From picture book to 3D: bringing your own art to life with AI

I've written and illustrated seven children's picture books, all drawn in Illustrator and Photoshop. When I started making videos with AI, I didn't want to start from scratch. I wanted my characters, the ones readers already knew, to move.

Start from something that's yours

An original drawing gives AI something specific to work from. The proportions, the colours and the personality are already decided. That's a big advantage over describing a character in words and hoping for the best.

Restyle, don't reinvent

I use AI to turn a 2D character into a 3D design, or into an anime or steampunk look, depending on the video. The goal is always the same character in a new style. If the new version loses what made the original recognisable, I go back and try again.

Then animate

Once the design is right, I use it to generate the video clips in Google Flow and edit them together in PowerDirector. Little Bare Bear, one of my recent videos, began life as one of those 2D picture books.

Why this matters beyond kids' videos

The same approach works for brands. A mascot, an illustration style or a set of characters you already own is a far better starting point than a blank prompt. It keeps the work consistent and it keeps it yours.