The latest version of the newly launched startup EbSynth2 has the ability to convert video footage into hand-drawn animation. The browser-based tool transfers the manually edited reference frame and gives it a look and feel like a hand-printed animation.
While converting the videos, many advanced technologies are used, such as VFX, motion graphics, and rotoscoping. Most impressively, these conversions occur without the help of artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the shot.
About EbSynth:
EbSynth, a creative video editing and transforming platform, was launched in 2018 as an unfunded company. In the beginning, EbSynth was an experimental desktop application; later, it turned into creative video editing software.
EbSynth allows the user to transform videos by editing a still frame and propagating it to the remaining video. The result of the transformation could be a subtle conversion of videos into hand-drawn animation.
However, apart from creating hand-drawn animations, you may use EbSynth for other creative works, such as creating digital makeup effects by painting over a character in one frame and then continuing it throughout the video.
How Does EbSynth Work?
In recent years, stylising videos with the help of modern generative AI is widespread, but EbSynth doesn’t follow the regular path like others. Instead of using AI that is trained on external datasets, EbSynth uses a texture synthesis algorithm.
EbSynth provides better results than AI because it preserves the keyframe content at the pixel level. This technology has already been used in Richard Linklater’s ‘Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood’, an animated drama. Even a portion of the most popular series on Netflix, ‘Wednesday’, was created using this latest technology.
New Version vs. Old Version:
EbSynth2 takes the core value and functionality from the original, but represents it in a more artist-friendly format.
The previous version was a desktop tool-based, whereas the new version is now a web-browser-based application.
The new version is accompanied by a completely new user interface (UI) with familiar features like timeline, layers, and brushes. However, the biggest upgrade is the 10X faster and better texture synthesis algorithm, which can run in real time.
Hence, the application is now more interactive, and users can preview the results of the change immediately after the change. Thus, without creating the whole image in advance, users can check and rectify it before propagating it to other frames.
Video tracks and keyframe layers help in working on different elements of the shot individually, making the process faster and more controllable.
EbSynth & Data Security:
However, EbSynth doesn’t use generative AI for animation creation, but it does have optional generative AI features.
The newly launched feature, the generate image option, can help you create the latest style frame using Stability AI’s SDXL 1.0 model. Hence, the resulting video is subject to the SDXL license terms.
However, if you create the style frame manually by yourself, then it’ll be completely covered by EbSynth’s own terms of use.
The videos and the style frames you upload to EbSynth’s server are immediately deleted after EbSynth has synthesised an animation. Your data will not be used for the purpose of AI training.
Conclusion:
EbSynth 2 is a web browser-based application that works best with Google Chrome. It has both free and paid versions. In the free version, you can export video in MP4 format up to 720p resolution.
However, the pro version allows you to export videos up to 4k resolution. You can also add an option to export image sequences in PNG format, and get free 100 AI-generated images per month.
The pro version will cost you $20 per month, which is a good deal in my opinion. EbSynth also provides a command-line version that runs entirely offline.
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Ryo Fernandez is a professional gamer, content creator, and writer with over 10 years of experience in the gaming and animation industry. Known for his in-depth knowledge and passion, Ryo covers the latest video game news, anime updates, reviews, and industry trends. His mission is to keep gamers, anime lovers, and pop culture fans informed with accurate, timely, and engaging content.