How to make stickman animation with AI for free (step-by-step guide)

Stickman animation is quietly becoming one of the strongest formats on YouTube right now. New channels are pulling in millions of views and, in many cases, earning over $10,000 a month from a niche that’s still very fresh.

The surprising part? These videos are simple to produce. You don’t need drawing skills, animation experience, or expensive software. With the right AI tools and a solid workflow, you can turn ideas into polished stickman videos that look and feel like premium content.

This guide walks you through two complete methods:

• A 100% free workflow using Claude and other free AI tools
• A faster, semi-automated workflow that can generate stickman videos in just a few clicks

If you want even more depth after this guide, you can also check out this walkthrough on building viral stickman YouTube videos with Claude and free tools or a broader overview on how to create viral AI animation videos for free in 2026.

Why stickman animation works so well

Stickman videos look simple, but they hit a powerful sweet spot on YouTube:

• They’re fast and cheap to produce compared to traditional animation.
• They focus attention on story and pacing instead of flashy visuals.
• They’re easy to brand and keep visually consistent across a channel.
• YouTube’s algorithm currently treats them like high-value content, pushing them to large audiences.

Because of this, beginners with no previous editing or animation experience are breaking into the niche and seeing serious traction.

Overview of the two methods

We’ll cover two end-to-end workflows:

• Method 1 (Free Workflow): Use Claude for ideas, scripts, prompts, and optimization; Dubdub for AI voiceover; Google’s Flow for images and animation; and CapCut for editing. This method is designed to be 100% free to start.

• Method 2 (Fast Workflow): Use Claude for ideation and scripting, then Vsub’s AI video feature to automatically create and animate stickman scenes, add voiceover, subtitles, and export a ready-to-upload video.

Both methods follow the same basic pipeline: research → script → voiceover → visuals → animation → editing → optimization.

Method 1: Fully free AI stickman workflow

This method gives you the most control over each step while keeping costs at zero. You’ll use Claude as the “brain” that coordinates niche research, scripting, prompts, and YouTube optimization.

Step 1: Load the master prompt and resource file into Claude

1. Get the master prompt. Start by copying the long “master” prompt provided in the creator’s resources. This prompt defines the entire workflow and tells Claude how to guide you step by step.

2. Open Claude. Paste the full master prompt into a new Claude session and run it. Claude will initialize the system and walk you through the process.

3. Upload the resource file. Claude will ask for a specific resource file. Download it from the linked drive folder and upload it into the same Claude session.

This resource file is essentially a “virality, consistency, and production bible” that gives Claude detailed knowledge about what works in this stickman niche. Once it’s loaded, Claude can make much smarter decisions about niches, ideas, and scripts.

Step 2: Pick a profitable stickman niche

With the master prompt and resource file active, Claude will generate a list of stickman-friendly niches that are currently performing well on YouTube.

What to do:

• Review the niche list Claude gives you.
• Choose the one that genuinely interests you and fits the kind of stories you want to tell.
• Enter the number of your chosen niche when Claude asks.

Picking a niche you actually enjoy matters, because you’ll be scripting and publishing multiple videos over time.

Step 3: Generate proven video ideas

Once your niche is selected, Claude will:

• Analyze high-performing concepts in that niche.
• Suggest a list of video ideas based on what’s currently gaining traction.

What to do:

• Look through the idea list and pick one that feels strong and clickable.
• Enter the number of that idea (for example, “2”) when prompted.

All ideas are data-backed, so you’re not guessing what might work—you’re building on what already does.

Step 4: Set your video length and get a full script

Claude will now ask how long you want your video to be.

• For learning and testing, you can start with a shorter script (1–3 minutes).
• For serious growth in this niche, aim for 8–15 minutes, which is the typical sweet spot.

What to do:

• Enter your desired duration (e.g., “2 minutes” or “10 minutes”).
• Let Claude generate a full, highly engaging script tailored to your chosen niche and idea.

The script is written in a style inspired by current high-performing videos, with strong hooks and pacing designed for retention.

Step 5: Create a realistic AI voiceover with Dubdub

Now you need a voice to bring the script to life. For this, you’ll use Dubdub, an AI text-to-speech tool.

1. Paste your script. Copy the entire script from Claude and paste it into Dubdub’s AI voiceover section.

2. Clean up spacing. Remove unnecessary blank lines and large gaps. This keeps the voiceover flowing naturally without awkward pauses.

3. Choose a voice. Open the voices panel and browse available voices. The creator recommends using the “ultra” filter for higher-quality voices and specifically likes the “Liam” voice, but you can choose any that fits your channel’s tone.

4. Optional settings. You can adjust speed, pitch, pauses, music, and sound effects, but for this workflow it’s best to keep it simple and generate a clean voice-only track.

5. Export the audio. Once you’re happy with the preview, export the voiceover as an MP3 file.

You now have a complete narration track ready to sync with visuals.

