Getting Started with Unicorn.studio
Unicorn.studio is a powerful no-code WebGL platform that allows you to create unique animated and interactive scenes. This guide will walk you through the basic concepts and features.
Core Concepts
Layers
The foundation of Unicorn.studio is built on a layer-based system. You can create complex scenes by stacking different types of layers.
- Shapes: Draw rectangles, circles, and polygons
- Images: Upload and use images from your library
- Effects: Choose from 50+ configurable WebGL effects
- Text: Use free fonts, Google fonts, or custom uploads
- Background: Create fills or gradients (can be hidden but not deleted)
- Videos: Videos are not actually their own layer type — you can find it in effects.
Effects
Effects are what make Unicorn.studio truly powerful. Access them through the burst icon in the toolbar on the right.
- Filters: Color manipulation
- Distortion: Scene displacement
- Blur: Various blur effects
- Lighting: Simulated lighting effects
- Stylize: Common style effects
- Misc: Unique effects
- Custom: Create your own shaders
You can add effects to specific elements that will only affect that layer.
Most effects have a default time based animation for which you can control speed.
Interactivity
Most effects and elements include interactive features based on mouse position:
- Mouse tracking: Follow cursor movement (0-100% intensity)
- Momentum: Add weight to tracking movement
- 3D axis tilt: Rotate elements toward cursor (elements only)
Exporting
Unicorn studio has four main ways to export your scenes:
- Image: Export a single image
- Video: Export a video
- Embed: Embed your scene in another website
- Code: JSON scene data for self hosting