diff --git a/graphql/documents/mutations/studio.graphql b/graphql/documents/mutations/studio.graphql
index d0032c8e2..19ece5bb7 100644
--- a/graphql/documents/mutations/studio.graphql
+++ b/graphql/documents/mutations/studio.graphql
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 mutation StudioCreate(
   $name: String!,
   $url: String,
-  $image: String!) {
+  $image: String) {
 
   studioCreate(input: { name: $name, url: $url, image: $image }) {
     ...StudioData
diff --git a/graphql/schema/types/studio.graphql b/graphql/schema/types/studio.graphql
index bda41b914..fc6579794 100644
--- a/graphql/schema/types/studio.graphql
+++ b/graphql/schema/types/studio.graphql
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ input StudioCreateInput {
   name: String!
   url: String
   """This should be base64 encoded"""
-  image: String!
+  image: String
 }
 
 input StudioUpdateInput {
diff --git a/pkg/api/resolver_mutation_studio.go b/pkg/api/resolver_mutation_studio.go
index c79622448..26a26044d 100644
--- a/pkg/api/resolver_mutation_studio.go
+++ b/pkg/api/resolver_mutation_studio.go
@@ -12,8 +12,18 @@ import (
 )
 
 func (r *mutationResolver) StudioCreate(ctx context.Context, input models.StudioCreateInput) (*models.Studio, error) {
+	// generate checksum from studio name rather than image
+	checksum := utils.MD5FromString(input.Name)
+
+	var imageData []byte
+	var err error
+
+	if input.Image == nil {
+		input.Image = &models.DefaultStudioImage
+	}
+
 	// Process the base 64 encoded image string
-	checksum, imageData, err := utils.ProcessBase64Image(input.Image)
+	_, imageData, err = utils.ProcessBase64Image(*input.Image)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/models/generated_exec.go b/pkg/models/generated_exec.go
index 19254cb2c..56a4abecc 100644
--- a/pkg/models/generated_exec.go
+++ b/pkg/models/generated_exec.go
@@ -2235,7 +2235,7 @@ input StudioCreateInput {
   name: String!
   url: String
   """This should be base64 encoded"""
-  image: String!
+  image: String
 }
 
 input StudioUpdateInput {
@@ -8699,7 +8699,7 @@ func (ec *executionContext) unmarshalInputStudioCreateInput(ctx context.Context,
 			}
 		case "image":
 			var err error
-			it.Image, err = ec.unmarshalNString2string(ctx, v)
+			it.Image, err = ec.unmarshalOString2ᚖstring(ctx, v)
 			if err != nil {
 				return it, err
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/models/generated_models.go b/pkg/models/generated_models.go
index 311a8a843..49b7b5d75 100644
--- a/pkg/models/generated_models.go
+++ b/pkg/models/generated_models.go
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ type StudioCreateInput struct {
 	Name string  `json:"name"`
 	URL  *string `json:"url"`
 	// This should be base64 encoded
-	Image string `json:"image"`
+	Image *string `json:"image"`
 }
 
 type StudioDestroyInput struct {
diff --git a/pkg/models/model_studio.go b/pkg/models/model_studio.go
index 2c545bd3d..51ec69ba0 100644
--- a/pkg/models/model_studio.go
+++ b/pkg/models/model_studio.go
@@ -13,3 +13,5 @@ type Studio struct {
 	CreatedAt SQLiteTimestamp `db:"created_at" json:"created_at"`
 	UpdatedAt SQLiteTimestamp `db:"updated_at" json:"updated_at"`
 }
+
+var DefaultStudioImage string = "data:image/png;base64,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"
diff --git a/ui/v2/src/core/generated-graphql.tsx b/ui/v2/src/core/generated-graphql.tsx
index 57ee5ba2d..9ee97f597 100644
--- a/ui/v2/src/core/generated-graphql.tsx
+++ b/ui/v2/src/core/generated-graphql.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 /* tslint:disable */
 /* eslint-disable */
-// Generated in 2019-08-20T18:32:35+10:00
+// Generated in 2019-08-21T15:05:29+10:00
 export type Maybe<T> = T | undefined;
 
 export interface SceneFilterType {
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ export interface StudioCreateInput {
 
   url?: Maybe<string>;
   /** This should be base64 encoded */
-  image: string;
+  image?: Maybe<string>;
 }
 
 export interface StudioUpdateInput {
@@ -411,7 +411,7 @@ export type SceneUpdateSceneUpdate = SceneDataFragment;
 export type StudioCreateVariables = {
   name: string;
   url?: Maybe<string>;
-  image: string;
+  image?: Maybe<string>;
 };
 
 export type StudioCreateMutation = {
@@ -1819,7 +1819,7 @@ export function useSceneUpdate(
   >(SceneUpdateDocument, baseOptions);
 }
 export const StudioCreateDocument = gql`
-  mutation StudioCreate($name: String!, $url: String, $image: String!) {
+  mutation StudioCreate($name: String!, $url: String, $image: String) {
     studioCreate(input: { name: $name, url: $url, image: $image }) {
       ...StudioData
     }