Draft cheap, finish strong
The most expensive habit in AI video is iterating on your most expensive model. Every exploration, every maybe, every what-if at 80 credits a roll. The craft move is the same one illustrators have always used: sketch cheap, ink once.
Wan takes cost 20 credits and come back in under a minute. That makes it the sketchbook: run five framings of the same idea for the price of one Veo take, kill four, and keep the one that works.
The 2,800-credit month
Here is what a Creator month looks like when drafting and finishing are split across the right models:
| STAGE | MODEL | TAKES | CREDITS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sketch framings | Wan | 40 | 800 |
| Test motion | Hailuo | 8 | 360 |
| Final shots | Veo | 8 | 640 |
| Edit passes | Omni | 16 | 192 |
That is 72 generations for 1,992 credits, with 800 still in the pocket for re-rolls. The all-hero alternative spends the same month on 35 takes, most of which were really drafts in disguise. And sometimes the sketch is the final: Wan's illustrated looks hold up as a style of their own.
Sketch cheap, ink once.
