A Day of the Dead AI filter in 2026 usually means one of two things: the Catrina look, where your selfie comes back with calavera face paint and a marigold crown, or the TikTok video captioned "Cuando el cielo trae de vuelta un recuerdo", where a star falls onto a marigold path and someone you lost walks out of its light. The first one is everywhere: Snapchat has a free lens, and a handful of sites sell it as a photo or a short clip. The second lives inside CapCut templates opened from TikTok posts, or comes from one photo on a photo-to-video page. Below is how to make each one, with the prompts we ran and what each route costs, checked on October 23, 2026.
Want the Catrina face paint on your selfie? Free and live: Snapchat's skull-face lens. As a still portrait: paste one of the two prompts below into any image tool that takes your photo. As a 10-second makeup video: EffectFarm's Catrina Makeup AI, $4.99 a video.
Want the video where a loved one walks home out of the starlight? On TikTok it is a CapCut template you open from a creator's post. From one photo in your browser, the Day of the Dead AI video on Kavel makes the 12-second vertical clip for $9.99, one payment.
When to post: families set up the ofrenda in the last days of October. In most of Mexico, November 1 is for children who died and November 2 for adults.
What the Day of the Dead AI filter is in 2026
Choose the Catrina makeup for your own selfie, or the stars-and-marigold video for someone you miss.
| Catrina makeup filter | "Stars bring them back" video | |
|---|---|---|
| What you put in | Your own selfie | One photo of someone who has died |
| What comes back | Your face with calavera paint, marigolds, a lace shawl or a top hat | A clip: a star falls on the marigold path, the light becomes them, they walk toward you |
| Format | Live camera lens, still portrait, or a short makeup video | 9:16 vertical video, about 10 to 15 seconds |
| Where people make it | Snapchat, image generators, single-effect sites | CapCut templates linked from TikTok, or a photo-to-video tool |
| Caption you will see | #catrina #diademuertos | "Cuando el cielo trae de vuelta un recuerdo" |
The Catrina look is named after La Calavera Catrina, José Guadalupe Posada's etching of an elegantly dressed skeleton.
Catrina makeup: three ways to get the Day of the Dead AI filter look
1. Live on your phone, free: the Snapchat lens
Snapchat's own lens paints a skull face over your camera in real time. Open its lens page on snapchat.com on your phone or scan its Snapcode, and record a snap or a video inside Snapchat. It is a face overlay, so the background and your clothes stay as they are.
2. As a short makeup video: a single-effect site
EffectFarm's Catrina Makeup AI (effectfarm.com) takes one photo and returns a 10-second, 720p, 9:16 clip in which the face paint and a marigold crown appear on you. Its page, read on October 23, lists $4.99 for a single video, no sign-up to upload, and credit packs from which a video works out to as little as $2.40. CapCut also has a "Day of the Dead Ai" template (9:16, 2.38K uses when we looked) if you would rather edit on your phone.
3. As a portrait you control: paste a prompt with your photo
Use an image editor that takes your photo as a reference, such as the AI image generator on Kavel, which is free to start with no account and no card. We ran both prompts on October 23 with GPT Image 2, each on a phone selfie of a made-up person; the result sits next to the photo it started from.
Catrina prompt (women):
Turn the person in this photo into a Dia de Muertos Catrina portrait. Keep her face shape, eyes, nose, lips, hair and skin tone exactly as in the photo so she is clearly the same person. Paint a white calavera base over her face with black around the eyes, a small black tip on the nose, stitched-line lips and fine floral details on the cheeks and forehead. Add a crown of orange marigolds and deep red roses, a black lace shawl over her shoulders, and warm candlelight from an ofrenda behind her with papel picado hanging above. Photorealistic portrait, vertical 4:5, soft evening light.
Catrín prompt (men):
Turn the person in this photo into a Dia de Muertos Catrin portrait. Keep his face shape, eyes, nose, beard, glasses and skin tone exactly as in the photo so he is clearly the same person. Paint a white calavera base over his face with black around the eyes, a small black tip on the nose, stitched-line lips and thin swirling details on the forehead. Dress him in a black tailcoat with a marigold boutonniere, a white shirt with a black bow tie and a black top hat with an orange flower band. Behind him, a cemetery at night lined with candles and marigold petals. Photorealistic portrait, vertical 4:5, warm candlelight.
What you can change safely: the crown flowers, the shawl or the tailcoat, and the background (ofrenda, cemetery, a street with papel picado). Keep the sentence that lists the face, eyes, skin tone and hair; it is what keeps the result looking like you. Name glasses or a beard if you have them; both stayed in our Catrín run. The same keep-the-face sentence is what makes our Halloween AI trend prompts work, and the AI Halloween costume generator does full costumes from one photo.
An ofrenda (altar) prompt
If you want the altar itself rather than a portrait, for example with a photo of your own family member on it, this one starts from that photo. We did not run this one for the article; adjust the offerings to what your family actually puts out.
Build a Dia de Muertos ofrenda around the framed photo I uploaded, keeping the person in the photo exactly as they are. Three tiers covered in white and purple cloth, orange marigolds and their petals on the steps, tall white candles, pan de muerto, sugar skulls with colored icing, a glass of water, papel picado in orange, pink and purple hanging above, and warm candlelight in a dark room. Photorealistic, vertical 4:5.
The Day of the Dead AI video trend: how the CapCut template works
This is the one spreading on TikTok in Mexico this October. Most of the posts we watched follow the same shape: night sky, a falling star, a marigold path to a candlelit altar, and a grandparent or parent stepping out of a glow toward the camera, under the caption "Con el brillo de las estrellas, regresan los seres que tanto extrañamos… Cuando el cielo trae de vuelta un recuerdo". On October 21 we searched TikTok for that caption, its second line and six related tags: 84 posts from 54 accounts used it, the earliest on October 14, with 856,678 plays between them and 362,400 on the most-played one.
