AI Image & Video Generator

MeiGen lets you generate images and videos using multiple AI models from a unified interface. On desktop, open the generation sidebar from the floating dock; on mobile, tap Generate in the bottom dock to open the generation sheet. Both surfaces offer the same models, reference images, @ mentions, prompt enhancement, AI edit, and Storyboard — this guide applies to both unless a section says otherwise.

Model Selector

At the top of the generation sidebar, the model selector dropdown lets you choose which AI model to use. Each option shows:

Provider icon — visual indicator of the model provider (Google, ByteDance, Midjourney, etc.)
Model name — the display name of the model
Credit cost — how many credits this model uses per generation

Selecting a different model automatically updates the available aspect ratios, resolution options, and advanced settings to match that model’s capabilities.

Model Comparison

Compare available models — features, pricing, strengths, and limitations

Prompt Editor

Writing Effective Prompts

Be specific — describe composition, lighting, colors, textures, and perspective for the best results
Short prompts work too — use the Enhance button to expand brief descriptions into detailed prompts automatically
Language — most models accept English prompts. Midjourney V8.1 will auto-translate non-English prompts to English

Variable Tags

Some prompts from the gallery contain blue [placeholder] tags — for example, [style], [subject], or [color palette]. These are editable template variables. Click any blue tag to select it, then type your replacement text. This makes it easy to create variations of a prompt without rewriting the whole thing.

@ Image Mentions

When you have multiple reference images uploaded, you can mention specific images inline in your prompt:

Type @ in the prompt editor
A popup appears showing thumbnails of your uploaded reference images
Select an image to insert a mention tag (e.g., @image1, @image2)
Write instructions around the mentions: “Use @image1 as the background scenery and apply the color palette from @image2”

This gives you precise control over how each reference image influences the generation.

Characters

Create a character once and reference it across generations, so the same figure stays consistent from image to image — and into video.

Click the Characters button above the prompt editor (available in both the image and video sidebars)
In Create Character, give it a name and add 1–4 images — upload them, or pick from your recent creations
Back in the prompt, type @ and select the character: “@Mia standing in a neon-lit alley, cinematic lighting”

You don’t need to attach the character’s images as reference images again — selecting it in the prompt is enough. Rename or delete characters under My Characters; deleting one breaks the prompts that reference it.

Best results: give the character one vertical full-body shot plus one neutral face close-up of the same character.

Only AI-generated or virtual characters are allowed. Images that resemble a real person are rejected by content review.

Limits — there is a cap on how many characters an account can keep, and on how many you can create per day. The dialog tells you when you reach it; delete unused characters under My Characters to free up room.Availability — image models that accept reference images (all except Flux 2 Klein and Z Image Turbo), plus Seedance 2.0 for video. Selecting a character on a text-only model returns an error.If you submit a work that mentions a character to the public gallery, that character’s main image becomes publicly visible alongside it — the publish dialog asks you to confirm first.

# Color Picker

When you need to specify an exact color for an object in your prompt, pick one from the palette:

Type # in the prompt editor
A palette appears with common colors and curated hues grouped by shade
Click any swatch to insert a color tag (e.g., #dc143c)
Write instructions around the color: “A t-shirt in #dc143c paired with #f5f5dc pants”

Colors are submitted to the model as hex values — more precise than describing “deep red” or “beige” in words.

Translate Button

Click the translate icon (top right of the prompt editor) to translate your prompt into English. This is useful when writing prompts in another language, as most models produce the best results with English input.

