ReelUkiyo-e animated videos with Claude Code
Yes, Claude Code can make a ukiyo-e animated video, a film that looks like a Japanese woodblock print. Claude writes each scene as HTML and SVG with flat colour and heavy outlines, and HyperFrames renders it to MP4 on your computer. There's no video model anywhere in this.
Below are the rules that make the look, the steps in Claude Code, a vertical prompt you can paste, and which of my ready styles come closest. If you've never made a film in code, start with how to make animated videos with Claude Code.
What makes the look
Give Claude these rules before it draws anything.
Shapes are flat areas of colour with a dark ink outline around them. Leave out gradients, glows and soft shadows. Depth comes from layers: a far hill, a middle boat, a near wave.
The palette is small. Think deep indigo, a vermilion red, a pale sand and a near-black for the lines. Write them down as hex values and keep them for the whole film.
The paper has a grain. A faint washi texture over every frame ties the scenes together and makes flat colour feel printed.
Water and clouds are patterns. Waves curl in repeated, stylised shapes, and mist sits in bands. Let them drift slowly instead of animating each curl.
The camera moves like a scroll being unrolled. Use slow side pans and gentle pushes, with a hold at the end of each beat. Quick cuts break the print illusion.
Steps with Claude Code
1. Plan first
Ask for a scene plan before any code, so you can fix the story while it's still text:
Plan a 45-second vertical ukiyo-e film about a fisherman caught in a storm. Five scenes, a narrator line for each, and a list of what is drawn in that scene. Flat colour, heavy ink outlines, indigo and vermilion on pale paper. Show me the plan before you write any code.
2. Build one scene and look at stills
npx hyperframes lint . npx hyperframes snapshot . --at 1,3,6,9 -o snapshots
snapshot saves PNG frames at the seconds you list. Look at them. Are the outlines the same weight in every shot? Does the paper grain show? Is the pan slow enough? Go a few rounds before you render.
3. Render
npx hyperframes render . -o out.mp4 --quality looks --workers 2
Run --quality draft first if you want a quick look at the motion. For narration, read how to add a voiceover to a Claude Code video.
A prompt to paste
Make a 40-second 9:16 vertical ukiyo-e animation: a fisherman against a storm. Flat colour areas with thick dark ink outlines, indigo sea, vermilion sun and sail, pale sand paper with a faint washi grain over every frame. Waves are curling, repeating shapes that drift slowly. Slow side pans, no fast cuts. One beat per scene: calm morning, clouds gather, the wave rises, the boat holds, calm again. Plan first, then show me stills of scene 1 before you build the rest.
For a calmer story, swap the beat list for "four seasons of one street" and give each season its own accent colour.
Which styles come closest
A style kit has these rules already written down, along with scene templates and a checklist Claude grades its own stills against. Out of my 126 styles, these are the closest to a woodblock or ink look:
| Style | Why it fits |
|---|---|
| Ukiyo-e | The direct version: flat colour, heavy black outlines, print feel |
| Woodcut | A black block that carves itself, with a rough printed edge |
| Chinese ink wash | Brush ink and mist with lots of empty space |
| Red paper-cut | Layered folk paper with light from behind |
You can watch each style's example film on its page or in the catalog. They all come in one ReelStyles purchase, and you can try 7 styles for free first.
What this method cannot do
It makes drawings and can't make footage. Fine hatching and crowded scenes take Claude many rounds of stills, so keep each scene to a few big shapes, which suits a woodblock print anyway.
Questions
Is this a video model?
It isn't. The film is HTML and SVG that HyperFrames renders frame by frame, so the same code gives you the same video every time.
Do I need to draw anything myself?
You don't. Claude draws every shape in code. You check the plan and the stills and tell it what to change.
Can I make it vertical for Shorts?
Yes. Ask for 9:16 in the prompt, as above, and see YouTube Shorts in 9:16 with Claude Code.
Sources
HyperFrames on GitHub (Apache-2.0). Commands come from my animated videos guide. See the Ukiyo-e style page for the example film.