defaultFree; no licence stated on GitHub

The scripts differ most in what they draw. whiteboard-animator draws a clean, flat-colour whiteboard picture stroke by stroke, and its README says photos, gradients and coloured backgrounds will not work. Sketch2Motion and the left-to-right script turn any image, photos included, into line art first, so the result is a sketch of your picture rather than the picture itself.

We drew three pictures in one request

On 1 November 2026 in Claude Code, with the MCP server connected as in our MCP guide, signed in as a free account with 3 credits left. Three pictures from our examples in one folder, one prompt.

The prompt: “Turn every picture in ./pictures into a whiteboard animation in one batch (subject first, right hand): start all of them, then wait until all are finished. Then make one render link for all of them as MP4 on paper and print the link.” Claude Code called status and quote, uploaded the three files, started three drawings within three seconds of each other and checked them with get_drawing until all were done.

Three pictures through the Whiteboard Animation MCP server in Claude Code, 1 November 2026 (UTC). Started = when the server accepted the drawing; finished = when the agent first saw it done.
PictureStartedDrawing finishedTimeCreditsSaved MP4
Light bulb02:06:4302:06:5815 s147 s video, 724 × 542, 2.6 MB
Solar system02:06:4802:07:0618 s154 s video, 724 × 542, 3.0 MB
Lighthouse02:06:52 (queued; drawing by 02:07:06)02:07:1422 s174 s video, 724 × 542, 6.1 MB
Whole batchPrompt sent 02:06:02Link ready 02:07:191 min 17 s3 (3 left → 0)All three saved 23 s after the link was opened
WhiteboardAnimation.ai through MCP in Claude Code, free plan, subject first, 1 November 2026
Four frames of the lighthouse video: the outlines drawn in black with a hand holding a brush, then the lighthouse, rocks and sea filling with colour, then the finished picture with a small WhiteboardAnimation.ai watermark at the lower right.

The lighthouse from our batch at a quarter, half, three quarters and the end of its 74 seconds: outlines first, then colour. The free plan’s watermark sits at the lower right.

  • One link for the batch. render_link returned one link for all three videos, valid for an hour. Opening it in a browser rendered them one after another and saved each to downloads; the browser asks once whether the site may download several files. wait_render then gave the agent each file name and size.
  • The queue. The free plan let one drawing wait while others drew: the third picture was accepted at once and started when a slot opened. Our pricing page lists up to 3 drawings waiting on Starter and up to 20 on Pro.
  • Size. The pictures were 724 × 543, so the videos kept that size; on the free plan videos go up to 720p. The watermark goes with any credit pack or paid plan.
Lighthouse animation: the picture as it was uploaded
The picture
One picture from the batch, and how it is drawnThe same lighthouse picture from our examples. The video made through MCP had the same length and order: outlines first, then the colour region by region.Use this pictureLighthouse animation: script, prompt and chapters
The three pictures we sent, as drawn in our catalog: their length and line-art time, and the strokes in their published drawing plans (counted 22 October 2026). The MCP videos came out the same length.
ExampleLine strokesColour strokesAs drawnLine art
A simple circuit684240:470:07
The solar system2583260:540:14
Lighthouse bay3864211:140:32

Batch a folder with an AI agent

Connecting the server takes a minute; the steps for each client are on our MCP page and in the MCP guide.

  1. 01

    Connect and sign in once

    Add the Whiteboard Animation MCP server to Claude Code, Cursor, Codex or another client and sign in with your account. A coding agent that can read your files is the easiest for folders.

  2. 02

    Put the pictures in one folder

    Finished PNG, JPEG or WebP pictures. Each one is drawn as it is: we do not write a script, add a voice or make the picture for you.

  3. 03

    Ask for the whole folder

    For example: “Turn every picture in ./pictures into a whiteboard animation (subject first). Start all of them, wait until they are finished, then give me one link that saves them as MP4.”

  4. 04

    Open the link

    Open it in your browser, allow several downloads when asked, and keep the page open until every file is saved. One link holds up to 20 drawings; for more, ask for another link.

  5. 05

    Cut them together

    Each picture comes back as its own clip, ready to place over narration in your video editor.

A hand with a marker drawing a lighthouse picture: the left half only outlines, the right half already coloured.
Illustration: every picture in the folder is drawn the same way: its outlines first, then its colour.

Each picture costs one credit, the same as in Studio, and a failed drawing gives its credit back. New accounts start with 5 free credits; free videos are 720p with a watermark. Any credit pack or paid plan removes the watermark and unlocks 1080p; transparent export comes with the Pro plan. Prices are on the pricing page.

