character-design-sheet

SKILL.md

Install the belt CLI skill: npx skills add belt-sh/cli

Character Design Sheet

Create consistent characters across multiple AI-generated images via inference.sh CLI.

Quick Start

Requires inference.sh CLI (belt). Install instructions

belt login

Generate a character concept

belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
"prompt": "character design reference sheet, front view of a young woman with short red hair, green eyes, wearing a blue jacket and white t-shirt, full body, white background, clean lines, concept art style, character turnaround",
"width": 1024,
"height": 1024
}'

## The Consistency Problem

AI image generation produces different-looking characters every time, even with the same prompt. This is the #1 challenge in AI art for any project requiring the same character across multiple images.

### Solutions (Ranked by Effectiveness)

| Technique | Consistency | Effort | Best For |
|-----------|-------------|--------|----------|
| **FLUX LoRA** (trained on character) | Very high | High (requires training data) | Ongoing projects, many images |
| **Detailed description anchor** | Medium-high | Low | Quick projects, few images |
| **Same seed + similar prompt** | Medium | Low | Variations of single pose |
| **Image-to-image refinement** | Medium | Medium | Refining existing images |
| **Reference image in prompt** | Varies | Low | When model supports it |

## Reference Sheet Types

### 1. Turnaround Sheet

Shows the character from multiple angles:

