Create an animation clip

Use Animation Generator to create animation clips from a text prompt or a reference video.

There are two methods to generate an animation:

Text to Motion

To generate an animation using a text prompt:

  1. Right-click an empty area in the Project window to open Animation Generator.

  2. Select Create > Animation > Generate Animation Clip.

  3. Select the Text to Motion tab.

  4. To choose a model, select Change.

  5. Select a model from the Select Model window.

  6. In the Prompt field, describe the animation you want to generate.

    For example, walk or jump.

  7. Use the Duration slider to specify the length of the generated animation in seconds.

  8. To specify a custom seed to generate consistent results, enable Custom Seed and enter a seed number.

    For more information on custom seed, refer to Use a custom seed to generate consistent sprites.

  9. Select Generate.

    Tip

    Use the Trim tab to adjust the animation's direction, position, and looping behavior after generation. For more information, refer to Adjust direction and looping.

Video to Motion

Video to Motion replicates complex or realistic movements from a reference video. Use this method to capture detailed motions, such as martial arts or dance routines, directly from video footage.

To generate an animation from a reference video:

  1. Right-click an empty area in the Project window to open Animation Generator.

  2. Select Create > Animation > Generate Animation Clip.

  3. Select the Video to Motion tab.

  4. To choose a model, select Change.

    Note

    The Change button is available only when more than one model is available. Currently, Video to Motion supports a single model, Uthana Video to Motion.

  5. Select a model from the Select Model window.

  6. To specify a custom seed to generate consistent results, enable Custom Seed and enter a seed number.

  7. Select the browse icon to open the Select Video Clip window and select a video file from your Unity project folder.

    Tip

    Drag the video into your project folder if it’s not already imported.

    Note

    The video file must be in one of the supported Unity video formats. MP4 is the preferred format for best compatibility and performance. For more information, refer to Unity video format compatibility.

  8. Select Generate.

    Note

    To generate and assign assets directly, refer to Assign generated assets with the Object Picker.

Guidelines for Video to Motion

  • Only one person in the frame: Place only one person in the frame, and ensure good contrast and that their feet are clearly visible and distinguishable from the ground.

  • Full body in frame: Ensure the entire body and all the movements are visible in the video. The video starts with the person on the ground, facing the camera.

  • Stable camera: Ensure the video is continuous, without cuts or zooms. Keep the camera stable by using a tripod or resting it on a stable surface.

View and refine the generated animation clip

The generated animation appears in the Generations panel. Hover over the animation to play it and view details, such as the model used and prompt settings.

The animation is saved in the Assets folder as a .anim file. For example, walk.anim.

After you generate an animation clip, you can modify or refine it with Unity's standard animation editing tools. For more information, refer to Unity animation clips.

Tip

Use the Trim tab to refine your animation after generation. For more information, refer to Adjust direction and looping and Trim tab reference.

Unityai label

By default, newly created Unity assets don't have any labels assigned. When you generate an asset and apply that generation to it, the asset is automatically tagged with the UnityAI label. This label lets you identify, search, and organize assets created with Generators.

To locate all assets with the UnityAI label, use one of the following ways:

  • In Unity's Search window, select +, then enter Unity AI and select the label.
  • Right-click any asset and select Search Generated Assets.

The search result shows a list of all assets in your project that had generation applied to them.

Note

The UnityAI label isn't applied when the asset is first created. It's only added when you generate and assign the resulting generation to the asset.

Additional resources