Illustrated Video Generator

Illustrated explainer video generator: hand-drawn lessons from your PDF or notes

Upload a PDF, notes, a slide deck, a link, or a YouTube video - or type a topic - and Scholarly tells it as a full-length, doodle-style lesson: ink illustrations on a clean white background, a recurring character acting out each idea, and sparse handwritten labels.

Free to start · No credit card required · Doodles on every plan

Used by 200,000+ learners and professionals worldwide
Doodles · Landscape lesson, chapter by chapter

supply meets demand

16:9

A recurring ink character, one visual metaphor per idea, and only the labels that matter.

  1. Chapter 1

    The character meets the idea

    Each concept opens with the same hand-drawn character acting it out on a white canvas.

  2. Chapter 2

    A visual metaphor

    Abstract ideas become a sketch you can picture later - a seesaw, a bridge, a leaky bucket.

  3. Chapter 3

    Sparse handwritten labels

    Only the key terms get written on screen, so the narration carries the explanation.

How it works

From source to illustrated video in three steps

No drawing, no storyboarding. Pick a source, choose the Doodles style, and the AI sketches the lesson.

  1. 01

    Add your source

    Upload up to 10 PDFs (20 on Laureate), notes, or a deck, pick a file from your library, paste a link or a YouTube video, or type a topic in the Prompt tab.

  2. 02

    Choose the Doodles style

    In the customize step, pick Doodles. Set a target length on paid plans (Free renders a roughly 2-minute lecture), pick 720p or 1080p, the narration language, and any custom instructions.

  3. 03

    Watch, study, and share

    Jump between chapters, search the transcript, turn on captions, answer checkpoint questions, chat with the AI about the video, or generate flashcards in one click.

Quick answer

What an illustrated explainer video looks like in Scholarly

Updated November 2026

Upload up to 10 PDFs (20 on Laureate), notes, a deck, a link, a YouTube video, or a typed topic and choose the Doodles style. Scholarly writes a narrated script and renders a full-length landscape lesson drawn in ink on a clean white background, with a recurring character, sparse handwritten labels, and visual metaphors, plus chapters, a searchable transcript, and synced captions. A 2-minute Doodles lecture is usually ready in about 7 to 12 minutes, and a 15-minute lecture in about 19 to 26. The Free plan includes one lifetime AI Creation Credit at 720p; Premium ($30/mo or $180/yr) includes 15 AI Creation Credits per week and Laureate ($99/mo) 80 per week, with 1080p, watermark removal, and MP4 download on paid plans.

In Scholarly's style picker this look is called Doodles, one of six styles alongside Standard, Standard Fast, Illustrated, Math Lecture, and Freestyle. Where Standard chooses an editorial, slide-like treatment concept by concept, Doodles tells the whole lesson through hand-drawn illustrations - the kind of whiteboard or doodle-style explainer that makes an abstract idea memorable because you can picture the sketch afterwards.

Doodles uses the same lecture length setting as Standard: a roughly 2-minute lecture on Free, or a target length up to 45 minutes on paid plans. Every illustrated video ships with chapter navigation, a searchable transcript, synced captions, interactive question checkpoints, AI chat about the video, and one-click flashcard generation - the mode shapes the visuals, not the study tools.

What you get

A whiteboard-style lesson, grounded in your source

The sketches are charming, but they are only useful because every one of them is drawn from the material you provided.

Hand-drawn illustrations

Ink illustrations on a clean white background, in the doodle-style look of a whiteboard explainer rather than a slide deck.

A recurring character

One ink character returns throughout the lesson to act out each idea, giving the explanation a thread you can follow.

Any source, or just a topic

PDFs, text files, images, slide decks, Google Drive files, links, YouTube videos, or a typed prompt all work as a starting point.

Chapters and a searchable transcript

Jump to any section with chapter markers and search the full narration transcript to find a specific moment.

Synced captions and checkpoints

Line-by-line captions in the language you generated in, plus interactive question cards at key moments with feedback as you answer.

AI chat, flashcards, and sharing

Ask grounded follow-up questions, generate flashcards from the video, and share a view link on any plan (viewers need a free account). Paid plans add 1080p and MP4 download.

Why illustrated

Why tell a lesson through hand-drawn animation?

Some ideas are better seen than listed. A supply curve, a feedback loop, a legal chain of custody, the stages of a sales pipeline - each has a shape, and a sketch of that shape is far easier to recall than a paragraph about it. The Doodles style leans into this: it keeps the background white, keeps the labels sparse, and lets a single character and a visual metaphor carry each idea.

Scholarly's Doodles style is different from generic whiteboard animation tools because you do not write the script or pick the drawings. The AI reads your PDF, notes, or link, writes the narration from that material, and draws the sketches to support it. The transcript lets you check every claim against the source, and the AI chat answers follow-up questions using the same material.

