Image
Generate an image from a text prompt and place it as a layer at the playhead in After Effects, with optional transparent output.
Image turns a written description into a finished image and drops it straight into your composition as a layer. Reach for it when you need a background, a textured plate, an isolated subject, or a quick concept frame without leaving After Effects or hunting for stock. You describe what you want, and Prism generates the image and places it on the timeline at your playhead, scaled to fit your comp.
How to use it
Make sure a comp is open and active, and move the playhead to the moment where you want the image to appear. The image is placed at the current time.
In the Prism panel, switch to the Tools tab and find Image in the list.
Run Image and a prompt window appears. Describe the subject, style, and lighting — for example, "neon-lit rainy Tokyo alley, cinematic, 16:9." If you want an isolated subject with no background, ask for a transparent background in your description.
Prism generates the image and imports it as a layer at the playhead, centered and scaled to fit your comp. The whole step is grouped as a single undo, so one undo removes it cleanly.
You can also just ask your AI to do it for you. With Prism connected, tell your AI something like "generate a foggy forest background and drop it into my comp," and it runs Image on your behalf and places the result the same way.
What you get
- A new footage layer in your active comp. The generated image is imported and added as its own layer, named from a short version of your prompt. It never touches or replaces any existing layer.
- Placed at the playhead. The layer's start time matches the current time, so it begins exactly where your playhead sits.
- Centered and scaled to fit. The image is positioned in the middle of the frame and scaled to fit inside your comp without cropping. Larger or smaller comps are handled automatically.
- Optional transparent output. Ask for a transparent background in your prompt to get an isolated subject with a real alpha channel — useful for overlays, cutouts, and composites. By default, images come back as solid, opaque frames.
- Aspect ratio in the prompt. There is no separate ratio control — phrase it in your description (for example, "16:9" or "square") to steer the framing.
A composition must be open before you run Image; if no comp is active, Prism asks you to open one first. The generated file is written to a temporary location and imported, so the layer references that file like any other footage.
Notes and limits
- One image is generated per run.
- Generation happens on Prism's servers, so the tool needs your panel connected. If it can't reach the server, it tells you to check the connection — see troubleshooting.
- Image costs 8 credits per generation. Free includes 200 AI credits a month; see usage and limits for how credits are metered across every tool.
Related
- Usage and limits — credit costs, plan caps, and how metering works
- Subtitles from audio — another credit-metered Tools-tab capability
- The Tools tab — where Image lives in the panel
- Plans and pricing — Free vs Pro and what each includes