Master Character Consistency: A Guide to Using Fixed Seed in Leonardo AI

Hey everyone, I’m here today to share with you some insights on fixed seed in Leonardo AI. Fixed seed is my best-kept secret when it comes to making consistent character images. So let’s get started! Okay, so fixed seed in Leonardo AI will make sure your characters look the same on your images, every time. Sometimes when you generate characters with random seeds you might find that the images look different when you render them even though you used the same random seed.

Introduction

Chances are that you landed on this guide because, after creating some images with Leonardo AI, you wondered: ‘How can I make my characters look the same in every image?’If that’s the million-dollar question at the back of your mind, consider yourself in the right space. We’re about to guide you through the process of using fixed seeds to generate consistent-looking characters in Leonardo. And by the time you’ve finished this quick guide, with just the flip of a switch, image consistency will be as smooth as a warm, digital smudge.

But, for those of you who have never used Leonardo AI, you have no idea what you are missing. While some AI art tools require you to jump through multiple online hoops before accessing the application (I’m looking at you, Discord server-controlled apps), Leonardo AI has a clean, easy-to-use interface, not too unlike what you would expect from photo or drawing software designed for human use. For the seasoned AI artist and the novice alike, it’s a game changer.

Understanding Fixed Seed in Leonardo AI

Okay, so before explaining what the nitty-gritty entails, let’s do some fancy footwork by finding a definition of ‘seed’ in AI image generation. In this context, a seed is what gives the AI its instructions for how to randomise all of the pixels in your picture. When you use a random seed, it’s like randomly dealing yourself a hand of cards: every time you play, you might get different things. But when you use a fixed seed? That’s when the magic starts.

Connecting to a fixed seed in Leonardo AI is like telling a robot: ‘Hey, remember that prominent character you worked out last night? Here he is again, try changing his pose!’ That fixed seed is your ticket to hold on to all the important details of that character you made – those striking features in the face, that certain hair colour, that interesting injury that only he is known to have.

The advantages? Where to begin? Consistent characters over the series of pictures, easier storytelling, making a coherent series of pictures, and a huge time-saver. Forget the endless regeneration to get the character looking just right.

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Using Fixed Seed in Leonardo AI

So now that we know what a cool feature this is, let’s get our hands dirty and learn how to use it. You’re sure to find it’s not as complicated as you think.

Step 1: Fire up Leonardo AI and head to the image generation interface.

Source: Leonardo.ai

Step 2: Bend your eyes toward the ‘advanced settings’ section in the lower right corner of the screen. It’s easy to miss, like someone hiding under a desk. But it’s worth finding.

Source: Leonardo.ai

Step 3: After you find the option of using Fixed Seed, simply turn on this option to begin using this.

Step 4: If this is your first time, leave it blank and let Leonardo AI create a random seed, type in any prompt and click the generate button to generate your character for you.

Step 5: Like what you see? Beautiful, now find the seed number in the image metadata. Simply click on the three-dot icon which is present above your image generations. You will see the Copy Seed option, simply click on that to copy the seed number.

Alternatively, you can also find the Seed number by clicking on View Generation Info in the above options and you will find the Seed number in the Generation information as shown below.

Step 6: Paste the seed number in the ‘Fixed Seed’ field for your next generation.

Step 7: Tweak your prompt (shift the pose, the background, etc.), but keep that seed identical.

Step 8: Click on generate and watch your character born, keeping their core traits!

Just bear in mind, that the fixed seed gives your character a set identity, but you can still play around with other parameters, trying out different prompts, styles or backgrounds with your character staying the same.

Practical Examples (with screenshots)

Let’s put this into practice with some real-world examples. I will take you through three situations where fixed seed is the hero of the hour.

Example 1: Creating a consistent character across multiple poses

Let’s say we’ve created an awesome cyberpunk detective. Here’s our initial prompt:

“A gritty cyberpunk detective, neon-lit streets, trench coat, cybernetic eye, film noir style”

This is the output generated by Leonardo AI using the Phoenix Model. Now copy the seed on the the image generation as shown in the above steps and paste the Seed in the Fixed Seed input box and enable the “Use Fixed Seed” option as shown below.

Source: Leonardo.ai

We will now keep the seed but tweak the prompt. Now you copy this prompt keeping the fixed seed.

“A cyberpunk detective sitting at the bar. In a neon-lit interior. With a trench coat. With a cybernetic eye. Film noir-style”.

See how our detective keeps their distinct look? That’s the power of fixed seed!

Example 2: Maintaining facial features while changing outfits

Let’s switch gears and create a fantasy character. Our initial prompt:

“A young elf mage wears robes decorated with silver laces, and has green eyes and silver long hair”.

Now, let’s change their outfit but keep their face the same. Don’t forget to copy the seed of this image generation and paste it into the Seed option input box. Copy the prompt below and click on generate:

“an elf, a young mage, with green eyes and silver hair, leather armour, fantasy style”

Voila! Same face, new clothes. Perfect for showing character progression or different scenarios.

Example 3: Exploring different backgrounds with the same character

Let’s take our cyberpunk detective again and place them in various settings:

“A cyberpunk detective with a cybernetic eye, yellowish tones, standing in a grey high-tech laboratory, holographs projected against the walls, blue lighting’”

Fixed seeds are great, because you keep your character the same, no matter where you put them!

