CRITICALFailure Reference

Google Veo Hand & Anatomy Artifact — Pre-Generation Risk Reference

Technical Classification

Anatomical Topology & Coherence Failure

Google Veo represents a generational improvement on hand rendering vs. earlier models, but anatomical topology failures still occur on close-up shots and rapid hand motion. The failure manifests as: supernumerary fingers (6+), fingers fusing together, impossible knuckle articulation, or thumb-finger interpenetration. Veo's support process is structured and well-documented; cases with frame-level evidence consistently approve.

How to identify this failure

  • 6+ fingers visible on a hand
  • Fingers fused into a single mass
  • Knuckle bending in physically impossible direction
  • Thumb penetrating palm geometry
  • Hand morphing between frames during motion

Real generation examples

Prompt used

"Close-up of hands typing on a laptop keyboard, soft lighting"

Failure observed @ 0:02

Right hand shows 6 fingers at 0:02; finger geometry morphs through 0:03-0:05

Prompt used

"Person holding a coffee cup, gentle motion"

Failure observed @ 0:01

Thumb interpenetrates cup at 0:01, fingers fuse at 0:04

Documentation strength

If you need to escalate

VERY HIGH — Google's support process recognises anatomical topology failures as a critical-tier defect with strong support-escalation precedent.

AVA is a pre-purchase prevention tool, not a post-purchase recovery tool. Platforms generally do not guarantee credit refunds for output-quality failures; goodwill credits are at each platform's discretion. The strength rating reflects how well-formed your support ticket can be, not a promised outcome.

Prevention + documentation steps

  1. 01

    Score your prompt before you generate

    Run your prompt through AVA's pre-flight scoring against the Anatomical Topology & Coherence Failure pattern. Green light = generate. Yellow/red = rewrite using the suggested fix before you commit credits.

  2. 02

    Capture Generation ID + timestamp if it failed anyway

    Find the Generation ID in the URL or share link. Note the exact time when the Anatomical Topology & Coherence Failure first appears (e.g. "failure first visible at 1.2s"). Timestamped evidence is significantly stronger than a general complaint.

  3. 03

    Use the correct technical term in your support ticket

    Describe this failure as "Anatomical Topology & Coherence Failure". This term maps to a recognised internal workflow in the support system and routes the ticket to the right team.

  4. 04

    Submit via the correct support channel

    Runway has no direct email intake. Pro+ plan: open the in-app AI Assistant (help widget bottom-right of app.runwayml.com), describe the failure with the technical term, attach evidence. Free/Standard plan: human support isn't available — your channel is Discord #community-help with @On Call - Moderators.

Frequently asked questions

Will Google Veo refund credits for hand artifacts?

Yes. Cite "Anatomical Topology Failure", attach a PDF audit report with annotated frames, include the Generation ID. Google's structured support process treats this as a critical-tier defect.

Why does Veo still produce hand artifacts?

Hands have high articulation complexity. Despite Veo's training improvements, the per-frame denoising process produces non-manifold mesh topology in cases where the model has insufficient signal — close-ups, multi-finger contact, and motion blur all amplify the failure rate.

Which Veo prompts have highest hand-failure risk?

Close-up hand shots, hands-on-objects, multi-hand scenes, rapid finger motion. AVA's pre-flight check flags these patterns.

Score your prompt

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Related failures across models

If you’re seeing this failure, you may also encounter these on other models:

Pick a different tool for Veo failures

Some prompt shapes will keep failing on Veo. Routing those shots to a different vendor is the cheapest fix.