# Best AI Character Generators

> Source: https://theexpertranking.com/image/best-ai-character-generator/ · Updated 2026-09-26 · By Ajith Nagappan, reviewed by Praneetha S R · The Expert Ranking (independent; no paid placements)

A good AI character generator does more than draw one nice picture. It draws the **same** character again: the same face, hair, outfit and proportions, in a new pose, scene or style. That is what you need for a comic, a children's book, a game, a mascot or a social media series, and it is where most image tools still slip.

We ranked 10 tools on character consistency, art quality, control, price and rights, using each vendor's own docs and pricing pages as of 26 September 2026. We also explain who owns the characters you make, and where copyright, trademarks and real people's faces create risk.

**Quick answer:** **Google Gemini (Nano Banana) is the best AI character generator for most people in September 2026.** Google says its image models keep up to five people consistent in one workflow, you edit in plain English, and the free plan includes image generation. **ChatGPT Images** is a close second with more precise prompt following. Pick **OpenArt** for a saved character library, **Scenario** for game assets, and **Leonardo.Ai** for the best daily free allowance among the dedicated studios.

## Scoreboard

| # | Tool | Score /10 | Price from | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Gemini (Nano Banana) (Google) | 8.8 | Free; Google AI Plus $4.99/month | Free, consistent characters across many scenes |
| 2 | ChatGPT Images (OpenAI) | 8.7 | Free; Go $8/month, Plus $20/month | Detailed character briefs and sketch-to-character poses |
| 3 | OpenArt (OpenArt) | 8.3 | $13/month billed yearly (Starter) | A reusable cast for books, comics and video series |
| 4 | Scenario (Scenario) | 8.3 | $15/month (Starter) | Game characters, sprite sheets and 3D assets |
| 5 | Leonardo.Ai (Leonardo.Ai (owned by Canva)) | 8.2 | Free; Essential $12/month | Many character controls on a small budget |
| 6 | Ideogram (Ideogram) | 8.0 | Free; Plus $20/month ($15 billed yearly) | One human character next to clean text, from a single photo |
| 7 | Midjourney (Midjourney) | 7.9 | $10/month (Basic) | Artists who value a distinctive, polished look |
| 8 | Krea (Krea) | 7.9 | Free; Pro $35/month ($21 billed yearly) | Trying many models and training your own character |
| 9 | NovelAI (Anlatan) | 7.4 | $10/month (Tablet) | Adults designing anime-style characters |
| 10 | Artbreeder (Artbreeder) | 6.9 | Free; Starter $8.99/month | Exploring faces for a story or game before you commit |

## Scoring criteria

- **Character consistency** (30%): How reliably the same face, hair, outfit and proportions survive new poses, scenes and styles, and how many characters it can hold at once.
- **Art quality & style range** (20%): Image quality, anatomy and hands, and how many styles it handles well, from photoreal to anime to flat cartoon.
- **Control & workflow** (20%): Reference tools, saved characters, custom training, turnaround and expression sheets, and precise edits without redrawing everything.
- **Value & free access** (15%): What the free plan really gives you, the entry price, and how fast credits run out on character work.
- **Rights & safety** (15%): Who owns the output, whether commercial use needs a higher plan, whether images are public by default, and content safeguards.

## Expert reviews

### 1. Google Gemini (Nano Banana): 8.8/10

Vendor: Google · Website: https://gemini.google.com · Pricing: Free; Google AI Plus $4.99/month (Freemium, free tier)

Gemini is the easiest way to keep one character looking the same across a whole story, and you can start for free. Google says its image models, Nano Banana 2 (the default since February 2026) and Nano Banana Pro, keep the resemblance of up to five people and up to 14 objects in a single workflow. In practice you upload a character image, then ask for new poses, outfits, scenes and camera angles in plain English, and the face, hair and clothes stay steady.

It also edits well. You can ask for one change ("give her a red scarf") without the rest of the picture being redrawn, which is what makes a character sheet or a picture-book spread workable.

The limits are about output, not skill. Free users get a small Nano Banana Pro quota before falling back to the standard model, and Google adds a visible watermark to Free and Pro images; only Ultra removes it. Google says it does not claim ownership of what you make, but it may generate similar images for other people.

**Pick it if** you want strong consistency without a subscription. **Skip it if** you need a saved character library, custom training or clean, unwatermarked files on a small budget.

