This guide is for anyone opening OpenCake for the first time. OpenCake is an AI creative studio for making product ads, UGC videos, product visuals, actor-led clips, captions, voiceovers, and reusable brand assets from one dashboard.
The shortest way to understand OpenCake is this: upload or create reusable assets, reference them in a workflow, choose the right generation tool, then save and reuse the best outputs.
Start with the dashboard
The dashboard is where you move between the main OpenCake workspaces. Most new users should start with one of three paths: Marketing Studio for guided product ads, AI Models for flexible image and video generation, or FaceSwap when the goal is to place a specific face or actor into an existing video motion.
- Use Marketing Studio when you want a guided ad workflow.
- Use AI Models when you know the model or output type you want.
- Use Actors when you need a reusable person or character for videos.
- Use Products when you want product details to stay consistent across outputs.
- Use FaceSwap when you want one identity across many video motions.
- Use Library when you need to find, reuse, download, or reference assets.
Marketing Studio
Marketing Studio is the easiest place to begin if your goal is a product ad. It is built for UGC, tutorials, product reviews, unboxings, try-on concepts, and commercial social videos. Instead of starting with a blank prompt, you choose a format and provide the product, actor, or creative direction.
A typical Marketing Studio workflow is: choose an ad format, attach a product, choose or attach an actor if needed, describe the angle, review the controls, generate, then save or download the result.
AI Models
AI Models is the flexible creation workspace. Use it when you want direct access to image, video, audio, editing, upscaling, background removal, or model-specific generation tools. It is useful when you already know the kind of output you want or when you want to compare different model families.
The important habit in AI Models is to attach references deliberately. A product image, actor, first frame, video, or audio file gives the model more context than a prompt alone. OpenCake lets you reference assets with mention tokens such as @actor1, @product1, @image1, @video1, and @audio1 when a model supports those inputs.
Actors
Actors are reusable people or characters for AI-generated content. You can use built-in actors or create your own. Actors are helpful for UGC ads, product demos, spokesperson clips, tutorials, lifestyle scenes, and brand-character workflows.
Use actors when the same person or character should appear across multiple assets. This is better than uploading a random image every time because the actor becomes part of your reusable creative system.
Products
Products are reusable visual references for physical goods, ecommerce products, food, packaging, apps, and branded objects. Add a clean product image when you want the model to understand shape, color, label placement, packaging, or product proportions.
For best results, start with a clear product image. Avoid heavy shadows, tiny products, busy backgrounds, or angles where the product is hard to read.
FaceSwap
FaceSwap lets you add a face, choose a video, and place that identity into the same movement. The face can come from an uploaded image, your Library, or an OpenCake actor. The video provides pose, motion, framing, timing, and scene.
Use FaceSwap when you want a founder, creator, spokesperson, actor, or brand character to appear across multiple ad variations without reshooting every clip. Always use likenesses and faces you have the right to use.
Library
The Library is where your reusable assets live. It stores generated outputs, uploaded files, products, actors, images, videos, and audio. Use the Library when you want to reuse an asset in a new prompt, download an output, organize creative material, or choose a reference for another workflow.
A good beginner habit is to save useful outputs even when they are not final ads. A strong image can become a first frame. A useful clip can become a motion reference. A product render can become the base for a future campaign.
Captions and video utilities
OpenCake includes utility tools for common production tasks such as captions, compression, conversion, and preparing media for reuse. These tools are useful after generation, especially when you need to prepare videos for publishing or upload constraints.
Credits
OpenCake uses credits because different models and settings have different costs. Duration, quality, resolution, provider, input type, and workflow can all affect the credit estimate. Check the in-app estimate before generating.
As a beginner, use cheaper tests to explore concepts before spending credits on higher-quality or longer outputs. Once the idea is working, increase quality or duration.
A simple first workflow
- Upload or create one product reference.
- Choose Marketing Studio if you want a guided ad, or AI Models if you want more control.
- Attach a product and actor when the ad needs both.
- Write a specific prompt: subject, action, setting, camera, lighting, and desired output.
- Generate a short test first.
- Save the best output to your Library.
- Use the saved image or video as a reference for the next variation.
Prompting basics
Good prompts are specific. Instead of asking for a generic ad, describe the product, who is using it, what happens, where the scene takes place, how the camera moves, and what the final video should feel like.
A useful prompt shape is: subject plus product, action, setting, camera, lighting, style, duration, and constraints. Example: @actor1 holds @product1 in a bright kitchen, casual UGC style, handheld camera, natural morning light, upbeat product demo, no captions, no watermark.
Beginner mistakes to avoid
- Do not ask for too many changes in one generation.
- Do not use unclear product images if product accuracy matters.
- Do not switch models randomly without understanding what changed.
- Do not spend high-quality credits before testing the concept.
- Do not use faces, voices, brands, or copyrighted assets without permission.
How to ask an AI assistant about OpenCake
Use the copy tools at the top of this guide to copy the full guide or the llms.txt-style summary. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or another assistant, then ask questions like: Which OpenCake tool should I use for my product ad? How should I prompt this scene? What workflow should I follow for a UGC video? What assets should I upload first?
The fastest way to get value
Do not try to learn every feature at once. Start with one product, one actor or face, and one short ad idea. Generate a small test, save what works, then build variations. OpenCake becomes more useful as your Library fills with reusable products, actors, images, videos, and campaign assets.