Prompt Enhancement

Click the Enhance Prompt button to automatically enhance your prompt based on the selected model:

Polish mode (most models) — preserves intent, adds visual details like composition, lighting, and materials
Expand mode (Midjourney V8.1) — expands into Midjourney-optimized language; non-English prompts are auto-translated

a cat sitting on a windowsill

A fluffy orange tabby cat sitting gracefully on a sunlit windowsill,
warm golden hour light streaming through sheer curtains, soft bokeh
of a garden visible outside, cozy interior with houseplants, photorealistic
style with shallow depth of field

Enhancement works best on brief prompts (under 30 words). Skip it for prompts that already have detailed visual descriptions — the AI may over-process them.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Cmd+Enter` / `Ctrl+Enter`	Trigger generation

Reference Images

Upload reference images as visual context to guide the AI’s output — for style matching, composition guidance, or subject reference.

Upload methods — drag-and-drop files onto the reference area, or click to browse
Supported formats — JPG, PNG, WebP
Auto-compression — images are automatically compressed to max 2MB / 2048px before upload
Maximum source dimensions — an image whose width or height exceeds 8000 pixels is rejected before upload, with a message asking you to resize it. Everyday files stay well clear of this: a 4K photo is 3840px on its long edge, and an A4 scan at 300dpi is 2480×3508. Only print-scale source files (large-format banners, poster artwork at full print resolution) run into it — scale those down before uploading
Thumbnail grid — uploaded images appear as thumbnails with an × button to remove each one
Per-model limits — the maximum number of reference images varies by model (0–10; Seedream 5.0 Pro accepts the most at 10). Models that don’t support references (Flux 2 Klein and Z Image Turbo) hide this section entirely.

See the Models page for the exact reference image limit of each model.

Adding References from the Gallery

You don’t need to download images first. Drag any gallery card directly into the reference image area — the image URL is used automatically.

Combine gallery references with @ mentions for powerful multi-reference workflows. For example, drag two gallery cards as references, then write: “Combine the composition of @image1 with the color palette of @image2.”

Reference Types (Midjourney V8.1)

When using Midjourney V8.1 with a reference image, a dropdown appears to choose how the reference is interpreted:

Type	Description
Content Reference	The AI uses the image as subject matter — it tries to recreate similar content. Control influence with the Image Weight (iw) parameter (0–2).
Style Reference	The AI extracts the visual style (colors, mood, technique) without copying the content. Control with Style Weight (sw, 0–1000).

When to Use Reference Images

Some prompts work best — or only make sense — with a reference image attached. MeiGen automatically detects keywords like “reference image” or “uploaded image” in your prompt and shows a hint if no reference is uploaded. Common patterns that need reference images:

Prompt Pattern	Why Reference Needed
”Transform this reference image into…”	The AI needs a source image to transform
”Based on the uploaded image, create…”	Explicitly references an uploaded image
”Keep the composition of @image1 but change…”	Uses @ mention syntax to reference uploads
”Redraw / reimagine the reference photo in…”	Requires a source to redraw from

If your prompt describes transforming, redrawing, or referencing a specific image, always upload that image as a reference first. Without it, the AI will generate something unrelated to your intent.

Generation Options

Count

Choose how many images to generate per request (1–4).

Free users — limited to 1 image per request. A lock icon appears on the + button.
Paid users — can generate up to 4 images in parallel per request.

Aspect Ratio

The default is Auto — no need to pick manually, a suitable ratio is chosen for you. Drop into the dropdown to pick a specific ratio when you want precise control.

Ratio	Orientation	Common Use
Auto (default)	—	Hands-off
1:1	Square	Social media profile, icons
3:4, 4:5, 2:3	Portrait	Phone wallpaper, posters
9:16	Tall portrait	Stories, Reels
9:21	Ultra tall	Vertical banners (GPT Image 2.0, Z Image Turbo)
1:3	Ultra tall	Vertical banners (GPT Image 2.0 only)
1:4, 1:8	Ultra tall	Scrolling banners (Nanobanana 2 only)
4:3, 3:2	Landscape	Desktop wallpaper
16:9, 21:9	Wide	Cinematic, ultrawide displays
3:1	Ultra wide	Header banners (GPT Image 2.0 only)
4:1, 8:1	Ultra wide	Panoramic banners (Nanobanana 2 only)

Not all models support all ratios. The selector automatically filters to show only ratios supported by the current model. See the Models page for each model’s supported ratios.

