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A character turnaround sheet with AI: three angles, 24 credits
Front and profile of one character made from a single master reference. The method, what a sheet costs with discards, and the three things that break one — starting with the lighting.
A turnaround sheet — the same character from front, three-quarter and profile — is three generations from one master reference, 8 credits each at 1K. The trick is not the poses. It is keeping every other word identical between them, because what breaks a turnaround is never the angle; it is the lighting quietly changing underneath it.
Two of the three, made for this page
Same person, unmistakably. Two things did drift and both are typical: the hair reads a little fuller at the back than on the master, and the shirt's blue sits a shade cooler. Neither would stop a modeller working from the sheet; both would show if you laid the two side by side as a colour reference.
The method
- Make the front view first, on a plain seamless background with flat, boring light. This is the master and every other angle is generated from it.
- Attach the master with the Character role, which writes "keep their exact face, features, hair and age" into the prompt.
- Write one prompt and change only the angle clause between runs: "strict left profile, looking out of frame", "three-quarter view turned to her right".
- Copy the background, light and wardrobe words verbatim into every run. Do not improve them between angles.
- Generate at 1K, 8 credits. Compare the set before spending anything more.
- Upscale the keepers at 15 credits each rather than regenerating at 4K, which would give you different people.
What it costs
| Sheet | Generations | Credits | Realistic, with discards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three angles (front, ¾, profile) | 3 | 24 | 32 — budget one discard |
| Five angles (+ back, ¾ rear) | 5 | 40 | 56 — budget two |
| Three angles, upscaled for delivery | 3 + 3 upscales | 69 | 77 |
A three-angle sheet at 32 credits is about 1.2 dollars on the $20 plan. The expensive part of a turnaround was never the drawing time on the second view; it was keeping the first one's decisions.
The three things that break a sheet
- Rewriting the light. The commonest failure by a distance. If the key moves between angles the set stops reading as one character and nobody can say why.
- Marks that vanish. Scars, moles and tattoos drop out generation to generation. Name them in every angle's prompt and say which side they are on — on a turnaround, "which side" is the whole point.
- The back view. Hardest of the five, because the master carries almost no information about it. Expect to spend more attempts there, and describe the hair from behind explicitly.
Nothing here trains a model on your character: each angle re-derives the face from the master you attach that time. That is why the master must be boring, and why you attach the same file every time rather than chaining one angle off the last.
FAQ
How do I make a character turnaround sheet with AI?
Make one front-view master on a plain background in flat light, then generate each other angle with that master attached under the Character role, changing only the angle clause. Three angles at 1K is 24 credits.
What breaks a turnaround most often?
The lighting, not the angle. If the key light words change between runs the set stops looking like one character. Copy the background, light and wardrobe words verbatim into every angle.
Which angle is hardest?
The back view, because the front master carries almost nothing about it. Budget extra attempts there and describe the hair from behind explicitly.
How much should I budget for a usable sheet?
About 32 credits for three angles including one discard, or 56 for five. Upscaling three finished angles for delivery adds 45.
Should I generate each angle from the previous one?
No. Chain the angles off one master every time. Generating angle three from angle two compounds every small drift, and by the fifth view you have a different person.
Make a plain front view in the Studio and try one profile from it — the whole method is in that second generation. The full account of what survives a re-pose is part 6 of the generation series.