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Parallax Studio
What it is
Parallax Studio is free, open-source software that turns a still image into a looping 2.5D parallax animation. It is aimed at artists who want motion from still artwork without building a 3D pipeline. Auto Depth uses Depth Anything V2 to separate a subject from its background and soften depth around hard outlines. Body Relief detects people and poses, creating separate depth across body parts. A depth brush offers adjustable size, hardness, strength, and depth value, with a colour-ramped overlay plus undo and redo. Motion controls include focus, path, zoom, loop type, duration, and intensity, with previews at 24, 30, or 60 fps. The app exports MP4 or GIF at selected resolution and frame rate, with optional NVIDIA GPU rendering and NVENC encoding. It imports PNG, JPG, JPEG, and WebP, and saves .parlx JSON projects referencing source-image paths. The maker says models run locally after download and pictures are not uploaded to a cloud service. Downloads support Windows, Linux x86_64, and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 or newer.
For and against
For
- Free and open source
- Automatic subject depth and body relief
- Adjustable depth painting brush
- MP4 and GIF export
- Local model processing
Against
- No mobile apps
- Depth Anything V2 Base output is not for commercial use
- Projects reference source images by path
- Requires supported desktop systems
The verdict
Parallax Studio offers a focused desktop workflow for animating still art with depth tools, motion controls, and video or GIF export. Its local processing and free license are useful, but commercial users should note the stated model-output restriction.
Who it suits
It suits artists creating visual-novel scenes or short loops from still images without a 3D workflow. It runs on Windows, Linux x86_64, and Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 12 or newer.
Plans and prices
Free and open source
No licence key · no subscription
Read 30 Sep 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Auto Depth
- Auto Depth uses Depth Anything V2 to separate a subject from its background and feather the depth map around hard outlines.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Body Relief
- Body Relief detects people and their poses, then creates separate depth across body parts for parallax motion.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Depth painting
- The depth brush offers adjustable size, hardness, strength and depth value, with a colour-ramped overlay and undo and redo.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Export formats
- The app exports MP4 or GIF at a chosen resolution and frame rate, with optional NVIDIA GPU rendering and NVENC encoding.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Image and project formats
- It imports PNG, JPG, JPEG and WebP, and saves projects as .parlx JSON files that reference source images by path.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Intended users
- The maker describes the product as built for artists who want motion from still art without a 3D pipeline, including visual novel scenes and short loops.longweekendlabs.github.io · read 30 Sep 2026
- Model licensing limit
- The optional 389 MB Depth Anything V2 Base model is CC-BY-NC-4.0, and the README says not to use its output commercially.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Motion preview
- Motion controls include focus, path, zoom, loop type, duration and intensity, with preview options of 24, 30 or 60 fps.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Privacy
- The maker says models run locally after download and that pictures are not uploaded to a cloud service.longweekendlabs.github.io · read 30 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- Parallax Studio turns a still image into a looping 2.5D parallax animation.longweekendlabs.github.io · read 30 Sep 2026
- Support
- The maker directs users to open a GitHub issue for bugs or feature requests.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
- Supported systems
- Downloads are available for Windows, Linux x86_64 and Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 12 or newer.github.com · read 30 Sep 2026
