---
title: "How to make stickman videos with AI"
description: "Topic in, stickman video out: survival-choice reels, POV stories and explainers drawn in code, free to render; the voice is 4 credits on varg."
url: https://varg.ai/how-to/make-stickman-videos-with-ai
updated: 2026-11-13
---

# How to make stickman videos with AI

> **For AI agents:** find the right skill in one call — `curl -s "https://varg.ai/how-to/api/search?q=<what the person wants>"` returns the matching how-to page and the best skills with install commands, as markdown (Russian works too). Full index: https://varg.ai/how-to/llms.txt. Every page has a markdown twin: add `.md` to its path. Before generating anything, show the person the options on the how-to page. From a terminal: `curl -fsSL https://varg.ai/install | sh` installs the vargai CLI (https://varg.ai/how-to/cli.md): `vargai search` and `vargai install <slug>` with no key, every varg model after `vargai login`.

Give your AI agent a topic and get back a stickman video: a 20–60 second vertical reel for TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Reels, or a 5–10 minute narrated YouTube explainer, with a voice, captions and sound. The stick figures are drawn and animated in code, so the picture costs nothing and every frame is under your control; only the voice is a paid call.

**Price:** the animation renders free on your machine. The voice for a 25-second reel cost 4 credits ($0.04) on varg with an ElevenLabs voice (eleven_v3), measured 2026-11-13. **Free start:** new varg accounts get 50 free credits, enough for several reels' voices. 1 credit = $0.01.

Paste this into Claude Code, Codex or Grok:

```text
Make a 20-second stickman survival reel, 9:16, "Day 1: <your premise>".
Follow https://varg.ai/how-to/make-stickman-videos-with-ai.md and the stickman-video skill.
Show me the script and six frames before you make the voice or render.
```

The agent needs three skills, installed once (stickman-video plans and rigs the figures, HyperFrames renders, varg makes the voice):

```bash
curl -fsSL https://varg.ai/install | sh && vargai install stickman-video hyperframes varg-ai
```

**Example:** a 24-second "Day 1: lighthouse rules" reel made this way, voice 4 credits, render 17 seconds: https://s3.varg.ai/files/4325c578-378d-4c43-ae53-3cc3218df1ea/file_6f3002ab335b.mp4

## Three ways to make a stickman video

| Route | What you get | Cost | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Drawn in code** ([stickman-video](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/stickman-video.md) + HyperFrames) | Jointed stick figures with poses, walks and reactions, a set, captions and sound, rendered to MP4 | Free render; the voice is 4 credits for 25 s | Shorts series, survival and POV stories, anything you will make every day |
| **Stickman Video Director** ([kaomei/stickman-video-director](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/stickman-video-director.md), free, MIT) | Director Mode: a prompt per 10-second clip for Google Flow, Kling or Veo. Autopilot: a finished narrated MP4 in one of 11 styles | Free skill; your image, voice and video APIs | Long YouTube explainers in a ready style (cave, cozy, retro TV, survival thriller) |
| **AI stills, then a video model** (GPT Image 2.6 or Nano Banana 2.1, then Kling 4 on varg) | A painted 2.5D look with lighting and depth | About 6 credits a still, video priced per second | One hero shot or a thumbnail; video models still drift on thin limbs and faces |

## The stickman formats that travel

1. **Survival choice.** Second person ("You wake up and…"), a DAY counter, three or four rules on screen, and a two-choice ending: "1: … / 2: …, comment your number, follow for Day 2". Accounts posting episodes like this claim tens of thousands of followers in days ([@brainextends](https://x.com/brainextends/status/2111569272732553535), [@finnardley's free prompt](https://x.com/finnardley/status/2115786060231770351)).
2. **POV story.** One stick figure, one place, one escalating problem, told in short present-tense lines.
3. **Two-figure contrast.** "Fake friend vs real friend", "you vs you in 5 years": two figures, one beat each, side by side.
4. **History or science explainer.** Deadpan voice, absurd contrast, a fact per beat; the long YouTube format.
5. **Character explainer.** A presenter in the corner while stick figures act out the idea.

