We made a character expression sheet in PixAI two ways: one 2×3 sheet vs. six separate edits. See which route kept our OC consistent and was easier to fix.
A character’s personality comes through in their expressions. A smile can make them feel warm and friendly, while a frown can show a completely different side. But when AI generates these expressions, can it capture those emotions without changing the character’s identity? We put it to the test.
When we started planning expressions for our character, we assumed the hard part would be getting six different emotions. Well, it wasn’t. The hard part was making sure all six still looked like our character.
Do they still have the same blue eyes, the same beauty mark under the left eye, the same crescent-moon clip on the same side of the head? Otherwise, you might end up with six different-looking characters who just happen to have the same hairstyle.
A character expression sheet helps avoid that. It shows the same character with different emotions, such as neutral, happy, angry, sad, surprised, and shy. It lets you see your character’s emotional range at a glance, and if you’re making a visual novel, a manga, or a story with recurring characters, those expressions often need to work as separate images too.
A Character’s Reference Image, Full AI Expression Sheet, and Six Separate Expressions
So should you generate the whole sheet in one go, or create each expression separately, one at a time? We tested both approaches in PixAI, an anime-specific AI art platform, starting from the same character reference and requesting the same six emotions each time. This article is sponsored by PixAI, but all tests (run on October 30, 2026), results, and opinions are our own.
Along the way, we tracked the attempts, credits, and fixes for each route. Here’s the short answer: a complete expression sheet is a fast, cheap way to see a character’s range, while separate images cost more but stay closer to the reference and are easier to correct. Let’s get right into it!
Make Your First Expression Variation in PixAI
Before building a full character expression sheet, try one or two expressions on their own. It’s quick and shows you how well the model holds onto your character. You’ll also know what to adjust before committing to all six in a single sheet.
To try one, you first need a clear neutral portrait of your character. So we began by creating our original character (OC), Luna. Here’s the prompt we used to generate her:
anime girl, solo, upper body portrait, front-facing, looking at viewer, neutral expression, relaxed eyebrows, closed mouth, calm eyes, long straight black hair reaching her waist, side-swept bangs parted to the left that do not cover her eyebrows, one small braid behind her right ear, bright blue eyes, small beauty mark under her left eye, silver crescent-moon hair clip on the right side of her head, orange fitted short-sleeve top with a round neckline, black jeans, thin black choker, plain light grey background, soft even lighting, clean line art, consistent anime illustration style, centered composition
If you take a closer look at her prompt, you’ll notice words like neutral expression, relaxed eyebrows, closed mouth, and calm eyes were included to make her face neutral from the get-go.
Luna’s Original Neutral Reference Image Made in PixAI
This is the prompt we used to make her happy (using the above neutral image as a reference):
Change only her facial expression to happy: raised cheeks, eyes slightly squinted, wide open smile. Keep everything else exactly the same: long straight black hair, side-swept bangs parted to the left, small braid behind her right ear, bright blue eyes, small beauty mark under her left eye, silver crescent-moon hair clip on the right side of her head, orange top, thin black choker, same framing, same light grey background, same art style.
Here’s the happy version of Luna that PixAI generated from that prompt. It came out right on the first attempt:
Luna’s Happy Expression, Edited From the Original Reference
This is how we set it up. After creating a PixAI account, open the image generation interface and upload your neutral reference image. Paste your prompt and choose a model.
We went with PixAI’s latest Tsubaki.3 model. We generated a single image at XL resolution (1232 × 1632) and turned on High Priority, which adds 1,000 credits but gets the image back faster. Ours waited 21 seconds in the queue and took 44 seconds to generate.
In total, this generation cost 5,300 credits. Take a closer look at PixAI’s interface with the Tsubaki.3 model selected:
Editing Luna’s Expression in PixAI With Tsubaki.3
Suppose you want to edit the prompt for your own OC. The prompt has two parts you can easily customize:
- The expression: Replace "happy" with your desired emotion and describe the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth. For example, "narrowed eyes, eyebrows pulled down, and clenched teeth" gives the model clearer instructions than simply saying "angry."
- The character features: Swap Luna's details for your OC's recognizable traits, such as hairstyle, eye color, accessories, and distinctive markings.
Try It With Your Own OC
Now that you know which parts of the prompt to change, it’s your turn. Choose a clear neutral portrait of your character and one emotion to start with. Upload your OC reference in PixAI, adapt the prompt, and generate a new expression. Make sure their key features stay consistent before creating a full set.
Are you new to PixAI? If you sign up through our invitation link, make at least one image, and log in on two different days, you'll get 50,000 bonus credits within 24 hours. We get the same bonus when you do. You don't have to wait for it to get started, though. The cost above is what one expression took on its own.
Already have an account? Open the Tsubaki.3 model in PixAI, upload your character’s neutral image, and try the prompt above with the emotion you want.
Once you’ve made one expression, you’re ready to try a full set. We tested two routes: generating all six expressions on one sheet (Route A) and editing each one separately from the reference (Route B). Let’s start with Route A.