Scores: Character consistency 9.2 · Art quality & style range 9 · Control & workflow 8.4 · Value & free access 8.8 · Rights & safety 8.3

Pros:
- Keeps up to five people consistent in one workflow (Google's figure)
- Plain-English edits change one detail and keep the rest
- Image generation is included on the free plan
- Google does not claim ownership of your images

Cons:
- Visible watermark on Free and Pro images
- No saved character library or custom training in the app
- The free Nano Banana Pro quota is small and unpublished

### 2. ChatGPT Images: 8.7/10

Vendor: OpenAI · Website: https://chatgpt.com · Pricing: Free; Go $8/month, Plus $20/month (Freemium, free tier)

ChatGPT is the strongest all-round tool in our [AI image generator ranking](https://theexpertranking.com/image/best-ai-image-generator/), and GPT Image 2.5, launched on 8 September 2026, made it much better at characters. OpenAI says the update keeps a person or object looking the same across a chain of edits, and adds a Sketch mode that turns a rough drawing into a finished picture. That matters for character design: draw a stick-figure pose, and ChatGPT renders your character in it.

The workflow is a conversation. Describe or upload the character once, then ask for a turnaround sheet, an expression grid or a new scene. It follows long, detailed briefs better than most rivals and handles words on signs, badges and speech bubbles.

It sits just behind Gemini because the free image allowance is small and unpublished, and there is no saved character library. Over a long chat the design can drift, so you will re-attach your reference sheet often. OpenAI's terms assign you its rights in what you generate, but that does not make a copy of someone else's character safe to use.

**Pick it if** you already pay for ChatGPT or want the most precise prompt following. **Skip it if** you need many free images a day or a character you can call up in any project.

Scores: Character consistency 9 · Art quality & style range 9.3 · Control & workflow 8.5 · Value & free access 8 · Rights & safety 8.5

Pros:
- Excellent prompt following and text inside images
- GPT Image 2.5 keeps characters steady across edit chains (OpenAI)
- Sketch mode turns a drawn pose into a finished character
- Available on web, desktop and mobile apps

Cons:
- Free image allowance is small and not published
- No saved characters; long chats can drift
- Heavy users need Plus ($20/month) or higher

### 3. OpenArt: 8.3/10

Vendor: OpenArt · Website: https://openart.ai · Pricing: $13/month billed yearly (Starter) (Paid)

OpenArt is the best pick if you want a character you can save, name and reuse, rather than re-upload every time. You create a character from a reference image, a written description or a step-by-step builder (vibe, age range and so on), and OpenArt stores it. You then pick it from a list in any later image or video, and it keeps the same face, hair and outfit.

Under the hood it runs well-known models, including Nano Banana Pro, Seedream 5.0 and GPT Image 2, so image quality is close to the leaders. The extra value is the workflow: a character library, story tools and video in one place, which suits comics, children's books and short social series.

The catches are money and rights. There is no ongoing free plan, only a 40-credit, 7-day trial. Starter ($13 a month billed yearly) excludes commercial use, so anyone selling their work needs Plus at $27 a month billed yearly. OpenArt says generations are private by default, it makes no ownership claim over your images, and it restricts NSFW content.

**Pick it if** you are building a recurring cast for a book, channel or brand. **Skip it if** you only need a few images or want a free tool.

Scores: Character consistency 8.8 · Art quality & style range 8.5 · Control & workflow 9 · Value & free access 7 · Rights & safety 7.5

Pros:
- Saved characters you can reuse across images and video
- Three ways to create a character, including from one image
- Access to several leading third-party models in one plan
- Generations are private by default, even on the trial

Cons:
- No ongoing free plan, only a 7-day trial
- Commercial use starts at Plus ($27/month billed yearly)
- Credits run out fast if you also make video

### 4. Scenario: 8.3/10

Vendor: Scenario · Website: https://www.scenario.com · Pricing: $15/month (Starter) (Freemium, free tier)

Scenario is built for game studios, and it is the strongest tool here for turning one character into a full set of production assets. Its core idea is custom training: upload 5 to 15 images of a character (or 10 to 30 of an art style) and Scenario trains a private model that repeats that look. Ready-made apps then produce a six-angle turnaround, a character sheet, sprite sheets and animation frames, and you can turn images into 3D models.

That makes it a pipeline rather than a toy. Results depend on the models you train and choose, so raw image quality varies more than with ChatGPT or Gemini, and there is a learning curve.

