Create Your Own Anime OC with AI

Just about everyone probably has an OC of their own living in their head.

Maybe she is a quiet girl who struggles with words but always secretly helps others; maybe she is a mage living in a forest, or a mechanic weaving through a futuristic city. You might have already figured out her name and appearance, or even have a story for her playing out in your mind—you just haven't drawn her yet.

OC stands for Original Character. You can design her look, personality, and backstory, and bring her into your own comics, games, stories, or animations.

Starting from a single spark of an idea, this guide will walk you through creating your own anime OC step by step with AI: first generating a character illustration, then adding turnaround views and reference sheets, making adjustments as you go, and finally bringing her to life in a video. You can also follow this workflow in Arcloop to organize your character assets and keep building your project. The images in this example were created using GPT 2.5 in Arcloop, and the videos were generated via the Seedance 2 Fast API.

Anime OC Maker vs. Generator: What’s the Difference?

If you have ever searched for an Anime OC Maker or Anime OC Generator, you have probably noticed that the two terms are often used interchangeably. Broadly speaking, a Generator focuses more on producing an image from a text description, while a Maker usually involves selecting, combining, and fine-tuning elements.

For this project, generating an image is only the beginning. What really brings Lumi closer to the character we imagined is the series of choices and adjustments that come afterward.

Step 1: Figure Out Who She Is First

You don't need to write a complete worldbuilding bible right away. Start by thinking about three things: who she is, what her most recognizable feature is, and what catches her interest.

Lumi is a ghost girl who likes wandering around at night. She wears a crooked paper crown and always claims to be the Ghost Queen of the street, even though a cat jumping out of nowhere is enough to startle her. She doesn't have a shadow of her own. One night, she spots a shadow walking all by itself down the street and decides to follow it to see who it belongs to.

With that simple premise, her visual direction starts to fall into place. We gave her short silver-white hair, mint-green eyes, a loose light-purple cardigan over a white dress, and bare feet floating gently off the ground, with the hem of her dress and the tips of her toes turning slightly translucent. The paper crown is her most eye-catching accessory, playing right into her habit of acting tough and important.

You don't need to flesh out every single detail at once. A look you like, a hint of personality, and one small thing she wants to do are more than enough to get started. Once you see the generated images, new ideas will probably pop into your head, and you can always go back and add them in.

Creating an Original Character doesn't necessarily require grand worldbuilding; what matters is the process of piecing her together bit by bit.

Step 2: Generate Lumi's First Character Illustration

When writing a prompt for a concept illustration, start by clearly stating the character's identity, appearance, outfit, and pose, and then describe the art style you want. Rather than piling on a long list of adjectives, it is much more effective to clearly explain which specific details matter most.

For Lumi, we wanted the feel of an original character illustration: line art that keeps a slight hand-drawn touch, clothing that looks soft and tactile, and an expression that shows off her personality. She tilts her head slightly with one hand holding onto her paper crown, as if trying hard to maintain her dignity as the Ghost Queen.

The prompts below have been streamlined to keep the core settings clear, making them easy for you to reference and adapt. Here is how you can write the prompt for the first character illustration:

Create a full-body anime illustration of Lumi, a young adult ghost girl with a silver-white bob, mint-green eyes and a crooked pale-yellow paper crown. She wears an oversized lavender cardigan and an ivory dress, floating barefoot with translucent hem and toe tips. She tilts her head and touches her crown, curious but trying to look dignified. Delicate pencil lines, soft watercolor, warm ivory background.

Below is the generated concept illustration we selected for Lumi.

In this image, the folds of the paper crown, the wide sleeves of her cardigan, and the gesture of holding her crown all become anchor details we can build on later. The hem of her skirt disperses gently and her toes fade softly in color, keeping the ghostly vibe light so that she still feels approachable and gentle.

From here on, we will build the rest of the design around this image. For details like skirt length or the exact shape of the crown that were originally written in text, this selected illustration now serves as the visual standard. Text is a starting point to help articulate the idea, but once you pick a result you are happy with, take note of the actual design elements you want to keep.