Route A: Generate a Full Character Expression Sheet in One Prompt
We gave PixAI one prompt and got all six emotions back in a single generation. This is the full character emotion sheet it produced. We added the labels afterward so you can see which panel is meant to show which emotion.
Luna’s AI Expression Sheet With Labels for All Six Emotions
In order to cook up such a character emotion sheet, we wrote the prompt in five parts:
- Same character: The prompt tells the model to use the reference image and show the same character in all six expressions.
- Character details: Luna’s key features are repeated, including her hair, braid, blue eyes, beauty mark, crescent-moon clip, orange top, and black choker.
- Six emotions: Each emotion comes with a description of how the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth should change, not just its name.
- Fixed grid layout: Every expression has its own position. Neutral, happy, and angry go on the top row, and sad, surprised, and shy go on the bottom row.
- Consistent style and framing: All panels should share the same upper-body crop, head size, light grey background, and art style. We also asked for no text or labels.
Here is the complete prompt to generate the six-expression sheet:
character expression sheet of the same anime girl from the reference image, 6 panels in a 3 columns by 2 rows grid, equal-sized panels, same character in every panel,
long straight black hair, side-swept bangs parted to the left not covering her eyebrows, small braid behind her right ear, bright blue eyes, small beauty mark under her left eye, silver crescent-moon hair clip on the right side of her head, orange short-sleeve top, thin black choker,
top row from left to right: neutral (relaxed eyebrows, calm eyes, closed mouth), happy (raised cheeks, eyes slightly squinted, wide open smile), angry (eyebrows pulled down and together, narrowed eyes, clenched teeth),
bottom row from left to right: sad (inner eyebrows raised, downcast eyes, small frown, teary eyes), surprised (eyebrows raised high, wide eyes, small open mouth), shy (blushing cheeks, eyes looking away to the side, small closed smile),
identical upper body framing in every panel, front-facing, same head size and position, plain light grey background in every panel, consistent anime illustration style, clean line art, soft even lighting, no text, no labels
We generated the sheet in a 1:1 aspect ratio, which resulted in a 1408 × 1408 pixel image. We used the same Tsubaki.3 model, and the sheet cost 5,300 credits.
The result included all six emotions in the order we requested, arranged neatly across three columns and two rows. Happy, angry, sad, and surprised came through clearly. The changes in the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth made each emotion easy to recognize at a glance. Shy worked too, with blushing cheeks, a small closed smile, and eyes glancing slightly to the side.
The weakest result was neutral. Its slanted, worried-looking eyebrows made Luna look uneasy instead of calm, so it read almost like a milder version of sad.
As for consistent character expressions, PixAI did a fairly good job. Luna’s braid, crescent-moon clip on the correct side, blue eyes, black choker, and orange top stayed consistent across the six panels.
However, there was one hiccup. Her beauty mark (under her left eye) didn’t stick. It disappeared in four panels and turned into a small cluster of dots in the happy and angry ones.
Route B: Edit One Expression at a Time
The sheet gave us a quick overview, but it still drifted from the reference. So for Route B, we created each expression as a separate image.
To create each expression, we went back to Luna’s original neutral reference every single time. This is important because editing one expression after another can slowly change the character's appearance. Small differences in her hair, clip, or face shape can carry over and become more noticeable with each edit. Starting fresh each time (with the same reference image) helps keep every expression closer to the original Luna.
Since the original reference image already had a neutral expression, we used it as the neutral asset and only edited the other five. Each of those edits used the same instruction, with only the emotion and its facial details changing. Take a look at the prompt template we used:
Change only her facial expression to [EMOTION]: [FACIAL DETAILS]. Keep everything else exactly the same: long straight black hair, side-swept bangs parted to the left, small braid behind her right ear, bright blue eyes, small beauty mark under her left eye, silver crescent-moon hair clip on the right side of her head, orange top, thin black choker, same framing, same light grey background, same art style.
For example, filling in the template for the happy expression gives this prompt:
Change only her facial expression to happy: raised cheeks, eyes slightly squinted, wide open smile. Keep everything else exactly the same: long straight black hair, side-swept bangs parted to the left, small braid behind her right ear, bright blue eyes, small beauty mark under her left eye, silver crescent-moon hair clip on the right side of her head, orange top, thin black choker, same framing, same light grey background, same art style.
You may have noticed that the prompt doesn’t just name the emotion. It also tells PixAI exactly how the face should change. These are the facial details we used to fill in the template for each expression:
- Happy: raised cheeks, eyes slightly squinted, wide open smile
- Angry: eyebrows pulled down and together, narrowed eyes, clenched teeth
- Sad: raised inner eyebrows, downcast eyes, small frown, teary eyes
- Surprised: raised eyebrows, wide eyes, small open mouth
- Shy: blushing cheeks, eyes looking away to the side, small closed smile
Here’s how they all turned out:
Luna’s Six Separate Expressions, Each Edited From the Original Reference
The braid, crescent-moon clip, beauty mark, choker, and blue eyes stayed consistent across all six images, making them much closer to the original reference than the full sheet. The emotions also came through clearly, especially angry and sad. Happy looked bright, and surprised had the wide eyes and open mouth we wanted. Shy was the only expression that needed more work, which we'll cover next.
