AI Character Generator for Original Characters

Create an original character from a description or upload a visual reference. Define their appearance, outfit, personality, pose and art direction, generate several interpretations, then refine and reuse your favorite character across new scenes.

10M+ users
Founded in 2022
Commercial rights on paid plans
Try the Character Action

What is an AI character generator?

getimg.ai's AI Character Generator creates original character artwork from text prompts and visual references. Use it to design portraits, full-body characters, fantasy and sci-fi characters, outfit variations and recurring characters for stories, games, comics and other creative projects.

References provide one-off visual guidance for a single generation. Person Elements are saved once and reused, so the same character can return across multiple scenes and sessions.

The output is generated image artwork rather than a rigged 2D or 3D character, a game-ready model or an animation asset.

Two crowned skeletal characters in dark robes and gold armor on a white background.
Original characters Design your own cast — heroes, villains, OCs and side characters — rather than recreating existing ones.
A character, not an avatar A character is a fictional design. If you want a stylized picture of yourself for a profile, the AI Avatar Creator is the closer fit.
Concept art, not a production asset You get character artwork. Rigged models, skeletons, sprite sheets and engine-ready assets require additional production work.

How to create a character with AI

Use the Character Action for a guided starting point, or follow the Create image workflow below to develop and reuse your character.

1. Open Create image

Go to Create image and start in the prompt box. Leave Auto to select a model, or pick one manually, and set how many versions to generate at once.

2. Describe the character or attach a reference

Write the role, appearance, outfit and art direction — or attach up to 10 reference images to guide the face, the outfit, the pose or the setting.

3. Generate several interpretations

A batch from one prompt shows you different readings of the same idea. Compare silhouette, outfit and expression before committing to one.

4. Refine, then save the character

Keep editing the version you like by prompt, then save it as a Person Element so the character can come back in later images.

Mara with short curls, round glasses, green coat and leather satchel outside a blue bookshopThe same Mara in a rust-red coat on an outdoor railway platform

Text to Image

Create an original AI character from a text prompt

Start with the role, then build outward: appearance, silhouette, outfit, defining accessories, personality, pose, art style and environment. The more of those you name, the more the result reads as a designed character rather than a generic figure.

A prompt that works usually follows this order: character role + appearance + silhouette + outfit + defining accessories + personality or expression + pose + art style + environment.

Face, hair and age Facial features, hair length and color, apparent age, and the impression you want read first.
Body and silhouette Build, height and the shape the character makes at a distance. Silhouette is what makes a design recognizable.
Outfit One coherent outfit described in full beats a list of loose garments.
Curly-haired cartographer with glasses, a green coat and leather map case holding a map.

Image Editing

Turn a photo into AI character art

Attach a photo and describe the character you want it turned into. The same workflow covers selfie to character, photo to fantasy character, photo to anime character, and portrait to game-character concept.

Name what should carry over — hair, glasses, build, a particular jacket — and what should change. Generate several versions and compare how far each one pushes the stylization.

The source photo guides identity and appearance, but stronger stylization can change smaller facial, hair or clothing details. Your original image is never overwritten: every version is generated as a new image.

Selfie to character Turn a portrait into a fantasy hero, an anime character, a superhero-style figure or a sci-fi design.
Control how far it goes Light stylization can retain more likeness. Stronger stylization can change facial, hair and clothing details.
Keep what matters Name the two or three features that must survive the transformation instead of hoping they carry over.
Brown-haired man in a white open-collar shirt against a dark studio background.Comic-style brown-haired man in a white shirt standing on a sunny city street.

Elements

Keep the same character across multiple images

Turn an approved character into a reusable Person Element, then reference it across new scenes, outfits and compositions without rebuilding the character from scratch. Upload 1–20 reference images, choose Person, name the Element and call it into later image prompts with @CharacterName.

@Mara smiling. @Mara angry, close-up portrait. @Mara wearing winter clothing. @Mara running through a train station. Same character, four different images.

Elements help preserve identity and recognizable features, while smaller details, clothing and proportions can still vary between generations. A plain text prompt has no memory of a character between generations — that is the gap an Element closes.