Resolution

The resolution options come from the model you picked — the selector only offers what that model supports:

Model	Resolution options
Nanobanana 2, Nanobanana Pro, Seedream 4.5	2K / 4K (default 2K)
GPT Image 2.0	1K / 2K / 4K (default 2K)
Grok Imagine Quality, Midjourney V8.1, Seedream 5.0 Pro	1K / 2K (default 1K)
Seedream 5.0 Lite	2K / 3K
Flux 2 Klein, Z Image Turbo, Agnes Image 2.1 Flash	Fixed — no resolution selector

The highest option of each model is paid-only and shows a lock icon for free users. On a 1K / 2K model that means 2K is locked; on a 2K / 4K model it’s 4K; on a 2K / 3K model it’s 3K. The same rule applies to 4k on video (Seedance 2.0 Pro and Veo 3.1).

Midjourney V8.1 Advanced Options

When using Midjourney V8.1, the Advanced Options button lets you tune extra generation parameters. Most users can leave everything at defaults.

Parameter details (Stylize / Chaos / Raw / iw / sref / sw)

Parameter	Range	Default	Description
Stylize	0–1000	100	Controls how strongly Midjourney’s aesthetic is applied. Lower = more literal, higher = more artistic.
Chaos	0–100	5	Adds variation between runs. Higher values produce more unexpected results.
Raw Mode	on/off	off	When on, produces images with a raw, less processed aesthetic; when off, the model’s default styling is applied.
Image Weight (iw)	0–2	1	How much influence the content reference image has. Only visible when a content reference is set.
Style Reference (sref)	URL/text	—	Provide a URL to an image whose style you want to mimic. Disabled when reference images are set to Style mode.
Style Weight (sw)	0–1000	100	How strongly the style reference is applied. Only visible when sref or style reference images are present.

Describe Image

See an image you like but don’t know how to describe it? Describe Image uses AI vision to analyze an image and generate a detailed text prompt that captures its content, style, and composition.

How to Use

Image detail dialog — open any image’s detail view and click the Describe Image button. The AI analyzes the image and generates a descriptive prompt.
Drag and drop — drag any external image (or a gallery card) onto the Describe Image dropzone above the prompt editor in the generation sidebar.

What It Generates

The AI examines the image and produces a prompt describing:

Subject matter and scene composition
Art style and technique (photorealistic, illustration, watercolor, etc.)
Lighting, color palette, and mood
Camera angle and perspective

You can use the generated prompt as-is, or edit it to create variations of the original image.

Describe Image works well as a starting point. Combine it with Prompt Enhancement — first describe an image you like, then enhance the result for even more detail.

Video Generation

MeiGen offers several video models — the current list and full specs are on the Models page:

Seedance 2.0 — three tiers, per-second pricing, 4–15 seconds, supports reference-video continuation
Veo 3.1 — two tiers, per-generation pricing, 4 / 6 / 8 seconds, audio always on
Happyhorse 1.1 — per-second pricing, 3–15 seconds
Grok Video 1.5 — per-second pricing, 4–15 seconds, a first-frame image is required
Agnes Video 2.0 — per-second pricing, fixed 5 seconds, covered by daily free credits

Open the video sidebar from the Generate Video button in the floating dock on desktop, or from Generate in the bottom dock on mobile.

Storyboard — Video Prompt Builder

Not sure how to write a video prompt? Click the Storyboard button in the video sidebar to turn a one-line idea into a complete, ready-to-shoot prompt. It’s the video equivalent of image Prompt Enhancement — but instead of a single paragraph, it produces a timed, shot-by-shot storyboard. Storyboard expands your brief (or an existing prompt) into two parts:

Overview paragraph — visual style, mood, the main subject, the environment, and the camera + lighting language.
Shot-by-shot timeline — a beat list from 0s to your selected duration with no gaps, e.g. 0s-2s: slow push-in + ..., including spoken lines or sound effects where they fit.

