Digital avatars have become an extremely popular way of presenting yourself online. They can showcase your most fundamental personality traits. If you're currently looking for a new avatar, I'll show you how you can make one using generative AI technology.
I sometimes wonder what avatars will look like a few decades from now. Will the metaverse become a thing? If so, you'll have to get used to the fact that people will become more immersed in the internet and will essentially make their avatars come to life. Until that happens, you might as well embrace the innovative products we have today and create your own customized avatar using nothing more than a few lines of text.
Apart from creating your own digital identity, this article will teach you how to write better prompts in Stable Diffusion XL. This is a really powerful service that can create stunning avatars when given the right instructions. Let me break down how you should go about writing prompts for avatars.
How to Write Stable Diffusion Prompts for Avatars
Avatars are defined as personalized graphical illustrations that represent a certain computer user. It can also be a character that represents the user. They come in many different forms. The most popular is arguably the Memoji, which many people use on Apple devices.
Although Memojis are 3D animated and can be used even in FaceTime, some digital avatars are hand drawn illustrations. I'll show you how to make different types of avatars.
The prompt examples I wrote for this article give mostly general templates for how you should write instructions when you're making a personalized avatar. In other words, you can take any of my prompts and describe your appearance and personality to make an image that will resemble you.
Here are some of the tips I think you should follow when you're writing Stable Diffusion prompts for a personalized avatar.
- Start the prompt by specifying what type of style the avatar should feature. Do you want something that resembles a Memoji or are you looking for a 2D drawn character?
- Unless you want a full body avatar, you should use keywords like 'portrait' and 'close-up shot' in your prompts.
- Describe what the character is wearing, as well as their personality traits.
- Describe a profession, hobby or passion that most people know you for.
- Keep your prompt concise and the instructions to the AI model straightforward.
You don't have to follow all of the tips I mentioned, but I believe that it's a good idea to at least incorporate some of them in your prompt writing process.
Before I start sharing the prompts I prepared for you today, I want to mention that I've previously published an article in which I share some of my Midjourney prompts for avatars. It also contains 15 unique prompt examples and is a fun read. If you're interested in what type of results Midjourney produces when you want to create avatars, I suggest that you check out that article.
15 Stable Diffusion Prompt Examples for Avatars
I kept it simple with the prompts in this article. I didn't want to use any of the preset styles available in Stable Diffusion XL and I selected the default 1:1 aspect ratio. Here are the ideas I came up with for images of different online personas.
prompt #1: memoji style digital avatar, an optimistic individual with a bright smile, radiating positivity
If you want to create an avatar in the style of a memoji, you should mention that in the beginning of your prompt. Simply using the phrase 'memoji style avatar' will provide a clear instruction to the AI model on what you want to see created. As you can see, I followed that instruction with a basic description of a person brimming with positivity. I got a beautiful avatar as a result
prompt #2: digital avatar for social media, young man, brown hair, wearing glasses, humorous and witty soul, the life of the party, always ready with a joke or a smile
This is a different type of aesthetic compared to the previous image. I've noticed that quite a few people want to use an illustrated portrait of themselves as profile photos on social media platforms. If you want to make an illustrated avatar of yourself, simply describe how you dress, what type of personality you have, and your physical appearance.
prompt #3: 2D drawn digital avatar, compassionate nurse looking at the camera, caring, medical setting
Digital avatars can be tied to a specific profession. If you're a nurse and want to share your expert knowledge online, you can use a profile picture like this so that people can know straight away what your profession is.
prompt #4: digital avatar, 2D flat illustration, modern-day firefighter in full gear, close-up shot, proud of his service, fire station in the background
This is another great illustration that can be used as a digital avatar. It's worth noting that you can always choose what you want the background in your image to be. In this case, I wanted to see a fire station in the background. It definitely adds a lot to the illustration.
prompt #5: memoji style digital avatar, a young woman in a lab coat, conducting a science experiment, passionate about research
When you write a prompt that's going to generate a lot of different objects in an image, there are bound to be some errors. In this instance, there are floating flasks in some parts. The left hand of the woman also looks quite strange. When this happens, you can continue generating new images until you find one without errors.
