Runway’s new AI image generator Frames is here

The AI media tech provider Runway has announced the release of Frames, its newest text-to-image generation model, and it’s winning early praise from users for producing highly cinematic visuals — a fitting compliment given Runway is known primarily as an AI video model provider. Could Frames dethrone Midjourney as the go-to choice for AI filmmakers and artists?

Announced back in November 2024, Runway’s text-to-image AI model Frames was initially made available to selected Runway Creators Program ambassadors and power users over the last few weeks.

As of today, it’s available to all through Runway’s Unlimited and Enterprise subscription plans, which cost $95 per month/$912 when paid annually or, in the case of the Enterprise plan, $1500 annually. The company has also posted a showcase of new images generated by users of Frames on its website here, under the name, “Worlds of Frames.”

Users can generate still images with it on Runway’s website at app.runwayml.com — if they have subscribed to the appropriate plan — and then with one click, use the images as the basis for movies made with Runway’s image-to-video models such as Gen-3 Alpha Turbo.

According to Runway, Frames provides an advanced level of stylistic control and visual fidelity, making it a versatile tool for industries like editorial, art direction, pre-visualization, brand development, and production.

As Cristóbal Valenzuela, Runway’s co-founder and CEO, wrote on a post on the social network X: “Frames has been engineered from the ground up for professional creative work. If you’re in editorial, art direction, pre-vis, brand development, production, etc., this model is for you.”

Valenzuela further noted that the model’s prompting system allows for precision and depth, enabling users to achieve nuanced, naturalistic, and cinematically composed results.

Users seem to agree, with @GenMagic writing on X: “Very high quality, lots of control with style, and you can animate your images right in runway super quick. I felt like seeing some 90s aesthetic mall nostalgia, and Frames did not disappoint.”

Or as user @AIandDesign put it: “Damn @runwayml Frames is completely insane. I can’t stop.”

Creativity meets consistency

Frames allows users to design worlds with specific points of view and aesthetic characteristics. Its ability to maintain stylistic consistency while offering broad creative exploration sets it apart from previous models, which are often more random and “roll the dice” in terms of the user experience.

With Frames, however, users can establish a distinct visual identity for their projects and reliably generate variations that remain true to that specific style.

In addition to enabling custom stylistic designs, Frames at launch comes with a library of 19 preset visual styles that users are able to select and further customize, which include:

1. Vivid

2. Vivid Warm

3. Vivid Cool

4. High Contrast

5. High Contrast Warm

6. High Contrast Cool

7. B&W

8. B&W Contrast

9. Muted Pastel

10. Dreamscape

11. Nordic Minimal

12. Light Anime

13. Dark Anime

14. Painted Anime

15. 3D Cartoon

16. Sketch

17. Low Angle

18. In Motion

19. Terracotta

These worlds demonstrate the wide range of creative possibilities offered by Frames, making it an ideal tool for artists, designers, and filmmakers seeking stylistic precision.

Designed for creative pros

Frames offers several enhancements tailored for professional users.

The model excels in rendering advanced textures, natural lighting, and complex compositions, providing more flexibility and a departure from the rigid outputs of earlier image generation models.

This release marks the first version of Frames, and Runway has outlined a clear roadmap for future updates, including more style tools and controls.

Safety and ethical considerations

Runway continues to prioritize safety and ethical responsibility in its generative AI tools. As part of its Foundations for Safe Generative Media initiative, Frames includes robust content moderation features to prevent misuse.

The company’s in-house visual moderation system detects and blocks harmful or inappropriate content, balancing creative freedom with safety.

To address concerns about misinformation and misuse, Frames embeds invisible watermarks in all AI-generated content. These watermarks comply with provenance standards set by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), allowing users to trace whether a media item is AI-generated or authentic.

Additionally, Runway is committed to improving fairness and representation in its generative models. Efforts have been made to reduce bias in visual outputs and to support diverse demographics and languages.

Nonetheless, Runway remains party to a lawsuit from human artists who accuse the company and others such as Stability AI and Midjourney of training on their artwork without permission in violation of copyright. The case, Andersen v. Stability AI Ltd. (3:23-cv-00201), remains unresolved for now, but is working its way through court.