20 of the best prompts for Midjourney for character design, step by step across 4 stages. Works with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

20 of the best prompts for Midjourney for character design, step by step across 4 stages. Works with ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Published July 4, 2026 · Updated July 15, 2026
Design compelling heroes, villains, NPCs, and full character sheets with expression ranges using Midjourney to build a complete character design pipeline for games, animation, and comics. Built across 4 distinct stages covering Hero Character Concepts, Villain and Antagonist Design, NPC and Supporting Character Design and more, this guide gives you one expert prompt per step so you never have to write from scratch or guess what the AI needs. The prompts work in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini and are designed to get usable output on the first try.
Hero character design communicates personality, backstory, and capability through silhouette, costume, and expression choices before a single line of dialogue is written.
Fantasy Warrior Hero
Character concept art, heroic female warrior character design, battle-worn leather and chainmail armor with cape in midnight blue, confident powerful stance, detailed facial expression showing determination, concept art style, full body on neutral grey background, AAA game character design --ar 2:3 --v 6
Cyberpunk Hacker Protagonist
Character design concept art, cyberpunk male hacker protagonist, oversized patchwork tech jacket covered in glowing data ports and pin badges, sharp asymmetric undercut hairstyle, augmented eye implant with HUD overlay, urban streetwear silhouette, neon ambient lighting, sci-fi game character design --ar 2:3 --v 6 --style raw
Ancient Wizard Mage Hero
Character concept art, elderly wise mage character design, long flowing robes in deep midnight purple with gold celestial embroidery, long white beard, ornate carved wooden staff topped with glowing orb, kind but powerful expression, full body on neutral background, fantasy RPG character design --ar 2:3 --v 6
Post-Apocalyptic Survivor
Character design, post-apocalyptic female survivor protagonist, layered scavenged clothing in faded olive and rust, makeshift armor plates, crossbow slung over shoulder, weathered face with determination, backpack packed with gear, neutral grey background, survival game character concept art --ar 2:3 --v 6 --style raw
Anime Style Action Hero
Character design concept, anime style teenage hero character, spiky dual-toned hair in black and electric blue, open high collar jacket over team emblem t-shirt, athletic stance mid-jump, expressive confident expression, clean line anime illustration style, white background --ar 2:3 --v 6
Villain design must balance menace with visual interest, creating characters whose silhouette immediately signals their role while giving players or readers a reason to find them compelling.
Dark Sorcerer Villain
Character concept art, imposing dark sorcerer villain character design, towering figure in tattered black robes with swirling void patterns, cracked pale mask concealing face, crackling dark energy tendrils from hands, cold commanding stance, full body neutral dark background, fantasy game villain design --ar 2:3 --v 6
Corporate Dystopian Villain
Character design, corporate dystopian antagonist character concept, immaculate white business suit with subtle gold accents, cold piercing gaze, artificially perfect appearance with uncanny valley undertones, chrome neural implant at temple, sci-fi thriller villain aesthetic, full body on white backdrop --ar 2:3 --v 6 --style raw
Fallen Paladin Anti-Villain
Character concept art, fallen paladin anti-villain design, cracked and corrupted heavy plate armor once gleaming white now stained with dark ichor, shattered halo remnant floating behind, anguished conflicted expression, tragic heroic silhouette, fantasy character concept art neutral background --ar 2:3 --v 6
Chaos God Final Boss
Character concept art, monstrous chaos god final boss character design, impossible geometry fused with humanoid form, multiple arms holding reality-warping artifacts, face a shifting void, enormous towering scale, dark prismatic energy radiating outward, epic fantasy boss design --ar 2:3 --v 6
Street Crime Enforcer Villain
Character design, urban crime enforcer villain concept, massive intimidating build in custom black tactical gear, scarred face with cold expression, distinctive gang brand visible on neck, retractable metal knuckle weapon, grounded realistic threat, urban crime thriller character design --ar 2:3 --v 6 --style raw
NPC and supporting characters populate the world, and their designs need to feel distinct and memorable even when players interact with them briefly.
