How to create a new avatar using AI

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to create a digital version of yourself, or design a completely new AI character, using HeyGen’s AI Avatar Designer.

This workflow lets you generate a custom avatar in just a few steps, from defining its appearance to selecting a voice.

Start the Avatar Designer

From the HeyGen menu, open Avatars and click the plus (+) icon on the right.

In the Create Your Avatar window, select Start from a Photo. You can either upload your own photo or choose Design with AI to generate an avatar entirely from a prompt.

Define basic avatar details

Next, enter key details such as the avatar’s name, age, gender, and ethnicity. This information helps the AI create a more accurate and personalized result.

Customize appearance with a prompt

In the Appearance section, add your avatar prompt. Describe how you want your avatar to look, including style, features, or overall vibe.

If you’d like a faster start, click Try a Sample to use one of HeyGen’s example prompts and adjust it as needed.

Choose orientation, pose, and style

Select your avatar’s orientation, pose, and visual style. These options control how the avatar is positioned and the overall aesthetic of the final image.

When everything looks ready, click Generate Preview.

Review and refine results

HeyGen will generate several AI variations based on your inputs. Browse through the options and select the image that best fits your vision.

If you want to explore more options, click Generate Again or Edit Prompt to refine your description and generate new results.

Save and assign a voice

Once you’ve found the perfect look, click Save.

Before finalizing, choose a voice for your avatar. You can select one from your existing voice library or let HeyGen automatically assign a voice for you.

After confirming, HeyGen will generate your avatar and add it to your Avatar Library.

You’ve just designed a fully custom AI avatar, created from your ideas and refined with HeyGen’s AI.