Its rights are the clearest on this list. Scenario says you own what you create on paid plans and can sell or ship it without royalties, that everything is private to your organisation by default, and that your data is never used to train its models. It is SOC 2 Type II certified. The catch: the free tier's 50 daily credits are for personal and evaluation use only, and training needs the $45 Pro plan.

**Pick it if** you make games or need turnarounds, sprite sheets and 3D. **Skip it if** you just want a quick character picture.

Scores: Character consistency 8.5 · Art quality & style range 7.8 · Control & workflow 9 · Value & free access 6.8 · Rights & safety 9

Pros:
- Private custom training for characters and art styles
- Turnaround, character sheet, sprite sheet and 3D tools
- Clear ownership and royalty-free commercial use on paid plans
- SOC 2 Type II and no training on customer data (vendor claims)

Cons:
- Free outputs are for personal and evaluation use only
- Training starts on the $45/month Pro plan
- Steeper learning curve than chat-style tools

### 5. Leonardo.Ai: 8.2/10

Vendor: Leonardo.Ai (owned by Canva) · Website: https://leonardo.ai · Pricing: Free; Essential $12/month (Freemium, free tier)

Leonardo gives you the most character controls for the money. Its Character Reference tool takes one image and carries the face and key traits into new pictures at Low, Mid or High strength. You can stack it with Style Reference, and when a character must never drift, you can train a personal model on a small set of your own images. A canvas editor handles fixes such as hands, props or outfits.

The free plan gives 150 fast tokens a day, enough to test a character concept, and paid plans start at $12 a month. That daily allowance is the best free deal among the dedicated studios on this list.

Two things hold it back. Leonardo's own models do not lead the independent image leaderboards, so its best-looking results often come from the partner models it also offers. And rights depend on your plan: free users may use images commercially, but those images are public and other users can copy and remix them. Paid users can switch on private mode and keep full ownership, Leonardo says.

**Pick it if** you want lots of control and a daily free allowance. **Skip it if** you want the simplest chat-style workflow, which Gemini and ChatGPT do better.

Scores: Character consistency 8.2 · Art quality & style range 8 · Control & workflow 8.8 · Value & free access 8.5 · Rights & safety 7.5

Pros:
- Character Reference with adjustable strength
- Personal model training for characters that must not drift
- 150 free tokens a day, the best free allowance among studios
- Canvas editor for fixing hands, props and outfits

Cons:
- Free images are public and can be remixed by others
- In-house models trail the leaders on quality
- Many settings to learn before results are reliable

### 6. Ideogram: 8.0/10

Vendor: Ideogram · Website: https://ideogram.ai · Pricing: Free; Plus $20/month ($15 billed yearly) (Freemium, free tier)

Ideogram Character is the quickest way to put the same face into many scenes. Upload one clear photo or portrait, write a prompt, and Ideogram automatically masks the face and hair and carries them into the new image. There is no training step, and you can edit the mask to keep accessories or change a hairstyle.

It pairs this with Ideogram's main strength: accurate text inside images. That makes it a good fit for book covers, posters and social graphics where the same character appears next to a title or slogan.

The limits are scope and privacy. Ideogram's guidance and examples focus on realistic human faces, so stylised cartoon or non-human characters are less reliable. On the free plan your images are public, and private generation needs a paid plan from $15 a month billed yearly. Ideogram says it does not claim ownership of your images and allows commercial use on any plan, but that does not cover uploading someone else's photo without their consent.

**Pick it if** you need a consistent human character next to clean text. **Skip it if** your characters are animals, creatures or heavily stylised.

Scores: Character consistency 8 · Art quality & style range 8 · Control & workflow 7.8 · Value & free access 8.2 · Rights & safety 7.8

Pros:
- Consistent faces from one image, with no training
- Editable face and hair mask
- Best-in-class text for covers and posters
- Commercial use allowed on every plan (Ideogram says)

Cons:
- Built around human faces; weaker for creatures and mascots
- Free images are public
- Small free weekly allowance

### 7. Midjourney: 7.9/10

Vendor: Midjourney · Website: https://www.midjourney.com · Pricing: $10/month (Basic) (Paid)

Midjourney makes the most striking character art on this list, but keeping one character consistent takes more work than with the leaders. On V7, Omni Reference places a character from one image into new scenes, and you tune how closely it sticks. On the newer V8 family, Midjourney opened a V8.2 edit model on 27 August 2026 that builds images from up to four references and replaces Omni Reference there. Style references and mood boards remain its best feature: nothing matches a look as easily.