Step 6: Generate stickman images with Google Flow

Next, you’ll create all the visuals for your story. Claude will again do the heavy lifting.

1. Ask Claude for image prompts. Go back to the same Claude session and tell it to proceed. Claude will:

• Read your final script.
• Break it into scenes.
• Generate a list of text-to-image prompts, one for each scene.
• Calculate how many images you need to cover the entire video.

2. Open Google Flow. This is your text-to-image and image-to-video tool.

3. Generate images scene by scene.

• Copy the first image prompt from Claude.
• Paste it into Flow’s prompt box.
• Set the aspect ratio to 16:9 for YouTube long-form.
• Match the other settings to the recommended ones in the tutorial (e.g., quality, style, guidance strength).
• Generate the image.

4. Repeat for all prompts. You can generate multiple images in bulk to speed things up. The goal is to get a full set of consistent, high-quality stickman images that all share the same style and characters.

5. Download your images. Once you’re satisfied, download all images in their original size.

At this point, you have a narrated script and a complete visual storyboard in image form.

Step 7: Animate key scenes with Flow

Full animation for every single image isn’t necessary—and would slow you down. Instead, you’ll animate only the most important early scenes to make the opening of your video feel dynamic.

1. Get animation prompts from Claude. In the same session, tell Claude to continue. It will generate a set of animation prompts, one per scene, and show which part of the script each prompt covers.

2. Animate in Flow.

• In Flow, select the image for your first scene and click the animation button.
• This loads the image as the first frame in the video animation tool.
• Choose a model—use the “light” model for speed and affordability (works with free accounts).
• Paste the corresponding animation prompt from Claude into Flow’s prompt area.
• Generate the animated clip.

3. Focus on the opening. You do not need to animate every image. Instead:

• Animate the first 5–10 scenes to strongly hook viewers.
• Use the remaining static images later in the video with simple motion effects during editing.

4. Download the clips. Export each animated scene in original size.

This approach keeps your workflow fast while still making the video feel alive and professional.

Step 8: Edit everything together in CapCut

With your voiceover, animated scenes, and static images ready, it’s time to assemble the full video. CapCut is a good choice here because it’s free, simple, and powerful enough for this style.

1. Import all assets.

• Voiceover MP3.
• Animated clips from Flow.
• All stickman images.

Organize them in folders or label them inside CapCut to keep the timeline clean.

2. Place the voiceover. Drag the full voiceover onto the main audio track. For this style of video, you usually don’t need to cut out small pauses—they help the narration feel more natural.

3. Add animated scenes.

• Place your first animated clip at the start of the video.
• Listen through the voiceover and trim the clip so it covers the exact lines that belong to that scene.
• Add the second animated clip right after the first and repeat the process.
• Continue until all animated scenes are correctly aligned with the script.

4. Add static images.

• Start from the next scene after your last animated clip (for example, image 6 if you animated the first 5).
• Drop each image onto the timeline and set its duration so it matches the corresponding voiceover segment.
• Add simple zooms, pans, or subtle motion where needed to keep visuals from feeling too static.

5. Smooth the ending. On the final image, apply a simple fade-out animation so the video ends cleanly.

6. Export the video. Use export settings optimized for YouTube (16:9, at least 1080p, and a standard or high frame rate like 30–60 fps).

You now have a complete stickman video produced entirely with free tools.

Step 9: Auto-generate title, description, tags, and thumbnail prompt

To give your video the best chance of performing well, you need strong packaging: title, description, tags, and thumbnail.

1. Go back to Claude. In the same session, tell it to proceed again.

2. Let Claude generate your YouTube metadata. It will output:

• A high-performing, click-worthy video title.
• A fully optimized description that matches your content and niche.
• A list of relevant, optimized tags.

3. Generate a thumbnail. Claude will also give you a detailed thumbnail prompt. You can feed this prompt into your preferred image generator to create a custom thumbnail that matches the video’s style.

With this, you have everything you need to upload your video fully optimized for YouTube.

Method 2: Ultra-fast stickman video creation with Vsub

Method 1 gives you maximum control, but it involves several tools and manual steps. Method 2 keeps Claude for the “thinking” part, then hands off almost everything else to Vsub’s AI video feature, which is built to support stickman styles.

Step 1: Use Claude again for niche, ideas, and script

The ideation process is the same as in Method 1:

• Start a new Claude session and paste the same master prompt.
• Upload the same resource file.
• Let Claude generate the niche list and choose your niche.
• Ask for video ideas and pick one.
• Set your desired length (e.g., 2 minutes for quick tests or 8–15 minutes for full videos).
• Have Claude generate a complete script.

Once you have the script, you’re done with Claude for this method.

Step 2: Open Vsub and choose the stickman template

Now you’ll use Vsub’s AI Video v3 feature to build the entire video.

