The Year of the Horse: building momentum with AI

In celebration of the Chinese New Year, we’re drawing inspiration from the Chinese zodiac and the Year of the Horse. The Horse is associated with momentum and movement, and the Chinese New Year traditionally signals a shift toward action and opportunity. 

A similar shift is happening in creative workflows right now. AI’s speed is already here, and the real advantage isn’t just faster generation — it’s learning how to use AI more efficiently to keep creative work moving.

Here are four practical ways to use AI to move faster.

1. Explore ideas fully without commitment

AI shortens the gap between having an idea and seeing if it actually works. You can quickly try different directions, styles, and formats without overthinking or overinvesting upfront. Instead of spending days building something only to abandon it later, you can test ideas early and move on. 

For example, you might generate a few visual styles, pair one with a short video draft and a rough voice track, and get a clear sense of the direction in a single session. This leads to fewer dead ends, clearer decisions, and a steadier pace.

2. Break creative slumps 

When a creative block slows things down, AI helps by giving you something to build on instead of a blank page. A few visual or directional variations are often enough to change your angle and get you moving again. 

This works whether you’re creating on your own or with a team. The goal is to keep things moving, not to land on the perfect idea.

3. Keep more work in-house

Outsourcing adds extra steps — briefs, feedback, and waiting on availability. Using AI image, video, and voice tools in-house lets you prototype and iterate without those delays.

For professional teams, this might mean mocking up a campaign or concept internally before involving external partners, making feedback faster and more focused. For individual creators, it can simply mean not having to rely on outside help to bring an idea to life.

4. Maintain the creative pace between sessions 

Progress often gets lost between sessions. AI helps by quickly creating placeholder visuals, rough video cuts, or temporary voice tracks, so you’re not starting from scratch each time.

Coming back to a project with something already on the page makes it easier to pick up where you left off. Instead of spending time reorienting, you can make adjustments and keep the work moving forward.

Build creative momentum with Artlist 

By bringing AI image generator, video, and voiceover generation into one place, Artlist’s all-in-one AI platform removes much of the friction from the creative process. You can quickly visualize ideas, test multiple versions, rework existing videos for new formats, and respond faster to trends or opportunities. What used to take large crews, long timelines, or outside production can now be done in-house, often in minutes.

Artlist puts these tools into one easy-to-use subscription, with support there when you need it. That makes it possible for creators to take on bigger ideas without bringing in extra specialists, while keeping production in-house and moving faster from concept to execution. In the Year of the Horse, that kind of steady momentum is what turns opportunity into real progress.

Chinese New Year brings with it a rich visual language and symbolism, closely aligned with what the Year of the Horse represents. With Artlist’s AI tools, it’s easy to explore these ideas through experimentation and iteration. Below are a few themes and creative starting points to help spark momentum.

Resetting energy

The Lunar New Year is traditionally a moment to reset and clear out what’s old to make space for what’s next. Visually, this idea often shows up as thresholds: doors opening, light entering a space, or the first signs of morning. It’s less about dramatic change and more about creating a clean starting point. 

It’s especially effective for intros, transitions, or moments where you want to slow things down before moving forward.

Prompt: “A closed door slowly opening to soft morning light. The camera holds steady as light spills into an empty, quiet room. Dust particles visible in the air, calm and minimal motion.”

Red and gold

Red and gold are central to Chinese New Year symbolism, often associated with good fortune, energy, and optimism. Rather than using them as decoration, they can work more subtly as a mood through light, movement, and texture.

A practical way to incorporate them is to let red carry the frame, while gold appears briefly as light or detail. This keeps the visual modern and restrained, while still clearly rooted in tradition.

Prompt: “Red fabric mid-flow in the wind, small gold flecks reflecting soft, warm light. Clean and minimal.”

Collective forward movement

In the Year of the Horse, collective energy comes into focus, symbolizing strength, confidence, and steady progress. Visually, this theme works best when movement feels unified rather than chaotic — not about speed, but about many elements moving forward with shared purpose.

Prompt: “A photo-realistic shot of wild horses galloping together across open terrain, captured in natural daylight. Accurate anatomy and lifelike motion, dust rising from the ground, wind in their manes. Smooth side-tracking camera movement, neutral color tones, realistic texture and depth.”