2025 Character Design Guide: Styles, AI Character Generator Tools & Workflow

Character design is the process of creating characters with specific identities, backstories, and visual traits. A well-designed character not only looks appealing but also connects emotionally with the audience. The design process typically involves two key aspects:

1. Internal Design : Personality, goals, beliefs, experiences, tone of voice, and behavior patterns.
2. External Design : Physical appearance (hairstyle, face shape, expression), clothing style, accessories, posture, and more.

These two aspects should complement each other to build a vivid and compelling character. For example, an introverted and calm character might wear minimalistic, cool-toned outfits with soft lines, while an energetic and passionate character may have bold hairstyles, bright colors, and dynamic body language.

There is no single right way to approach character design. However, styles can be categorized based on purpose and target audience. Here are six common character design styles, along with their traits and suggested use cases:

AI Character Generator Prompt Examples

Have an idea but don’t know how to visualize it? With AI character generator tools, simply enter a short text prompt to instantly generate stunning fantasy character images with full composition and atmosphere. Here are two AI image prompts you can try for your next character design:

1. Left image: A girl in a yellow hat enjoying a sunny vacation day (Anime style:3)
2. Right image: A high school girl in anime style, long hair, delicate face, big bright eyes, wearing a sailor uniform under the sunset (Japanese anime style:3)

When generating characters with AI, you can adjust the prompt with style tags and values in parentheses. Values from 0 to 5 adjust intensity—higher numbers result in stronger stylistic output.

Style Settings for AI-Generated Characters

Using the same prompt with different style settings will yield vastly different results. For example, the GenApe AI character generator created the image below using the prompt: a pixel-style male wizard, 16-bit design, purple cloak, holding a staff, with a nostalgic retro game background (Pixel Art Style:3).

Choosing "Pixel Art Style" produces retro characters with visible pixels and vintage color schemes. Switching to another style changes the overall visual direction and detail level. GenApe allows you to easily switch styles to match your project needs.

1. Define Backstory and Theme

Before you start, define the character's world, role, age group, and psychological traits. These influence the appearance and design choices—a bard from a fantasy realm will look very different from a sci-fi cyborg warrior.

2. Gather Reference Materials

Build your own design reference library using sites like Pinterest, ArtStation, and DeviantArt. You can also generate concept thumbnails using GenApe's ai character generator for fast visual exploration.

3. Sketch and Composition

Start sketching or use an AI character generator tool to create rough drafts. Try out different poses, expressions, and actions before refining the design.

4. Line Art, Coloring, and Final Render

Once you settle on a direction, create clean line art and add color. Choose a style based on your character’s role (e.g., oil painting for epic tone, watercolor for emotional softness). GenApe offers style presets to help speed up production and maintain visual consistency.

We recommend using GenApe's line art and coloring combo feature to finalize your character visuals. It supports both text-to-image generation and image uploads, allowing you to:

1. Generate black-and-white sketches using prompts
2. Upload your favorite sketch to GenApe for stylized coloring

This workflow gives you full control over design and layout while enjoying the speed and quality of AI-powered visuals. Even hand-drawn sketches can be uploaded to GenApe for colorization and finalization. The image below shows a side-by-side example of line art vs. colored result:

Beyond hand drawing, more artists are now using AI tools to assist with sketching and style exploration. Here are three popular AI character generator platforms worth trying:

In the competitive world of character design, efficiency, uniqueness, and control over visual style are key to landing projects. Here's how to improve your workflow and stand out:

How to Improve Proposal Efficiency?

In commercial projects, your first draft often makes the biggest impression. GenApe's AI character generator lets you quickly produce multiple style variations of the same character , helping clients visualize ideas and make decisions faster, reducing back-and-forth revisions.

Its text-to-image and image-upload tools make it easy to deliver quick character prototypes tailored to client needs, boosting overall workflow productivity.

How to Build a Standout Character Design Portfolio?

Your character design portfolio is your gateway to job opportunities. Use GenApe's AI-generated images to build visual showcases that highlight your style control and design flexibility.

Whether you use Behance, ArtStation, a personal site, or social media, GenApe’s high-res images are perfect for covers, hero sections, and interactive character cards.

Also consider showing the progression from sketch to final colored piece using GenApe, which helps convey your creative process and boosts your professionalism.

Character design blends storytelling and visuals. GenApe's AI character generator supports both text prompts and image references, offering various styles that bring your ideas to life. Sign up for GenApe and start your AI-powered character design journey today!