What Ilumax Studio is for
Ilumax Studio turns a written description into a picture, a video clip, a piece of music or sound, or a 3D model. It sends each request to fal.ai, a service that runs many well-known AI models, using your own fal.ai account and key.
There is no Ilumax account and no Ilumax server in between. fal bills you directly for what you make; Ilumax doesn’t sell or charge for AI usage.
- Image: Flux, GPT Image, Nano Banana and Seedream models.
- Video: Kling, Veo, Seedance, Vidu, MiniMax and Flux models, from a prompt, a first and last frame, or references.
- Audio: Seed Audio, for music and sound from a description.
- 3D: Hunyuan 3D, Tripo, Meshy and Rodin models, from a description or a picture of the object.
Install and first launch
Install Studio with the Ilumax Launcher or from My downloads. The first time you open it, your Mac or PC asks you to confirm; the one-time steps are in Installing Ilumax apps.
Studio opens on Create Image. Until you add a fal.ai key, each page shows Add your fal key, the model button reads Add a fal key, and the bottom of the sidebar says Add a provider key. Making things needs an internet connection.
Add your fal.ai key
Get a key from fal.ai
- Create an account at fal.ai, if you don’t have one, and add credit or a payment method there. fal charges your account for each generation.
- Open the keys page of your fal dashboard, fal.ai/dashboard/keys. Studio’s Get a key on fal.ai link opens the same page.
- Create a key and copy it.
Save the key in Studio
- Click the gear at the top right to open Settings.
- Under AI providers, paste the key into the fal.ai row, where it says Paste your fal key.
- If you like, click Check before saving. Studio asks fal whether it accepts the key, which costs nothing, and shows the answer, such as fal accepted the key.
- Click Save key, or press Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows).
- The row now reads Connected, followed by the first few characters of your key, and the model button lists the models.
Where the key is kept
The key is kept in your computer’s own credential store: the login Keychain on a Mac, where it is listed as com.ilumaxsystems.studio, and Windows Credential Manager on a PC. Studio sends it only to fal.ai. Files you add as references are uploaded to your own fal account’s storage.
To test the key again, open Settings and click Check key. To take it off this computer, click Remove, then Remove key to confirm.
Removing the app doesn’t delete the key from the credential store, or the files in your library. If you are passing the computer on, click Remove in Settings first.
What it costs
fal bills every generation to your fal account. Studio shows an approximate price, in dollars, beside the Generate button and against each model in the model list. fal’s own billing page shows what you were actually charged.
If your fal account can’t pay, Studio says Your provider account can’t pay for this. Add credit or a payment method on fal.ai and try again.
Make your first image
- In the sidebar, under Create, click Image.
- In the prompt box, describe what you want, for example
a lighthouse at dusk, watercolour. - Click the model button to choose a model, or keep the one it shows.
- Choose Aspect Ratio, Resolution and the number of images (1 to 4), where the model offers them.
- Click the round arrow button, Generate.
- A card shows the progress and your place in fal’s queue. When the picture is ready it appears at the top of the page, and Studio says Image saved to your library.
- Click the picture to open it. From there you can copy the prompt, Download a copy, Show in Finder (Mac) or Show in Explorer (Windows), or Make Video to animate it.
Find your way around
- Sidebar: Create holds Image, Video, Audio and 3D; Assets holds Library. Toggle Sidebar at the top hides and shows it.
- Prompt box: describe what you want, add references, and choose the model and its options. The eraser, Clear all, empties it; Focus mode opens a larger editor.
- Results: the page’s results, newest first, with any running or failed jobs. Switch between Grid view and List view at the top of the page, and use Select items to pick several at once.
- Settings: the gear at the top right, with AI providers, Prompt, Safety, Library and About.
- The bottom of the sidebar says Connected once your fal key is saved.
Everyday tasks
Make a video
- Click Video in the sidebar.
- Describe what should happen in the clip.
- Choose a model, then the Duration, Aspect Ratio and Resolution. Sound is on unless you switch it off.
- Under Input Mode, keep Keyframe to set a First frame and, if you like, a Last frame; or choose Omni Reference to give the model several pictures, clips or sounds and name them in the prompt as @Image1, @Video1 and so on.
- Click Generate.
Some models can’t start from text alone. For those, Studio says Starting frame required: add a picture as the first frame. To animate a picture you have already made, open it and click Make Video.
