The short answer
- A character reference sheet is one image of one character from three angles: front, three-quarter and walking side profile, on a plain background.
- ChatGPT makes one from a single prompt. Add this to any character description: "Make it a character reference sheet: front, three-quarter and walking side profile on one plain off-white background, same lighting and scale in every view."
- The sheet is what keeps the character the same in every later image and video. You attach it as the reference instead of describing the character again.
Every image on this page is a real output of ChatGPT's image model, generated on October 4, 2026 from the prompt printed under it.
What a character reference sheet is
Animation studios call it a turnaround or a model sheet: the character drawn from the angles the story will show, so every artist draws the same character. AI image and video models need the same thing for the same reason. A text description is reinterpreted every time you send it. A picture of the character is copied.
Nora, an original character: a retired pug detective in a camel trench coat and a tiny felt hat, magnifying glass on a cord around her neck, skeptical half-lidded eyes. Make it a character reference sheet: front, three-quarter and walking side profile on one plain off-white background, same lighting and scale in every view. Realistic fur, soft studio light.The prompt that makes one
Two parts. First the character: one name, one silhouette you could recognise as a thumbnail, one prop or habit. Then the sheet instruction, word for word:
Make it a character reference sheet: front, three-quarter and walking side profile on one plain off-white background, same lighting and scale in every view.Each phrase is there for a reason. Three named views cover the angles a clip turns through. One plain off-white background keeps the model from inventing a scene. Same lighting and scale stops the three views drifting into three different characters.
Three more sheets, three more prompts
The model sometimes adds a title to the sheet, like Ferris's name or "Dot, character reference sheet". Leave it or crop it; it does not hurt the reference.
One image is not a reference
The same Basil description without the sheet instruction gives a nice single picture: one angle, no back, no side. Nothing for the next image or the next clip to copy, so every later request reinterprets the words from scratch. The Nora example shows what that drift looks like.
Add an expression sheet if the character reacts
A character who talks to camera needs faces as well as angles. Ask for an expression sheet in a grid, with the expressions named:
Nora, an original character: a retired pug detective in a camel trench coat and a tiny felt hat, magnifying glass on a cord around her neck. Make it an expression sheet: six head-and-shoulders views in a 3 by 2 grid on one plain off-white background, same lighting and scale: skeptical, surprised, smug, tired, delighted, suspicious. Realistic fur.The same thing through the API
ChatGPT's image model is also on the API, as chatgpt-image-latest, which matters once you make sheets for more than one character. This is the real request that made Nora's sheet, and the response:
What to do with the sheet
- New scenes: attach the sheet as the reference image and describe only the scene. Nora in four scenes shows what that buys, and what you get without it.
- Video: the sheet is the reference image Seedance swaps into a clip. The full request is in how to make an AI mascot.
- A whole cast: the Italian brainrot generator guide runs the same method on surreal creatures.
The viral ones work exactly like this: one look, one bit, the same face every post. See how Jean Phil and the rest of the weird AI characters did it.
Want videos on autopilot instead of prompting?
Director by Sprites makes your character's video ads every week: written, generated, reviewed by a human and ready to run. You pick the winners. See Director.
Character reference sheet questions
What is a character reference sheet?
One image that shows the same character from several angles, usually front, three-quarter and side, on a plain background with the same lighting and scale. Artists use it to keep a character on model; image and video models use it the same way, as the reference they copy.
Can ChatGPT make a character reference sheet?
Yes. Describe one character, then ask for a character reference sheet with front, three-quarter and walking side profile on one plain background, same lighting and scale in every view. Every sheet on this page came from ChatGPT's image model with exactly that wording.
What views should a character reference sheet have?
Front, three-quarter and side are the minimum, because those are the angles a video turns through. Add an expression sheet if the character talks or reacts on camera.
How do I keep an AI character consistent?
Make the sheet once, then attach it as the reference image every time you generate the character in a new scene, instead of describing the character again in words. Words drift; the sheet does not.
How do I turn a reference sheet into a video?
Generate a short reference clip in Seedance, then send Seedance one task with the sheet as the reference image and the clip as the reference video, asking it to replace the subject with the character. The steps are in our AI mascot walkthrough.