AI Character Consistency Guide
The complete guide to generating the same character face across multiple AI images and videos. Master techniques for Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Flux, Leonardo, DALL-E, Kling, Runway, and all major AI platforms.
Why Character Consistency Matters
Understanding the challenge and choosing the right solution
🎯 The Core Challenge Explained
AI image generators create images from random noise, using mathematical processes to transform chaos into coherent visuals. This means even with identical prompts, you'll get different faces, body proportions, hair details, and features every single time. For professional projects requiring the same character across multiple images, this poses a significant challenge.
📋 Common Use Cases Requiring Consistency
- Comic Books & Graphic Novels: Same protagonist across 50+ panels
- Children's Book Illustrations: Recognizable characters throughout the story
- Marketing & Branding: Consistent brand mascots and ambassadors
- Social Media Personas: AI influencer with consistent appearance
- YouTube Thumbnails: Same character across video series
- Video Production: Consistent character in AI-generated video clips
- Game Assets: Character sprites, portraits, and promotional art
- Storyboarding: Pre-visualization with consistent "actors"
- E-commerce: Consistent model for product photography
- Educational Content: Recurring instructor or guide character
📊 All Methods Compared
Choose the right method based on your needs, skill level, and the tools you use:
| Method | Difficulty | Consistency | Flexibility | Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midjourney --cref | Easy | 85-95% | Very High | Subscription | Most users, quick results |
| Flux Redux | Easy | 90-95% | Very High | API/Credits | Photorealism |
| IP-Adapter | Medium | 85-92% | Very High | Free (local) | SD/ComfyUI users |
| LoRA Training | Advanced | 95-99% | Unlimited | Compute cost | Professional work |
| Leonardo Char Ref | Easy | 80-88% | High | Freemium | Beginners |
| Seed + Description | Easy | 50-65% | Low | Free | Quick tests only |
| Face Swap (Post) | Easy | 95%+ | Medium | Varies | Fixing inconsistencies |
Midjourney Character Consistency
Using --cref, --sref, and advanced techniques
Midjourney V6+ Character Reference (--cref)
Built-in feature for consistent characters - the gold standard for ease of use
Midjourney V6 introduced the revolutionary --cref (character reference) parameter that analyzes facial features from a reference image and applies them to new generations. This is currently the easiest and most effective method for most users.
🎯 Method 1: Basic --cref Usage
The fundamental workflow for character consistency in Midjourney:
# STEP 1: Create your character reference image "Professional headshot portrait of a young woman with curly red hair, green eyes, light freckles across nose, warm genuine smile, soft studio lighting, neutral background --ar 1:1 --v 6.1" # STEP 2: After generation, right-click image and Copy Image Address # STEP 3: Use the URL with --cref in new prompts "A woman hiking through autumn forest, backpack, golden hour sunlight" --cref https://cdn.midjourney.com/your-image-url.png --cw 100 # Character weight: 100 = strongest face match # The --cw parameter controls face preservation: # --cw 100 = Maximum face preservation (default) # --cw 50 = Moderate - allows some variation # --cw 0 = Only style/vibe, ignores face
🔥 Method 2: Multiple Reference Images (Best Results)
Using 3-5 reference images dramatically improves consistency:
# First, generate images of your character from multiple angles: "Portrait of [character description], front view..." "Portrait of [character description], 3/4 angle view..." "Portrait of [character description], slight profile..." # Then use ALL of them as references: "A woman at a coffee shop reading a book, cozy atmosphere" --cref [url1] [url2] [url3] --cw 100 # Midjourney averages the facial features from all references # This creates more stable, consistent results
✨ Method 3: Combining --cref with --sref
Keep both character AND artistic style consistent:
# --cref = Character reference (face/identity) # --sref = Style reference (art style, colors, mood) "A woman in a magical fantasy forest, ethereal lighting, fairy tale" --cref [character_image_url] --cw 100 --sref [style_reference_url] --sw 75 # Perfect for creating a series with consistent character + consistent look # Example: Comic book series, illustrated story, themed photo set
💡 Midjourney Pro Tips for Maximum Consistency
- Create a character sheet first with multiple angles and expressions
- Always use --cw 100 for strict face matching
- Include consistent descriptors in every prompt (hair color, eye color)
- Save your reference URLs in a document for easy access
- Use --style raw for more realistic, less stylized results
- Same seed helps - add --seed [number] for extra consistency
Flux Character Consistency
Using Flux Redux for photorealistic results
Flux Redux (Official Method)
Black Forest Labs' official character consistency tool
Flux Redux is the official way to maintain consistency with Flux models. It creates variations of input images while preserving key features like faces.
