Last week, one of our users burned through 100 credits trying to create a simple character - a girl with brown hair in a yellow raincoat. Instead of getting what they wanted, the AI kept generating completely different characters.

Sound familiar? This happens because of five sneaky prompting mistakes that waste your credits.

Here's what you'll master today:
• The "Character DNA" method that locks in consistency from the start
• 5 prompting mistakes that waste credits (and how to avoid them)
• Techniques that get you perfect results faster
• Real examples that work across any AI image generator

The Character DNA Framework

Before diving into the fixes, let's establish your character's foundation. Think of this as their genetic code that never changes:

Step 1: Define the Subject Who is your character? (young girl, elderly wizard, friendly robot)

Step 2: Lock in Unique Features​
What makes them instantly recognizable? (long brown hair with bangs, round glasses, freckled cheeks)

Step 3: Set Their Signature Outfit What do they consistently wear? (yellow raincoat and boots, purple wizard robes, silver armor)

Example Character DNA: "Young girl with long brown hair and bangs wearing a yellow raincoat and boots"

This foundation becomes your consistency anchor for every single prompt.

Fix #1: Focus on Frozen Moments, Not Stories

❌ Don't: "Girl goes to library, finds book, reads, then leaves"

✅ Do: "Girl reading a book in library, sitting at wooden table"

Why This Works: AI excels at capturing single moments, like taking a photograph. When you describe an entire sequence, the AI gets confused about which moment to render.

Fix #2: One Character Per Prompt

❌ Don't: "Girl and boy playing together in the park"

✅ Do: Create each character separately, then combine using our Multi-Character Scene feature

Why This Works: AI attention gets split between multiple subjects. When focused on one character, all processing power goes toward making that person perfect.

Fix #3: Use Positive Language Only

❌ Don't: "A young man without beard, not wearing any hat"

✅ Do: "Clean-shaven young man with curly dark hair, wearing casual outfit with white shirt"

Why This Works: AI processes negatives strangely. "No beard" often creates MORE beards because the AI focuses on the word "beard." Positive descriptions direct attention to exactly what you want.

Fix #4: Be Ruthlessly Specific

❌ Don't: "Man working with computer"

✅ Do: "Man typing on laptop keyboard while sitting at desk"

Why This Works: Vague language creates vague results. "Working with computer" could mean anything - repairing, gaming, presenting. Specific actions generate predictable poses and scenes.

Fix #5: Write Complete Standalone Prompts

❌ Don't: "Use the last character but make him hold an umbrella"

✅ Do: "Boy with curly brown hair wearing yellow raincoat, holding red umbrella, standing in rain"

Why This Works: AI image generators don't remember previous attempts. Each prompt exists in isolation. Shortcuts simply don't work and waste your credits.

💡 Pro Tip: Keep a "successful prompts" document. When you nail a character, save the complete description so you can modify and reuse it without starting from scratch.

Use Action Editor in Conistent Character AI​

The right approach to maintain consistency and avoid wasting credits:

• First, create your character concept using Character Turbo and follow all the above techniques. This ensures you don't waste credits getting your base character right.

• Start with a front-facing full body view - Generate your main character looking directly forward using this prompt in Action & Expression field: 'Create full body front view, standing'.

• Then use Action Editor to change actions, poses, and create new scenes of the same character while maintaining perfect consistency. This is the proper workflow.

• For stories, plan your scene list - Create your consistent character first, then build each story moment one by one using Action Editor.

We have been cooking all Summer!

We've been busy improving Consistent Character AI over the summer months.

Diana put together a step-by-step video tutorial showing exactly how to generate AI cartoon characters for your book illustrations and change actions & poses with our updated tools.

Here's the thing though - while our technology keeps getting better, your technique and vision will always matter most. That's why mastering these 5 prompting fundamentals gives you the real advantage
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Credits to Diana Zdybel our co-founder, for this beautiful and simple to follow demo :)

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Your Turn: Apply These Techniques

Choose one character you've been struggling with and rewrite their prompt using these 5 techniques:

1. Describe one specific moment
2. Focus on ONE character per prompt
3. Use positive phrasing only
4. Be specific, not vague
5. Write full prompts, not shortcuts

Once you've mastered consistency, learn how to make your characters truly unique with our 3 advanced techniques for standout AI cartoon characters.

Talk soon,
Sachin and Diana

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