Characters

Create consistent characters that maintain their appearance across multiple image generations.

Need advanced techniques? See the Character Consistency Master Guide for identity locking, troubleshooting, multi-character scenes, Flash vs Pro comparison, and more.

Why Characters?

Without characters, generating the same character multiple times is challenging:

❌ Problem:
"Generate a girl with red hair" → Character A
"Generate a girl with red hair in a forest" → Different Character B
"Generate a girl with red hair at the beach" → Different Character C

With characters:

✅ Solution:
Create character "Luna" with detailed description + reference images
"Generate Luna in a forest" → Consistent Luna
"Generate Luna at the beach" → Same Luna
"Generate Luna flying a kite" → Same Luna

Creating a Character

Basic Creation

Create a character named "Captain Rex" - a robot explorer with:
- Bronze metallic body
- Glowing blue eyes
- Antenna ears
- Red scarf around neck
- Friendly, adventurous personality

Detailed Creation

For best results, include:

Element	Example
Name	"Luna"
Physical appearance	"Young girl, ~10 years old, silver hair in twin tails, purple eyes"
Clothing	"Star-patterned blue cloak, white dress, silver boots"
Accessories	"Wooden staff with glowing crystal, silver moon pendant"
Style notes	"Anime/fantasy style, soft lighting preferred"
What to avoid	"Realistic style, dark colors, scary expressions"

Character Components

Field	Purpose	Example
character_name	Unique identifier	"Luna"
base_prompt	Core description	"Young witch with silver hair..."
negative_prompt	What to avoid	"realistic, dark, scary"
system_instruction	Style guidance	"Anime fantasy illustration style"
reference_image_ids	Example images	[42, 43, 44]
preferred_aspect_ratio	Default ratio	"portrait"
tags	Organization	["fantasy", "main character"]
description	Human notes	"Main character for storybook project"

Adding Reference Images

Reference images dramatically improve consistency:

Create character, generate test image, refine until 2-3 good references

Recommended workflow:

1. Create character with detailed base_prompt
2. Generate a test image
3. If good, add it as a reference image
4. Repeat 2-3 times for best results

Generate Luna standing in a neutral pose, full body visible

[If result is good]
Add image #42 as a reference for character Luna

Generating with Characters

Single Character

Generate Luna reading a book by candlelight

What happens internally:

1. Load Luna's base_prompt and reference_image_ids from DB
2. Download reference images from R2 (up to 4 on Flash, 5 on Pro)
3. Build identity-locked prompt: "The character in Image 1 — keep the face, hair, and outfit EXACTLY the same. Character details: Young witch with silver hair... Scene: reading a book by candlelight"
4. Send to Gemini: text part first, then reference image parts (Google canonical order)
5. Return consistent Luna!

Tip: Upload 3-4 front-facing, well-lit reference images for best consistency. The system rejects images smaller than 512x512 pixels.

Scene Variations

Generate Luna exploring a magical library
Generate Luna brewing a potion in her workshop
Generate Luna flying on a broomstick over a moonlit city
Generate Luna having tea with forest animals

Additional Details

Add scene-specific details without changing the character:

Generate Luna at the beach
Additional details: Summer clothes variant, beach umbrella, sandcastle

Multi-Character Scenes

Generate 2-5 characters together:

Create character "Felix" - Luna's cat familiar, a black cat
with purple eyes and a small wizard hat

Generate Luna and Felix exploring a haunted mansion together

Multi-Character Tips

• Use landscape aspect ratio for multiple characters
• Describe interactions between characters
• Keep the scene simple - fewer elements = better consistency
• Characters should have distinct visual features

Generate Luna teaching magic to Felix in her study,
Luna demonstrating a spell while Felix watches attentively

Character Management

List Characters

Show me all my characters

Returns:

• Character names and thumbnails
• Usage statistics (times used)
• Tag filtering options

View Character Details

Show me the details of character Luna

Returns:

• Full description and prompts
• Reference images
• Usage history
• Settings

Update Character

Update Luna's description: Change her cloak from blue to purple

Delete Character

Delete character "Old Test Character"

Best Practices

1. Detailed Base Prompts

❌ "A girl with red hair"

✅ "Young woman, approximately 20 years old, long wavy auburn red hair reaching her mid-back, bright green eyes with gold flecks, light freckles across her nose and cheeks, warm smile, wearing a cream-colored knit sweater, modern casual style"

2. Good Reference Images

• Variety: Different angles, expressions, poses
• Consistency: Same character in all references
• Quality: Clear, well-lit images
• Quantity: 2-3 references is ideal

3. Clear Negative Prompts

Negative prompt: Different character, wrong hair color, wrong eye color,
inconsistent style, multiple characters unless specified

4. Consistent Style Instructions

System instruction: Anime illustration style, Studio Ghibli inspired,
soft lighting, detailed backgrounds, warm color palette

5. Test Before Committing

Generate 3-5 test images before adding references to ensure the base description produces consistent results.

Character Use Cases

Storytelling

Create characters for a story, generate consistent illustrations:

Characters: Luna (hero), Felix (sidekick), Shadow (villain)

Scene 1: Luna discovers a mysterious map
Scene 2: Luna and Felix begin their journey
Scene 3: Shadow appears to challenge them
Scene 4: Epic finale confrontation

Mascots

Create brand mascots for marketing:

Character: "Banana Bob" - Friendly banana mascot
Generate Banana Bob waving at customers
Generate Banana Bob on a product package
Generate Banana Bob in an advertisement

Game Assets

Create game character sprites:

Character: "Warrior Kira"
Generate Kira idle pose, front view
Generate Kira attack pose, side view
Generate Kira victory pose
Generate Kira defeat pose

API Details

Create Character

{
  "tool": "create_character",
  "params": {
    "character_name": "Luna",
    "base_prompt": "Young witch with silver hair...",
    "negative_prompt": "realistic, dark",
    "system_instruction": "Anime fantasy style",
    "preferred_aspect_ratio": "portrait",
    "tags": ["fantasy", "protagonist"]
  }
}

Generate with Character

{
  "tool": "generate_with_character",
  "params": {
    "character_name": "Luna",
    "scene_prompt": "exploring a magical forest",
    "additional_details": "Morning light, butterflies"
  }
}

Generate with Multiple Characters

{
  "tool": "generate_with_multiple_characters",
  "params": {
    "character_names": ["Luna", "Felix"],
    "scene_prompt": "having a picnic in a meadow",
    "aspect_ratio": "landscape"
  }
}

Next Steps

• Create product references →
• Set up style presets →
• View character MCP tools →