Use your own files as references
Many models can follow a picture you give them. In the prompt box, click Upload to add a file, or From library to pick something you made. You can also drag files onto the prompt box, or paste a picture with CommandV (Mac) or ControlV (Windows).
- Pictures: PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP or AVIF.
- Video: MP4 only.
- Audio: MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A or Opus.
- Up to 90 MB a file. How many references a model takes depends on the model.
References are uploaded to your fal account’s storage before the request is sent, so wait for them to finish before you click Generate.
Make music or sound
Click Audio, describe the music or sound you want, and click Generate. To steer it, add up to three audio tracks with Add audio, or one picture with Add image; a request can carry audio or a picture, not both.
Tuning sets the Sample rate, Speed, Volume and Pitch of the result.
Make a 3D model
Click 3D, describe the object or add a picture of it, and click Generate. Some 3D models work from a picture only. PBR asks for realistic surface materials and is on unless you switch it off.
Open the result and click Open in 3D viewer to see it in your computer’s usual app for 3D files.
Make it again, with changes
Open an image or a video and click Recreate. The prompt, model and settings come back into the prompt box, ready to change and generate again. References are not brought back, so add them again if you need them.
Choose the safety filter
Settings ▸ Safety ▸ Safety filter is on when you first open Studio. While it is on, the models that have a safety checker use it.
Turn it off and those models are asked not to filter, or to filter as little as they allow. Some models always filter, whatever this setting.
Turning the filter off doesn’t change your provider’s own rules: fal’s terms still apply to your account.
Your results and files
Everything you make is saved on your computer, in an Ilumax Studio folder inside your Pictures folder:
- Mac:
~/Pictures/Ilumax Studio - Windows:
C:\Users\<your name>\Pictures\Ilumax Studio
Each file is named with the date and time it was made and the model that made it. Beside it, a .json file of the same name keeps its prompt and settings. Files keep the format fal returns, such as PNG for pictures, MP4 for video, MP3 for audio and GLB for 3D models. Studio has no document file of its own.
Settings ▸ Library shows the folder and opens it. The folder itself can’t be moved from Settings.
Browse the Library
Click Library to see everything you have made. Filter it with All, Images, Videos, Audio and 3D. Read the folder again refreshes the list.
Click a result to open it, then use the arrow keys to step to the previous or next one. Delete moves the file and its prompt record to your system’s trash after asking Move to the trash?, so you can still restore them.
To clear out several results, click Select items, pick them, then Move to trash. This one doesn’t ask first, but the files are still in your system’s trash.
Keyboard shortcuts
On a Mac, ⌘ is Command, ⇧ Shift, ⌥ Option and ⌃ Control.
| To | Mac | Windows |
|---|---|---|
| Generate, with Enter to generate on | Return | Enter |
| New line in the prompt, with Enter to generate on | ShiftReturn | ShiftEnter |
| Paste a picture as a reference | CommandV | ControlV |
| Previous or next result, in the viewer | Left arrow or Right arrow | Left arrow or Right arrow |
| Close a dialog or the viewer | Esc | Esc |
With Enter to generate off, which is how Studio starts, Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) starts a new line and the Generate button sends the request.
Tips
- Prefer the keyboard? Turn on Enter to generate in Settings ▸ Prompt.
- Long prompt? Focus mode gives you a large editor. The counter under the prompt shows how many characters the model accepts.
- Jobs keep going on fal’s side if you quit. Studio checks on them again the next time it opens.
- The percentage on a progress card is an estimate from the model’s usual time, not a measurement.
- If a video doesn’t play inside Studio, click Play in your video player to open it in your usual player.
- Download saves a copy where you choose; the original stays in your library.
Get help
Questions about a fal charge, your fal balance or your fal account are for fal: Ilumax can’t see or change your fal account. Settings ▸ About has Help and support and the support address.
Email [email protected]. Say which app and version you use, whether you are on a Mac or Windows, and what you did just before the problem.
Or go to Support: what to put in your email, and quick answers on installing, licence keys, renewals and refunds.
Lost your licence key? Email from the address you paid with, and it will be sent back to you. To download an app again, paste your key on My downloads.
Other companies’ product names mentioned in this guide are trademarks of their owners. Ilumax is not affiliated with them.