How AvatarStudio works

A duet is a short video where an animated character dances right beside you. Here is the whole flow, from opening the app to saving the finished clip to your camera roll. The core path is free — you only spend credits if you choose to generate your own custom character or dance.

1. Pick a character (a Sidekick)

Open the app and browse the Sidekick library — a scrollable grid of characters, from playful creatures to stylish dancers. Tap one to select it. You do not need an account to browse, and most characters are free to use. If nothing fits your idea, choose Make your own and type a short description; AvatarStudio will generate a custom character for you. Custom generation uses credits (see the Help & FAQ for prices).

2. Pick a dance (a Move)

Next, choose a Move from the dance library. Each Move is a complete routine your character will perform — there is nothing to choreograph by hand. Browse, preview, and tap to pick. As with characters, you can also create a custom Move from a dance video you supply, which uses credits.

3. Set up your shot

Now you compose the scene. Choose your backdrop: record live with your camera, or upload a video you already shot. Drag the character to position it in the frame, pinch to resize it, and rotate it so it sits naturally beside you. You can trim the clip to the exact section you want. If you add more than one character, you can place each one independently and use the timeline to choreograph when each starts.

4. Record yourself beside it

When you are ready, hit record and dance along. Your camera only runs while you are recording, and the app stops it the moment you finish — your live camera feed is not streamed or uploaded. Prefer not to perform live? Upload a clip instead and the character will be composited onto that footage the same way.

5. Save to your camera roll

Finally, AvatarStudio builds the finished duet and saves it to your device, ready to post to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, or anywhere else. On supported phones the video is assembled on your own device, so the recorded footage does not need to leave your phone to produce the file, and the save typically takes only a few seconds. When a device cannot do this — older hardware, missing video support, or an interruption — AvatarStudio falls back to building the video in the cloud so the save still works. This cloud fallback is a built-in, mandatory part of the service. The app shows you which path is being used.

What costs money, and what doesn't

Browsing the libraries, picking an existing character and dance, recording, and saving a duet are free. Credits are only used for optional extras: generating a custom character, generating a custom Move, and removing the small watermark. Credits come in packs you buy with a card; you can read the exact prices and how far each pack goes on the Help & FAQ page. The full rules live in our Terms of Service.

Ready to try it?

You can start a duet now, or read more about the bigger features — multi-character duets, avatar effects, and the timeline — on the Features page.