Grok Imagine: a creator's guide to xAI's video model in 2026
A practical guide to Grok Imagine — six generation modes, prompt patterns, real cost math, and when to choose it over PixVerse V6 or Sora 2 in 2026.
Grok Imagine is xAI's video and audio generation model, launched in January 2026 and accessible through OmniArt without a separate xAI subscription. It's a different product from the Grok chatbot — they share a name and nothing else. This guide covers what Grok Imagine is built for, the six generation modes that matter, prompt patterns that respect each mode, and the math on what real projects actually cost in credits.
What Grok Imagine is
Grok Imagine generates video up to 720p with native audio in clips of 1–15 seconds. The headline trick isn't resolution — at 720p it deliberately doesn't fight Sora 2 or PixVerse V6 on raw fidelity. The headline trick is the workflow surface around the model: six generation modes that share one weight set and let you generate, extend, restyle, and modify without leaving the model.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Max resolution | 720p (use PixVerse V6 for 1080p+) |
| Max duration | 15 seconds per generation |
| Aspect ratios | 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16, 3:4, 3:2, 2:3 |
| Audio | Native, generated alongside video |
| Cost (480p) | 10 credits per second |
| Cost (720p) | 15 credits per second |
The six modes worth knowing
Each mode is a different way to tell the model what kind of input it's working with. Picking the right mode is most of the prompt-engineering work.
Text-to-Video
The default. Write a prompt, get a clip. Best for concept exploration, mood boards, and social drafts where you don't have a reference image yet. Cost is 10–15 credits per second depending on resolution.
Image-to-Video
Animates a still while preserving the input composition. The first frame is locked to your image. Use it for animating illustrations, product photography, and design mockups where the source frame is non-negotiable.
Reference Mode — the differentiator
Reference Mode accepts 1–7 images as visual anchors without locking the first frame. You tag images with @Image1, @Image2, @Image3 and reference them in the prompt. This is what most other video models don't have — most either lock the first frame (image-to-video) or accept no reference at all (text-to-video). Reference Mode sits between, and it's the cleanest path to character consistency across multiple shots.
Cost is 15 credits per second at 480p, 22.5 at 720p.
Extend Mode
Appends 2–10 seconds to an existing clip. Input is an MP4 between 2 and 15 seconds long. Output is a single continuous clip; billing only covers the appended portion. The cross-model trick: Extend Mode works on videos generated by any model in the OmniArt video workspace, not just Grok.
Modify Mode
Edits an existing clip without regenerating it — background swaps, lighting changes, color shifts on specific objects, weather effects. Input is capped at 8 seconds and auto-scales to 854×480, which means high-resolution sources lose detail in the round trip. Use Modify on clips you generated at 480p anyway.
Editing Suite — Restyle, Object Manipulation, Sketches to Life
A grab bag of post-generation operations. Restyle applies artistic styles (Cyberpunk, Anime, Retro, Origami, Watercolor, Mosaic). Object Manipulation adds, removes, or swaps elements. Sketches to Life animates line drawings. Add Performance grafts character animation onto static figures. Useful for creating multiple variations from a single source clip.
Prompts that respect the model
Four habits move quality up faster than longer prompts.
Use cinematic language
Grok Imagine has six built-in camera presets: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Dolly Out, Tilt Up, Pan Right, Timelapse. They activate more precisely when prompts use cinematography terms.
| Weaker | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "A city street at night with neon signs and people walking" | "Dolly forward through a rain-slicked Tokyo alley, neon signs reflecting in puddles, shallow depth of field, a figure with an umbrella enters frame right, cinematic 2.39:1 framing" |
Tag references explicitly
Reference Mode degrades when the prompt is generic. Bind each reference to a role.
"@Image1 (the red sports car) drifts around a mountain corner with @Image3 (the sunset sky) in the background while @Image2 (the driver character) grips the steering wheel."
Front-load the action
Generation runs sequentially through the duration. If the climax sits at the end of a 5-second clip, the model may not finish it. Move the action up front.
| Weaker | Stronger |
|---|---|
| "A quiet forest scene with birds, then suddenly a deer leaps across a stream" | "A deer leaps across a forest stream in golden hour light, camera tracking its arc, birds scatter from nearby branches" |
Pace 10–15 second clips on a timeline
For longer clips, write the timing into the prompt.
"Slow zoom into abandoned library (0–5s), dust particles catch light beams (5–10s), book falls from shelf (10–12s), pages flutter (12–15s)."
What it actually costs
Three real-world shot scenarios, priced in OmniArt credits.
A 15-second TikTok product video
| Step | Mode | Resolution | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial generation | Text-to-Video | 480p, 10s | 100 |
| Extend | Extend | 480p, 5s | 75 |
| Total (one revision) | 175–275 |
A 3-shot brand storyboard
| Step | Mode | Resolution | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shot 1 with 2 refs | Reference, 8s | 720p | 180 |
| Shot 2, same refs | Reference, 8s | 720p | 180 |
| Shot 3, same refs | Reference, 6s | 720p | 135 |
| Lighting fix on Shot 2 | Modify, 8s | 720p | 180 |
| Total | 675 |
A restyle pass
| Step | Mode | Resolution | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restyle to Anime | Restyle, 8s | 480p | 120 |
When to pick a different model
Grok Imagine is the right tool for short-form social, sketch-to-life work, and reference-driven multi-shot stories at 480p–720p. It's the wrong tool when:
| Need | Better choice |
|---|---|
| 1080p or higher | PixVerse V6, BACH, Veo 3 |
| Advanced lens control (focal length, DOF, aberration) | PixVerse V6 |
| 16–20 second clips in one pass | Sora 2 |
| Production-grade dialogue and music | Dedicated audio model + edit |
| High-resolution source preservation in edits | Avoid Modify Mode |
Workflow patterns that ship
The way Grok Imagine pays off on OmniArt isn't as a standalone generator — it's as the iteration layer. Two patterns earn the most.
Pattern 1 — generate elsewhere, refine here. Render the master clip with PixVerse V6 or Sora 2 at higher resolution, then use Extend, Restyle, and Modify to spin variations and additions in Grok at lower cost.
Pattern 2 — Reference Mode for character locks. When a brand campaign needs the same character across five shots, lock identity with one anchor image in @Image1, then generate each shot with the same reference in Reference Mode. Cheaper than re-rolling Sora 2 for each shot.
Warning
Modify Mode auto-scales any input above 854×480 down to 480p before processing. If you need to edit a 1080p clip without losing resolution, render the edit elsewhere or do the edit before the upscale step.
Getting started on OmniArt
Grok Imagine is available in the OmniArt video workspace alongside PixVerse V6, BACH, Sora 2, Veo 3, Kling 3.0, HappyHorse 1.0, and Seedance 2.0. Same credit balance, same reference upload, same prompt grammar. Start in Text-to-Video to learn the camera presets, then graduate to Reference Mode once you have a character or product to lock.
Pair this guide with the BACH cinematographer breakdown for higher-fidelity narrative work, or the best image-to-video shortlist if you're choosing between models for a specific shot.