---
title: "Texture Painter Time-lapse Videos"
description: "Turn a Texture Painter cloud session into a shareable MP4: the painter records your model from the front and back while you work, and renders a time-lapse in square, 16:9 or 9:16 for Reels and TikTok."
source: https://docs.3daistudio.com/textures/texture-painter/timelapse
---

# Texture Painter Time-lapse

Turn a Texture Painter cloud session into a shareable MP4: the painter records your model from the front and back while you work, and renders a time-lapse in square, 16:9 or 9:16 for Reels and TikTok.

[Open the Texture Painter](https://www.3daistudio.com/TexturePainter/app)

Show how your model came to life. While you paint, the Texture Painter records your model from fixed front and back cameras, so the video stays steady however you move around while working. This page explains how recording works and how to make the video.

> [!NOTE]
> Time-lapse videos are available for **cloud sessions on paid plans**. Recording starts on its own; there is nothing to turn on.

## How recording works

- About **once a minute** while you are painting, the painter captures the model from the front and from the back at 1500 × 1500 pixels.
- Nothing is recorded while you are idle or the tab is in the background, so the video only shows real progress.
- A session keeps up to 250 frames. For long sessions, older frames are thinned out evenly, so the video still covers the whole process.
- Frames belong to the session: duplicating a session starts a fresh recording, and deleting a session deletes its frames.

You need about **10 minutes of painting** (10 frames) before the first video can be made. Until then, the dialog shows **Recording…** with the number of frames so far.

## Create a video

### Open Time-lapse video

Click the session name at the top left and choose **Time-lapse video**. You can also open it from a session's **⋯** menu on the start screen, or from the film icon next to **Continue**.

### Pick a layout

| Layout | Shape | Best for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Front** | Square (1:1) | Posts and portfolios |
| **Front + back** (default) | Wide (16:9) | YouTube, X, presentations |
| **Stacked** | Tall (9:16) | Reels, TikTok, Shorts |
| **Back** | Square (1:1) | When the back is the interesting side |

Leave **Watermark** on to add a small 3D AI Studio mark in the corner, or turn it off.

### Create and share

Click **Create video**. A final frame of what is on screen right now is added, and the video renders on our servers, usually in **under a minute**. You can keep painting meanwhile.

When it is ready you can play it, **Change layout**, **Share** it (the caption is copied for you) or **Download MP4**. The video link stays available for 24 hours; download it to keep it.

![The Time-lapse dialog with a recording progress bar, four layouts and a watermark switch](https://docs.3daistudio.com/assets/images/docs/texture-painter/timelapse-dialog.webp)

*The Time-lapse dialog while it is still recording: 5 of the 10 frames needed for the first video, with the four layouts and the watermark switch.*

## Related

- [Saving and sessions](https://docs.3daistudio.com/textures/texture-painter/sessions)
- [Export](https://docs.3daistudio.com/textures/texture-painter/export)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does recording slow down painting?

No. Frames are captured only while you pause between strokes, at most about once a minute, and uploaded in the background.

### Do time-lapse frames use my session storage?

A little: a full recording is usually 30 to 80 MB. Frames are never allowed to fill your storage completely, so they can never stop your painting from saving.

### Can I make a time-lapse of an older session?

Yes, as long as it was painted as a cloud session on a paid plan. Open it from the start screen and choose **Time-lapse video**.

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> Documentation index for AI agents: https://docs.3daistudio.com/llms.txt