How to Create a Character

Cantina lets you create your own AI characters. Give them a name, a look, a voice, and a personality, and they're ready to chat. Here's how to make one from scratch.

You can have up to 100 characters on your account, and more if you're in the Cantina Badge Program. Characters are creative tools that follow our community standards. See Creating & Using Bots for the full policy.

Getting started

On iPhone and Android

Tap Create Bot at the bottom right of the Home screen or in the Bots tab, then:

1. Describe Your Character: tap the name at the top to set your character's display name and @username, write a short sentence about who they are, and pick species (Human or Other), gender, and age. Tap Start Creating, or Skip to Editor to go straight to the editor (best for in-depth character work).
2. Where do they live?: describe your character's home in a sentence and tap Continue.
3. Bring your character to life: pick Magic Character Creator (guided steps) or Custom Character (build it yourself in the editor).
4. Magic Character Creator generates options from your description in three steps:
   • Step 1 — Choose Profile Photo: swipe through generated photos (edit the prompt below to regenerate), then tap Use Selected Photo or Create Custom Photo.
   • Step 2 — Choose Prompt: pick from generated Identity, Personality, and Backstory options. Swipe for alternatives or tap the pencil to edit, then tap Continue.
   • Step 3 — Choose Voice: the app generates voice options from a voice description (tap to preview, edit the description to regenerate), then tap Continue with Selected Voice or Clone a Voice.
5. Categories & Topics: pick at least one category and up to 5 topics. Turn on Public Figure if your character represents a real or fictional public person. Tap Done.
6. [Bot name] created: your character is live and their profile video generates in the background. Tap Chat with [name] or Visit Profile.

Skip to Editor and Custom Character both open the five-section editor covered below.

On Web

Web is in beta. Features may be delayed or work differently than on mobile.

1. Click Characters in the left sidebar.
2. Click the Create Character tile at the start of My characters, or Create character at the top right.
3. New Character opens. The steps are listed on the left: Basics, Look, Persona, Voice, and Finish.
4. Step 1 — Let's start with the basics: one sentence is enough.
   • Under Describe your character, write who they are (up to 1,000 characters). Pick Type (Human or Non-human), Gender, and Age.
   • Cantina suggests a Character Name from your description. Click the refresh icon for another one, or type your own. Then pick a Character Username. If it's taken, you'll see Username not available.
   • Under Where does this character live?, describe their home (up to 500 characters). Anywhere counts: a city, a ship, a shoebox.
   • Click Edit on any finished part to change it.
5. Step 2 — Now, their look: Cantina generates pictures from your description.
   • Click the arrow to browse options, then click Select as Avatar on the one you like. It shows as Selected.
   • Edit Prompt for this look, then click Generate Preview Image to try again.
   • Or pick Create Custom Avatar to adjust every trait: Appearance (description, gender, age, an Attractiveness slider, Environment, and Reference Face), Hair Color, Hair Style, Eye Color, and Clothing. Click Suggested to go back.
   • Or pick Upload a Photo to use a photo from your device as their face.
6. Step 3 — Give them a persona: fill in three prompts, one at a time. Each has suggestions you can browse with the arrows and add with Insert, or you can write your own (up to 10,000 characters each).
   • Identity Prompt — who they are at their core.
   • Personality Prompt — how they act and react.
   • Backstory Prompt — where they came from.
   • Click Edit on a finished prompt to change it.
7. Step 4 — Give them a voice: pick one of three ways.
   • Voice Prompt — describe how your character should sound (up to 300 characters) or tap a suggestion (Full, Deep, Throaty, Thin, Nasal, Show more), then click Generate Voice.
   • Clone a Voice — click Record or Upload (MP3, WAV, M4A, MP4, or MOV, up to 100 MB). Choose the part to use and its length, then click Clone Voice.
   • Voice Library — pick a voice you've saved before.
   • Play the voice to preview it, then click Select Voice. Click Save Voice to Library to use it again later.
8. Step 5 — The last few touches: Cantina fills these in for you. Change anything that doesn't fit.
   • How would you introduce them? — a short public description (up to 150 characters).
   • Where they belong — click Add Tags.
   • Spiciness — Mild (default) keeps your character from going overboard. Spicy allows more natural language and might create NSFW content.
9. Cantina creates your character, and their profile video keeps making in the background. Pick Go to Profile (to view or make more edits), Make a video, or Chat with them.

Click Back any time to change an earlier step, or Save Draft at the top to finish later.

To build your character yourself, click Skip to Editor at the top right, then Skip to Editor again to confirm. Click Keep Creating to stay in the steps instead.

The editor

If you chose Skip to Editor, you land in the editor. It has the same seven tabs on iPhone, Android, and web:

• Basic Info — Type, Gender, Age, Character Name, Character Username, and Where does this character live?. Switch to Spiciness at the top of this tab to pick Mild or Spicy.
• Physical Attributes
• Profile Avatar & Video
• Character Inventory
• Identity & Personality
• Voice
• Settings

Tap Done when you're ready, or Cancel to leave without saving.

After your character is created

You can change any of their settings later. See How to Change Bot Settings.

Keep going

• Prompting 101 — write better prompts for richer, more in-character conversations.
• Starter Prompt Library — prompt templates to copy and remix for selfies, videos, identity, voice, and environments.
• Cantina Glossary — quick reference for terms like character, Imagine, and AI Selfies.
• Creating & Using Bots — community standards for creating characters, parody, and impersonation.
• Cantina Badge Program — higher character limits and other perks.
• How to Share on Cantina — every way to share your characters, videos, and links.