> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.yedric.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.yedric.ai/going-further/build-character.md).

# Build a Character

Generate a custom Yedric mascot with AI from a short description or your logo, pick one of eight styles, and get animated clips and avatars.

Build character uses AI to create a custom mascot for your widget. Describe a character in a sentence or two, or upload a logo or mascot you already have. Yedric draws it in eight styles. Pick one, and Yedric animates that character into the looping clips, launcher icons, and chat avatar your widget uses, all in the same style.

The result is a complete set, made for the places your widget shows a character:

* A **placeholder image**, shown whenever no clip is playing
* Four **looping pose clips**: Waving, Thinking, Thumbs up, and Presenting
* A **beacon icon** and its hover state, for the launcher button
* A **chat avatar**, shown next to the assistant's replies

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image.png" alt="Screenshot of completed Videos &#x26; icons panel showing all four pose clips, the Chat avatar, and the Beacon with hover tile"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

If you already have your own clips and icons, you don't need this tab. You can enter their URLs by hand in the Mascot section of [Widget](https://docs.yedric.ai/getting-started/widget/).

## Where to find it

1. Open your assistant.
2. Click **Widget** in the left sidebar.
3. Click the **Build character** tab, next to Configure, Preview, and Install.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%281%29.png" alt="Screenshot of Widget page with the Build character tab selected"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Reuse an existing character

Once a character has a complete set of videos and icons, it appears under **Reuse a character** at the top of the Build character tab for every assistant in your organization. Select its tile to go straight to saving. There's nothing to generate and nothing to pay for.

This is the easiest way to keep one mascot consistent across several products, so check here before you describe a new character.

## Before you start

Generation runs on your organization's own Google AI Studio key, and Google bills your account directly. Add a key under **Organization** > **AI Service Keys** (see [Organizations](https://docs.yedric.ai/going-further/organizations/)).

The Build character tab links you there if no key is set.

:::caution
Google doesn't offer a free tier for image generation, so the key must belong to a Google project with billing enabled. Yedric checks this before a build starts and tells you how to fix it. After you update the key, click **Check again**.
:::

### Step 1: Check your colors

Your character is built against the colors from the Configure tab, so set those before you generate. This step shows them as swatches, with a link back to Configure.

* **Panel background** is the background for the placeholder image and the clips.
* **Primary / accent** is the tile color behind the beacon icon.
* **Assistant avatar background** is the color behind the chat avatar.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%282%29.png" alt="Screenshot of Step 1 Step 1 showing the three color swatches and the Change on Configure link"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Step 2: Describe your character

A sentence or two is plenty. "A friendly orange robot with big eyes" or "a talking giraffe wearing a bow tie" is the right level of detail. The more specific you are about color, shape, and mood, the closer the first round will land.

#### **Start from your own artwork**

Upload a logo or mascot (PNG, JPEG, or WebP, up to 10 MB). The first of the eight candidates then becomes **True to your image**, which is your artwork cleaned up and posed for the frame. The other seven are restyles, so you can compare a faithful version against fresh takes.

Click **Show me some looks** to start.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%283%29.png" alt="Screenshot of description box with the upload area and the Show me some looks button highlighted"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Step 3: Choose a style

Yedric draws eight candidates, one per style: 3D render, Flat vector, Monochromatic, Soft & tactile, Storybook, Retro pixel, Line art, and Paper cut-out. They appear one at a time, and the full set takes about two minutes. The image you select becomes your base character.

You don't have to wait for all eight. When you see one you like, select it and click **Create videos & icons**. Any candidates still in the queue stop generating, which saves time and cost. Styles you skipped keep a regenerate control on their tile if you want them later.

If you edit the description after the candidates are drawn, the tab warns that they no longer match. Generate a new set of looks to use the new wording.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%284%29.png" alt="Screenshot of style grid with one candidate selected and the Create videos &#x26; icons button visible and highlighted"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Step 4: Videos & icons

Creating the full set takes a few minutes. You can leave the page while it runs, and the tab picks the job back up when you come back to it.

Tiles fill in as each piece finishes. If a piece fails, its tile shows **Error**. Hover it to see why. The rest of the set is still usable.

The **Chat avatar** and **Beacon with hover** icons follow the style you chose in Step 3, so a pixel-art character stays pixel art in the launcher.

:::note
A full set usually costs USD $3-5 in Google AI Studio credits, billed to your own key. Video is most of that cost, so picking a style early saves the most. The **AI cost** line under the tiles shows an estimate for your build.
:::

#### **Redo a single piece**

To fix one clip or icon, hover its tile and click the regenerate control. You can add a short note like "a bigger smile" or "less green", or leave it blank to try again. The beacon icon and its hover state always regenerate together, so they stay a matching pair.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%285%29.png" alt="Screenshot of a tile on hover showing the regenerate control highlighted"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Step 5: Make it live

**Show preview** docks a real widget next to the page with your new character in place. Nothing is saved yet, so this is the safe way to see the character in context before you commit to it.

<figure><img src="https://docs.yedric.ai/assets/image%20%286%29.png" alt="Screenshot of Show preview button in Make it live section highlighted with preview closed"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Save widget** publishes the character to this assistant. It turns on mascot videos and applies the placeholder image, the four pose clips, the beacon icon and hover state, and the chat avatar. It also resets the panel background to the color the clips were built on, so no edge shows behind your character.

:::caution
If you change the panel background after generating, saving restores the original color. To keep the new color, create the videos again. If you regenerate a piece after saving, save again. Until you do, your widget shows the previous version.
:::

Like any other widget change, a saved character reaches your site within about two minutes. See [Seeing your changes](https://docs.yedric.ai/getting-started/widget/#seeing-your-changes) if you want it immediately.

## Building a character before you have an account

You can try the builder without signing in at [yedric.ai/build](https://yedric.ai/build). It works the same way and runs on your own Google AI Studio key. The character you make there comes with you when you create an account, so nothing is lost between trying it and using it.