How to make it the TikTok way
- Search TikTok for "plantilla dia de muertos" or the caption, and open a post marked with the CapCut link above the caption (creators in the CapCut Pioneer program post them with #capcutpioneer).
- Tap the CapCut link. It opens the template in the CapCut app, where you sign in.
- Pick the photo of the person you miss and let the template build the clip.
- Export and post it back to TikTok, usually with their name and the caption.
Where the template gets stuck
The clips carry the "CapCut AI" mark in the corner, as you can see on the post above, so it shows on whatever you send to the family. Many posts are tutorials first, so you watch a how-to before you find the template link. Different creators publish different versions, and each one gives you exactly the scene in its template.
Making the Day of the Dead AI video from one photo
For a browser version, upload one photo to the Day of the Dead AI video on Kavel and you get the same moment: the star lands on the marigold path by the ofrenda, the light settles, and they walk out of it toward you.
- Pick a scene. Five are on the page: the marigold path to the ofrenda, a cemetery, a village street and more. Tap one to watch it.
- Add their photo. A phone photo of an old print on the fridge works. A full-body photo keeps their clothes head to toe; head and shoulders is enough, and the rest of the outfit is filled in.
- Press Generate. In a few minutes you get a 12-second vertical clip with soft guitar under it and no text burned in, so you add their name and the caption yourself when you post.
The clip is $9.99 for that one video, one payment, no subscription; if you plan to make several, the pricing page has packs and plans. The free credits you get at sign-up do not cover this one. You choose the photo and the scene before you pay, so the clip you buy is the one you meant to make.
More one-photo memorial and trend clips are on the AI video page. If you would rather they wait for you at the top of a stairway of light, that is the heavenly reunion AI video. If you want them in a still family photo with you, use add a deceased loved one to a photo.
Which Day of the Dead AI filter should you use
Choose by the result you want; each row names the tool that fits that job, ours or not.
| You want | Use | Cost (read October 23, 2026) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catrina face paint, live, to snap with friends | Snapchat skull-face lens | Free in Snapchat | Real-time overlay on your camera |
| A Catrina portrait of you to post | An image tool plus the prompt above (for example Kavel) | Free to start on Kavel | A still portrait, scene of your choice |
| A Catrina makeup transformation video | EffectFarm Catrina Makeup AI | $4.99 a video | 10 s, 720p, 9:16 |
| The "stars bring them back" video, inside TikTok | A CapCut template from a creator's post | CapCut account; cost depends on the template and your CapCut plan | Template scene, CapCut AI mark |
| The "stars bring them back" video from one photo | Kavel Day of the Dead AI video | $9.99, one payment | 12 s, 9:16, five scenes, no burned-in text |
| The same walk home for a pet | Pet memorial AI video | Price on the Generate button | Your dog or cat on the marigold path |
When to post your Day of the Dead AI video
- October 27: many families remember pets that have died, and the pet memorial AI video follows the same marigold path for a dog or cat.
- November 1: in most of Mexico, Día de los Angelitos, for children who have died.
- November 2: in most of Mexico, the day for adults. This is the day most clips go up, so posting before it puts yours in the feed with everyone else's.
- Ask the family first. A clip of a grandmother walking home lands very differently with her children than with strangers. Send it to them before you post it.
- Use a clear photo. For the video, a face that looks like them matters more than resolution. A phone photo of an old print is fine.
Day of the Dead AI filter FAQ
How do I make an AI video of someone who has passed away?
Upload one clear photo of them to a photo-to-video page and pick the scene. On the Day of the Dead AI video on Kavel that is a star falling on the marigold path and them walking out of the light toward you: 12 seconds, vertical, $9.99 for the one clip. The route without paying Kavel is a CapCut template opened from a TikTok post; you need a CapCut account, what it costs depends on the template and your CapCut plan, and the clip carries the CapCut AI mark.
Can I add a deceased loved one to a photo using AI?
Yes, as a still. Add a deceased loved one to a photo takes a recent picture and an old photo of them and gives back one image with them in it, same room, same light. For a moving clip of them coming home, use the Day of the Dead AI video instead.
Can AI make a video of a person from one photo?
Yes. A single photo where the face is clear is enough for the video above; a full-body photo also keeps their clothes, and a phone photo of an old print works.
Is there a free Day of the Dead AI filter?
Yes. Snapchat's skull-face lens is free inside Snapchat and paints the skull face over your camera live. For a Catrina portrait, the prompts above work in any image editor that takes your photo, and Kavel's image generator is free to start.
What is the TikTok Day of the Dead AI trend called?
Most posts use the caption "Cuando el cielo trae de vuelta un recuerdo" (when the sky brings back a memory), sometimes "Con el brillo de las estrellas, regresan los seres que tanto extrañamos". In English it gets called "stars bring back memories". The makeup one is usually tagged Catrina.
What are Mexican Día de Muertos masks used for?
Skull masks and calavera face paint are worn in Día de Muertos parades and gatherings to bring the dead into the celebration, and La Catrina is the best-known face of it. The Catrina filter recreates that face paint on your photo instead of on your skin.
¿Cómo hacer un video de Día de Muertos con IA?
Sube una foto de la persona que extrañas al video de Día de Muertos en Kavel, elige la escena (el camino de cempasúchil, el panteón o la calle del pueblo) y pulsa Generate. En unos minutos tienes un video vertical de 12 segundos donde una estrella cae en el camino y esa persona camina hacia ti desde la luz, listo para ponerle su nombre y publicarlo antes del 2 de noviembre.