Person Element Saved once from 1–20 images, then reusable in later image prompts with @CharacterName. Elements do not work for video.
References vs Elements A reference is one-off guidance for a single generation. An Element is a saved concept you reuse across sessions.
Combine several references Attach more than one image and address them directly: “the character from image 1 wearing the outfit from image 2”.
Curly-haired woman with glasses and a green coat in a library, town square and mountain pass.

References vs Elements: choose how to guide the character

Reference images

Use references for one-off guidance: a face, outfit, pose, style, object or scene. Attach the images and explain which part of each image matters.

Character from image 1 wearing the outfit from image 2, in the pose from image 3. Keep the face and hair from image 1; use only the clothing from image 2.

Up to 10 reference images can guide one generation. See the image references guide.

Create character sheets and design variations

Once the character is settled, everything else becomes a variation. Generate the same character in new clothing, new moods and new poses, then collect the strongest results into a character reference sheet for writers, comics, games or visual novels.

Front, side and back views generated separately are independent images, not orthographic views of one shared 3D model. That makes them useful as a design or reference sheet, but not as a production turnaround.

Character sheet of a curly-haired woman with glasses in two outfits and three facial expressions.
Outfit variations Everyday, formal, seasonal, armored, casual. Same character, different wardrobe.
Expression studies Neutral, smiling, angry, exhausted, surprised. The set a comic or visual novel needs.
Pose studies Standing, walking, sitting, fighting, holding an object, mid-action.
Portrait and full body A close-up portrait and a full-body version of the same design, generated from the same Element.
Character reference sheet Collect the strongest versions into one sheet you can hand to a collaborator.
Clean backgrounds Remove the background when the character needs to sit on its own in a layout.

AI character styles for concept art and illustration

Choose an art direction for the project: photorealistic, anime, comic, fantasy, sci-fi, cartoon, a 3D-rendered look, game concept art, dark fantasy, children's illustration or chibi. A 3D-rendered look remains flat image artwork, not a model.

Six portraits of a curly-haired woman with glasses in photographic, drawn and rendered styles.
Photorealistic Realistic lighting, skin and fabric — closest to a photograph of a person who does not exist.
Anime and manga Cel shading, clean linework and stylized proportions.
Comic and graphic novel Bold inking, dramatic shadows and high-contrast color.
Fantasy and dark fantasy Armor, robes, weathered materials and painterly concept-art rendering.
Sci-fi and cyberpunk Neon lighting, tech detailing, futuristic streetwear and hard-surface design.
Cartoon, 3D-rendered and chibi Cartoon, children's illustration and chibi use simplified shapes and expressive proportions. A 3D-rendered look adds sculpted surfaces and lighting.

Build a recurring cast for stories, comics and visual novels

Create a Person Element for each cast member and a Style Element for the project's art direction. Reuse them in image prompts for new scenes. Compare faces, costumes and accessories against approved references; comics and visual novels still need continuity review, layout, lettering and other production work.

A cartographer, white-bearded scholar and braided-haired mechanic in a library and at a train platform.
Comics and webcomics Use saved character references to guide a recurring cast across panels, scenes and chapters.
Visual novels Portraits and expression sets for every character in the script.
Tabletop and RPG characters Party portraits, NPCs and villains for a campaign.
Novels and serial fiction Character references for covers, launch art and social content.
Game character concepts Concept art and design exploration ahead of production.
Brand mascots A recurring character for campaigns, social content and product pages.

Use character artwork as a first frame for AI video

The image shown here is still character artwork, not an animation demo. Use an approved character image as the first frame in Image to Video, then describe a camera move, walk, turn or gesture to generate a video clip.

Video generation can change small character details between frames, and the result is a rendered video clip rather than a rigged animation asset. Elements work for images only; use an approved generated image, not an Element, as the video reference.

Mara between library shelves in cool window light and warm reading-lamp light
Image to Video Start from the approved character image and describe the motion or the shot.
Short cinematic shots Camera moves, atmosphere and simple action, generated from a single frame.
What it is not A rendered clip, not a rig, a skeleton or a sprite sheet you can drive in a game engine.

Ready to design your character?

Start from a description or a photo, generate a few interpretations, then save the one you want to keep.

Start creating

AI character generator: frequently asked questions

Related tools and workflows

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