Keep the same character in every shot

If you make a series of pictures with the same person, you have probably seen the problem. The hair changes, the jacket changes, and by the third picture it looks like someone else. Keeping a character steady is one of the hardest parts of making AI pictures. Here is how Create helps, and where it still falls short.

Be honest about the goal

The goal is a close match, not a perfect copy. Faces, hair, clothes and small details can drift from one picture to the next, and some results will need another try. Create does not train a custom model on your photos, and nothing can promise an identical face every time. What you can do is give the model strong, consistent clues, and then redo the pictures that miss.

Save a character once

Create has a Characters page where you save a person once and reuse them. When you press Create character, you add:

• Photos of one person: up to 8, and 5 or more work best.
• A name. Create makes a matching @tag from it, and you can change the tag.
• A cover photo. The first photo is the cover, and you can pick another with Make cover.
• An optional identity note, up to 400 characters, about what must stay the same, such as a haircut or a black jacket.

You can also save a Location or an Object the same way, by choosing that Type, for a place or a product that should look the same each time. You can keep up to 50 saved items. Saving a character does not use credits.

Use photos of yourself, or of an adult who gave you permission. You tick a box to confirm this when you save. Do not use photos of children, famous people or lookalikes.

Which photos work best

The photos are the foundation, so choose them with care.

• Use a clear face, a side angle and good light.
• Keep it to one person per photo.
• Skip duplicates, group shots, heavy filters, masks and sunglasses.

A few different, clear photos usually beat many similar ones.

Use the character in your pictures

1. Open Characters, press Create character, and save your character with its photos, name and note.
2. Open Create Image.
3. In the References section, open the Characters chip and pick your saved character. Its @tag goes into the prompt, and its photos are sent along with your request. You can also type @ in the prompt.
4. Write what the character is doing and where. Describe the scene, not the person, because the note already covers the person. The note is added to your request when the prompt has room for it.
5. Press Generate, compare the results, and redo any that drift.

How many reference pictures a request can carry depends on the model, and some models take only one. When your own references and a character's photos compete for space, your own references come first and the character's photos fill the rest.

Keep a series steady

A few habits help across a whole set of pictures:

• Reuse the same saved character instead of typing a new description each time.
• Keep the same style words in every prompt, such as the lighting and the type of lens.
• Change one thing per picture, such as the location or the pose.
• Ask for up to four images per run and keep the best one.
• Plan a sequence in the Storyboard Generator, where you tap a saved character to add its tag to a scene instead of uploading the same photos again.

What about video?

Video is harder than pictures, because the model has to hold a look for several seconds. In Create Video you can start from an image, so you can make a picture of your character in the Image tool and use it as the start frame. You can also type @ in the video prompt to pick a saved item, on models that take reference pictures. Even so, the look can change from clip to clip, so expect to check and redo. Learn how the video tools work on the Create Video page.

What it costs

Saving a character is not charged. Pictures you make with it use credits like any other picture, and the cost shows before you generate. Create has paid plans only. See the pricing page for details.

Try it