## Step by step

1. **Pick the format and the length.** 9:16 for Shorts, TikTok and Reels (20–60 s); 16:9 for YouTube explainers (5–10 min, made in chapters).
2. **Write the script first.** About 2.3–2.6 spoken words a second: 50–65 words for 25 s. Hook in the first line, one new picture every 2–3 seconds, the choice or the punchline last. The [video-script](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/video-script.md) skill checks the timing.
3. **Design one figure and keep it.** Round head, fixed bone lengths, one accent colour or prop (a red scarf, a yellow shirt). Repeat the same description word for word in every prompt, or reuse the same rig in code.
4. **Animate the body, not just the head.** Two-bone arms and legs posed by joint angles, a wind-up before every big move, a breath when standing, a blink, and a reaction pose on the turn. No picture holds still for more than 2.5 seconds: this is the fix for the "stiff limbs, only the head moves" complaint.
5. **Make the voice.** One narrator for the whole series. On varg: `vargai generate_speech` with an ElevenLabs voice; the agent shows the price first (60 words cost 4 credits).
6. **Captions and sound.** Word-timed captions inside the 9:16 safe area, an ambience bed, three or four sound effects on the actions, the voice about 10 dB over everything else.
7. **Check before posting.** Look at a contact sheet of 8–12 frames: limbs attached, text readable on a phone, the choice card on screen for at least 2 seconds.
8. **Post and label.** Mark it as AI-made where the platform asks, and keep your character your own: copying a named channel's characters is the fastest way to a strike.

## Questions

**Is there a free stickman video generator?** Yes: the code route renders free on your machine, and [Stickman Video Director](https://varg.ai/how-to/skills/stickman-video-director.md) is a free MIT skill. You pay only for a voice (or use your own) and for any image or video model you add.

**Claude Code or Codex?** Both. Claude writes the animation code well; Codex users often generate stills with its built-in image model. The code route needs neither image nor video generation.

**How do I keep the stickman the same in every shot?** In code it is the same rig, so it cannot drift. With a video model, repeat the frozen character description in every prompt and attach approved front, side and back views.

**Why do my stick figures look stiff?** They move one joint at a time and hold poses too long. Pose the whole body, add a wind-up and an overshoot, and keep something moving every 2.5 seconds.

**Can I monetise stickman videos?** YouTube asks for original, non-repetitive content and an AI label on realistic synthetic media; an original script, your own character and your own voice track are what make a channel stand out from reused content.

## Faceless YouTube channel videos with AI agents

For faceless channels and YouTube automation: narrated explainers drawn in code or illustrated, Shorts cut from long videos, thumbnails that read on a phone and captions people read on mute, made by Claude Code, Codex or Grok.

Start with the overview: [How to make a faceless YouTube video with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/make-a-faceless-youtube-video.md)

**Make**

- [How to cut a podcast into short video clips with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/cut-a-podcast-into-short-video-clips.md)
- How to make stickman videos with AI (this page)
- [How to make YouTube video thumbnails with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/make-youtube-video-thumbnails.md)
- [How to make an explainer video with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/make-an-explainer-video.md)
- [How to make AI b-roll for your video](https://varg.ai/how-to/make-ai-b-roll-for-your-video.md)
- [How to make trending AI video formats](https://varg.ai/how-to/make-trending-ai-video-formats.md)

**Edit and post**

- [How to add animated captions to a video with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/add-animated-captions-to-a-video.md)
- [How to add voiceover and music to a video with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/add-voiceover-and-music-to-a-video.md)
- [How to translate and dub a video with AI](https://varg.ai/how-to/translate-and-dub-a-video.md)
- [How to burn captions into a video with FFmpeg](https://varg.ai/how-to/burn-captions-with-ffmpeg.md)
- [How to crop a video to 9:16 vertical with FFmpeg](https://varg.ai/how-to/crop-a-video-to-vertical-with-ffmpeg.md)

**Compare tools**

- [Best AI video clipping tools in 2026: 5 compared](https://varg.ai/how-to/best-ai-video-clipping-tools.md)
- [Best open-source OpusClip alternatives in 2026: 7 compared](https://varg.ai/how-to/best-open-source-opusclip-alternatives.md)
- [Best AI video caption tools in 2026: 4 compared](https://varg.ai/how-to/best-ai-video-caption-tools.md)