Tips for Effective Use of Fixed Seed

OK, now that you’ve seen fixed seed in action, here are some pro tips for taking your character creation to the next level:

1. Balance consistency with variation: Fixed seed is fine for consistency but it’s better to generate a few variations.

2. Debugging: If your character begins to look a bit wonky, you can modify the prompt a bit, and/or tinker with the other parameters that Leonardo AI exposes, such as guidance scale and image resolution.

3. Add with other features: Fixed seed is one of the features that Leonardo AI offers. It comes with others, such as inpainting or outpainting. Combine other features and look at the final results.

4. Maintain a seed library: Find a seed that creates spectacular faces. Bank it! Maintain a library of seeds for various styles or character types.

5. Offer descriptive prompts: More detailed prompts enable Leonardo AI to maintain consistency across the generations.

Example Prompts for Character Consistency

Time to make some characters! Here are some prompt templates to get you rolling:

Template 1: A [adjective] [race/profession/class] with [distinctive feature], wearing [clothing], in a [setting], [art style] style.

An angelic heavily made-up pre-Raphaelite woman with long flowing brown hair smiling on an isolated dark tree trunk.

An elven ranger with a longbow and a dark leaf-patterned leather armour across her chest, looking to the horizon from a forest clearing, misty day, digital painting.

Template 2: [Profession] from [specific time period/culture], [physical description], [action/pose], [lighting], [camera angle]

Courtesy of the Met Museum, New York.Samurai from Edo period Japan, weathered face and topknot, drawing sword, dramatic side lighting, low angle shot.

Template 3: [Fantasy creature] cross [of animal 1] and [animal 2], with [distinctive feature], in a [surroundings], [canvass movement] decorated

Dragon-wolf hybrid, eastern dragon with pirouetting arctic wolf head (glowing runes on scales), in a snowy mountain pass, Art Nouveau style (gold) (1907).

Keep in mind, for instance, that even though this prompt uses the same fixed seed, changing the action and setting would give you a completely different result for the character:

Playing a game of chess, the young boy scans his opponent at the table. His brown eyes — a deep, dark brown — are framed as he tilts his chin ever so slightly towards his shoulder. His nose is thick and straight, with faint freckles spanning its length from the centre of his lips to the bridge.

Advanced Techniques

Now ready to graduate? Let’s look at some advanced techniques that you can employ with fixed seed in Leonardo AI:

1. Constant seed: To maintain style consistency across art in a series of images – good for keeping drawings tight in a book/game.

2. Character Relationships: Use the same seed to generate multiple characters, and then randomly alter portions of each one. This can create characters that are related to each other, or that look like they belong in the same ‘world’.

3. Older and Older Creeps: Start with a base seed, then progressively adjust age-increasing prompts in your prompt, and watch your character — year by year! — age before your eyes.

4. New Worlds: Once you have a seed, transform the setting or genre, turning it completely on its head. Create ‘What if?’ scenarios for your characters.

5. Controlled Randomness: Use fixed seed methods mixed with random generations, to achieve a balance between repetitiveness and surprise.

Conclusion

And voilà, your characters will be less quirky and more compelling. You now have the set of tools to fuel Leonardo AI with your own consistent characters. This paves the way to continue engaging with Leonardo AI by playing with web text content. But that will be another article, this one is just the introduction, the first step in an exciting adventure. We’ve laid a solid foundation for your first stylistic transformation – adding fixed seed kick-starts your exploration.

Moreover, these explorations encourage future experimentation. We hope these stylistic overlaps will make you long for and be excited about trying new experiments to see what discoveries you can unveil.

Push the boundaries, experiment with techniques, and most of all, have fun! Are you creating characters for a personal project? Are you building them for a game? Are you just creating them for the love of it? With a fixed seed, you’ve now got a powerful tool in your AI artwork creation toolbox.

So, what are you waiting for? Fire up Leonardo AI, roll a seed and start growing your characters. Who knows? The next digital icon might just be a fixed seed away!

FAQs

Q: Can I use the same seed for different types of characters?

A: Very much so! You’ll find that the same seed will generate sets of prompts that will be largely consistent in style and outcome, but try it with very different prompts and you can get some interesting mutants that preserve an underlying theme.

Q: What if I forget to save my seed number?

A: Don’t worry! While you will not be able to clone the same exact character, you can always generate a new seed and try again. It’s not a bad idea to write it down for use next time but you can always go to your past generations and look up the seed.

Q: Can I use fixed seed with other AI art generators?

A: Many of these tools are similar but the implementation may vary. Take a look at the documentation for the tool you are using before creating your masterpiece.

Q: How does fixed seed affect image quality?

A: Fixed seed has no effect on image quality; it relies upon consistency in character features. However, it always pays to use the best seeds and settings for your prompts.

Q: Can I combine multiple seeds somehow?

A: The Leonardo AI does not support overlay, but you can get almost the same effect by using the fixed seed for your main character and then using inpainting or outpainting added from the other seeds.

Now you’re a fixed seed pro! Just remember, a consistent technique can be honed with practice, so get generating and share some consistent characters with the world. Creative!