The timeline is built to match the duration you’ve selected in the sidebar, so set your duration first, then click Storyboard.

Storyboard keeps your input language — write your idea in any language and the storyboard comes back in the same language. It requires sign-in and shares a daily AI-assist limit with the other prompt tools, but does not spend image/video generation credits.

a barista making latte art in a cozy café

A warm, photorealistic close-up film of a skilled barista crafting latte art
in a cozy sunlit café, soft morning light, shallow depth of field, gentle
handheld camera, an inviting and calm mood.

0s-2s: slow push-in on the barista's hands gripping the steaming pitcher
2s-5s: top-down shot as milk pours into the espresso, a white rosetta blooms
5s-8s: slow pull-back revealing the finished cup set on the counter

Keep your starting idea short — a sentence is enough. Storyboard works best when it has room to build the shots; if you already wrote a detailed timeline, you don’t need it.

Frame Images

Upload frame images to control the video’s composition:

First Frame — sets the starting composition of the video
Last Frame — sets the ending composition

Seedance 2.0 and Veo 3.1 accept both frames (up to 2). Happyhorse 1.1, Grok Video 1.5 and Agnes Video 2.0 accept a first frame only. Frames are optional except on Grok Video 1.5, which is image-to-video only — a first frame is required, and the output ratio follows that image. You can also drag gallery cards directly as frame images.

Seedance 2.0

Option	Values	Description
Aspect ratio	adaptive, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, 9:16, 21:9	7 ratios. `adaptive` matches the reference image/video dimensions
Resolution	Mini / Fast: 480p, 720p. Pro: 480p, 720p, 1080p, 4K (default 480p)	Depends on the selected tier; 480p saves credits
Duration	4–15 seconds (default 4)	Slider or input
Audio	Auto-generated	Always on
Reference video	Yes	Used as visual conditioning input for “video continuation” (see the Extending a Video section below)

Pricing: per-second; full formula (including the minimum-billable table for continuation) is in the Models page. The sidebar shows the exact total before you submit. Three modes:

Text-to-video: just write a prompt
Image-to-video: upload 1–2 frame images to control first/last frame
Video extension: upload a reference video (see the Extending a Video section below)

Adding a reference video makes the total credit cost depend on its length: billed seconds = “reference video duration + your chosen duration” (never below the minimum-billable floor). Longer reference videos cost more. The sidebar shows the exact total before you submit — confirm before clicking Generate.

Veo 3.1 — Two Tiers, Native Audio

Option	Values	Description
Tier	Fast (default) / Pro	Toggle via the segmented control under the model picker
Aspect ratio	Auto, 16:9, 9:16	Landscape or portrait only; Auto infers from prompt or reference image
Resolution	720p / 1080p / 4k (default 1080p)	All three share the same price; 4k just renders longer
Duration	4 / 6 / 8 seconds (default 4)	Pick from the dropdown
Audio	Auto-generated	Always on

Pricing: per generation, depends on tier × duration. Full table is in Models → Veo 3.1.

Full specs and a side-by-side comparison of all video models are on the Models page.

Converting Images to Video

After generating an image, hover over the completed card and click the Animate button. This sends your generated image to the video sidebar as the first frame, making it easy to turn a still image into a short video clip.

Extending a Video

Seedance 2.0 only. Upload an existing video as visual conditioning input to guide the model toward generating a new segment that semantically continues the original.

