Anime character reference sheet
A clean turnaround sheet with front, side and back views plus expressions, so your character stays consistent.
Prompt
Anime-style character turnaround sheet of [character, e.g. a cheerful teen mechanic with orange hair and goggles]. The same character drawn four times side by side at the same scale: front view, three-quarter view, side view and back view, standing in a relaxed neutral pose, full body from head to toe. Above them, a row of four head close-ups showing happy, angry, surprised and sad expressions, plus a small row of color swatches for the hair, skin and outfit. Identical outfit, proportions and colors in every view. Clean, confident line art, flat cel shading, plain white background.
Aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape).
Avoid: text, scenery, watermarks.Variation: Chibi sticker
Cute chibi version of [character, e.g. a cheerful teen mechanic with orange hair and goggles]: a big head about the same size as the body, large sparkling eyes and tiny hands, in a happy, bouncy pose holding [prop, e.g. a giant wrench]. Thick, clean outlines, bright flat colors with simple cel shading, and a thin white border around the whole figure like a die-cut sticker, centered on a plain white background.
Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square).
Avoid: text, scenery, watermarks.Variation: Action scene
Dynamic anime action illustration of [character, e.g. a cheerful teen mechanic with orange hair and goggles] [action, e.g. leaping between rooftops with a wrench in hand], seen from a dramatic low angle with strong foreshortening. Wind-swept hair and clothes, speed lines and drifting sparks add motion. Vivid cel shading with crisp highlights and a bold, saturated palette, set in [setting, e.g. a sunset city of rusty rooftops and water towers]. A cinematic composition, with the character filling most of the frame.
Aspect ratio: 2:3 (portrait).
Avoid: text, watermarks, blurry details.Fill in the blanks (optional)
A blank left empty is sent as it is, and most tools will then use its example.
Open in
- ChatGPT Text in images(opens with the prompt filled in)
- Gemini Photo edits(copies the prompt, then opens the site)
- Midjourney Artistic style(copies the prompt, then opens the site)
- Ideogram Logos & lettering(copies the prompt, then opens the site)
- Leonardo Anime & game art(copies the prompt, then opens the site)
- Firefly Commercial use(copies the prompt, then opens the site)
- Bing Image Creator Free drafts(opens with the prompt filled in)
- Grok Quick variations(opens with the prompt filled in)
★ is the AI you used last for image prompts.
Why it works
Drawing several views and expressions on one sheet, at the same scale, pushes the model to keep the design consistent, which is what makes a character reusable. Color swatches lock in the palette for later images. Clean line art, flat shading and a white background give you something easy to edit, trace, or use as a reference image in later prompts.
#anime #character design #manga