How to Automatically Generate Images with Bannerbear and Make (No Code)
Want to generate custom images on autopilot — no backend, no code? In this tutorial, you'll learn how to build an automated image generation workflow using Bannerbear and Make that runs on a schedule and requires zero manual effort. We'll walk through a real example: a Make scenario that pulls a fresh quote from the ZenQuotes API and automatically generates a polished, on-brand graphic using a Bannerbear template.
Here's what we cover:
✅ What you need to get started
✅ Designing a reusable image template in Bannerbear
✅ Creating a new scenario in Make
✅ Fetching live data with Make's HTTP module
✅ Connecting Bannerbear and mapping your data to template layers
✅ Running and testing your scenario end to end
Once it's set up, you can swap in any data source — Airtable, Slack, invoices, webhooks — and extend the workflow to automatically distribute images to social media, email, or messaging channels.
🔗 Resources:
• Bannerbear: https://www.bannerbear.com (https://www.bannerbear.com/)
• ZenQuotes API: https://zenquotes.io (https://zenquotes.io/)
• Make: https://www.make.com (https://www.make.com/)
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Video Transcription
[00:00:00] Want to get started with Bannerbear image generation? You've got a lot of options. You can trigger a generation run with forms, Airtable, or the API. But while these are great for generating on demand, they aren't ideal for ongoing automated tasks. For use cases involving multiple apps and a completely hands-free trigger, workflow automation platforms, like Make, are more helpful.
This way, you streamline the image generation process while integrating seamlessly with multiple apps. So how do you get started? Well, everything begins with a single image. Today, we're building an automated workflow that fetches a quote, transforms it into a designed graphic using a template, and sends it anywhere that you want, all without writing a single line of code.
This entire setup takes about 15 minutes and uses just
[00:01:00] three tools: Bannerbear to generate the graphics, Make to orchestrate the workflow, and a data source like Zenquotes to supply the quotes. Once it's running, you'll have quote graphics being produced on a schedule. No backend knowledge required, just point, click, and automate.
Here's what you'll need: a Zenquotes request URL, a Bannerbear template, and a Make account. We're using Zenquotes to grab a random quote, but once you see how this works, you can swap the data source for anything. Airtable rows, Slack messages, invoice values, the same workflow applies. We've got our data source, and now let's build the template.
Every template that you create in Bannerbear becomes an API. Feed it data, and it spits out unique images. Text images, shapes, QR codes, you
[00:02:00] decide what goes in. Log in and create a new project. You can start from scratch, but templates are there if you want to move faster. Pick one you like and add it
Now the fun part. Make it yours. Open the editor, change the background, swap the fonts, adjust the colors. When it feels right, save it. That's your template locked in And now we wire it all together in Make. Here is where the magic happens. We're building a scenario with two modules, one to fetch the quote and one to generate the image.
Set it on a schedule, and you've got templated graphics rolling out on autopilot, ready to go on social media, channels,
[00:03:00] storage, wherever. Log in to Make and create a new scenario You're now in the editor, and this is where you'll build the flow. Add a HTTP module with the Make a Request action. Choose No Authentication as authentication type
And insert the link to the Zenquotes API endpoint. This endpoint is free and public, so we won't need any additional params or authentication. Click Save. Run the scenario once to ensure Make is able to fetch a quote. You should be able to see it in the output section. Now, add a Bannerbear module with a Create an Image action
You may have to connect your Bannerbear account using the
[00:04:00] API key in your project setting menu. Once connected, select the correct template UID and set up modifications for the dynamic layers on your template To do this, you have to insert each layer's name and the dynamic data you want to map to. Each template layer being modified will be a separate item.
When you're done, click Save, and then run the module with the existing data Going back to Banner Bear Logs should reveal the generated image ready for use. There we go. Simple, beautiful, and unique. Just what we wanted This formula is simple. Take a template, add your data, lay it in automation, and you've got scaled content with minimal effort.
[00:05:00]
And that's just the start. From here, you can add conditional logic to generate different graphics based on data, connect to Slack or email to distribute automatically, or chain multiple templates together. The workflow you just built is a foundation. Once it's running, you'll see how quickly these small automations compound into real time savings
