Great! Here’s a step-by-step guide to using free AI tools in creative workflows, broken down by field: Graphic Animation, 2D/3D, VFX, Architecture, and Gaming. Each workflow combines non-AI creativity + AI tools, and is designed to help you build professional-level work for free (or almost free).
🎬 1. Step-by-Step: Graphic Animation (2D & Motion Graphics)
🎯 Goal: Create a short animated explainer or motion graphic
✅ Tools Needed:
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Storyboarder – for planning
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Canva / Adobe Express – for assets
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Runway ML / Animai – for animation
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CapCut / DaVinci Resolve – for final editing
🔧 Steps:
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Write a Script & Plan
Use ChatGPT to outline your script and visual ideas
→ Draw your storyboards in Storyboarder (free) -
Design Visual Assets
Create characters/backgrounds in Canva or use AI-generated art from DALL·E / Midjourney -
Animate
Use Runway ML to animate with motion tracking, keyframes, or Animai for loop animations -
Add Voiceover & Music
Use ElevenLabs (free tier) for AI voice or record your own
Add royalty-free music from Pixabay or YouTube Studio -
Final Cut & Export
Edit the full sequence in CapCut Desktop or DaVinci Resolve
🖌️ 2. Step-by-Step: 2D Animation (Frame-by-frame)
🎯 Goal: Make a hand-drawn short animation
✅ Tools Needed:
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Krita / OpenToonz – for hand animation
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EbSynth / DeepMotion – AI-assisted painting or motion
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Audacity / Blender Video Editor – for sound and editing
🔧 Steps:
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Draw Keyframes in Krita (free & open source)
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Inbetween or Auto-color using EbSynth (transfers color/style over frames)
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Generate character movement from real video using DeepMotion AI
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Assemble the full animation in Krita's timeline or export PNGs to Blender for sequencing
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Add music & dialogue in Audacity or Blender VSE
🧊 3. Step-by-Step: 3D Animation / Game Asset Creation
🎯 Goal: Create a simple 3D character or object for a game or short
✅ Tools Needed:
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Blender – core 3D modeling/animation
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Meshy.ai / Kaedim – AI 3D model generation
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Mixamo – free auto-rig & animation
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Substance Painter (trial) – for texturing
🔧 Steps:
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Generate a base 3D model from text/image using Meshy.ai
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Import to Blender → refine shape, details, topology
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Auto-rig character in Mixamo (drag and drop)
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Texture model manually in Blender or with AI texture tools like Substance Sampler or Leonardo AI
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Animate manually or apply AI mocap from DeepMotion
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Export to FBX / GLTF for use in Unity, Unreal, or a web viewer
💥 4. Step-by-Step: VFX Compositing
🎯 Goal: Create a short live-action scene with AI VFX (e.g., floating object, background replacement)
✅ Tools Needed:
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Runway ML – background removal, object tracking
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Wonder Studio – character replacement
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HitFilm / Blender / DaVinci Resolve – compositing
🔧 Steps:
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Shoot raw footage on phone or camera
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Use Runway ML Gen-2 for background removal or scene edits
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Use Wonder Studio to place a CG character into your scene
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Refine with Blender Compositor or HitFilm Express
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Add sound, music, color grade in DaVinci Resolve
🏗️ 5. Step-by-Step: Architecture Visualization (ArchViz)
🎯 Goal: Create a photorealistic exterior or interior scene
✅ Tools Needed:
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LookX / PromeAI – AI concept generation
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SketchUp / Blender – modeling
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Twinmotion / Enscape (Free for Students) – real-time rendering
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Figma / Canva – for layout presentations
🔧 Steps:
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Input a concept prompt into LookX AI for idea generation
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Model building/interior in SketchUp or Blender
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Apply textures & materials
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Render scene in Twinmotion or Enscape
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Create presentation board in Canva (floor plans + renders)
🎮 6. Step-by-Step: Indie Game Art Creation
🎯 Goal: Build a 2D or 3D game asset pack or prototype
✅ Tools Needed:
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Leonardo AI / Scenario.gg – concept art / sprites
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Blender – 3D modeling
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Unity / Godot – game engine
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Tiled / Piskel – for 2D sprite and tile work
🔧 Steps:
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Generate character/environment art using Leonardo AI
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Use Piskel or Tiled to arrange tilesets and sprites
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Import to Unity or Godot for simple game scene building
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Add AI dialogues using Charisma.ai or branching logic
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Build a playable prototype & export for demo/testing
Would you like a PDF checklist or toolkit with links for each step/tool listed above for offline use?
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