--- title: How characters and casting work on Onceling description: "Facts about creating characters in your character library or during Cast & photos, reusing them across books, designing and approving reusable illustrated looks, deleting a saved character or a single look, and what stays fixed once a project exists." locale: en canonical: https://www.onceling.com/guide/characters --- # How characters and casting work on Onceling On Onceling, characters can be created directly in your [character library](/characters) at [/characters](/characters) or during a book's Cast & photos step, then searched and reused across future books. From your character library you can also give a saved character a reusable [illustrated look](/guide/glossary#character-look) — a style preset or template style plus an optional hint — for 1 [generation](/guide/glossary#generation); once you review and approve the result, that look can be picked for any future book using that exact style. The same screen lets you delete a saved character entirely, behind a confirmation dialog — removing it and all its looks from your library, along with any photo or look file nothing else still references, while already-finished book artwork stays exactly as it was — or delete just one look, keeping the character, its photos, and its other looks. Both are blocked with a clear message while one of that character's looks is still generating. Once a project is created, its cast is locked in: there's no separate screen to edit, remove, or replace a character on an existing book. ## When do I set up a book's characters? Either ahead of time in your [character library](/characters), or during the Cast & photos step when you start a new book. Each template defines 1–3 character slots with a role and a suggested life stage. ## Can I edit a character after my project is created? No. Characters become read-only once a project exists — there's no screen to rename, re-photograph, or remove a character from that book, and the book's generated cast and artwork stay fixed either way. You can still delete the saved character or one of its looks from your [character library](/characters); that doesn't change a book that already used it. ## What photos does a character need? A clear, front-facing photo is required. Optional left and right 3/4 angles help keep the illustrated likeness consistent across pages — best taken together with the front in one sitting so glasses and other details match. A mixed set can make the [character look](/guide/glossary#character-look) wrong in the book and in print. ## Should the photos be taken at the same time? Yes, ideally. Taking the front, left, and right photos in one sitting keeps glasses, hair, and clothes consistent across every angle. A mismatched set — glasses in one shot but not another, or different outfits — can make the illustrated [character look](/guide/glossary#character-look) wrong, and that carries into the finished book and print. ## What if a generated side portrait is missing the glasses? Check every generated angle — especially left and right — before you approve a look. If a side portrait comes back without glasses (or another accessory the person always wears), any book page drawn from that angle will show them without it too. Don't approve it — try the look again until every angle keeps it. ## Can I reuse a character in a new book? Yes. Search your [character library](/characters) for a saved character — from a previous book or added there directly — and reuse it, with its photos, in a new project's slot. ## Can I make a character always wear a specific outfit? Not automatically for a book you've already created, but you can build a reusable look for next time. In your [character library](/characters), choose a style preset or template style plus an optional hint (for example, “wearing Muay Thai shorts”) to generate a new [illustrated look](/guide/glossary#character-look) for 1 [generation](/guide/glossary#generation); once you approve it, that look becomes the character's appearance for any future book using that exact style. For a single page in a book you're already editing, add a short instruction when you regenerate that page instead — it costs 1 generation and only changes that page. ## Can I design a new illustrated look for a saved character? Yes, from your [character library](/characters). Pick a style preset or a template's art style, add an optional 200-character hint, and it costs 1 [generation](/guide/glossary#generation). Once it's ready, review and approve it — then that exact-style look can be selected for that character in any future book. ## What's the difference between a character look and a page regeneration hint? A [character look](/guide/glossary#character-look) (1 [generation](/guide/glossary#generation), once approved) is created in your [character library](/characters) and is reusable — you can pick it for that character in any future book using that exact style. A page regeneration hint (1 generation) only applies to a single page in the book you're currently editing and isn't saved anywhere else. ## Can I delete a saved character? Yes. In your [character library](/characters), a confirmation dialog lets you delete a saved character entirely. This removes it from your library, deletes all of its custom looks, and removes any photo or look file nothing else still references — books you've already finished keep their generated artwork exactly as it was. It's blocked with a clear message if one of that character's looks is still generating. ## Can I delete just one look instead of the whole character? Yes. Deleting a single look — also from your [character library](/characters), with its own confirmation dialog — removes only that [illustrated look](/guide/glossary#character-look). The character, its photos, and any other looks stay in your library untouched. It's blocked with a clear message while that particular look is still generating. ## Does deleting a saved character or look change an existing book? No. A book's generated cast and artwork are fixed once the project is created. Deleting a saved character or look only affects your reusable library and any future book — pages you've already generated or finished stay exactly as they are.