If a lecture does not land the way you hoped, switching the mode and regenerating is often a bigger improvement than rewording the prompt. Try the same chapter in Standard and Doodles and compare - the difference between modes is dramatic, and the hand-drawn version is usually the one you can still picture a week later.

Doodles or Illustrated: two drawn looks

Scholarly has two styles that people call illustrated. They look different, and most of this page is about the first.

  • Doodles: hand-drawn characters on a clean white canvas. A recurring ink character acts out each idea, with sparse handwritten labels. This is the whiteboard or doodle explainer look.
  • Illustrated: rich artwork with lively narration and paper-strip captions. The lesson is told through full illustrations with clean cuts between them, and the captions are part of the picture.
  • What both share: narration written from your source, chapters, a searchable transcript, question checkpoints, AI chat, and one-step flashcards. Both are available on every plan.
  • What neither does: there is no drag-and-drop whiteboard editor, no asset library to pick drawings from, and no way to redraw a single scene. To change a video, make a new version in another style or with new instructions.

If you are not sure which look fits, the Freestyle video generator lets the AI choose. For equations see the math animation generator, and for a 30 to 45 second vertical clip see the short video generator. Notes that need more motion are covered in notes to animated video.

For work and teams

Doodles lessons suit training storytelling: turning a compliance policy, an onboarding guide, or a product concept into a narrated, hand-drawn explainer that people actually remember. For the full training workflow, see the AI training video generator. Need shared source libraries, seats, and one bill for the whole company? Explore Scholarly for Teams.

FAQ

Illustrated video generator questions

What does an illustrated video look like?

A full-length landscape lesson told through hand-drawn illustrations on a clean white background. A recurring ink character acts out each idea while sparse handwritten labels and visual metaphors make the explanation memorable - a whiteboard or doodle-style explainer built from your source.

How long can an illustrated video be?

Doodles uses the lecture length setting. On Free the lecture is about 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target length up to 45 minutes before generating.

What can I turn into an illustrated video?

Up to 10 PDFs (20 on Laureate), text files (.txt, .md, .csv), images, slide decks, Google Drive files, a link to a website or online PDF, a YouTube video, or a topic typed into the Prompt tab.

Does an illustrated video include chapters, captions, and a transcript?

Yes. Every video mode ships with chapter navigation, a searchable transcript, synced captions, interactive question checkpoints, AI chat about the video, and one-click flashcard generation.

Is the illustrated video mode free?

Doodles is available on every plan. The Free plan includes one lifetime AI Creation Credit and one upload (8 MB; PDFs are processed up to 32 pages) at 720p. Premium is $30/mo or $180/yr with 15 AI Creation Credits per week. Laureate is $99/mo with 80 AI Creation Credits per week. Most models use 1 credit per video, a few use 2, and Frontier models use 2, 3, or 4.

Can I download the illustrated video as an MP4?

On a paid plan, open the completed video, click the three-dot menu, and choose Download video to get the rendered MP4. Paid plans also unlock 1080p rendering and watermark-free output. On every plan you can share a view link; viewers need a free Scholarly account to open it.

How long does generation take?

A 2-minute Doodles lecture is usually ready in about 7 to 12 minutes, a 15-minute lecture in about 19 to 26, and a 40-minute lecture in about 28 to 39. Generation runs in the background, so you can close the creator. A completion email is on by default, and you can cancel or retry from the video page.

Is Doodles the same as the Illustrated style?

No. Doodles is the hand-drawn look: ink characters on a white canvas with handwritten labels. Illustrated uses rich full-frame artwork with paper-strip captions. Both are in the style picker on every plan, and both build the lesson from your source.

Can I make a whiteboard animation video without drawing anything?

Yes. Choose Doodles and the AI writes the script and draws every scene from your source. You do not draw, storyboard, or record anything, and there is no whiteboard editor to learn.

Can the illustrated video be in another language?

Yes. Pick the output language from 70+ output languages and regional variants. Narration, captions, and on-screen text follow the lecture's language, and Arabic and Hebrew lessons are laid out right to left.

Pricing

Start free. Upgrade when you need more AI Creations.

One AI Creation Credit on Free, 15 per week on Premium, 80 per week on Laureate. Doodles on every plan.

Sample lecture

What one video lecture gets

Free makes a lecture of about 2 minutes in 720p with the Scholarly logo, to watch in Scholarly. Premium and Laureate make lectures up to 45 minutes in 1080p that you can download as an MP4, with the logo off if you choose.

Pricing shown in USD by default. Local currency may be available in app or at checkout.