That split is the problem. The consistency tools changed between versions, and Niji 7, the anime model, does not support character references at all. Expect more rerolls to get the same face twice.

There is no free tier, and plans start at $10 a month. Midjourney says you own your images, even after you cancel, but they appear in its public gallery unless you pay for Stealth mode on Pro ($60 a month) or Mega. Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. are suing Midjourney over images of their characters, a reminder not to prompt for famous franchises.

**Pick it if** style and polish matter more than speed. **Skip it if** you need a free tier or dependable same-face results.

Scores: Character consistency 7.8 · Art quality & style range 9.2 · Control & workflow 8 · Value & free access 6.5 · Rights & safety 7.5

Pros:
- Distinctive, polished art that suits concept work
- Style references and mood boards for a consistent look
- V8.2 edit model accepts up to four reference images
- You keep ownership after cancelling

Cons:
- No free tier
- Character tools differ between V7, V8 and Niji 7
- Images are public unless you pay $60/month or more

### 8. Krea: 7.9/10

Vendor: Krea · Website: https://www.krea.ai · Pricing: Free; Pro $35/month ($21 billed yearly) (Freemium, free tier)

Krea is a multi-model studio: one subscription covers its own Krea 2 model plus third-party models such as GPT Image 2.5, Nano Banana 2, FLUX and Ideogram. For characters, Krea has published a guide to making turnaround sheets, expression grids and costume variations with Krea 2, and it lets you train a LoRA (a small add-on model) on your finished character so later images keep the same face and silhouette. Krea says LoRAs are private by default and your training images stay private even if you share a LoRA.

The appeal is choice. You can design a character in one model, refine it in another and train on the results, all in one place, with a node editor for repeatable workflows.

The downsides are complexity and cost. Compute units are shared across all models, and the premium ones use them fast: Krea estimates that Pro's 20,000 monthly units cover about 257 Nano Banana 2 images. The free plan gives 100 units a day but no commercial licence, which starts with Pro at $35 a month, or $21 billed yearly.

**Pick it if** you like comparing models and want to train your own character. **Skip it if** you want one simple app with a clear price per image.

Scores: Character consistency 7.8 · Art quality & style range 8.5 · Control & workflow 8.3 · Value & free access 7.2 · Rights & safety 7.5

Pros:
- Many leading image models under one plan
- LoRA training for a locked-in character, private by default
- Node editor for repeatable character workflows
- Daily free allowance of 100 units

Cons:
- No commercial licence on the free plan
- Premium models burn through compute units quickly
- More complex than a single-model app

### 9. NovelAI: 7.4/10

Vendor: Anlatan · Website: https://novelai.net · Pricing: $10/month (Tablet) (Paid)

NovelAI is a specialist anime image generator, and its Precise Reference tool is one of the better ways to keep an anime-style character consistent. You add an image of your character and the model reproduces them in new poses and scenes, often without you describing any details. Each reference adds 5 Anlas (NovelAI's credits) to the cost. NovelAI Diffusion V5, released on 21 August 2026, can place up to 22 distinct characters in one scene and draw full multi-panel comic pages.

There is a gap, though: Precise Reference works only on the older V4.5 models for now, and NovelAI says reference tools will come to V5 later.

It scores lower for two reasons. The style range is narrow (anime and illustration), and it is an adults-only service: the terms require users to be 18 or older. NovelAI describes its Curated models as trained on cleaner images and safer to show on stream, while the Full models use a broader dataset, so choose Curated for anything you will share. NovelAI says it claims no ownership of your content.

**Pick it if** you are an adult making anime characters and want deep control. **Skip it if** you need other art styles, a family-safe tool or a free plan.

Scores: Character consistency 7.8 · Art quality & style range 7.5 · Control & workflow 7.8 · Value & free access 7.5 · Rights & safety 5.5

Pros:
- Precise Reference keeps anime characters consistent
- V5 handles up to 22 characters and full comic pages
- Opus includes unlimited normal-size V4.5 images
- NovelAI claims no ownership of your content

Cons:
- 18+ only; not suitable for younger creators
- Precise Reference does not yet work on V5
- Anime and illustration styles only

### 10. Artbreeder: 6.9/10

Vendor: Artbreeder · Website: https://www.artbreeder.com · Pricing: Free; Starter $8.99/month (Freemium, free tier)

Artbreeder is the odd one out here: it is better at finding a character than at locking one in. You can mix images together, adjust features and remix other people's public creations until a face looks right. It suits writers, tabletop players and game designers who need quick portraits of a cast before settling on a final design.

