How to create an anime character with Konyomi
- Write your character into a story. Paste a scene or a whole draft, or tell Kon your idea in a chat until Kon writes a manuscript with you. Konyomi creates characters from a story. It has no blank character form yet.
- Pick an art style. Choose one of ten styles, from Shōnen action and Shōjo romance to 90s anime and Chibi. One style applies to the whole story.
- Check the cast. Kon lists the main characters and describes six traits of each: face, hair, build, skin, outfit and one distinguishing detail. Every trait is marked "From your story" or "Kon's idea".
- Change what Kon guessed. Rewrite any trait that Kon proposed, and it becomes "Your words". A trait that your story states cannot be edited here. Change it in the story instead.
- Draw the portrait. Kon draws one portrait of the character in your chosen style. If you change a trait later, the portrait shows that it is out of date, and you can draw it again.
- Put the character in a manga. Kon draws a chapter of up to 6 pages and 16 panels with the portraits as the reference for every panel.
Anime and manga styles for your OC
Shōnen action
Shōjo romance
Retro anime
ChibiThe style decides the eyes, the line weight and the proportions of your character. A Shōjo face has large, layered eyes and fine lines. A 90s anime face has flat color and one hard shadow. A Chibi is two or three heads tall. Konyomi also has Seinen, Webtoon, Painterly, Noir, Classic comic and Superhero styles.
Read about the 90s anime style, the shoujo manga style and the chibi style, or compare six styles on one scene in manga art styles.
What Kon describes for each character
| Trait | What it covers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Face shape and features. For a creature, the head | Sharp chin, narrow green eyes |
| Hair | Color and style. For a creature, fur, a mane or none | Silver hair in a low ponytail |
| Build | Height and body. For a creature, the body plan | Tall and lean, slightly stooped |
| Skin | Skin tone. For a creature, hide, plates or scales | Warm brown skin |
| Outfit | The default clothes for the role and the setting | Long courier coat with brass buttons |
| Detail | One thing that makes the character easy to spot | A scar through the left eyebrow |
Kon never writes its guesses into your story. A trait from your text stays as you wrote it. A guess stays marked as Kon's idea until you accept it or rewrite it.
Konyomi and other OC makers
Most anime OC makers are dress-up tools: you pick a face, a hairstyle and an outfit from a set of drawn parts and save one picture. Konyomi starts from words, so it suits a writer who wants the character to live in a story.
| Konyomi | Dress-up OC maker | |
|---|---|---|
| What you give it | A story or an idea in words | Clicks on a set of drawn parts |
| What you get | A portrait in one of ten styles, then manga pages | One picture of the character |
| Unusual designs | Anything that you can describe, including creatures | Limited to the parts in the set |
| Same character in many scenes | Yes. The portrait is the reference for every panel | Not the purpose of the tool |
| Price | Signing in is free. Drawing costs gems | Often free |
Want a printable sheet for a character that you draw yourself? The free character continuity sheet holds your own reference picture with the traits that must not change. It does not draw.
Tips for an original character that reads well
- Give one detail that nobody else has. A scar, a hair clip or an odd coat makes a character easy to find in a small panel.
- Make the silhouette different. If two characters have the same height, build and hair shape, change one of them.
- Write the look into the story once. Kon treats a trait that your text states as a fact, so it never changes.
- Keep the outfit simple. A small number of strong shapes reads better at panel size than many small parts.
Our notes on AI manga character consistency explain what we learned about keeping one face across many panels. The guide on how to make a manga covers character design as one step of the whole process.
What it costs
Signing in is free. Kon reads and prepares a story once for 8 gems. A portrait of one character costs 5 gems, and Kon draws a chapter for 6 gems a panel, 84 gems for a full chapter. Plans start at $9.99 a month, after a 7-day free trial. See pricing for every step.
Common questions
Is Konyomi an anime character creator?
Yes, for characters in a story. You describe the character in a story or a chat with Kon, Kon proposes the missing looks, you edit them, and Kon draws a portrait in one of ten anime and manga styles. The portrait is then the reference for every manga panel.
Can I make an anime OC without drawing?
Yes. You describe the character in words. Kon draws the portrait and the manga pages. You do not draw or write image prompts.
Can I create a character without writing a story?
Not yet. Konyomi creates characters from a story or from a chat with Kon, which writes a short manuscript with you. A blank character form is not available.
Is the anime character creator free?
Signing in is free, and drawing costs gems. Kon prepares a story once, and each portrait and each chapter has its own gem price. The pricing page lists every step.
Will my character look the same in every panel?
Kon draws each main character once, before any page, and draws every panel with that portrait as its reference. Traits that your story states cannot be edited, so they stay as written. Check each page, because an image model can still miss a small detail.
Can I use a picture of my own character?
Not as the drawing reference. Kon draws the portrait from the words of your story. You can write the look of your own design into the story in detail.
Konyomi turns a written story into manga, with the same faces on every page.