Animated Feature Look

GPT Image 2.5 Sunburstimage → image16:9 · 2K

Reference photos: One portrait or everyday photo. The hand-drawn setting repaints the entire background as a watercolour scene, so the background of the reference is only a guide.

Recreate the reference photo as a frame from a hand-drawn feature animation, keeping the recognisable features of the person in the reference image: same eye shape, same eyebrow angle, same face length and hair silhouette, simplified rather than redesigned. Drawing language: flat cel shading with three tones per surface and hard edges, a varying-width ink outline that thins where light hits, painted watercolour background with visible paper fibre and brush strokes, and a paper texture that shows faintly through the sky. Character: simplified hair in solid masses with two or three highlight strokes, simple painted eyes with a single bright dot, minimal nose and mouth lines, clothing reduced to four or five shapes with visible folds. Scene: a hillside path above a small town at evening, a wind-bent tree on the right, laundry lines between houses, warm lamps switching on in the windows, birds as three quick marks in the sky. Composition: a wide establishing shot with the character on the lower left third and two thirds of the frame given to the environment. Lighting: warm key from the left applied to both the character and the painted background, matching cool shadow colour. Grade: warm and slightly faded like an animation background painting, no photographic detail, no 3D render look, no text.

photographic realism, 3D render, glossy shading, hard digital gradients, anime screencap watermarks, copied studio logos, text

Why this works: The hand-drawn setting. If the background starts to look photographic, add 'the background is painted, not photographic' and keep the sentence about watercolour paper fibre.

Nano Banana Proimage → image3:2 · 2K

Reference photos: One portrait. The 3D setting only needs to keep the proportions of the features; the hair and the skin are rebuilt as curved shaded surfaces.

Render the person in the reference image as a character in a modern 3D animated feature, keeping the same eye shape, eyebrow angle, face length and hair silhouette so they stay recognisable as a stylised character rather than a new design. Rendering: smooth curved forms with soft subsurface scattering in the skin, fine peach fuzz along the cheek and jaw edge, sculpted hair made of a few large controlled masses with individual stray strands, eyes with a clear rounded highlight and a subtle iris pattern. Stylisation: slightly enlarged eyes, a shorter nose bridge, cheeks a little fuller, hands with four clearly modelled fingers and soft knuckles, fabric with visible weave and soft folds. Clothing: a rounded jacket in a muted teal with three visible seams and a slightly oversized collar. Scene: a rooftop garden with rounded planters, a string of bulbs, a soft gradient sky at dusk and three clouds with simplified silhouettes. Composition: a medium shot with the character on the left third, generous space on the right for the environment. Lighting: a warm key from the upper left with an ambient blue bounce, soft contact shadows, no hard specular plastic highlights. Render finish: cinematic 3D animation look with a shallow depth of field and a gentle bloom on the bulbs, no photographic skin texture, no text, no logos.

photographic skin pores, glossy plastic surfaces, uncanny realistic eyes, hard studio reflections, watermark, studio logos, text

Why this works: The 3D setting. The plastic look comes from highlights that are too hard: replace specular with subsurface scattering and soft highlights and the image reads as an animated feature at once.

Nano Banana 2image → image1:1 · 2K

Reference photos: One frontal photo of the pet. The pet setting keeps the fur colour, the markings and the head shape and turns everything else into animation.

Turn the pet in the reference image into the main character of a hand-drawn animation shot, keeping the fur colour, the markings and the head shape recognisable while simplifying everything else. Drawing language: flat cel shading with three tones, a varying-width ink outline, painted background with visible brush texture, no photographic fur detail. Character: fur as five or six solid masses with two or three highlight strokes on the back, eyes as large rounded shapes with a single bright highlight each, a small painted nose with a soft highlight, whiskers as four clean lines per side, ears with a lighter painted inner surface. Expression: alert and slightly surprised, head tilted a few degrees, one paw lifted mid-step. Scene: a sunny kitchen windowsill with a painted ceramic bowl, a curtain moving at the window, a potted herb with three visible leaves, dust motes as small painted dots in the light beam. Composition: square framing with the pet centred and slightly low, the windowsill line running across the lower third. Lighting: warm key from the window on the right applied to both character and background, cool reflected light from the left wall. Grade: warm and slightly faded, animation background painting feel, no realism, no text, no logos.

photographic fur, realistic eyes with wet reflections, 3D render, harsh gradients, watermarks, copied studio logos, text

Why this works: The pet setting. Describe the fur as five or six solid masses rather than individual hairs, or the image falls back into realism.

Nano Banana 2 Litetext → image16:9 · 1K

A frame from a hand-drawn animated feature: a wide establishing shot of a hillside path above a small town at evening with a generic young adult walking along it toward the camera, a wind-bent tree on the right, laundry lines between the houses, warm lamps turning on in the windows and three quick marks for birds in the sky. Drawing language: flat cel shading with three tones per surface and hard edges, a varying-width ink outline that thins where light hits, a painted watercolour background with visible paper fibre and brush strokes, and a faint paper texture through the sky. Character design: simplified hair in solid masses with two highlight strokes, simple painted eyes with a single bright dot, minimal nose and mouth lines, clothing reduced to four or five shapes with visible folds. Composition: the character on the lower left third with two thirds of the frame given to the environment. Lighting: the same warm key from the left on both character and background, matching cool shadow colour. Warm faded grade like an animation background painting, no photographic detail, no 3D render, no text, no logos.

Why this works: The text-only sample setting and the cheapest one. It is a fallback for the page; for a 3D sample, swap the drawing language for the sentences about curved surfaces and subsurface scattering.

Nano Banana Protext → image3:2 · 2K

A frame from a modern 3D animated feature showing a generic adult character standing in a rooftop garden at dusk, keeping a stylised rather than photorealistic design. Rendering: smooth curved forms with soft subsurface scattering in the skin, fine peach fuzz along the cheek and jaw edge, sculpted hair made of a few large controlled masses with two stray strands, eyes with a clear rounded highlight and a subtle iris pattern. Stylisation: slightly enlarged eyes, a shorter nose bridge, fuller cheeks, hands with four clearly modelled fingers and soft knuckles, a rounded jacket in muted teal with three visible seams and an oversized collar, fabric with visible weave. Setting: rounded planters, a string of bulbs, a soft gradient sky and three clouds with simplified silhouettes. Composition: a medium shot with the character on the left third and generous space on the right. Light: a warm key from the upper left with an ambient blue bounce, soft contact shadows, no hard specular plastic highlights. Cinematic 3D animation finish with a shallow depth of field and a gentle bloom on the bulbs, no photographic skin texture, no text and no logos.

Why this works: It is a fallback for pages that have no photos, and it is used as a pair with the hand-drawn sample so the page can compare the two animation finishes directly.