For consistency it trails everything else on this list. Gemini, OpenArt or Leonardo take a finished character and redraw it in new scenes; Artbreeder is stronger at exploring variations than at repeating one exact identity in a new pose.

Its licensing is unusual. Artbreeder says all public images are public domain (CC0), so anyone, including a competitor, may use them commercially. Subscribers can make images private, and Artbreeder says private images stay private even after a subscription ends. The free plan is tight at 3 credits a month, and paid plans start at $8.99 a month.

**Pick it if** you want to explore faces and moods before you design a character properly. **Skip it if** you need a character to stay identical across scenes, or you need exclusive rights to your art.

Scores: Character consistency 6.5 · Art quality & style range 6.8 · Control & workflow 7 · Value & free access 7.8 · Rights & safety 7

Pros:
- Good for exploring and blending face ideas
- Cheap paid plans from $8.99/month
- Private images stay private after you cancel (Artbreeder says)

Cons:
- Weakest same-character consistency on this list
- Public images are CC0, so anyone can reuse them
- Only 3 free credits a month

## Three ways AI keeps a character consistent

Every tool on this list uses one or more of three methods. Knowing which one a tool uses tells you how much work you will do.

| Method | How it works | Tools | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reference image | You upload one picture of the character and ask for a new scene. The model copies the identity. | Gemini, ChatGPT, Ideogram, Leonardo, Midjourney, NovelAI | Low |
| Saved character | The app stores the character once, and you pick it from a list in later images or videos. | OpenArt | Low after setup |
| Custom training (LoRA) | You train a small add-on model on a set of images of the character. Scenario suggests 5 to 15 for one subject. | Scenario, Krea, Leonardo | Medium to high |

Reference images are fast but can drift over a long project, especially if you keep feeding the newest image back in. Training takes longer up front but gives the steadiest results across hundreds of images, which is why game studios use it.

## Pricing and rights compared (26 September 2026)

| Tool | Free option | Entry paid plan | Commercial use | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini | Yes, limited quota | $4.99/month (Google AI Plus) | Yes; Google claims no ownership | Visible watermark on Free and Pro |
| ChatGPT Images | Yes, small quota | $8/month (Go) | Yes; OpenAI assigns you its rights | Unpublished image limits |
| OpenArt | 7-day, 40-credit trial | $13/month billed yearly (Starter) | Plus ($27/month billed yearly) and up | Starter has no commercial rights |
| Scenario | 50 credits a day | $15/month (Starter) | All paid plans | Free output is personal or evaluation use only |
| Leonardo.Ai | 150 tokens a day | $12/month (Essential) | All plans | Free images are public |
| Ideogram | Small weekly allowance | $20/month ($15 billed yearly) | All plans | Free images are public |
| Midjourney | None | $10/month (Basic) | Paid plans; over $1M revenue needs Pro or Mega | Public gallery unless Pro ($60/month) |
| Krea | 100 units a day | $35/month ($21 billed yearly) | Pro and up | No commercial licence on Free |
| NovelAI | 30-image trial | $10/month (Tablet) | Not addressed in the terms; no ownership claim | 18+ only |
| Artbreeder | 3 credits a month | $8.99/month (Starter) | Yes; public images are CC0 | Anyone can reuse your public images |

Prices are in US dollars from each vendor's pricing page. Credit systems differ, so test your own character with a free allowance before you pay.

## Copyright, trademarks and real people

A tool's terms saying "you own the output" only settles things between you and the vendor. It gives you no rights to anyone else's work.

