Kaiju Protocol - Creating the main Character Sheet and a Book Trailer
From text prompt to character sheet
We are spoiled, these days.
Character consistency used to be the biggest headache in AI storytelling. Every new generation felt like a different person wearing the same costume. But not anymore. Consistency is easy now. And we should take advantage of that to make real videos.
I’m writing Kaiju Protocol. Beatrix is my main character. Here’s exactly how I built her style sheet and multiple shot references, so she stays consistent across everything I create.
The Portrait Grid
Before anything else, I lock in the face. I use a 3x3 grid with nine different portraits showing different expressions and gestures. Hands included where needed.
This gives me a library of emotions to pull from later. Calm. Laughing. Winking. Enraged. Shy. I can reference these during animation and know exactly what the character should look like.
3x3 grid with nine different portraits of character, showing different face gestures and if needed, visible hands.
The Character Sheet
Once the face is locked, I expand to the full sheet.
For Beatrix, I needed:
Face close-up on top
Full body front view
Side view
Expression sheet with the five key emotions
Signature blue cyber tattoo on back, arms, hands, belly, not in the face
Feel free to adjust these needs depending on your character. Perhaps there is an artifact (a sword, a medallion or helmet) you need to have defined.
Create a character sheet for an original female warrior named Beatrix Aliger.
Include:
- Face close up on top
- Full body front view
- Side view
- Expression sheet with: calm, laughing, winking, enraged, shy
- Signature blue cyber tattoo in symmetric detail in back, arms, hands, and belly, specify: not in face
STYLE: deduce from references. Match the exact style and finish.
Art direction:
Cinematic premium character design sheet, dramatic action energy, detailed costume design, dynamic composition, expressive hair movement, stylish and badass. The action pose should feel explosive, cinematic, dramatic motion.
Typography:
Use sci-fi character-sheet style titles and labels, including:
“BEATRIX ALIGER”
One tip: GPT Image 2 is like an eager intern. It will add lore text even if you don’t ask. If you hate that (I do sometimes), be clear: specify exactly what text you want.
In my case, I just wanted to specify: “Blue tattoos should NOT appear in her face.”
Good enough.
The Video
Now we take all of that and push it into motion.
I’m using Seedance 2.0 to bring the character sheet to life and make a cinematic trailer. The goal is to translate the “explosive action energy” from the static sheet into actual movement. Beatrix in action, not just in pose.
Let’s go.
Build worlds. Have fun. Enjoy coffee.
-Erik.