┌────────┬────────┬────────┬────────┐
│        │        │        │        │
│ FRONT  │  3/4   │  SIDE  │  BACK  │
│  VIEW  │  VIEW  │  VIEW  │  VIEW  │
│        │        │        │        │
└────────┴────────┴────────┴────────┘

```bash
# Generate front view
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character design, front view, young woman with short asymmetric red hair, bright green eyes, wearing navy blue bomber jacket over white graphic tee, dark jeans, red sneakers, standing in neutral pose, full body, clean white background, concept art, sharp details",
  "width": 768,
  "height": 1024
}' --no-wait

# Generate 3/4 view (same description)
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character design, three-quarter view, young woman with short asymmetric red hair, bright green eyes, wearing navy blue bomber jacket over white graphic tee, dark jeans, red sneakers, standing, full body, clean white background, concept art, sharp details",
  "width": 768,
  "height": 1024
}' --no-wait

# Generate side view
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character design, side profile view, young woman with short asymmetric red hair, bright green eyes, wearing navy blue bomber jacket over white graphic tee, dark jeans, red sneakers, standing, full body, clean white background, concept art, sharp details",
  "width": 768,
  "height": 1024
}' --no-wait

# Generate back view
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character design, back view, young woman with short asymmetric red hair, wearing navy blue bomber jacket over white graphic tee, dark jeans, red sneakers, standing, full body, clean white background, concept art, sharp details",
  "width": 768,
  "height": 1024
}' --no-wait

# Stitch into reference sheet
belt app run infsh/stitch-images --input '{
  "images": ["front.png", "three-quarter.png", "side.png", "back.png"],
  "direction": "horizontal"
}'

2. Expression Sheet

Shows the character's face with different emotions:

┌────────┬────────┬────────┐
│NEUTRAL │ HAPPY  │ ANGRY  │
│        │        │        │
├────────┼────────┼────────┤
│  SAD   │SURPRISE│THINKING│
│        │        │        │
└────────┴────────┴────────┘

Minimum 6 expressions: neutral, happy, angry, sad, surprised, thinking.

# Neutral
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character portrait, close-up face, young woman with short red hair and green eyes, neutral calm expression, clean white background, concept art, consistent character design",
  "width": 512,
  "height": 512
}' --no-wait

# Happy
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character portrait, close-up face, young woman with short red hair and green eyes, warm genuine smile, happy expression, clean white background, concept art, consistent character design",
  "width": 512,
  "height": 512
}' --no-wait

# Angry
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "character portrait, close-up face, young woman with short red hair and green eyes, furrowed brows, angry determined expression, clean white background, concept art, consistent character design",
  "width": 512,
  "height": 512
}' --no-wait

# (Continue for sad, surprised, thinking...)

3. Outfit/Costume Sheet

Multiple outfits for the same character:

Outfit
Description

Casual
Bomber jacket, t-shirt, jeans

Work
Blazer, button-down, slacks

Athletic
Sports bra, leggings, running shoes

Formal
Evening dress, heels

4. Color Palette Sheet

Document exact colors for consistency:

CHARACTER: Maya Chen

Skin:    ████ #F5D0A9 (warm beige)
Hair:    ████ #C0392B (auburn red)
Eyes:    ████ #27AE60 (emerald green)
Jacket:  ████ #2C3E50 (navy blue)
T-shirt: ████ #ECF0F1 (off-white)
Jeans:   ████ #34495E (dark slate)
Shoes:   ████ #E74C3C (bright red)

The Description Anchor Technique

The most practical consistency technique: write a 50+ word detailed description and reuse it exactly in every prompt.

Template

[age] [gender] with [hair: color, length, style], [eye color] eyes,
[skin tone], [facial features: any distinctive marks],
wearing [top: specific color and style], [bottom: specific color and style],
[shoes: specific color and style], [accessories: specific items]

Example

young woman in her mid-twenties with short asymmetric auburn red hair
swept to the right side, bright emerald green eyes, light warm skin
with a small beauty mark below her left eye, wearing a fitted navy
blue bomber jacket with silver zipper over a white crew-neck t-shirt,
dark slate slim jeans, and bright red canvas sneakers, small silver
stud earrings

Use this exact block in EVERY prompt for this character, only changing the action/pose/scene.

Proportion Guide

Style
Head-to-Body Ratio
Best For

Realistic
7.5 : 1
Film, photorealistic

Heroic
8 : 1
Superheroes, action

Anime/Manga
5-6 : 1
Japanese animation style

Stylized
4-5 : 1
Western animation

Chibi/Super-deformed
2-3 : 1
Cute, comedic, mascots

Include proportion style in your prompts: "realistic proportions" vs "anime style proportions" vs "chibi proportions"

Using LoRA for Consistency

For projects requiring many images of the same character, train a LoRA:

# Use FLUX with a character LoRA
belt app run falai/flux-dev-lora --input '{
  "prompt": "maya_chen character, sitting at a cafe reading a book, warm afternoon light, candid photography style",
  "loras": [{"path": "path/to/maya-chen-lora.safetensors", "scale": 0.8}]
}'

LoRA Training Tips:

Need 10-20 reference images of the character (consistent style)

Train on specific trigger word (e.g., "maya_chen")

Scale 0.7-0.9 balances consistency with prompt flexibility

Lower scale = more creative freedom, higher = more strict matching

Common Consistency Failures

Issue
Why It Happens
Mitigation

Hair color drift
Model interprets "red hair" differently each time
Use specific shade: "auburn red #C0392B"

Eye color change
Low priority in generation
Mention eye color early in prompt

Outfit inconsistency
Model fills in details creatively
Describe every clothing item explicitly

Age shift
Vague age description
Use "mid-twenties" not "young"

Face structure change
Different generations = different faces
Use LoRA or same seed base

Proportion shift
Style interpretation varies
Specify "7.5 head proportions"

Character Bible Template

For ongoing projects, maintain a character bible document:

# Character: Maya Chen

## Visual Description (use in all prompts)
young woman in her mid-twenties with short asymmetric auburn red hair...
[full 50+ word anchor description]

## Color Palette
- Skin: #F5D0A9
- Hair: #C0392B
- Eyes: #27AE60
- Primary outfit: Navy #2C3E50
- Accent: Red #E74C3C

## Personality Notes (for expression/pose choices)
- Confident but approachable
- Default expression: slight curious smile
- Gestures: talks with hands, leans forward when interested

## Style Keywords
concept art, clean lines, sharp details, [art style reference]

## LoRA (if trained)
Path: ./loras/maya-chen-v2.safetensors
Trigger: maya_chen
Recommended scale: 0.8

Common Mistakes

Mistake
Problem
Fix

Vague descriptions
Different character every time
50+ word detailed anchor

Inconsistent prompt structure
Varying emphasis = varying results
Same structure, only change action/scene

Generating one view only
Can't use character in different contexts
Create full turnaround reference

No color documentation
Colors drift across generations
Record exact hex codes

Skipping expression sheet
Character feels one-dimensional
Generate 6+ expressions

Not using LoRA for big projects
Inconsistency compounds
Train LoRA for 10+ image projects

Related Skills

npx skills add inference-sh/skills@ai-image-generation
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@flux-image
npx skills add inference-sh/skills@prompt-engineering

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