Step 3: Build Turnarounds and Reference Sheets from the Full-Body Art

Lumi's first concept illustration is already a complete full-body shot where everything from her crown to her toes is clearly visible. We can use it directly as a reference image to generate her front, side, and back views.

When you are getting ready to show a character from different angles, it helps to create a turnaround sheet. A turnaround typically includes front, side, and back views, which helps clarify how her short hair looks from behind, how the cardigan is structured, and how the crown sits on her head.

Here is how you can write the prompt for a turnaround sheet:

Using the Lumi reference, create a full-body turnaround: front, side and back, left to right. Keep her design, clothing, colors and paper crown consistent. Use relaxed hovering poses, matching proportions and aligned heights. Show each figure from crown to toes on a simple ivory background, preserving the reference's pencil and watercolor style.

The turnaround sheet below was generated using the original full-body illustration of Lumi as a reference, showing her front, side, and back views from left to right. Across all three angles, her pose was changed to a relaxed floating stance with her arms at her sides so the structure of her outfit is easy to see.

Even after generating the sheet, you still need to check each view one by one. Just because three figures sit side by side in one image doesn't automatically mean the design is completely consistent. The crown might change shape, the skirt length in the side view might not match up, or the hair in the back view might suddenly grow longer. If you spot an issue, fix the specific view that went off-model before adding the sheet to your reference library.

Reference sheets can also be used to flesh out expressions, poses, and accessories. We created six expressions for Lumi: acting composed, curious, smug, startled, sulky, and happy. Using the exact same face, subtle shifts in her eyebrows, eyes, mouth, and posture bring out different sides of her personality.

You can describe an expression sheet like this:

Create a 16:9 expression sheet of Lumi using the reference: composed, curious, smug, startled, sulky and laughing. Keep her identity and outfit consistent. Arrange six head-and-shoulder portraits loosely at different sizes and heights, with the laughing portrait slightly larger. Keep every face and crown visible. Soft pencil and watercolor on ivory paper, no labels.

Below is the selected six-expression sheet. The happy, laughing drawing is slightly larger, while the other expressions are scattered around it like a loose page of character sketches. If a future scene calls for her to slip from calm composure into surprise, you can easily pull from this sheet as a reference.

There is no need to cram everything into one massive sheet. Her face, hands, and key accessories all need to remain clearly visible, and preparing assets based on what your next scene actually needs is much easier to manage than generating a huge pile of unused details all at once.

You can also try putting the same OC into different outfits. Here, we gave Lumi three outfit variations: loose pajamas, a sage-green rain poncho, and a vintage purple party dress. While the silhouettes and fabrics of her clothes change, her face, short hair, paper crown, and airy ghostly traits stay the same.

Create a 16:9 outfit sheet with three full-body versions of Lumi. Keep her face, silver-white bob, mint eyes, paper crown, bare feet and translucent edges consistent with the reference. Outfit 1: an ivory nightshirt and lavender shorts, curled up in a sleepy floating pose. Outfit 2: a sage-green rain cape, hood down, over a cream dress, holding the cape edges. Outfit 3: a dusty-violet vintage dress with an ivory collar and yellow ribbon, lightly lifting her skirt in greeting. Arrange the figures asymmetrically at different heights and sizes, with clear gaps. Pencil and watercolor on ivory paper.

When changing outfits, specify which features must stay locked in before describing the new clothes. That way, she won't look like a completely different character every time she changes her wardrobe.

Finally, we put together a detail reference sheet for Lumi. The left side keeps her full-body figure, while the right side zooms in on her paper crown, cuffs, eyes, and translucent hem, complete with English notes explaining the little stories behind each design choice. The paper crown was a gift from her very first ghost friend; she likes hiding her hands inside her long sleeves whenever she gets nervous; her mint-green eyes light up whenever she spots something interesting; and as she floats, the hem of her dress and the tips of her toes slowly dissolve into a thin mist.

