Turn a drawing into live-action video with Gemini Omni Flash

To turn a drawing into live-action-style video with Gemini Omni Flash 1.1, send the drawing as image_url for image-to-video, or as a reference image, and describe the real-world version of the scene in the prompt. Google DeepMind's Omni page lists turning drawings into realistic footage as a capability, but publishes no fidelity measure, so compare the output to your sketch.

Sources are DeepMind's Omni page, its prompt guide and the Gemini API Omni docs (read 2026-10-03), plus Sume's Video Router docs.

Image-to-video or reference

The two routes behave differently. Image-to-video treats your drawing as the start frame; a reference image treats it as a guide to subject and style. For a sketch, the reference route usually fits better, because a start frame keeps the pencil look in the first frame. Test both at 360p.

Prompt

Describe materials, light and camera, not the line work. "A realistic version of <IMAGE_REF_0>: a red barn at sunset, live-action, natural light, slow push in." If the model keeps the sketch look, say "photographic, no outlines".

Request

The image URL must be public HTTPS.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/video-router/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: omni-drawing-001" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gemini-omni-flash-1.1",
    "prompt": "A realistic live-action version of <IMAGE_REF_0>: a red barn at sunset, natural light, slow push in.",
    "reference_image_urls": ["https://example.com/barn-sketch.png"],
    "resolution": "360p",
    "duration": 4,
    "aspect_ratio": "16:9",
    "mode": "async"
  }'

Compare to the sketch

Check that the subject count, layout and colors you drew survive. Fix drift by naming the missing elements. Once the 360p draft is right, rerun at 720p or higher; Google describes 1080p and 4K as upscaled. See the Video Router docs for limits.