How to Use Grok Imagine on VdoBloom (Image, Pro and Video 1.5 Preview)
The three xAI Grok Imagine models on VdoBloom explained: reference-image limits, aspect ratios, the per-second video credit ladder from 480p to 1080p, and a worked shoe-to-social example.
Grok Imagine on VdoBloom is three separate xAI models, not one: Grok Imagine image editing at 5 credits, Grok Imagine Pro at 10 credits, and Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Preview which animates a photo at 1.5 to 5 credits per second depending on resolution. Knowing which of the three you are actually loading is the whole trick, because they live on different pages, take different numbers of reference images, and bill in completely different ways.
The three Grok Imagine models, and what each one is for
On VdoBloom, the two Grok Imagine image models sit in the image editor rather than the generator. Both take a photo you supply plus an instruction, and return a new still. The video model sits in the video creator and is image-to-video only — it will not generate a clip from text alone.
- Grok Imagine is the cheap, fast tier. One reference image, five aspect ratios, 5 credits a run. Use it for quick restyles, background swaps and one-shot “make this look like” edits where you do not need to hold fine detail.
- Grok Imagine Pro is the serious one. It accepts up to 20 reference images, adds 1K and 2K resolution control, and widens the ratio list to nine including the poster-shaped 1:2 and 2:1. At 10 credits it is double the price and worth it whenever an edit has to survive close inspection.
- Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Preview animates a still into a 1 to 15 second clip at 480p, 720p or 1080p. It carries a 5.0 rating in the picker and a HOT badge, and it is the only one of the three that bills by the second.
If you are animating a photograph of a real person, you must have that person’s consent before you generate the clip — that applies to every photo-motion model on VdoBloom, not just this one.
Real specs and exact credit costs
Every number below is read from the live model config and the credit table. One credit is $0.05 at the Lite rate of $15 for 300 credits.
| Model | Mode | Key specs | Credits | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grok Imagine | Image to image | 1 reference image; 1:1, 2:3, 3:2, 16:9, 9:16 | 5 per image | $0.25 |
| Grok Imagine Pro | Image to image | Up to 20 reference images; 1K / 2K; 9 ratios incl. 1:2 and 2:1 | 10 per image | $0.50 |
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 — 480p | Image to video | 1–15s; 7 aspect ratios | 8 for 5s, 15 for 10s, 23 for 15s | $0.40 / $0.75 / $1.15 |
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 — 720p | Image to video | 1–15s; 3 credits per second | 15 for 5s, 30 for 10s, 45 for 15s | $0.75 / $1.50 / $2.25 |
| Grok Imagine Video 1.5 — 1080p | Image to video | 1–15s; 5 credits per second | 25 for 5s, 50 for 10s, 75 for 15s | $1.25 / $2.50 / $3.75 |
The video ladder is flat per second within a resolution, which is unusual and useful: a 3 second 720p test costs 9 credits and a 15 second 720p final costs 45, with nothing hidden in between. The 480p tier rounds up from roughly 1.5 credits per second, so short 480p drafts are genuinely cheap — 2 credits for one second, 5 for three.
How to prompt Grok Imagine well
All three models respond to instruction-style prompts rather than tag soup. A few habits that measurably improve results:
- Say what to change and what to keep. “Change the background to a dusk city street, keep the subject, pose and clothing exactly as they are” works far better than “city background”.
- On Pro, order your reference images by importance. With up to 20 slots it is tempting to dump everything in; three or four well-chosen references beat twenty noisy ones.
- For video, describe motion, not story. One camera move and one subject action per clip. “Slow push in, subject turns head to camera and smiles” is a good 5 second prompt. Three beats in five seconds is not.
- Match the aspect ratio to the source photo. The video model supports 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 3:4, 3:2 and 2:3, so there is almost always a ratio that avoids a crop.
- Draft at 480p. Prove the motion for 8 credits at 5 seconds, then rerun the identical prompt at 1080p for 25.
A worked example
You have a product shot of a sneaker on a plain backdrop and you want a 9:16 clip for social.
Step one: open the image editor, load Grok Imagine Pro, upload the sneaker photo, and prompt: “Place the shoe on a wet concrete ledge at dusk, neon reflections in the puddle, keep the shoe geometry, colour and logo exactly unchanged, 9:16 crop, 2K.” That costs 10 credits and gives you a clean still.
Step two: take that still to image to video, choose Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Preview, set 9:16 and 480p at 5 seconds, and prompt: “Slow orbit around the shoe, neon reflections shimmer on the wet ground, no camera shake.” Eight credits. If the motion is right, rerun at 1080p for 25 credits.
Total for a finished 5 second vertical clip: 43 credits, about $2.15 — and that includes a throwaway draft pass.
When to pick a different model
- You need text-to-video. Grok Imagine Video is image-to-video only. Generate a still first, or use a text-to-video model from the model directory.
- You need longer than 15 seconds. The hard ceiling is 15 seconds per clip. Longer pieces mean stitching multiple generations, which costs continuity.
- You need one cheap still, not an edit. The Grok Imagine image models both require a reference image on VdoBloom. For a from-scratch generation, a text-to-image model such as WAN 2.7 Image at 4 credits is the cheaper path.
- You need fine typography or in-image text. That is not the Grok family’s strength; GPT Image 2 handles short in-image strings more reliably at 3 to 8 credits.
Grok Imagine carries a MODERATE content label rather than the STRICT one on the OpenAI models, which means it handles fashion, fitness and dance briefs that stricter models refuse. Explicit and illegal content stays blocked, on every model, without exception.
New accounts get 10 free credits with no card, which is two Grok Imagine edits or one 5 second 480p clip plus change. Plans start at $15 a month for 300 credits, one-time packs start at $2.49 for 75 credits that never expire, and every paid plan downloads watermark-free with commercial rights — the breakdown is on the pricing page. Model spec pages for Grok Imagine, Grok Imagine Pro and Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Preview carry the same settings the dashboard uses.
Frequently asked questions
Can Grok Imagine generate a video from text alone?
No. Grok Imagine Video 1.5 Preview is image-to-video only on VdoBloom. You supply a starting image and a motion prompt. Make the still first with any image model, then animate it.
How much does a 10 second Grok Imagine video cost?
Fifteen credits at 480p, 30 at 720p and 50 at 1080p — $0.75, $1.50 and $2.50 at the Lite rate of $0.05 per credit.
What is the difference between Grok Imagine and Grok Imagine Pro?
Price and headroom. The base model is 5 credits, takes one reference image and offers five aspect ratios. Pro is 10 credits, takes up to 20 reference images, adds 1K and 2K resolution control and offers nine ratios.
How long can a Grok Imagine clip be?
Between 1 and 15 seconds, in one-second steps. Every whole second from 1 to 15 has its own price, so a 7 second clip at 720p costs exactly 21 credits.
Do I need permission to animate someone else’s photo?
Yes. You must have the consent of any real person whose photo you animate. That is a condition of use for every photo-motion model on the platform.
Is the 480p tier good enough to publish?
Usually not, but it is the right place to test. Motion, timing and framing all read clearly at 480p for a fraction of the credits, and the prompt transfers unchanged to 1080p.
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