Compare plans

Image creation · Beta

Shared across Image Studio and chat. Separate from AI Creation Credits. Free images are lifetime and do not reset. Paid allowances reset weekly without rollover. Limits may change during beta.

Free
2 lifetime
Premium
40/week
Laureate
80/week

AI chat

Premium and Laureate include unlimited AI chat on Auto. Chat starts on Best, and premium models such as GPT 6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5.5, and Claude Opus 5.5 draw on a weekly premium usage allowance; when it runs out, chat keeps going on Auto until it resets. Chat never spends AI Creation Credits.

Free
3 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Premium chat models (Best)

Chat answers on Best, the strongest model, by default. Premium models draw on a weekly allowance that resets every Monday at 00:00 UTC; long threads, large files, background tasks, and Claude Opus 5.5 use it faster. When it runs out, chat keeps going on Auto until the reset.

Free
Not included
Premium
Weekly usage
Laureate
4× weekly usage

AI Creation Credits

AI Creation Credits cover videos, slides, documents, and other AI creations. Most models use 1 credit, a few use 2, and Frontier models use 2, 3, or 4. Image Studio and chat images have a separate weekly allowance.

Free
1 total
Premium
15/week
Laureate
80/week

Podcast length

Free episodes are about 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target length up to 60 minutes.

Free
About 2 minutes
Premium
Up to 60 minutes
Laureate
Up to 60 minutes

Video lecture length

Free lectures with a length control are about 2 minutes. Paid plans can set a target up to 45 minutes. Short uses its own short video format.

Free
About 2 minutes
Premium
Up to 45 minutes
Laureate
Up to 45 minutes

Video lecture resolution

Free
720p
Premium
1080p
Laureate
1080p

Download lectures as MP4

Free
-
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Scholarly logo on lectures

Free
Always on
Premium
Your choice
Laureate
Your choice

File uploads

Free
1 total (8MB)
Premium
Unlimited (300MB)
Laureate
Unlimited (1 GB each)

PDF to flashcards

Free
32 pages
Premium
1000 pages
Laureate
3000 pages

Sources per creation

Free
Up to 1
Premium
Up to 10
Laureate
Up to 20

Practice questions

Free
5 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Practice exams

Free
1 total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Voice mode

Free
5 min total
Premium
2 hr/day
Laureate
12 hr/day

Autocomplete

Free
500 words total
Premium
Unlimited
Laureate
Unlimited

Export to Anki

Free
-
Premium
Included
Laureate
Included

Support

Free
Standard
Premium
Priority
Laureate
Priority

What customers say

Scholarly has enhanced the quality of notes and questions I administer to my tutees. Insightful, to the point.

TD Georgas

TD Georgas

Tutor

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Diana

Diana

Scholarly user

Scholarly has been a valuable tool for my studies. The AI-generated flashcards and intuitive features make organizing and retaining information much easier.

Briana

Briana

Scholarly user

This app is great for studying for big test. Drop your PDF's in the system and it'll do the trick. You can organize it specifically for your needs.

Kelvin

Kelvin

Scholarly user

Your questions, answered

Is Scholarly free to use?

Yes! The free plan includes core study tools with lifetime allowances: 3 AI Chat messages, 500 autocomplete words, 5 quiz questions, 5 voice minutes, 1 practice exam, one free AI Creation Credit total, and 1 file upload. These allowances do not reset. Image Studio and chat also share 2 lifetime images during beta; this separate Free allowance does not reset and may change. Upgrade to Premium for 15 AI Creation Credits per week and unlimited uploads.

What uses my free AI Creation Credits?

AI Creation Credits are shared across flashcards, podcasts, videos, slides, AI Documents, Deep Research, and the Transcribe tool. The selected model determines the credit cost. Recording a meeting does not use an AI Creation Credit. Transcript and notes are included, up to 10 hours on paid plans.

Can I cancel anytime?

Absolutely. There are no contracts or commitments. You can cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings, and you'll keep access until the end of your billing period.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept all major credit and debit cards through Stripe. Pricing is displayed in USD by default, but local currency is available in the app.

Can I use Scholarly with a class or school?

Yes. For a school or organization-wide rollout, contact us at hello@scholarly.so and we'll help you find the right setup.

What happens when I hit a free plan limit?

You'll see a prompt to upgrade. Your existing work is never lost - limits only apply to new actions. Most Free allowances are lifetime limits. The separate beta image allowance includes 2 lifetime images on Free with no reset, 40 per week on Premium, and 80 per week on Laureate. Limits may change during beta. Premium includes 15 AI Creation Credits per week, podcasts up to 60 minutes, video lectures up to 45 minutes, unlimited uploads, chat, autocomplete, quizzes, and exams, plus more daily voice time.