- **Famous characters are not yours to sell.** Characters such as Mario, Pikachu, Elsa or Spider-Man are protected by copyright and trademark. Selling AI images of them, or putting them in a logo, ad or product, invites an infringement claim. Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. are suing Midjourney over images of their characters, and the case was still running in mid-2026.
- **Do not prompt with living artists' names.** Copying a living illustrator's style by name is legally unsettled and unwelcome to many artists. Describe the look instead ("thick ink outlines, flat pastel colours").
- **Real people need consent.** Turning a friend, client or celebrity into a character uses their likeness. Get permission first, and never show a real person in a sexual, violent or misleading way.
- **Pure AI output may not be protected by copyright in the US.** The US Copyright Office said in January 2025 that prompts alone do not give enough human control for copyright, but your own drawings, edits and the way you select and arrange images can be protected. If you plan to license a character, keep your sketches and edit history.
- **Check the plan, not just the tool.** OpenArt Starter, Krea Free and Scenario Free do not include commercial rights, and free images on Leonardo, Ideogram and Artbreeder are public.

## How to build a consistent character in five steps

1. **Write a character card.** Name, age, build, face shape, hair, eye colour, outfit and one distinctive mark (a scar, a badge, a colour). Keep it under 60 words.
2. **Make a neutral turnaround.** Ask for front, three-quarter, side and back views on a plain background, in one image.
3. **Choose a master reference.** Pick the best result and save it outside the app, so you always return to the original rather than a copy of a copy.
4. **Generate scenes one at a time.** Attach the master reference, paste the character card, then describe only the new pose, place and mood.
5. **Check for drift.** Every 10 to 20 images, compare with the master. If the face or outfit has changed, go back to the master, or train a LoRA on your best images in Scenario, Krea or Leonardo.

## Expert tips

1. Make a turnaround sheet (front, three-quarter, side, back on a plain background) before any story scenes, and use it as the reference for every later image.
2. Keep a fixed "character card" of about 50 words (hair, eyes, outfit, one distinctive mark) and paste it into every prompt unchanged. Most drift starts when the description changes.
3. Always go back to your saved master image as the reference, not the last image you made. Copying a copy is how faces slowly change.
4. Switch on private generation before you design a character you plan to sell: it needs a paid plan on Leonardo and Ideogram, and Pro or Mega on Midjourney.
5. Save your own sketches, edits and the order you chose images in. The US Copyright Office says those human contributions can be protected even when the raw AI output is not.

## Jargon explained

- **Character consistency**: An AI tool's ability to draw the same character again with the same face, hair, outfit and proportions in a new scene.
- **Reference image**: A picture you upload so the AI can copy a character's look into a new image, instead of relying on words alone.
- **LoRA**: A small add-on model trained on your own images so a generator can repeat a specific character or art style.
- **Turnaround sheet**: One image showing a character from the front, side, three-quarter and back views, used by artists as a design reference.
- **CC0 (public domain)**: A licence that gives up all rights to an image, so anyone can use it for anything, including commercially, without asking.
- **Stealth or private mode**: A paid setting that keeps your images out of a tool's public gallery so other users cannot see or copy them.

## FAQ

**What is the best AI character generator in 2026?**

For most people, **Google Gemini (Nano Banana)**. Google says it keeps up to five people consistent in one workflow, it edits in plain English and the free plan includes image generation. **ChatGPT Images** is a close second, **OpenArt** is best for a saved cast of characters and **Scenario** is best for game assets.

**Can AI keep the same character in different poses and outfits?**

Yes. Upload a clear reference image (Gemini, ChatGPT, Ideogram, Leonardo), save the character in a library (OpenArt), or train a small custom model on your character (Scenario, Krea, Leonardo). Training gives the steadiest results for long projects; reference images are quicker for a handful of scenes.

**Is there a free AI character generator?**

Several. **Gemini** includes image generation on its free plan, **Leonardo.Ai** gives 150 tokens a day, **Krea** gives 100 compute units a day and **Ideogram** has a small weekly allowance. Scenario's 50 free daily credits are for personal and evaluation use only, and Krea's free plan has no commercial licence.

**Who owns an AI-generated character, and can I copyright it?**

Most vendors say you own the output or that they claim no ownership (Google, OpenAI, Midjourney, Ideogram, OpenArt, Scenario, NovelAI). Artbreeder is different: public images are CC0 public domain. Copyright is a separate question. The US Copyright Office said in January 2025 that prompts alone are not enough for copyright, but your own drawings, edits and arrangement can be protected.

**Can I use AI to make images of existing characters like Pikachu or Spider-Man?**

Do not use them commercially. Famous characters are protected by copyright and trademark, and studios are actively suing AI companies over them. Keep fan art private, and for anything you sell or publish, design an original character instead.