Three entry points

From a video card: hover over any completed video card and click the Extend button in the top-left corner — the video loads into the Seedance sidebar as a reference
Drag a video to the reference-image area: drag a video (local or from the gallery) onto the reference upload area — a confirmation popup asks “Use this as an extension reference?”
Direct upload: in the Seedance sidebar’s “Extend or reference video” upload area, pick a local video

Workflow

Trigger any of the entries above — the reference video appears in the sidebar preview
The prompt box is auto-prefilled with "Extend this video with the following plot: " — keep this prefix and add your desired continuation
Pick resolution and your new video’s duration (4–15 seconds)
Click Generate

Key behavior

Your prompt must explicitly say to extend the video. If the prompt only describes a scene without mentioning extension, the new segment may drift away from what you imagined as a “continuation” (the visuals will still be influenced by the reference, but the plot direction follows whatever your prompt says). The auto-prefilled Extend this video with the following plot: prefix exists to nudge the model toward “continuation” semantics — keep it and append your content.

Output length = your selected duration (4–15 seconds), independent of the reference video’s length. The reference video acts as visual conditioning input (influencing the new segment’s framing, style, characters, etc.) and is not concatenated into the output. If you want a continuous “original + new” video, you’ll need to stitch them locally with a video editor.

Pricing

Extension uses a separate With-reference-video rate table (Mini 480p 7 credits/sec, 720p 13 credits/sec; Fast 480p 8, 720p 14; Pro 720p 16, 1080p 28). Billable seconds = reference video duration + your selected duration (not less than the minimum-billable floor). The full formula, lookup table, and examples are in Models → Seedance 2.0. Typical costs (examples):

Upload a 3-second reference + generate 5 seconds at Fast 480p: 72 credits (billable = max(3+5, 9) = 9 sec × 8)
Upload a 5-second reference + generate 10 seconds at Fast 720p: 238 credits (billable = max(5+10, 17) = 17 sec × 14)

Generation History

After submitting a generation request, your images appear as cards in the generation history panel (accessible via the floating dock’s History button or the sidebar).

Pending State

Cards show live progress while generating; video generations also display an estimated completion time (e.g., 2–5 min). Typical generation times by model:

Model	Typical Time
Grok Imagine Quality	~9 seconds (1K) / ~17 seconds (2K)
Z Image Turbo	~11 seconds
Nanobanana 2	~20 seconds
Flux 2 Klein	~21 seconds
Nanobanana Pro	~30 seconds
Agnes Image 2.1 Flash	~30 seconds
Seedream 4.5	~32 seconds
GPT Image 2.0	~35 seconds
Seedream 5.0 Lite	~42 seconds
Midjourney V8.1	~50 seconds
Seedream 5.0 Pro	~2 min (1K) / ~2.5 min (2K)
Grok Video 1.5 (video)	~35 seconds
Agnes Video 2.0 (video)	~2 min
Seedance 2.0 (video)	~2–3 min (Mini, default) / ~2–4 min (Fast) / ~3–6 min (Pro, longer at 4K)
Happyhorse 1.1 (video)	~2–4 min (720p) — varies with clip length, and runs faster when you supply a first frame; 1080p takes noticeably longer
Veo 3.1 (video)	~1–4 min (720p / 1080p) / ~6–8 min (4k)

Failed State

If a generation fails, the card shows:

The reason for failure
“Credits refunded” note — credits are automatically returned when a generation fails
Retry button — click to resubmit the same request with the original prompt and settings

Completed State

Hover over a completed generation card to reveal action buttons:

Action	Description
Edit	Adds the generated image as a reference for a new generation
Cutout	Removes the background, creating a transparent PNG (useful for logos, stickers, product compositing). Creates a new card; the original is preserved
Animate	Converts the still image into a video (image-to-video)
Delete	Removes the card from your history
Use Idea	Copies the prompt back to the editor for reuse
Save	Saves to your favorites collection
Download	Saves the image to your device
Share to X	Opens a pre-filled tweet with your generated image

The card also shows the aspect ratio and resolution labels in the bottom-left corner.

