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Read one chapter at a time from the left menu. Steps match the live UI. Screenshots are from the English product interface.

01 / 2112 min read

Getting started

Sumi Studio is an AI creation tool. You can start a conversation with the assistant on the home page, or open a canvas and connect image, video, audio and text nodes to generate your work.

This guide follows the live interface: pick a chapter on the left, one chapter per page. This chapter takes you from signing up to your first creation.

Sign up and sign in

  • Click “Sign in” at the top right. Depending on how the site is set up, the sign-in dialog has tabs such as “Social” (Google / Discord / Telegram, plus signing in with a wallet signature), “Phone” and “Email”. When social sign-in is turned on, “Social” opens first. Email uses a verification code by default, and you can switch to a password instead.
  • While you're signed out, anything that needs an account (creating a canvas, copying a project, publishing, and so on) opens the sign-in dialog instead of sending you to another page. Only opening the canvas editor itself requires you to sign in first.
  • Whether a new account gets free credits, and how many, is shown on the sign-up page and in your credit history. Your balance is in the top bar; hover over it to see the breakdown. Before you generate, check the selected model's live quote to see whether your balance is enough.

Your first creation: start from the home assistant

The assistant's input box sits in the middle of the home page:

  • Use the “Create”, “Film & drama” and “Marketing” tabs above the box to switch among the three assistants;
  • Type what you want to make. The “+” at the bottom left holds “Add attachment” (upload from your device), “Reference” (same as typing @) and “Add from Assets”; type “/” to bring up commands and skills. The “Start a canvas” card creates a new canvas right away so you can build the nodes yourself;
  • Choose how generation runs before you send (shown once you're signed in). With “Ask first”, every generation shows its price and waits for you to confirm. With “Generate right away”, the assistant places the order directly: generation, analysis, transcription and voiceover no longer ask each time, but they're still charged at the quoted price and limited by your balance and budget. Questions, additional budget, plan review and publishing a skill still ask you.

On any other page, click “Home” at the top of the left sidebar to come back to this box. Press ⌘/Ctrl + K to open the Sumi window on the current page (on the home page and the film and marketing assistant pages, it focuses the input box instead).

Or open a canvas directly

  • Click “New” (+) next to the “Recent” heading in the left sidebar and choose “New project” or “New canvas”. Clicking “Canvas” in the sidebar creates a standalone canvas right away. “Projects” (/projects) in the sidebar lists all your projects, and you can create new ones there too;
  • Open a template in the template library (/templates) and click “Duplicate canvas”, or click “Use template” on the “Templates” tab of “Profile” in the account menu. Either way you get a new, editable canvas based on the template.

Your first text-to-image on an empty canvas takes four steps: double-click empty space and choose “Image”; describe the picture in the prompt bar below the node; pick a model and confirm the credit estimate; click send or press ⌘/Ctrl + Enter. The result comes back to that node. Your edits save automatically.

Select an image node and the prompt bar appears below it: write a prompt, pick a model, check the estimate, click send
Select an image node and the prompt bar appears below it: write a prompt, pick a model, check the estimate, click send

Get to know the interface

Once you're signed in, the left sidebar is the main navigation on desktop. On the right side of the top bar you'll find, in order, the “Press ⌘K to open Sumi” hint, the appearance toggle, language, your credit balance (click it to open the Credit Store), membership and the account menu.

  • “Home” at the top of the sidebar takes you back to the Sumi Harness box on the home page;
  • Below it are “Canvas” (creates a standalone canvas in one click), “Projects”, “Assets”, “Skills”, “Community” and “MCP”;
  • Further down is “Recent”, where “New” next to the heading creates a project or canvas. At the bottom are “Sumi Academy” and “Help & feedback” (which holds “Guides” and “Contact us”), and “Partners Program” when it applies to you;
  • The account menu has your membership card (subscribe or upgrade, redeem code) and storage card at the top, then Profile, Subscription, Usage, AI watermark, Tutorials & docs, My tickets (when ticket support is turned on), Messages, language, appearance, Settings, Sign out and more. On mobile, tap the menu button at the top left to open the sidebar; appearance and language are at its bottom.
Always check the credit estimate before you submit · You can start creating from the home assistant or from a canvas · Your credit history and the model quote show your free credits and how far they go

· Maintained by the Sumi Studio team · Written for the live product UI

Contents

  1. 01Getting started

    Sumi Studio is an AI creation tool. You can start a conversation with the assistant on the home page, or open a canvas and connect image, video, audio and text…

  2. 02Assistant

    The assistant (Sumi Harness) is the home page's starting point for longer creative work. “Home” at the top of the left sidebar takes you back to its input box…

  3. 03Account and navigation

    This chapter covers the parts you'll use most after signing in: the left sidebar, your canvas list, Assets, and the watermark in your account settings.

  4. 04Infinite canvas

    The canvas is Sumi Studio's main workspace: a board you can pan and zoom without limit. Nodes sit on it, and connections between them show how data flows. This…

  5. 05Adding nodes

    Nodes are the building blocks of a canvas. Asset nodes hold what you upload, and generation nodes call the AI to produce results. This chapter covers how to…

  6. 06Prompt bar

    When you select a node that can generate, a “prompt bar” appears below it. Write the prompt, pick a model, adjust settings, check the estimate and click send,…

  7. 07Text nodes

    Text nodes hold words: ideas and prompts you write yourself, or text the AI generates or reads out of an image or audio clip. They often feed image and video…

  8. 08Image nodes

    Image nodes generate, hold and edit still pictures, and they're usually the first step before video. When you select an image node, a toolbar appears above it…

  9. 09Video nodes

    Video nodes generate and process moving pictures. They can generate straight from text or use images and videos as references, and their toolbar has video…

  10. 10Audio nodes

    Audio nodes cover voice and sound: text to speech, music, avatars, voice cloning and design, and audio tools that work with video.

  11. 11Connections and workflows

    Connect nodes and one node's output flows into the next node's input; that's how you build a workflow. This chapter covers connection rules, and how to tidy…

  12. 12References and @-mentions

    In Sumi Studio, there are two ways for one node to use another node's assets: a connection (a hard reference), or an @-mention in the prompt.

  13. 13Smart Cut

    The “Smart Cut” node is a multi-track timeline container. It opens a full-screen editor where you join, layer and export several clips into one finished video.

  14. 14Director Stage

    The “Director Stage” node opens a 3D stage. Place cameras and virtual characters in it, adjust the framing, then take a screenshot to save the shot as an image…

  15. 15Assets and history

    Every asset you generate or upload on a canvas goes into Assets (/assets), which you open from “Assets” in the left sidebar. It's where you view, organize and…

  16. 16Publishing to the community

    Once a canvas is ready, you can share it read-only with others or publish it to the community. Both start from the “Share” button in the canvas top bar.

  17. 17Creative challenges

    Sumi Studio runs official creative challenges from time to time, rewarding great work with credits and a spot on the home page. This chapter covers how to find…

  18. 18Credits and membership

    Generating uses credits. This chapter covers how credits are spent and topped up, and the refund rules.

  19. 19Teams and collaboration

    To create on the same canvas with other people, you need a team. This chapter covers creating a team, roles and permissions, and real-time collaboration.

  20. 20Connect an AI agent (MCP)

    Sumi Studio also offers a remote MCP server that clients such as Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex CLI and Cursor can connect to. Paid model requests use…

  21. 21Tips and FAQ

    This last chapter gathers the common shortcuts, what the save status means, and a few frequent questions. This guide writes key combinations as “⌘/Ctrl + key”:…