The prompt for this detail reference sheet can be written like this:

Create a 16:9 character detail sheet using the Lumi reference. Place her full body on the left and four close-ups on the right: paper crown, long sleeve cuff, mint eye, and fading hem and toes. Keep her design consistent. Use delicate pencil lines, soft watercolor, ivory paper and a few thin arrows. Add a simple serif title and clearly readable English notes: "LUMI"; "The little ghost queen"; "PAPER CROWN — A gift from her first ghost friend. She has worn it ever since."; "LONG SLEEVES — She hides her hands inside them whenever she feels nervous."; "MINT EYES — They brighten whenever something sparks her curiosity."; "FADING EDGES — Her hem and toes dissolve into mist as she floats." Leave enough space around each detail and note.

Writing out these callout notes is also a great way to naturally build out your character's habits and backstory.

Step 4: Find Her Personality Through Iterative Tweaks

Your very first image doesn't have to solve everything at once. Once you lock in the overall direction, focus on adjusting just one detail that matters most to you at a time.

For instance, Lumi's paper crown should look like something she folded herself. If a later generation accidentally turns it into a jeweled metal crown, you can target just the crown in your edit prompt:

Replace only Lumi's crown with a small pale-yellow folded paper crown, matching the reference's size and tilt. Show paper creases instead of metal or gemstones. Keep the rest of the image unchanged.

This is just an example of a targeted edit instruction—after generating the change, you should still check the rest of the image to make sure nothing else shifted unintentionally. If you try to change too many things at once, it often becomes hard to tell which specific tweak actually improved the result.

Later on, when you place her into new scenes, it helps to keep reiterating Lumi's core traits in your prompts: short silver-white hair, mint-green eyes, crooked paper crown, light-purple cardigan, white dress, and a gentle floating posture. Let your approved reference images handle the exact shapes and proportions, using text and reference art together.

A character's personality also comes through in small gestures and actions. For example, if a cat startles Lumi into floating a little higher, and she realizes nobody saw her, she might slowly drift back down to her usual height, straighten her crown, and pretend nothing happened. A single small action like that is enough to show her habit of trying to act tough.

Step 5: Design a Background Scene for Her

Once her look is settled, you can place your character into a scene. The background doesn't have to fill the entire canvas; even a small slice of an environment connected to her is enough to let viewers imagine her world.

Here, we placed Lumi sitting on the metal hand of an old clock tower with her legs dangling down and two little ghosts keeping her company. Seen from a slight high angle, the background reveals just a section of the weathered clock face and faint dial markings, fading out into whitespace with soft watercolor edges. Lumi remains the clear focus of the illustration, while the partial background simply grounds where she is.

Here is how you can write the prompt for this scene illustration:

Using the Lumi reference, show her sitting on an old clock tower's dark iron minute hand, legs dangling, one hand touching her paper crown. View her from about 30 degrees above. Two small mint-white ghosts float near her shoulder and knees. Keep her design and translucent hem and toes. Show only a faint partial clock face and pivot behind her, with watercolor edges fading into ivory paper. Lumi stays sharp and prominent; the background is soft and sparse.

Once you pick a scene illustration you like, give it another quick check: does the crown still look like folded paper, are the outfit proportions consistent, and are the two little ghosts clear? Our upcoming videos will start directly from this single illustration.

If you plan to keep building out your character's story in Arcloop, you can organize your character sheets and scene assets first, and then move into individual shots as needed.

Step 6: Bring Her to Life in Your First Video

With a solid scene illustration ready, you can start animating with a simple movement. Taking the clock tower illustration as our first frame, we used Seedance 2 Fast to generate a roughly five-second animation at the 480p setting without audio. The motion focuses mainly on her expression, hair, skirt hem, and the two little ghosts floating beside her.

Here is the streamlined English prompt for the five-second animation:

Animate the supplied clock-tower illustration for 5 seconds in one locked shot. Keep Lumi seated with her hands in place. She blinks once and smiles slightly; her hair and dress hem sway softly. Mist drifts around her translucent toes, and the two ghosts bob gently beside her. Keep the clock still and preserve the reference's character design, pencil lines and watercolor style. No cuts or audio.

Below is the resulting video. The model automatically chose a 3:4 vertical aspect ratio, producing a raw output of 560×752 at 24 fps with an actual duration of about 5.04 seconds; the original file from the provider is shown here unmodified.