Credits and Billing

MeiGen uses a dual credit system:

Daily credits: a free daily allowance that resets at 00:00 UTC, usable on basic models — currently Z Image Turbo, Flux 2 Klein and Agnes Image 2.1 Flash for images, and Agnes Video 2.0 for video (the only video model daily credits cover). They are grouped under Basic Models in the model picker.
Purchased credits: your non-expiring balance, shown as Credits in the sidebar. It covers everything outside the daily allowance — credits you topped up, plus any bonus credits granted to your account (sign-up welcome bonus, referral rewards). Usable on all models.

Generating with premium models (GPT Image 2.0, Nanobanana 2 / Pro, Seedream, Midjourney V8.1, Grok Imagine Quality, Seedance 2.0, Veo 3.1, Happyhorse 1.1, Grok Video 1.5, and so on) requires welcome or purchased credits — daily credits never apply to them, whether or not you have purchased before. API Token calls only use purchased credits, regardless of the model; daily credits never apply to the API path. The credit cost is shown on the Generate button before you submit. Hover over the credits card at the bottom of the left sidebar to see your balance breakdown.

Free vs Paid

Feature	Free	Paid
Highest resolution of each model	Locked	Available
Images per request (Web UI)	1	Up to 4
API access	Available (purchased credits only)	Available (purchased credits only)

The “Images per request” limit applies to the Web UI only. Each API call always returns 1 image (Midjourney V8.1 always returns 4 candidates per call). Creating an API token does not require a paid account — any account can issue one from Settings → API Keys. What API calls do require is purchased credits, since daily free credits never apply on the API path.

FAQ

Why is my generation taking longer than expected?

Generation times vary by model and server load. See the table at the top of this section for typical times.

My generation failed — what happened to my credits?

Credits are automatically refunded when a generation fails. The refund is reflected immediately in your balance. You can use the Retry button to try again.

Can I generate the same image again?

Use the Retry button on a failed card, or click Use Idea on a completed card to copy its prompt back to the editor. Note that AI generation is non-deterministic — even with the same prompt, results will vary.

What's the difference between Cutout and Animate?

Cutout removes the background from a still image, creating a transparent PNG. Animate converts the still image into a short video clip using the video generation model.

Why does the resolution selector show a lock icon?

The top resolution of each model is reserved for paid users — 4K on models offering 2K / 4K, 3K on Seedream 5.0 Lite, and 2K on models offering 1K / 2K. Upgrade your account to unlock it.

​Model Selector

Model Comparison

​Prompt Editor

​Writing Effective Prompts

​Variable Tags

​@ Image Mentions

​Characters

​# Color Picker

​Translate Button

​Prompt Enhancement

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Reference Images

​Adding References from the Gallery

​Reference Types (Midjourney V8.1)

​When to Use Reference Images

​Generation Options

​Count

​Aspect Ratio

​Resolution

​Midjourney V8.1 Advanced Options

​Describe Image

​How to Use

​What It Generates

​Video Generation

​Storyboard — Video Prompt Builder

​Frame Images

​Seedance 2.0

​Veo 3.1 — Two Tiers, Native Audio

​Converting Images to Video

​Extending a Video

​Three entry points

​Workflow

​Key behavior

​Pricing

​Generation History

​Pending State

​Failed State

​Completed State

​Credits and Billing

​Free vs Paid

​FAQ

Model Selector

Prompt Editor

Writing Effective Prompts

Variable Tags

@ Image Mentions

Characters

# Color Picker

Translate Button

Prompt Enhancement

Keyboard Shortcuts

Reference Images

Adding References from the Gallery

Reference Types (Midjourney V8.1)

When to Use Reference Images

Generation Options

Count

Aspect Ratio

Resolution

Midjourney V8.1 Advanced Options

Describe Image

How to Use

What It Generates

Video Generation

Storyboard — Video Prompt Builder

Frame Images

Seedance 2.0

Veo 3.1 — Two Tiers, Native Audio

Converting Images to Video

Extending a Video

Three entry points

Workflow

Key behavior

Pricing

Generation History

Pending State

Failed State

Completed State

Credits and Billing

Free vs Paid

FAQ