What is Nano Banana and how do you edit images with it?
By Alverson Layne, Founder
Founder of FXI Studio, building the AI film studio.
Published September 16, 2026 · Updated September 16, 2026
The short answer
Nano Banana is an AI image editor that changes a photo from a plain-language instruction while keeping the same subject recognizable across edits. It handles restyling, retouching, background changes, and character-consistent edits. In FXI Studio you use it to refine a frame and prepare it to become the first frame of a video shot.
What Nano Banana is best for
Nano Banana is an image-to-image editor: you give it a photo and a plain-language instruction, and it makes the change while keeping the subject recognizable. Change the wardrobe, swap the background, adjust the light, or retouch a detail without re-rolling the whole image.
Its real strength is consistency across edits. The same face and the same character survive from one instruction to the next, which is what you need when a frame has to match the rest of a scene.
How FXI Studio uses Nano Banana
In FXI Studio you select Nano Banana for an edit, upload or pick the frame you want to change, and describe the change in plain language. The cost is shown before you commit, and Bezaleel can suggest the adjustment that gets the frame to match the shot it belongs to.
Because Nano Banana is image-to-image, it is the right tool for fixing or restyling a frame you already have, rather than generating a new one from scratch.
From edited frame to a moving shot
An edited frame is not the end of the job. Once Nano Banana has the frame right, you hand it into an image-to-video shot so it becomes the first frame and the model builds motion outward from a composition you already approved.
From there, frame chaining carries the sequence forward, so a still you retouched becomes the opening of a continuous run of shots.
Step by step
How to edit an image with Nano Banana in FXI Studio
- 1Open the studio
Start in the studio and choose Nano Banana for an image edit. Its credit cost is shown before you commit.
- 2Add the frame to edit
Upload or pick the image you want to change. Nano Banana is image-to-image, so it edits a frame you already have.
- 3Describe the change
Write the edit in plain language: change the wardrobe, swap the background, adjust the light, or retouch a detail.
- 4Review and keep the subject
Run the edit and confirm the subject still matches. Re-run with a refined instruction to keep the same face across versions.
- 5Send the frame to video
Hand the edited frame into an image-to-video shot so it becomes the first frame, then chain the shots into a scene.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nano Banana?
Nano Banana is an AI image editor that changes a photo from a plain-language instruction while keeping the same subject recognizable across edits. It handles restyling, retouching, background changes, and character-consistent edits.
Is Nano Banana text-to-image or image-to-image?
Nano Banana is an image-to-image editor. You give it an existing photo and an instruction, and it edits that frame, rather than generating a brand-new image from a prompt alone.
Does Nano Banana keep the same character across edits?
Yes. Its strength is consistency: the same face and character survive from one instruction to the next, which is what you need when an edited frame has to match the rest of a scene.
Can I turn a Nano Banana edit into a video?
Yes. In FXI Studio you hand an edited frame into an image-to-video shot so it becomes the first frame, then use frame chaining to carry the sequence forward into a continuous run of shots.
Is Nano Banana free to try?
FXI Studio is in Open Beta with 65 free credits on signup and no credit card required. Image editing is inexpensive to iterate, so you can refine several frames to see how Nano Banana holds the subject.
Edit a frame with Nano Banana
Start free with 65 credits, no card required.
Related guides
Hands-on tutorials
- TutorialHow to prompt Nano Banana 2 for consistent characters
- TutorialHow to prompt Z-Image Turbo for film stills
- TutorialHow to prompt Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Looking for a specific tool? Browse the documentation, the guides, or all tutorials.