Village Merchant NPC
Character concept art, friendly village merchant NPC design, portly cheerful middle-aged man with apron over colourful layered merchant clothing, wide-brimmed hat, warm genuine smile, overfilled pack of wares beside him, fantasy RPG NPC, full body on neutral background --ar 2:3 --v 6
Mysterious Stranger NPC
Character design, enigmatic mysterious stranger NPC, slim figure in long weathered travel cloak hood pulled up, face partially hidden in shadow, single glowing eye visible, artifact amulet visible at collar, posture suggests hidden purpose, dark fantasy RPG character concept --ar 2:3 --v 6
Comic Relief Sidekick
Character concept art, comic relief sidekick character design, small excitable companion character in oversized adventuring gear two sizes too big, wide startled eyes, expressive cartoon proportions, warm cheerful color palette in yellow and red, animated film style character design on white --ar 2:3 --v 6
Wise Elder NPC
Character design, wise elder mentor NPC concept art, ancient woman in ceremonial robes covered in hand-stitched protective runes, weathered face with kind perceptive eyes, carved wooden staff, calm assured posture, fantasy world elder design, full body neutral background --ar 2:3 --v 6
Guard and Soldier Rank NPC
Character concept art, city guard NPC design, standard rank soldier in polished half plate over blue tabard with kingdom crest, spear and shield kit, neutral professional expression, practical functional design, multiple colorway variations shown, fantasy game NPC concept sheet --ar 2:3 --v 6
Character sheets and expression references are the production deliverables that animators and rigging artists rely on to accurately implement a character across all their emotional states.
Full Character Reference Sheet
Character design reference sheet, full body character turnaround of female warrior hero, front side and back three-quarter views on neutral grey background, consistent proportions across all angles, hair and armor detail callouts, clean professional concept art production sheet style --ar 3:2 --v 6
Expression Chart Six Emotions
Character design expression sheet, six facial expression close-ups of same male character across a single row, showing joy, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust, consistent art style, labelled expressions, white background, animation production reference sheet --ar 3:1 --v 6
Costume Variation Sheet
Character concept art, costume variation exploration sheet for same character silhouette, four different outfit designs shown side by side, ranging from casual to combat to ceremonial, consistent character face and proportions, design exploration mood board layout, neutral background --ar 3:2 --v 6
Scale and Proportion Reference
Character design scale reference sheet, five characters standing side by side at correct relative heights, child NPC, average human soldier, tall elf archer, stocky dwarf warrior, and towering troll, neutral grey background, proportion and scale comparison chart, game production reference --ar 3:2 --v 6
Idle Pose Action Exploration
Character design pose exploration sheet, same fantasy rogue character shown in five different poses on neutral grey background, idle relaxed, combat ready, sneaking crouch, victory celebration, defeated slump, production concept art style, game animation reference --ar 3:2 --v 6
Use the --seed parameter from your first successful character image in all follow-up prompts, and repeat the exact same physical descriptor phrases: hair color, eye color, distinctive features, and clothing details. You can also use /describe on a reference image to extract prompts that Midjourney already recognizes for that character.
Use --ar 2:3 for single full-body character concepts to give enough vertical space for the full figure. For character sheets with multiple views or expressions shown side by side, use --ar 3:2 or --ar 3:1 depending on how many panels you need.
Use strong art style references like "concept art style", "cartoon character design", "anime illustration", or "stylized game character" to push the output away from photorealism. Describing distinctive non-human features like unusual proportions, stylized eyes, or exaggerated silhouettes also helps Midjourney generate clearly fictional characters.
You can prompt for "front, side, and back three-quarter views" on a "neutral grey background" to get multi-view character sheets. Results are not always geometrically accurate, but they work well as proportion references and design exploration tools for your team.
Effective villain silhouettes tend to use angular and pointed shapes, darker or desaturated palettes, concealed faces or obscured expressions, and asymmetrical or broken design elements. Including words like "imposing", "corrupted", "cracked", "tattered", and "cold expression" in your prompts consistently shifts the character toward antagonist archetypes.
AI Prompts for Midjourney Concept Art
Concept art is where Midjourney is at its strongest.
See promptsAI Prompts for Midjourney Portrait Prompts
Portrait generation in Midjourney rewards precision.
See promptsAI Prompts for Midjourney Prompt Writing
Most Midjourney users write the same type of prompt: subject plus style plus vague adjectives.
See prompts