Character workshop
Keep one character recognizable in three scenes
Change the environment while protecting identity and costume.
What you’ll make
Make a morning, afternoon, and evening scene starring the same original character.
Step by step
- Choose an approved character reference and copy its identity description into a reusable note. Divide your prompt into three parts: fixed character, changing scene, and visual treatment. This makes revisions easier to diagnose.
- Generate the simplest scene first: a medium shot in a quiet setting, with the face unobstructed. Do not combine a new camera angle, complicated action, and dramatic lighting in the first test.
- For scene two, change only the environment and time of day. Keep the reference and visual treatment. Compare the result with scene one before adding a more difficult pose.
- Build scene three after the first two agree. Save the reference, prompt, and chosen settings alongside each image. A contact sheet lets you spot changes in height, coat length, or color that are easy to miss when viewing pictures separately.
Example prompt
Use the supplied character reference. Preserve the short silver hair, square face, navy coat and brass compass. The courier waits beside a rain-streaked tram window at dusk. Medium shot, face unobstructed, quiet anticipation, restrained blue and amber palette.
Review your result
View all three images together. The viewer should identify the same person without needing a caption. Check the accessory as carefully as the face.
If the first attempt misses
When lighting changes the apparent costume color, describe the base fabric color explicitly and soften the colored light. If the pose distorts identity, use a simpler pose first.
Your next exercise
Ask someone to name the three details that connect the scenes. If their answers differ from your fixed traits, strengthen the visual brief.