Another way to fix the issue with the hand is to include the keyword 'close-up shot' or 'upper body portrait' in your prompt. This will usually help since the AI model won't generate any hands when you use those keywords.
prompt #6: memoji style digital avatar, young woman with a pixie cut and glasses, laughing
This is another memoji style avatar, and as you can see you can create a beautiful image like this with an incredibly simple prompt. You can customize the character any way you like by describing the exact hair color, the attire, and the facial expression.
prompt #7: 2D drawn digital avatar, naturally charismatic leader, exuding confidence and authority, with a tailored business attire and a strong, commanding presence
I feel like an image like this would be an awesome profile picture if you're an entrepreneur and want to share your knowledge on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Notice how I described the character here. Those are the qualities that you'd expect to see in a successful entrepreneur.
prompt #8: memoji style digital avatar, female, blonde hair, charismatic and magnetic personality, drawing people in with her charm and magnetism
I really like this image. Don't forget to mention the gender of the character in the avatar when you're making it for yourself or someone you know. This is a true memoji style avatar.
prompt #9: digital avatar, 2D artwork, flat, art inspired by street photography, portrait of an everyday man in his 30s, casual, friendly
I have noticed that some AI artists on Twitter use a profile picture that features this type of art style. Remember that you can pick any art style that you want for your digital avatar. I feel like this is the perfect image for the prompt I wrote. Sometimes, AI models pleasantly surprise you when you least expect it.
prompt #10: digital avatar for social media, a free-spirited and bohemian personality, known for their unconventional style, draped in flowing fabrics and adorned with eclectic jewelry
Once again, the AI model makes an error when creating the hands of this character. Hands are a difficult problem in the world of generative artificial intelligence. These models are trained on huge sets of images, and people mostly have their hands and fingers in a lot of different positions.
Keep in mind that the AI model doesn't actually know how hands are supposed to look. It simply creates every part of an image based on its training data. That's why errors like this occur sometimes. Once again, you can significantly reduce the chances of this happening by including a keyword like 'upper body portrait' in your prompt.
prompt #11: memoji style digital avatar, a college student with a backpack, excited about graduation day
Are you a college student who is excited about graduating soon? If so, you can create an avatar like this to showcase your achievement. This is a fun way to let all of your friends and family members on social media know that you've graduated without having to send them messages. They'll instantly know that you finished college as soon as they see this avatar.
prompt #12: digital avatar, 2D artwork, flat, art inspired by elegant personalities and classic beauty, portrait of a poised and graceful woman with refined features, dignified and timeless
This prompt represents a great template for any woman with elegance. All you have to do is include a basic description of your physical appearance, hair color, and so on to turn this into a personalized avatar.
prompt #13: digital avatar for social media, a free spirit with an adventurous soul, always seeking new horizons, wanderlust
Sometimes, you don't even have to mention that the avatar should be a 2D flat illustration. Instead, you can simply write the phrase 'digital avatar for social media' and see what the AI model will create.
prompt #14: memoji style digital avatar, vibrant and outgoing extrovert with a contagious smile, radiating warmth and positivity, and wearing a bright, cheery outfit
Notice how I didn't even have to specify what the background should look like. The AI model created a bunch of different images from this prompt, and this one definitely stood out. Don't settle for one of the first four images that the model makes. Continue generating images until you find the one that you want to use.
prompt #15: digital avatar for social media, young female, dark hair, thoughtful and philosophical thinker, known for deep conversations and insights, introspective
Most avatars feature a character that's looking straight at the camera. But you can also create profile shots if that's what you want to use on social media. You can also additionally stylize this image by including keywords like 'abstract background', which is an excellent choice for an image like this.
What type of avatar you'll use depends on what type of content you release on social media. If you want to engage in meaningful conversations with strangers online, then this type of image would be great to use as an avatar.
Final Thoughts
That was quite an interesting collection of digital avatars. Some represented 3D characters, while others were drawn illustrations. I also made sure to include examples that highlight either a person's career or personality.
The only thing left for you to do is use one of these prompts and add a description of your physical appearance to create a personalized avatar. Make sure that you continue to generate new images until you find one that resembles you if it doesn't appear in the first set of four results.
Another thing that you can add to these prompts is an art style of your choosing. My idea for the prompt examples above was for them to be relatable to as many people as possible. But if you have some unique preferences, you can always include them in your prompts.
Remember that the most important thing when using generative AI models is to be as creative as possible. You can create just about anything using plain text, so you should use that to express yourself creatively.
