# Consistent Characters > Generate consistent AI characters across images using the character-sheet method — a three-step prompt workflow that creates a character, locks their face, body, hair, and outfit into a five-view character sheet, then places them in new scenes without drift. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create a consistent character, character sheet, model sheet, character turnaround, 360-degree view, or keep the same person/character identical across multiple generated images. Also trigger on reference-image prompting for characters, 'my character looks different in every image,' 'same face across images,' or building a reusable character for a brand, story, or ad campaign. - Skill: `jordangaston/consistent-characters` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add jordangaston/consistent-characters` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/jordangaston/consistent-characters/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: jordangaston (https://skillmd.com/u/jordangaston) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/jordangaston/consistent-characters --- # Consistent Characters A three-step prompt workflow for generating the same character across many images. The core move: create the character once, lock their identity into a multi-view character sheet, and reference that sheet in every future generation instead of re-describing the character in words (which drifts). Works with any image model that accepts reference images alongside a text prompt. ## Conventions - **🔒 marks a locked section.** Copy it verbatim — the exact wording is what keeps results consistent. Unlocked sections are yours to fill in or adapt. - **Reference images** are attached to the prompt. Refer to them in the prompt text exactly the way your model expects (some models use tags like `@img1`, others accept plain phrases like "the first attached image"). The templates below use plain phrases — swap in your model's syntax if it has one. - Generate the character image in **9:16 portrait** so the full body fits the frame. ## Step 1: Create the character (pure text) Generate the master character image from a text description alone. ``` 🔒 [IMAGE TYPE: Full-length fashion photo] [SUBJECT: enter your subject details here] 🔒 [POSE: Neutral standing pose, front view. Direct gaze at camera — expression neutral, composed, slightly guarded.] [OUTFIT: enter your outfit details here] 🔒 [ENVIRONMENT & LIGHTING: pure white seamless background. High-key lighting, minimal cast shadow on the floor.] 🔒 [CAMERA & FILM STOCK: shot on Hasselblad H6D, 85mm lens, f/8, sharp focus, Kodak Portra 160 film stock, fine grain, accurate skin tones, commercial fashion photography style] ``` ### Step 1 (alt): Create the character from a headshot or clipped shot If you already have a face — a headshot, a partial photo, or a crop — attach it as the reference image and let it carry the subject: ``` 🔒 [IMAGE TYPE: Full-length fashion photo] [SUBJECT: the attached reference image] 🔒 [POSE: Neutral standing pose, front view.] [OUTFIT: add your outfit description here] 🔒 [ENVIRONMENT & LIGHTING: pure white seamless background. High-key lighting, minimal cast shadow on the floor.] 🔒 [CAMERA & FILM STOCK: shot on Hasselblad H6D, 85mm lens, f/8, sharp focus, Kodak Portra 160 film stock, fine grain, accurate skin tones, commercial fashion photography style] ``` Either way, the output is a single full-length, front-view character image on white. This is your **character image**. ## Step 2: Build the character sheet (composition prompt) Attach **two** reference images: 1. **The composition template** — a five-panel model-sheet layout. Use the bundled one at [`assets/character-sheet-template.png`](assets/character-sheet-template.png): ECU (head & shoulders), right side profile (upper body), left side profile (upper body), full shot (front), full shot (back). It controls *layout only*. 2. **Your character image from Step 1.** It controls *identity only* — face, skin, body, hair, makeup, expression, outfit. ``` 🔒 [IMAGE TYPE: Fashion photo model sheet collage in **exactly** the same 5-shot layout and composition as the attached template image.] 🔒 [SUBJECT: Use the attached character photo as the ONLY reference for the character's exact face, skin details, body type, hair, makeup, expression, and full outfit/accessories — apply them identically and with perfect consistency across all five views.] 🔒 [ENVIRONMENT & LIGHTING: pure white seamless background. High-key lighting, minimal cast shadow on the floor.] 🔒 [CAMERA & FILM STOCK: shot on Hasselblad H6D, 85mm lens, f/8, sharp focus, Kodak Portra 160 film stock, fine grain, accurate skin tones, commercial fashion photography style] 🔒 [DETAILS: Perfect anatomical and clothing consistency across every angle, high-end editorial look, no text, no logos, no graphics.] ``` The output is your **character sheet**: one image showing the character from five angles. ## Step 3: Place the character in scenes (scene prompt) Attach your character image from Step 1 as the reference and describe the scene. When the scene needs an angle beyond front view (back shots, profiles), attach the Step 2 character sheet instead — it gives the model every angle to draw from. ``` [IMAGE TYPE: e.g., cinematic film still, dramatic photograph, moody portrait, etc.] 🔒 [CHARACTER REFERENCE: the attached character image] [SUBJECT ACTION: e.g., standing still with hand on hip, walking slowly through grass, turning to look over the shoulder, etc.] [SHOT TYPE: e.g., full-length, medium shot, wide establishing shot, close-up portrait, three-quarter length, etc.] [CAMERA ANGLE: e.g., eye-level front view] [LENS: e.g., 35mm wide-angle f/4 deep depth of field] [LIGHTING: describe direction, quality & mood] [ENVIRONMENT: full background description] [COLOR GRADE: overall color treatment] [MOOD & ATMOSPHERE: emotional feeling] [TECHNICAL SPECS: camera, film emulation & effects] ``` ## Why this works Text descriptions of a character drift: every generation reinterprets "red-haired woman in a cream dress." Reference images don't. The bracket structure separates concerns — layout, identity, environment, camera — so the model doesn't blend them, and the locked sections keep the parts that anchor consistency identical across every generation. ## Pitfalls - **Don't re-describe the character in scene prompts.** The moment you add "a woman with auburn hair," you compete with the reference image and reintroduce drift. Let the reference carry identity. - **One character per sheet.** Multiple people in the character image confuses the identity binding. - **If a view drifts** (usually the back view), regenerate rather than accepting it — every future image inherits the sheet's errors. - **Outfit changes come later.** Lock the base character first; generate outfit variants in follow-up prompts using the sheet as reference.