The tradeoff was cost and time. The full sheet took one generation at 5,300 credits, while Route B cost 5,300 credits per image, bringing the first round to 26,500 credits, five times as much. Each image also needed its own prompt and review.
In return, we got more control. Because each emotion has its own prompt, we could soften or strengthen one expression by adjusting its facial details without touching the rest. And if one expression went wrong, we only had to redo that image (which took more credits). The other five stayed untouched, making individual adjustments much easier.
What Happens When One Expression Needs Fixing?
Both routes needed a few fixes, which gave us a good look at how each workflow handles corrections. In Route B, the problem was the shy expression. The prompt asked for “eyes looking away to the side,” but the model turned Luna’s whole face away instead.
The fix was actually simple. We changed the prompt to make only her eyes look away while keeping her head facing forward. Here is the edit prompt:
Change only her facial expression to shy: blushing cheeks, small closed smile, eyes glancing to the side. Keep her head and face facing forward, same head position and angle as the original. Keep everything else exactly the same: hair, braid, blue eyes, beauty mark under her left eye, crescent-moon hair clip on the right, orange top, black choker, framing, background, and art style.
And here is the before and after image:
Luna’s Shy Expression Before and After the Edit
The new image fixed the main problem. Luna's head stayed in the same position, while her eyes looked to the side. The blush and small closed smile made the shy expression much clearer.
However, the model did add an extra beauty mark (under her right eye). Nothing else changed, and the other five images stayed untouched. The fix was also done using the Tsubaki.3 model, and it cost another 5,300 credits.
But What About the Single Character Expression Sheet?
For the full character expression sheet, we needed to fix two issues. The neutral expression had worried-looking eyebrows, making it look too much like sadness. The beauty mark was also missing in four panels and appeared as a cluster of dots in the other two. We asked PixAI to correct both. Here is the prompt:
Edit this expression sheet. In the top-left panel only, relax her eyebrows so they sit level and straight, not raised or slanted, so the expression reads as calm and neutral instead of sad. Keep her eyes and mouth in that panel the same. In all six panels, give her one small beauty mark under her left eye (on the right side of the image), and replace any cluster of dots with that single mark. Change nothing else: keep every other facial expression, the hair, braid, hair clip, eye color, choker, top, framing, background, and art style exactly the same.
And take a look at the results:
Luna’s Expression Sheet Before and After the Edit
The fix was only partly successful. The neutral expression looked a little better, with calmer eyebrows, and the other panels stayed unchanged. However, the beauty mark was still missing. The edit cost another 5,300 credits, the same as generating the entire sheet.
In total, Route A cost 10,600 credits for one generation and one edit, but the character still wasn’t fully consistent. Route B cost three times as much, at 31,800 credits for the five expressions and the shy fix. In return, we could correct individual images without affecting the others, and the final set stayed much closer to the original reference.
Which Workflow Should You Choose?
After testing both routes with the same reference and six emotions, the biggest difference came down to what you get at the end.
A full expression sheet is a quick, affordable way to see your character's emotions side by side. It's useful when designing a character, checking whether expressions look right, or planning which ones you need. However, it's still one image. Cropping gives you six smaller panels with grey backgrounds and no clear borders, so they're not ready to use as individual character assets.
Separate images are better when you need expressions you can actually use. Each image comes in full size, with matching framing and canvas dimensions, making the set more consistent. They still have backgrounds, though, so you'll need to handle background removal if you want transparent sprites for a visual novel.
Here is a quick overview of both routes:
Route A vs. Route B: How the Two Workflows Compare
In short, choose a full expression sheet for a quick, low-cost overview of your character's emotions. Go with six separate images if you need clear individual expressions for a visual novel, manga, or story. They cost more, but give you greater control and make corrections easier.
If you’d like to take Luna, or your own OC, beyond expressions, you can build a full OC or VTuber character sheet in PixAI with turnarounds, outfit details, and more.
AI Expression Sheet FAQs
Still have a few questions before giving your OC a full range of expressions? These answers come from what we learned while testing both routes.
- How do I make an expression sheet from an existing character? Start with a clear, front-facing neutral portrait and use it as your reference. Describe your character's key features and either generate all expressions on one sheet or edit them separately from the same image.
- Why do several expressions look almost identical? Naming an emotion isn't always enough. Describe the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth for each expression. For example, downcast eyes and raised inner eyebrows help make sad look different from neutral.
- How do I correct only one expression? With separate images, edit the expression again using the original reference and adjust its prompt. For a full sheet, you can request changes to one panel, but the results may be less reliable.
- Does an expression sheet become a visual novel sprite pack automatically? No. You'll need to crop each panel, remove backgrounds, and match canvas sizes. Even separate images need some preparation. Expression sheets also don't include Live2D rigging or animation; they're simply still images of different expressions.
Give Your OC a Little More Personality
Both methods have their own place. A full expression sheet is great for exploring your character's wide range of emotions, while separate images give you more control and suit individual assets better. Whichever you choose, start with a clear and accurate reference and describe each expression in detail.
Ready to bring your own characters to life? Try PixAI and create your first expression set!
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