Open-source scripts for batch drawing videos

What each project’s own README says it does, read 1 November 2026. All run on your own computer and need FFmpeg.

  • whiteboard-animator (PyPI)

    pip install whiteboard-animator, then whiteboard-animate scene.png --duration 8 -o scene.mp4. It treats every blob of dark pixels on white as a part to draw, orders them the way a hand would and streams the frames to FFmpeg; with a narration file it paces the drawing to the audio. Several images in one command are joined into one video. Version 0.1.1, MIT; it is the engine behind Kinoslide.

  • Image to Animation Offline

    A free desktop and Android app built on OpenCV and NumPy. On Windows and Linux you can choose a folder and it makes one sketch-style video per image in a queue; speed and frame rate are adjustable, and a colour option draws the grayscale sketch first, then fills the colour. MIT, no watermark.

  • Sketch2Motion

    Converts a photo, sketch or doodle into an SVG with potrace and renders the paths drawing themselves with Manim, in landscape or portrait. A colour pipeline keeps up to 16 colours. It runs as a local web page (Gradio) for one image at a time.

  • heatherstreet/whiteboard-animator

    A single Python script: edge detection and dodge blending make a pencil sketch, revealed left to right with a hand image following the edge, compiled with FFmpeg. Its own to-do list names path-based drawing as not done yet.

For the scripts that take one image per command, a batch is a loop in your shell or a short script over the folder. None of them reads your picture’s colour regions the way a person would colour them in: they reveal a sketch or fill shapes by area.

Run the batch on a schedule

From Claude Code’s own documentation, read 1 November 2026. We did not run a scheduled batch.

  • Claude Code Desktop scheduled tasks start a new session at the time you choose, on your machine, with your local files and the MCP servers in your config; they fire only while the app is open and the computer is awake.
  • Cloud scheduled tasks run without your computer, but work on a fresh copy of a repository rather than your local folders, with connectors set per task.
  • `claude -p "<prompt>"` runs Claude Code once without the interactive screen, so any scheduler on your computer can start it, for example each morning over a folder of new pictures.
  • `/loop` repeats a prompt on an interval while a session stays open.

The videos are made when someone opens the batch link in a browser, and the link lasts an hour. An unattended run gets every picture drawn and gives you the link; open it within the hour, or ask the agent for a new link later, to save the files.

Which one to use

  • Finished illustrations or diagrams, drawn line art first and then coloured, without installing anything: WhiteboardAnimation.ai through MCP. Five pictures are free with a watermark.
  • Clean marker-style whiteboard pictures, free, on your own machine: whiteboard-animator from PyPI.
  • A folder of photos turned into pencil-sketch videos with no setup: Image to Animation Offline on Windows or Linux.
  • Smooth vector line drawing for logos and doodles: Sketch2Motion.

Sources

Each project’s own README or package page and Claude Code’s documentation, read on the day given; our own run in Claude Code on 1 November 2026.

FAQ

Questions

Connect the WhiteboardAnimation.ai MCP server to an AI agent such as Claude Code or Cursor and ask it to draw every picture in a folder: it uploads them, starts every drawing and gives you one link that saves up to 20 videos as MP4 or WebM. In our run three pictures were drawn within 31 seconds for one credit each. Free open-source options are whiteboard-animator on PyPI, Image to Animation Offline (folder batch on desktop) and Sketch2Motion, which run on your computer with FFmpeg.
A new WhiteboardAnimation.ai account draws 5 pictures free, at up to 720p with a watermark. For free batches on your own computer, Image to Animation Offline makes one video per image from a folder on Windows and Linux, and whiteboard-animator from PyPI can be run over a folder with a short loop.
On WhiteboardAnimation.ai’s free plan, yes: a small watermark at the lower right, at up to 720p. Any credit pack or paid plan removes it and unlocks 1080p. The open-source projects add no watermark.
One link saves up to 20 drawings; an agent can ask for more links. How many drawings may wait in your queue depends on the plan: up to 3 on Starter and up to 20 on Pro, per our pricing page. Each picture costs one credit.
Claude Code’s documentation describes Desktop scheduled tasks that run on your machine with your local files and MCP servers, and `claude -p` for starting it from any scheduler. The drawings run unattended, but the videos are saved when the batch link is opened in a browser, within an hour or from a new link.

Your picture is one upload away from moving.

Draw 5 pictures free