**Which AI character generator is best for video game characters?**

**Scenario**. It trains private models on your characters, makes six-angle turnarounds, character sheets and sprite sheets, converts images to 3D, and says paid users own their assets and can ship them royalty-free. Krea and Leonardo are cheaper alternatives with LoRA or personal model training.

**Can I turn a photo of myself into a cartoon or anime character?**

Yes. Gemini, ChatGPT and Ideogram all accept a photo as a reference. Use your own photo or get clear consent from the person in it, and check the app's privacy settings first: on Leonardo's and Ideogram's free plans, images are public. For more photo-to-cartoon apps, see our [best AI cartoon generators](https://theexpertranking.com/image/best-ai-cartoon-generator/).

## Sources

1. [Nano Banana 2: Google's latest AI image generation model](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/ai/nano-banana-2/) (Google)
2. [Nano Banana Pro: Gemini 3 Pro Image model](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/nano-banana-pro/) (Google)
3. [Google AI plans and subscriptions](https://gemini.google/us/subscriptions/) (Google)
4. [Google Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) (Google)
5. [Introducing ChatGPT Images 2.5](https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-images-2-5/) (OpenAI)
6. [ChatGPT pricing](https://chatgpt.com/pricing) (OpenAI)
7. [OpenAI Terms of Use](https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use/) (OpenAI)
8. [OpenArt pricing](https://openart.ai/pricing) (OpenArt)
9. [OpenArt AI character generator](https://openart.ai/features/ai-character/) (OpenArt)
10. [OpenArt help center](https://openart.ai/suite/help-center) (OpenArt)
11. [Scenario pricing](https://www.scenario.com/pricing) (Scenario)
12. [Scenario homepage (character tools and security)](https://www.scenario.com/) (Scenario)
13. [How to create consistent characters with Character Reference](https://leonardo.ai/learn/core-feature/how-to-create-consistent-characters-with-character-reference) (Leonardo.Ai)
14. [Leonardo.Ai commercial usage](https://intercom.help/leonardo-ai/en/articles/8044018-commercial-usage) (Leonardo.Ai)
15. [Leonardo.Ai pricing](https://leonardo.ai/pricing) (Leonardo.Ai)
16. [Ideogram Character](https://ideogram.ai/features/character/) (Ideogram)
17. [Character Reference (Ideogram docs)](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/generation-settings/character-reference) (Ideogram)
18. [Ideogram pricing](https://ideogram.ai/pricing) (Ideogram)
19. [Edit model for V8.2](https://updates.midjourney.com/edit-model-for-v8/) (Midjourney)
20. [Midjourney pricing](https://www.midjourney.com/pricing) (Midjourney)
21. [Niji 7 is here: better linework, cleaner output](https://geekycuriosity.substack.com/p/niji-7-is-here-better-linework-cleaner) (Geeky Curiosity)
22. [Krea pricing](https://www.krea.ai/pricing) (Krea)
23. [Krea 2 character sheets: turnarounds, expressions and more](https://www.krea.ai/blog/character-design-with-krea-2) (Krea)
24. [Krea 2 LoRA training is now available](https://www.krea.ai/blog/krea-2-lora-training) (Krea)
25. [NovelAI Diffusion V5 is here](https://journal.novelai.net/image-generation-novelai-diffusion-v5-is-here-c2df7c6b8d2d/) (NovelAI)
26. [Precise Reference (NovelAI docs)](https://docs.novelai.net/en/image/precisereference/) (NovelAI)
27. [NovelAI image generation models](https://docs.novelai.net/en/image/models/) (NovelAI)
28. [NovelAI subscription tiers](https://docs.novelai.net/en/subscription/) (NovelAI)
29. [NovelAI Terms of Service](https://novelai.net/terms) (NovelAI)
30. [Artbreeder pricing](https://www.artbreeder.com/pricing) (Artbreeder)
31. [Artbreeder support (licence and private mode)](https://www.artbreeder.com/support) (Artbreeder)
32. [Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, Part 2: Copyrightability](https://www.copyright.gov/ai/Copyright-and-Artificial-Intelligence-Part-2-Copyrightability-Report.pdf) (U.S. Copyright Office)
33. [Midjourney wants Hollywood studios to reveal the details of their AI usage](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/04/midjourney-wants-hollywood-studios-to-reveal-the-details-of-their-ai-usage/) (TechCrunch)