AI Character Design: How to Create Your Own Pose Library

Great character design starts with great pose references

"Great character design starts with great poses."

What's the first thing that blocks you when drawing characters? It's the pose.

"What pose should I draw this character in?" "Where should I put the hands?" "How should I position the feet?"

Whether you only use AI image generation or combine it with CG work or traditional drawing, a pose reference library is an essential asset for character art work.

Today, I'll show you how to systematically build your own pose library — from basic poses to action poses, various angles, and hand poses.

📚 What is a Pose Library?

💡 Pose Library — A collection of reference images featuring various poses and angles that you can refer to for character design work. You can create them yourself, purchase them, or generate them with AI.

Here are the benefits of having a pose library:

Save time thinking about poses every time
Maintain consistent proportions and anatomical accuracy
Visualize characters from various angles
Use as reference images for AI image generation
Front Side 3/4 View Action

🚶 Step 1: Start with Basic Standing Poses

The foundation of a pose library is the basic standing pose.

Before fancy action poses, create a natural standing pose of your character. This becomes the starting point for all character designs.

Basic Standing Pose Prompt (Midjourney)

PROMPT 
A neutral standing pose of a female character with an athletic
build, wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans, arms relaxed at the
sides, feet shoulder-width apart, neutral facial expression,
detailed anatomy, and realistic proportions, with a plain white
background --ar 2:3 --stylize 300 --chaos 25

Prompt Breakdown

Element Meaning
neutral standing pose Natural basic standing posture
athletic build Athletic body type (can be changed to desired body type)
arms relaxed at the sides Arms hanging naturally at the sides
feet shoulder-width apart Feet spread shoulder-width apart
plain white background Clean white background (essential for references!)
--ar 2:3 Portrait aspect ratio
💡 Style Change Tip: If you don't like the pencil sketch look, try adding Vector Illustration or 3D render to your prompt to switch to a different graphic style!

🔄 Step 2: Add Multiple Angles

Once you're happy with the basic pose, it's time to add various viewpoints.

Creating the same pose from multiple angles helps you understand your character three-dimensionally.

Prompt Keywords by Angle

Angle Prompt Keyword Use Case
Front front view Basic character sheet
Side side view Silhouette, proportion check
3/4 Angle 3/4 angle view Most natural character representation
Back back view Costume details, hairstyle
High Angle high angle view Looking down from above
Low Angle low angle view Looking up from below
💡 Consistency Tip: Using style reference images (--sref) or character references can help maintain the same character appearance across multiple angles.
Front Side Back 3/4 High Low Character Turnaround

💪 Step 3: Expand to Dynamic Poses

Once you're comfortable with the basic workflow, it's time to expand to dynamic poses!

Useful Dynamic Poses to Create

🏃 Movement Poses

  • Walking
  • Running
  • Jumping
  • Landing

🪑 Sitting Poses

  • Sitting on a chair
  • Sitting on the floor
  • Crouching
  • Kneeling

⚔️ Action Poses

  • Punch / Kick
  • Sword swing
  • Archery
  • Defensive stance

😊 Emotional Poses

  • Joy / Celebration
  • Sadness / Depression
  • Anger
  • Surprise

Running Pose Prompt Example

PROMPT 
A dynamic running pose of a female character with athletic build,
wearing simple t-shirt and jeans, mid-stride position, arms pumping,
hair flowing back, determined expression, detailed anatomy,
realistic proportions, plain white background --ar 2:3 --stylize 300
⚠️ Important: Even for stylized characters, anatomical accuracy is important. Studying basic anatomy books or courses like "Anatomy for Artists" will help you develop an eye for natural-looking poses.

✋ Step 4: Create Hand Poses

The most challenging part of AI image generation? It's hands.

Fortunately, recent AI platforms have significantly improved hand rendering. Still, having separate hand references makes your work much easier.

Hand Pose Prompt Examples

Open Hand 
a female hand, ultrarealistic, accurate anatomy, top view,
pale skin --chaos 25 --ar 1:1 --stylize 300
Closed Fist 
a female hand, closed fist pose, ultrarealistic, accurate anatomy,
top view, pale skin --chaos 25 --ar 1:1 --stylize 300

Useful Hand Poses to Create

Pose Prompt Keywords
Open handopen palm, spread fingers
Fistclosed fist, clenched fist
Pointingpointing finger, index finger pointing
Grippinggripping pose, holding object
Peace signpeace sign, V sign
OK signOK hand gesture
💡 Learning Tip: Get a book dedicated to drawing hands and study hands from various angles. You can also purchase reference packs from Artstation or Cubebrush. However, only use them as input images if the license permits!
Open Fist Point Peace

📁 Pose Library Organization Tips

Organize your created poses systematically so they're easy to find later.

Recommended Folder Structure

📁 Pose_Library/
├── 📁 Standing/
│    ├── 📁 Front/
│    ├── 📁 Side/
│    ├── 📁 Back/
│    └── 📁 3-4_Angle/
├── 📁 Sitting/
├── 📁 Action/
│    ├── 📁 Running/
│    ├── 📁 Fighting/
│    └── 📁 Jumping/
├── 📁 Hands/
└── 📁 Expressions/

File Naming Convention Example

[gender]_[posetype]_[angle]_[number].png

Example: female_standing_front_01.png, male_running_side_03.png

🎯 How to Use Your Pose Library

Here's how to utilize the pose references you've created.

🤖

AI Reference Images

Use as input images in ControlNet or Leonardo Canvas

✏️

Sketch Base

Sketch costumes and character designs over poses

📐

Proportion Check

Use as a reference for anatomical proportions

💬

Communication

Share work direction with clients in advance

Conclusion: Build It Step by Step, Consistently

A pose library isn't completed overnight.

Basic Poses → Multiple Angles → Action Poses → Hand Poses

If you build it step by step in this order, before you know it, you'll have hundreds of references that become your own valuable asset.

Start with just one basic standing pose today.
How about creating amazing characters with poses made on aickyway? 🎨