Why does my AI character change between shots?
Because the model draws them again from your words every time. One creator in r/VEO3 says Veo “basically forgets anyone who leaves frame for more than a shot”. The tools’ answer is to show the model the same images every time, instead of more adjectives.
How do you make an AI character sheet?
- Make one clean image. The full character, front on, in the outfit they will wear, on a plain background. Google’s Flow help asks for “subject or product references on a plain or segmented background”.
- Make matching side and back views with the same image tool, changing only the angle. Kuaishou lists “three-view character sheets” among the references Kling 4.0 accepts.
- Decide one image or several. ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 guide says that for up to five subjects, single-view and multi-view images both work, but “For more than 5 subjects, single-view inputs are generally more stable”. When you need several viewpoints, it recommends splitting them “into separate images from different views, rather than using one image that contains multiple viewpoints”.
- Save it in your tool so you can call it up in every shot (below).
- Keep a text description too, word for word the same in every prompt.
Where does each tool keep your character?
| Tool | Feature | Limit | What its own guide advises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Flow | Ingredients; saved characters called with @ | Not stated on the help page | Plain background; make the prompt refer to the ingredients |
| Kling 4.0 | Omni Reference and elements | Up to 10 images and 7 elements, 15 files in all | Give every file a role |
| Kling 3.0 | Elements | Built from 2 to 4 images, or a video | Bind the element to the start frame |
| Seedance 2.5 | Reference assets | Up to 30 images, 50 files in all | Bind each file by upload order; 1 to 8 subjects work best |
| Runway Gen-4 | References (makes still images) | Up to 3 per generation | One reference can be enough; animate the stills afterwards |
How should you prompt a recurring character?
Tell the model what each image is for. Kling’s 4.0 guide warns: “If you provide only asset IDs without specifying their roles, the model will infer their intended use, making the results less predictable.” Its example gives each image a job, such as “@Image2 defines the female protagonist. Preserve her facial features, hairstyle, and clothing.”
Bind the name in the prompt, not in the picture. ByteDance’s guide says: “It is not recommended to provide mapping information only inside the image itself.” Writing a name on a character’s image and then using that name in the prompt can cause confusion or duplicates.
In Google Flow, type @ and the character’s name, or @me for your own avatar. Then describe how the character should be used in the shot.
What has worked for individual creators?
From the same r/VEO3 thread, each one person’s experience:
- A character sheet as an ingredient. One creator who skips Extend says that if you “include a character sheet”, they “get consistent characters almost every time”.
- Start and end frames. Another warns that “relying solely on the extend feature can be risky for character consistency over multiple shots” and sets an end frame so the character has a fixed destination.
- Never fully off screen. A third suggests “hiding them somewhere in frame” during environment shots, even barely, so the model does not lose them.
Can you keep the voice consistent too?
Yes, in some tools. Flow lets you “add a single-speaker voice reference” to a Gemini Omni Flash prompt, but only in generations that use ingredients. Kling 4.0 takes up to three voice profiles per generation, and Kling 3.0 binds a voice to an element so you do not set it again.
Consistency is the step most long films fail on. Our guide to making a 60-second AI film picks up from here.
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What is an AI character sheet?
One image, or a small set, showing the same character from several angles, usually front, side and back, on a plain background. You load it as a reference so the video model copies the character instead of reinventing them. Kling 4.0 lists three-view character sheets among the images it accepts; for Seedance 2.5, ByteDance advises a separate image for each view.
How many reference images should I use for one character?
Follow the tool. Kling 3.0 builds an element from 2 to 4 images, Runway says one image can be enough for its stills, and ByteDance says Seedance 2.5 works best with 1 to 8 subjects in a request.
Why does my character look different in every shot?
Because the model redraws them each time from your words. A creator in r/VEO3 says Veo forgets anyone who leaves the frame for more than a shot. Reusing the same reference images in every shot is the fix the tools are built around.
Can I keep the same voice as well as the face?
Yes, in some tools. Google Flow takes a single-speaker voice reference with Gemini Omni Flash, and Kling 4.0 takes up to three voice profiles in one generation.
How we checked this
We read Google Flow's help pages, Kling's 4.0 and 3.0 user guides and Kuaishou's Kling 4.0 release, ByteDance's Seedance 2.5 prompt guide and Runway's References help article on 29 October 2026. The limits in the table are the makers' own figures. The workflow tips from creators come from one Reddit thread in r/VEO3, and each is one person's experience. We have not run our own side-by-side test of these tools. If something has changed, tell us on WhatsApp and we will update this page.
Sources
- Reddit, r/VEO3: 'Keeping the same character when they disappear', creators' fixes, 4 March 2026
- Google Flow Help: Create videos in Google Flow: ingredients, characters, voices
- Kuaishou: release on the Kling 4.0 launch, 16 October 2026
- Kling: Kling 4.0 user guide, Omni Reference
- Kling: Kling VIDEO 3.0 user guide, elements
- ByteDance (BytePlus): Dreamina Seedance 2.5 prompt guide, reference assets
- Runway Help: Creating with Gen-4 Image References