# How do you keep an AI-generated character consistent across images?

Choose one completed character result as the reference, then reuse that exact Variant instead of describing the character again from memory. Keep each derived scene's Recipe, exact References, and Lineage beside its media; compare sibling Variants for drift; and explicitly select the Variant that represents the Asset. This gives every attempt a stable visual input and a traceable decision, although reference-conditioned generation can reduce drift rather than eliminate it.

## What should become the character reference?

Start with a clean result whose identity, clothing, proportions, and props are suitable for reuse. Compare sibling Variants and select the one that represents the character Asset. The public [Night Market recorded session](/#showcase) shows **Mara the Lantern-Keeper** as one Asset with three completed Variants; `4904331f` is main.

![Selected Mara Variant from the recorded session](/showcase/4904331f-1c34-416f-b7db-7f242412fe17-inspect.webp)

## How do you reuse that exact Variant in a scene?

The session passed Mara's exact selected Variant, a lantern Variant, and the selected market-square Variant into **Lantern Lighting — vignette**:

```sh
makefx image generate --refs asset:mara-the-lantern-keeper~0f4af497@4904331f,asset:the-brass-lantern~de879414@f677a830,asset:night-market-square~ef239e5a@58d45f21 --name "Lantern Lighting — vignette" --type composite "Mara reaches up to hang her glowing brass lantern on a stall post, warm light spilling over wet cobblestones and nearby faces"
```

```text
✓ asset:lantern-lighting-vignette~a36ccfb1@8de24c27 · 3 references
```

![Derived vignette from three exact recorded References](/showcase/8de24c27-38eb-4ab3-a59a-266751215cda-inspect.webp)

The result's Recipe retains the prompt and ordered References; Lineage connects all three source Variants to it. The compact loop is: generate character → compare siblings → Activate the main result → reference that exact Variant in a new Asset → inspect and select the result.

## What should you do when the character drifts?

A Reference is evidence for the model, not a pixel lock. Faces, hands, clothing, pose, lighting, and composition can still move. Compare every result with the selected character; Regenerate one deliberate change at a time and state what must stay fixed.

Read [Core Concepts](/docs/concepts) for the record, [Model & Parameter Selection](/docs/model-and-parameter-selection) for current reference inputs, or the [video consistency workflow](/docs/video-playbook) for motion. [Start the MakeFX quickstart](/docs/quickstart) to use this loop with your own media.