# Flux Redux - Available through Replicate, fal.ai, ComfyUI, BFL API # Basic workflow: 1. Upload your character reference image 2. Add a text prompt describing the new scene 3. Adjust "image influence" strength (0.0-1.0) 4. Generate - face and features are preserved # Recommended settings for character consistency: Image Strength: 0.65-0.80 (higher = more similar) Guidance Scale: 3.5-4.0 Steps: 28-35
Stable Diffusion & ComfyUI
IP-Adapter, LoRA training, and ControlNet methods
IP-Adapter FaceID
Use images as prompts to maintain facial identity
# IP-Adapter FaceID Settings for ComfyUI/A1111: Weight: 0.65-0.85 (face preservation strength) Noise: 0.2-0.4 (adds natural variation) # Combine with ControlNet for maximum control: IP-Adapter FaceID: Maintains facial identity ControlNet OpenPose: Controls body pose ControlNet Depth: Maintains scene composition Text Prompt: Describes setting, clothing, style
LoRA Training (Custom Model)
Train a personalized model for 95%+ consistency
Collect Images
10-20 high-quality images of your character
Prepare Dataset
Caption each with trigger word + description
Train LoRA
Use Kohya_ss or cloud services (30min-2hrs)
Use Trigger
Include trigger word to summon character
# LoRA Training Settings (SDXL) Network Rank: 32-64 Learning Rate: 1e-4 Epochs: 15-25 # After training, use like this: "ohwx woman in a spacesuit on Mars, cinematic lighting" # "ohwx" is your trigger word
Leonardo AI Character Reference
Built-in feature with free tier access
Leonardo Character Reference
User-friendly with visual controls
# Leonardo AI Character Reference Workflow: 1. Go to "AI Image Generation" 2. Create or upload character base image 3. Click image and "Use as Character Reference" 4. Adjust Character Strength: 0.8-1.0 for strict matching 5. Select model: Leonardo Phoenix (recommended) 6. Generate with your new scene prompt
DALL-E 3 Character Consistency
Working within ChatGPT's limitations
🤖 DALL-E 3 Workarounds
DALL-E 3 has no built-in character reference. Use detailed character descriptions:
# Create detailed CHARACTER BIBLE: "Maya is a 28-year-old woman with: - Shoulder-length wavy auburn hair with copper highlights - Bright hazel eyes with gold flecks - Light olive skin with beauty mark on left cheek - Heart-shaped face with soft cheekbones - Height: 5'6", athletic build - Style: Modern bohemian" # Paste FULL description with every generation # Achieves ~50-65% consistency (limited)
⚠️ DALL-E Limitation
For projects requiring high consistency, use Midjourney --cref, Flux, or Stable Diffusion with IP-Adapter instead. DALL-E 3 is best for one-off images.
Video AI Character Consistency
Kling, Runway, MiniMax, Veo, Pika, and Luma
🎬 The Video Consistency Strategy
For AI video, use the same high-quality source image as starting frame for image-to-video generation.
Create Character
Generate consistent images using --cref or IP-Adapter
Multiple Poses
Create 5-10 images in different poses
Image to Video
Upload as starting frame in Kling/Runway
Motion Prompts
Describe ONLY motion, not character
Edit Together
Combine clips in video editor
Kling AI / Runway Gen-3 / MiniMax
Best character preservation in AI video
# Video Prompt Strategy: # ✅ GOOD (motion only): "The woman slowly turns her head and smiles, her hair gently moves in the breeze" # ❌ BAD (describes character): "A woman with red hair and green eyes turns..." # This can cause the AI to change the character! # Key tools: Kling AI: Best for 2-minute videos Runway Gen-3: Motion Brush for face protection MiniMax/Hailuo: Best free option Veo 3: Native audio generation
💡 Video Character Secrets
- High-resolution source images (1024px+) are essential
- Front-facing or 3/4 angles preserve better than profiles
- Avoid drastic camera movements that reveal new angles
- Consider face-swap tools (Roop/ReActor) for post-processing
- Generate 3-5 variations and choose the best preservation
Advanced Techniques
Expert-level methods for perfect consistency
🔬 Face Swap Post-Processing
When all else fails, face-swapping tools fix inconsistencies:
- Roop/ReActor (ComfyUI): Open-source, free
- InsightFace: High-quality face analysis
Workflow:
- Generate images with great poses but inconsistent faces
- Use your "master reference" face image
- Apply face swap to each generated image
- Result: Perfect composition + perfect face consistency
📋 Character Consistency Checklist
- ☑️ Master reference image - High-quality, clear face
- ☑️ Multi-angle references - Front, 3/4, profile views
- ☑️ Expression variations - Happy, serious, surprised
- ☑️ Written character description - Detailed backup
- ☑️ Saved URLs/files - Organized storage
- ☑️ Test generations - Verify before big projects
- ☑️ Backup method - Face swap tools ready
Ready to Create Consistent Characters?
Browse our character-specific prompts and templates!
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