For your first try, keeping the character's seated pose and camera framing steady while letting facial expressions and subtle movements bring the image to life works really well. Next, we took that exact same clock tower illustration and expanded it into a twelve-second, four-shot short clip that tells a tiny story: Lumi gets startled by a playful little ghost, can't help laughing, and then straightens her crown to put her Ghost Queen act back on.

We used Seedance 2 Fast at the 480p setting again, but this time we explicitly laid out the shot sequence, framing, actions, and cuts in the prompt. Here is the streamlined English prompt:

Create a 12-second anime video from the Lumi clock-tower illustration, using four shots with direct cuts. Preserve her design, watercolor style and the two ghosts. Shot 1 (0–3s): slightly elevated full-body shot, gentle push-in. Lumi sits on the minute hand, legs dangling, one hand on her crown, looking smug. Shot 2 (3–6s): medium close-up. One ghost approaches her cheek; she widens her eyes, flinches and holds her crown, staying seated. Shot 3 (6–9s): face close-up. She looks sulky, then relaxes into a smile. Shot 4 (9–12s): return to the opening view. She straightens her crown, lifts her chin and pretends to be dignified again as both ghosts bob beside her. Keep the clock still, the background sparse and the shot directions consistent. No text or audio.

The prompt above first creates a silent four-shot video. We then use that video as the reference for a new generation with Seedance 2 Fast at 480p, with audio enabled. Here is the English prompt for the video-to-video generation:

Use Video 1 as the reference to generate a new 12-second watercolor anime video with synchronized sound. Preserve Lumi, her paper crown and outfit, the two ghosts, the clock setting, and the reference's four-shot progression: seated wide shot, ghost approaching and startling her, face close-up shifting from sulky to smiling, then a return to the wide shot as she adjusts her crown. Follow the reference's camera angles, motion and pacing closely. Add soft night wind, faint clock ticks, airy ghost whooshes synchronized with their movements, a brief startled gasp, and a gentle relieved giggle from Lumi. Use a quiet, delicate music-box underscore. Keep the sound warm and playful, with no spoken words or narration. Preserve the hand-drawn watercolor style and vertical composition.

The player below shows the final version with sound, using the original model output. The file is 560×752 at 24 fps, runs for about 12.10 seconds, and contains a stereo AAC audio track. The model generated the sound and visuals together.

As you can see from the result, the video followed the prompt to generate Lumi's multi-shot sequence. In Arcloop, you can design and generate whatever images, text, and videos you want for your characters.

With Agent-assisted design and creation built right in, all you need to do is bring your ideas and inspiration. Your OC can start as nothing more than a single sentence, a look you love, or a scene that keeps replaying in your mind. Draw her out, fill in her design details piece by piece, and give her one small thing to do—and just like that, your story has a beginning.

For Lumi, it is sitting on the hand of an old clock tower, spending a quiet night with two little ghosts. What will the opening scene be for your character?

You can start creating your own anime OC in Arcloop too.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an Anime OC Maker and an Anime OC Generator? A Generator focuses mainly on producing an image from a text prompt, while a Maker typically includes choosing styles, picking references, and making iterative adjustments. When building a complete character, you will usually use both approaches together.

Can I still create a usable OC if I don't know how to draw? Yes. You can start with a written description explaining your character's identity, appearance, and personality, generate a concept illustration you like, and then build out turnarounds and reference sheets as needed. Just look closely at what you want to improve in each round and adjust step by step.

Why does the same OC look different the second time I generate her? AI models can interpret text prompts, reference images, and different camera angles with some variation. Using an approved character illustration as a reference and clearly stating which hairstyle, outfit, and accessories need to stay the same helps keep changes under control, though you should still check the output after each generation.

What assets do I need to prepare to go from an OC to a video? If the model you are using supports image-to-video, you can start by preparing one clear first-frame illustration and describing a simple movement. When you want your character to appear across multiple scenes or angles, adding turnaround views and expression sheets—and using them in whatever way your model supports—helps maintain consistency, though it cannot guarantee that every single shot will look identical.