One cat, four heads
A cat or dog head bop from one pet photo
Four meme cats are what spread this wave, so a pet is the classic pick. Dogs and other pets fill the row the same way.
Head Bop AI Trend
Turn one photo of your cat, your dog or yourself into a head bop animation: a row of four cut-out heads that bop together on a black stage.
- One click · no prompt
- Every bop on the beat
- No cut-outs, no keyframes
Example · Four-head row
PNG / JPG / WebP · up to 10 MB · at least 512px on the short side
0/1 photos
One photo of one pet or one person, head and shoulders, facing the camera. That face becomes every head in the row, so keep it sharp and uncovered.
Video settings
No prompt needed. Pet photos are welcome; for people, only upload yourself or someone who agreed to be featured. No celebrity photos or film stills.
What is the head bop trend?
The head bop trend is a TikTok edit in which a row of cut-out photo heads, lined up from smallest to biggest on a black stage, bops together on the beat of a fast phonk sound. People also call it a head bop edit, headbop or head bop animation, and the four meme cats shown here are the version most people copy.
The joke is a family photo that bops: related things stand in a row from small to big, like one family of fighter jets or a line of F1 cars, and viewers name each member in the comments. Four meme cats turned it into a pet joke anyone can copy.
It spread because it is quick to remake: editing-app templates turned the row into slots to fill, and the heavy half-time phonk makes every nod land.
Where did the head bop trend start?
Hand-made headbop animations of anime, football and game characters start appearing on TikTok under #headbopanimation.
A row of fighter jets from one family, smallest to biggest, bops to a new fast phonk sound and starts the current wave. The post has since passed 2 million views.
F1 cars line up on the same sound for close to a million views, and game squads soon follow.
Four meme cats take over the row in an editing-app template, the version people copy most: its launch post has 1.6 million views and the template more than 430,000 uses.
Sources: TikTok post dates, view counts and hashtag pages, and the template's public use count, read on October 24, 2026.
What happens in the head bop edit?
The 12-second template clip runs in three parts, and the heads keep bopping through all of them.
10:00–0:05Four heads bop as the camera creeps in
Sticker-edged heads stand from small on the left to big on the right, washed out to grey with a few red sparks drifting by. Each one bops on the beat while the camera creeps closer, until the biggest head slides out of frame.
20:05–0:06A dip to black
Halfway through, the picture slides sideways and drops to black for a moment.
30:06–0:11The row comes back mirrored
The lineup returns flipped with the biggest head on the left, bops through a second push-in and fades out.
Cat head bop, dog head bop or a row of you
Cats lead the trend, but other pets and people fill the row too.
One selfie, four heads
A head bop where every head is you
A row of four of you makes a group-chat joke or a birthday post. Give each head a role in the caption, from Monday you to Friday you, and let viewers do the naming.
A head bop maker that skips the cut-outs and keyframes
Head bop tutorials and animation apps have you cut out every head, stack the layers and keyframe each bop by hand. Here you start from one everyday photo, right in the browser.
| Step | By hand in an editing app | Head Bop AI |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting out | Trace each head's edge | One everyday photo, no cut-out |
| Lining up | Copy and resize four layers | Four sizes, small to big, built in |
| Bopping | Keyframe every nod to the beat | Every nod already animated |
| Camera | Animate the push-in and the flip | Push-in, dip and mirror included |
How do you do the head bop trend?
How to make a head bop animation: pick one photo, generate, post. The checklist shows which photos hold up at all four sizes.
Photo 1Pet or you
Becomes every head in the row, from the smallest to the biggest, before and after the mirror flip.
- Facing the camera: every head in the row looks straight out.
- Head, neck and shoulders in frame, ears not cropped.
Photos that hold up at four sizes
Works well
A cat or dog sitting up and looking at you
You, chest up, looking into the lens
Leaves gaps
Side profile or a look away
Two pets in one photo
A small subject far from the camera
Line it up, let it bop
Add the photo
Drop in one photo of your pet or yourself.
Generate
Press Generate. The button shows the exact credits before you start.
Download and post
Save the MP4 and post it straight to TikTok, Reels or Shorts.
Head Bop AI: what goes in, what comes out
Head Bop AI: what goes in, what comes out
- Photo
- 1 photo: Pet or you
- Photo files
- PNG / JPG / WebP, up to 10 MB, short side at least 512 px
- Length
- 12 seconds, the template's full length
- Frame
- 4:3, as in the template
- Resolution
- 720p or 1080p; 720p by default
- Sound
- The template's phonk sound, kept in your video
- File
- MP4
- Credits
- 443 credits at 720p, 664 credits at 1080p
- If it fails
- Credits go back to your balance automatically
- Visibility
- Free-plan results are public; paid plans can keep them private
More trending AI video effects
Every template works the same way: add your photos, press Generate and get a shareable video without writing a prompt.
View all effectsStill curious about the head bop trend?
What song is used in the head bop trend?+
This wave runs on a fast phonk mix posted as an original sound on TikTok and reused across the jet, F1 and cat versions; the track behind it hasn't been named. Your video keeps that sound, and it can't be swapped. Other head bop edits often use Brazilian funk instead.
Is there a head bop animation prompt I need to write?+
No. The instruction that swaps every head and keeps the beat, the push-in and the mirror is built into the template, so there is no prompt box. You only add the photo.
Head bop, headbop, head bob or headpop: what's the difference?+
None for this edit. Head bop and headbop are the tags the trend runs under, headpop is a rarer spelling of the same thing, and head bob is the same nodding move spelled another way.
Is Head Bop AI free?+
No, each video costs credits. The price depends on the resolution you pick, and the Generate button shows it before you start. New accounts get 10 credits at sign-up.
Can I get my head bop as a GIF?+
No, the download is an MP4. Feeds loop short videos on their own, and you can turn the MP4 into a GIF afterwards with any converter if you need one.
Can I put my whole family in one head bop row?+
No. This template takes one photo, and that pet or person fills all four heads; a row of different family members would need a photo per head, which it doesn't take.
Why does one of the heads still look like a cat?+
The template's heads are cut-out cats, and the small ones at the end of the row leave little room, so a side-on, far-away or partly covered photo can leave cat ears or whiskers behind. A front-facing head-and-shoulders photo like the ones in the checklist fixes most of it; results still vary from run to run.
Can I make it vertical or longer?+
No. Every head bop keeps the template's 12-second length and 4:3 frame.
Head Bop AI
Make your head bop animation from one photo
Pick one photo of your pet or yourself and get a head bop row ready to post.