Hey all -
I've been having a lot of fun creating little scenes for my characters and my story, so I thought I would create a quick tutorial for all of you. I decided to whip up new images and take you for an adventure here.
First, I generated a character "Reference Sheet", then I created some backgrounds that I liked to note the character's journey. The key is CONSISTENCY. I am attaching the assets I've created to this post, then I will share my results with ChatGPT Prompts so you can see how EASY it is, and FUN.
Consistent Backgrounds ✅
Consistent Characters ✅
Profit?
Fun ✅✅✅
You can take the same assets and bring them to ChatGPT to create your own images!
Prompt: 1boy, 20yo, short stubble, short brown hair, tan skin, medieval tunic, peasant pants, short sword, scabbard, (reference sheet:1.4), middle ages, border
Negative Prompt: armor
Checkpoint: rainponyxl_rainfallV2.safetensors
Lora 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Lora 2: aesthetic_anime_v1s.safetensors : 1.0
Prompt: Medieval background, castle, fields, mid day, no humans
Checkpoint: animaPencilXL_v500.safetensors
LoRA 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Prompt: Village, seaport, merchant frigate, dock, pier, background, fields, sunny, white clouds, no humans, middle ages, europe, stone buildings, wall, market, beach
Checkpoint: animaPencilXL_v500.safetensors
LoRA 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Prompt: sailing ship, ocean, clouds, storm clouds, white sails, square sails, european ship
Checkpoint: animaPencilXL_v500.safetensors
Lora 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Lora 2: aesthetic_anime_v1s.safetensors : 1.0
Prompt: new world, empty beach, palm tree forest, sunny, white clouds, cinematic, sea, ocean
Negative Prompt: armor
Checkpoint: animaPencilXL_v500.safetensors
Lora 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Lora 2: aesthetic_anime_v1s.safetensors : 1.0
Prompt: mountains, machu pichu, (no humans:1.4), cinematic, landscape, (strong contrast:1.2), (dramatic lighting:1.3), (cinematic composition:1.3)
Negative Prompt: armor
Checkpoint: animaPencilXL_v500.safetensors
Lora 1: detailed_backgrounds_v2.safetensors : 1.0
Lora 2: aesthetic_anime_v1s.safetensors : 1.0
Alright, with all our base images generated, it's time to feed ChatGPT the images as a reference.
First Prompt with ChatGPT:
I have a character reference sheet. He is a character from the Middle Ages, from Spain, and he is about to go on the adventure of his life. Here he is in his normal Middle Ages garb, he's a Peasant working for this large castle. Let's create an image as he leaves his castle, sitting on his gray donkey! He's off to the sea! Let's make sure his facial expression represents his excitement. The style should be semirealistic anime, please. He should have a scabbard on his belt where his short sword hangs as well as a burlap sack hanging on his shoulder where his meager belongings are. 16:9 ratio.
Assets referenced: Castle + Character Reference
There we go - we have our character and the castle in the background, as per our original images.
Second Prompt with ChatGPT:
Great! Now our main character, his name? Probably Paco, is now arguing with a shipmaster in Cadiz! He wants to get on to the ship to the new world! Let's create the image! Paco still has the same clothes and the same burlap sack. Unfortunately, he has had to sell his donkey to pay for the voyage. Cadiz is hot this time of year, so sweat stains should be seen in his tunic as he motions with his hands to the outrageous shipmaster who is wearing typical sailor officer clothes. 16:9 ratio.
Note that I did not create an image for the Shipmaster because we don't care about him, he's a one-off character.
Assets referenced: Character Reference + seaside village
There we go - we have our character and the village in the background, as per our original images
Third Prompt with ChatGPT:
Next image, we have Paco in the ship, heading off to the new world! Theres a storm coming, it's windy, but Paco has to pull his weight! Let's see how he helps the sailors. He is hanging off a rope ladder and his shirt is off, he's straining against a rope as the wind threatens to pull the sail. Around him are other sailors doing the work. Paco should be seen to struggle, but enjoying the work. The sea is tumultuous, the wind strong, the clouds dark and menacing. Semirealistic anime style, please. 16:9 image format.
Assets referenced: Character Reference + Ship
You will note different images. I had to make sure the prompt said wide, but also, there's a problem, one of the sailors is pulling Paco's burlap sack! AI can only do so much, and my prompt may not have been the best. ChatGPT doesn't like shirtless characters... so I had to figure this one out.
At least we still have a consistent character.
Fourth Prompt with ChatGPT
Let's create an image of Paco, exhausted, asleep in his hammock beyond decks, his leg is hanging off the hamock, no shoes on. The ship is dark as the storm is over and they can finally rest Semirealistic anime style, please. Wide format.
Assets referenced: Character Reference
Again, consistent character here - we did not have the 'scene' generated, but ChatGPT was able to create it as needed.
Fifth Prompt
The young man, Paco, who has been sailing for the past 3 weeks, is exhausted, tired, and has lost a little weight! But that's ok, they are arriving at their destination. Let's have Paco and the ship arrive at the beach of the New World. Paco has been given a Conquistador helmet and chest armor, he is helping unload large wooden crates off the dinghy. It is hot and humid, perspiration is visible, but his chest piece is shiny and his helmet too. He's excited to be here.
Assets referenced: Character Reference + Tropical Beach + Ship
ChatGPT was able to generate it's own Conquistador Armor without it needing to be referenced specifically - the character is still the same and so is the ship and island.
The cool thing is if you have a good character reference sheet and backgrounds, you can now somewhat have consistent characters using AI to put them where you want them to be. I think it's pretty neat.
6. Sixth Prompt
It's been 10 long years, Paco has a goatee, his face is a bit more serious, but he's done it. He's arrived at the height of the Inca Empire. His eyes have lost their luster, his body is more lean, his army is numerous. He is holding an arquebus and his whole body is armored in elaborate conquistador armor. Let's finish the story here. Semirealistic anime style, please. Wide image.
The goal is to have consistent characters and scenes, using the assets provided. However, I had a stretch here +10 years. Can ChatGPT age characters?
Assets referenced: Character Reference + Mountainous Background
Cool thing here is you can join your characters from different stories, I just find this so entertaining, that's all.
