Choosing a source image

Use this page as the full reference for choosing an image for a custom avatar. Protoface works best when the image has one clear, centered, front-facing face-like subject. That subject can be a real person, an animated or generated character, a mascot, or another synthetic character, as long as the face is distinct and clear.

​

What Protoface needs

A strong source image has:

• One primary subject only.
• A face or face-like structure looking directly at the camera.
• Both eyes visible.
• A distinct nose or nose bridge.
• A visible mouth, chin, cheeks, and forehead.
• Even lighting across the face.
• Enough room around the head so the face is not cut off.
• PNG or JPEG format.

For stylized, mascot, and synthetic avatars, the key is not realism. The key is a clear face layout. The image is more likely to work when it has familiar facial features: two eyes, a nose area, a mouth, a chin or jaw shape, and a centered head.

​

Good examples

These images give Protoface a single distinct face with clear structure.

​

Bad examples

These images are harder for Protoface to detect correctly because the face is cropped, turned away, poorly lit, too small, covered, or missing normal face structure.

​

Best practices by image type

​

Real people

Use a head-and-shoulders portrait with the person centered and looking forward. The eyes, nose, mouth, chin, and forehead should all be visible. A neutral or slightly smiling expression is best. Avoid sunglasses, masks, hands on the face, heavy hair over the eyes, strong backlight, motion blur, and tight crops.

​

Animated or generated characters

Animated and AI-generated characters can work well when they are composed like a portrait photo. Use one character, front-facing, centered, with clear eyes, nose, mouth, chin, forehead, and symmetrical head shape. Avoid action scenes, crowd shots, partial faces, dramatic camera angles, and props covering the face.

​

Animal or mascot characters

Animal and mascot avatars work best when the image is a human-like mascot portrait, not a normal pet photo. Use a front-facing character with large visible eyes, a centered snout or nose, a clear mouth, cheeks, chin or jaw shape, and a head-and-shoulders crop. Avoid full-body animals, side views, tiny faces, busy outdoor backgrounds, or real pets holding toys in their mouth.

​

Synthetic characters

Synthetic characters work best when they have a human-like or mascot-like face layout. Use a character with two visible eyes, a nose bridge or nose-like shape, a mouth, chin, forehead, and symmetrical head. Avoid screen-only faces, black visors, helmets with no visible facial structure, reflective masks, or abstract heads.

​

Quick checklist before upload

Use an image where:

• The subject is the only face in frame.
• The face is large enough to inspect clearly.
• The subject is looking forward, not sideways or downward.
• Both eyes are visible.
• The nose, mouth, chin, cheeks, and forehead are visible.
• The lighting is even.
• The source image has no UI, stickers, text, or watermark.
• The file is PNG or JPEG.

Avoid images with:

• Multiple faces.
• Side profiles or tilted heads.
• Full-body subjects with tiny faces.
• Sunglasses, masks, hair, hands, props, or objects covering the face.
• Harsh backlighting, deep shadows, blur, filters, or heavy stylization.
• Abstract, screen-only, or helmet-like faces without normal features.
• Cropped-off foreheads, chins, ears, or cheeks.

​

If a build fails

If an avatar reaches status: "failed", check failure_reason on the avatar response before uploading another source image. If the reason says no face was detected, choose a clearer front-facing source with stronger face features. For stylized characters, mascots, and synthetic characters, try making the next image more portrait-like with familiar facial features. Add visible eyes, nose area, mouth, chin, and forehead, then remove anything that hides or competes with the face.

​

Next