1. Open the AI Video v3 feature. This is the mode that supports stickman templates.

2. Set the aspect ratio. Choose 16:9 for YouTube long-form.

3. Pick a stickman template. Vsub offers several stickman styles tailored to different niches. For example:

• “Stickman ancient” style works well for history or ancient-themed content.
• Other templates may fit tech, storytelling, or educational content.

You can also create your own custom template by uploading a reference video and letting Vsub learn from its style—but starting with a pre-made template is usually faster.

Step 3: Add your script and choose a voice

1. Paste the script. Copy the full script from Claude and paste it into Vsub’s script box. Make sure no extra text or instructions are included.

2. Choose generation speed. Select a speed mode (e.g., “standard”) that balances quality and generation time. Standard mode is usually only a few minutes.

3. Select a voice. Open the voice library and choose a voice that fits your content. The tutorial uses “Todd,” but you can pick any you prefer. You can also:

• Upload your own pre-recorded voiceover instead of using AI.
• Add your own cloned voice via the “add voice” feature, if available.

Keep the default voice settings unless you have a specific reason to tweak them.

Step 4: Let Vsub auto-build your video

When you click continue, Vsub will:

• Break your script into scenes.
• Generate stickman visuals that match your chosen template.
• Create and sync the AI voiceover.
• Assemble a complete, edited video timeline.

After processing, you’ll see all scenes laid out with images and audio already in place.

Step 5: Refine images and animate key scenes

You can now customize and upgrade the automatically generated visuals.

1. Edit or regenerate images. For any scene:

• Click the three dots on the image and choose “Edit image.”
• Adjust the existing image via a prompt (e.g., “add more contrast,” “make the background darker”).
• Or generate a completely new image using the same or modified prompt.

2. Animate the most important images.

• On your first image, click the three dots and choose “Animate.”
• Optionally, add a brief prompt to guide motion.
• Choose a mode—“Pro” mode gives slightly better results; “Standard” is faster.
• Set your desired resolution (higher for better quality if you have the credits).
• Keep the fixed camera option on for stable framing.

Once the animation is generated, save it. Vsub will automatically replace the static image with the animated version in your main video timeline.

3. Animate just the opening. As with Method 1, you don’t need to animate every scene. Focus on the first 5–10 images (or roughly the first 15–20 seconds) to create a strong, dynamic hook.

Step 6: Fine-tune timing, audio, and style

Vsub gives you several controls to polish the video without leaving the platform.

1. Adjust scene durations. If a scene doesn’t match the pacing of the voiceover, use the duration slider to lengthen or shorten that specific visual.

2. Tweak audio levels.

• Lower or raise the voiceover volume (around 55% is a good general target).
• Use the “sync volume” feature to even out loudness across the entire video.

3. Optional: Add sound effects. You can attach sound effects to specific words or moments, but for most stickman videos, a clean narration is enough.

4. Filters and transitions.

• In the settings section, choose a visual filter that fits your style (for example, “chroma”).
• Avoid heavy transitions between scenes—simple cuts usually look cleaner for this format.

5. Background music (optional). You can import your own tracks and add them under the voiceover if it suits your niche. Many stickman channels keep things minimal and skip music entirely.

Step 7: Subtitles and branding

1. Subtitles.

• In the subtitles section, enable captions if you want on-screen text.
• Customize fonts, colors, and styles, or pick from premade caption templates.
• You can also regenerate captions if you change the script.

Subtitles can help with retention, but if you prefer a clean, minimal look, you can leave them off.

2. Logo and overlays. In the tools section, you can:

• Upload a logo to display throughout the video for branding.
• Add emojis or GIFs (though for this niche, it’s usually better to keep things simple).

Step 8: Export your final video

Once everything looks and sounds right:

• Click the download button to open export options.
• Choose MP4 as your format.
• Set the frame rate to 60 fps for smooth motion, or 30 fps if you prefer.
• Pick a resolution—4K for maximum quality if you have credits to spare, or 1080p to save resources.

Export and save the file, and your video is ready for YouTube.

Which method should you start with?

Both workflows can produce strong results, but they serve slightly different needs:

• Method 1 (Free): Best if you’re just starting, want to spend zero money, and don’t mind a bit more manual work. You’ll also learn the full creative process end to end.

• Method 2 (Fast): Best if you want to publish more frequently, test lots of ideas quickly, and trade a few credits or a subscription for serious time savings.

You can also mix both approaches: use Method 1 to fully understand the pipeline and refine your style, then switch to Method 2 to scale up production once you’re comfortable.

Next steps

Stickman animation is still early enough that new creators can break in and grow fast, especially if they combine strong storytelling with smart use of AI tools.

Your best move now is to:

• Pick a niche you can see yourself making at least 10–20 videos in.
• Use Claude to generate a batch of ideas and scripts.
• Choose either the free or fast workflow and commit to finishing your first video.
• Iterate based on performance and viewer feedback.

With these two workflows in your toolkit, you have everything you need to start building a stickman channel that looks professional, runs efficiently, and has real potential to go viral.