CropUp Ai
Most AI video prompting directs motion for an entire scene at once - a camera move, a subject action, an ambient effect, all described in one block of text. Motion Brush works differently. It lets you paint the exact region of a still image that should move, and set the direction and intensity of that motion independently of everything else in the frame.
What is Kling's Motion Brush
Motion Brush is a spatial motion-control tool inside Kling. Instead of relying entirely on text description to imply what moves and what stays still, you select or paint a specific area of your source image - a sleeve, a curtain, a wisp of steam, a patch of water - and assign that area its own motion direction and intensity.
This solves a real limitation of prompt-only motion direction: text prompts are good at describing motion in general terms ("the fabric sways gently"), but they can't reliably tell an AI video model exactly which pixels should move and which shouldn't. Motion Brush gives you that spatial precision directly, which matters most when a shot needs one part of the frame to stay perfectly still while another part animates.
Which Kling version has Motion Brush
Motion Brush has a version history worth knowing before you go looking for it. It was present in Kling 1.0 and 1.5, was removed in Kling 1.6, and was reintroduced in Kling 3.0. If you're on an older or different version than you expect, that's likely why the feature isn't where you thought it would be.
As of this writing, Motion Brush currently requires the Kling Pro tier - it is not available on Kling's free plan. Introductory pricing for Kling Pro is approximately $25.99/month at time of writing, though pricing is subject to change - check Kling's own pricing page for the current rate before subscribing. Kling itself has no discontinuation risk and is actively under development; it's specifically this one feature's version and tier history that's worth knowing upfront, not a reason to avoid the platform.
How to use Kling Motion Brush (step-by-step)
The general workflow, once you have Motion Brush available on your account:
- Upload a still image. Motion Brush animates an existing image rather than generating video from scratch - start with a strong reference still, ideally one already composed the way you want the final shot to look.
- Select the brush tool. Inside Kling's image-to-video interface, switch to Motion Brush mode once your image is loaded.
- Paint over the region you want to animate. Brush directly over the specific area - a piece of fabric, a background element, a liquid surface - that should move. Leave everything else unpainted.
- Assign a direction and intensity to that region. Set which way the painted area should move and how strongly, using Kling's motion controls for that selection.
- Add additional regions if needed. Kling's Motion Brush typically supports multiple painted regions in the same shot, each with its own independent direction and intensity - useful when you want, for example, a curtain moving one way and steam rising another.
- Generate. Run the generation and review the result - unpainted areas should stay static while your painted regions carry the motion you assigned.
Motion Brush vs Motion Control
Motion Brush and Motion Control solve related but different problems. Motion Brush is spatial and region-based - you paint the exact area of the frame that should move, and everything outside that painted region stays still by default. Motion Control is typically broader scene- or camera-level motion direction - camera pans, zooms, or overall subject movement applied to the shot as a whole, closer to prompt-driven motion direction than to spatial painting.
In practice, the two are complementary rather than competing: Motion Control sets the camera and overall scene motion, while Motion Brush lets you layer in precise, localized movement on top of (or instead of) that broader direction. If you need the whole frame moving together, Motion Control is the simpler tool. If you need only one part of the frame to move while the rest stays locked, Motion Brush is the one built for that job.
Motion Brush for product and e-commerce shots
This is where Motion Brush earns its keep for product content. A common problem with AI product video is that animating the whole scene risks warping or distorting the product itself - the one element that needs to stay sharp and recognizable. Motion Brush lets you keep the product region completely unpainted (static) while animating only the surrounding elements: a background curtain swaying, steam rising beside a drink, fabric rippling behind a garment, or liquid moving in a glass next to a static product.
The result reads as a living, dynamic scene without ever risking the product's own shape or detail warping mid-generation - the product stays exactly as sharp as your source still, while everything around it carries the motion. If you haven't built your product still yet, our AI Product Photography guide covers the full framework for getting that reference image right before you animate it.
Common Motion Brush mistakes
- Painting too large an area. A broad, loosely-painted region loses precision and can produce incoherent motion - paint tightly around the specific element you want to move.
- Conflicting motion assignments on overlapping regions. If two painted regions overlap with different directions or intensities assigned, the model can produce unpredictable results at the overlap - keep painted regions distinct and non-overlapping where possible.
- Expecting free-tier access. Motion Brush requires Kling 3.0 and the Pro tier - if you're on the free plan, the feature won't be available no matter how you search the interface.