Create your character

Character editor

Every character opens in one editor: it stands on a full-screen stage in its own scene, with its look on the left and its settings on the right.

Open Characters, select a character and choose Open studio. A new character opens here too, straight after New character. What older guides called “Avatar Studio” is now this editor: the stage, the appearance tools in the left dock, and the scene tools in the right dock's Scene & motion, Behavior and Channels groups.

The editor at a glance

Area	What it holds
Toolbar (top)	Back to characters, the character's name with “Character studio · Draft”, “Private”, “Unlisted” or “Public”, Generate with AI, the save state, Preview, Refresh gallery image, Publish and Save.
Stage (centre)	The character in its scene. Drag to orbit; for a scene character the angle you leave is saved as the scene camera.
Left dock	Appearance tools: Character Studio for library characters, or the parts of a Cartoon pack character.
Right dock	Six setting groups — Identity & model, Language & voice, Mind & knowledge, Behavior, Scene & motion, Channels — and Test conversation. A group opens its first tab in a floating panel with a tab strip for the rest; choose the open group again to hide the panel. A padlock on a tab means your plan does not include it.

Stage controls

Character packs (top left): 3D opens realistic characters from the Character Studio library, Cartoon pack opens the cartoon parts and LiveFace 2D opens the talking-portrait settings.
Camera framing: Face, Upper body or Full body; zoom out and in (the percentage resets the zoom); Full screen.
View (bottom): Front, Side or Back, with buttons for the previous and next angle.
Expressions opens the Face & Motion tool (for LiveFace 2D, Pixel Streaming and Unreal Engine characters, the Emotion tab).

Choose the kind of character

Choice	Where	Use it when
Character Studio library (3D)	Packs bar › 3D, or the left dock's Templates	You want a realistic 3D character. Pick a ready-made character, then change its face, hair, skin, body and outfit.
Cartoon pack	Packs bar › Cartoon pack	You want a stylised character built from parts. There are 15 ready-made cartoon characters, including Blank canvas.
LiveFace 2D	Packs bar › LiveFace 2D (the Identity & model › LiveFace 2D tab)	You want a talking head made from one portrait photo. Your plan must include LiveFace 2D.
Your own model	Identity & model › Model & Face › Upload	You have a GLB with its textures, skeleton and facial shapes. See Custom avatars.

Identity & model › Model & Face shows the Current avatar with Edit appearance and shortcuts to Model settings, Face & motion, Animation and Background. Its Create source is the IAMX parts builder (Presets, Reset, then Use avatar or Save changes). There is no Ready-made tab and no Ready Player Me option: ready-made realistic characters are the left dock's Templates.

Shape the look in Character Studio

Character Studio is the realistic character editor built into the stage. It opens over the stage when you choose a tool in the left dock (“Opening Character Studio…”).

The character editor with the Templates panel open in the left dock, showing template faces, and a 3D character in a shirt and tie on the stage. — **Templates** in the left dock, filtered by **All**, **Female** or **Male**: pick a starting template, and the face, hair and body settings are applied on top of it. The packs bar (3D, **Cartoon pack**, **LiveFace 2D**) and the camera framing sit above the stage; the stage shows the sample character Selim.

Pick a ready-made character. A new character opens on Templates. Choose the character closest to what you want; the stage shows it at once.
Change the parts you want. Use the left dock: Face & head, Hair, Brows & lashes, Eyes, Skin, Makeup, Teeth, Body and Outfit & accessories.
Close the tool to keep the look. Choose the active tool again, or open a right-dock group, Test conversation, Preview or Publish. The toolbar shows “Saving the look…”, then the stage reloads with the saved character. Save also saves an open look.
Check it on the stage. Use Face, Upper body and Full body, and Front, Side and Back. Then open Test conversation to hear it speak.

If a character's hair, eyebrows or outfit were picked in the IAMX Live phone app, Character Studio shows a notice first. Saving from the studio needs I understand, allow saving: it deletes the app's picks and removes the character from the app's list.

Cartoon pack characters

Choose Cartoon pack on the packs bar. The left dock shows Characters (the 15 ready-made looks), Body, Face, Hair, Clothing and Accessories. Each pick appears on the stage at once. None removes a part; a full outfit or a hat can hide the part underneath. The panel shows “Unsaved look · Save keeps it” until you choose Save; Undo changes returns to the saved look.

Refresh the gallery image

The Characters gallery shows each 3D character standing on its stage. That stage portrait is drawn automatically: right after a Character Studio look is saved, and in the background while the gallery is open. To redraw it now, choose Refresh gallery image, the icon button between Preview and Publish.

Unsaved edits are saved first. If saving fails, nothing is drawn and the save error is shown.
The portrait is drawn. The icon spins while “Drawing the gallery image…” runs.
Check the result. “Gallery image updated.” confirms it. If you see “The gallery image could not be drawn; try again in a few seconds.”, wait and choose it again.

The button appears only for characters the browser draws in 3D: Character Studio library characters and GLB models, including Cartoon pack characters. LiveFace 2D, Pixel Streaming and Unreal Engine characters have no stage portrait; the gallery shows their Cover Photo (Identity tab) or their catalogue picture instead.

Set the scene

The scene studio is the stage itself. Its tools fill the panel when you open a tab of the Scene & motion group:

Tab	What it does
Scene	Light & environment: lighting, platform and the classroom board (Teacher mode, Board position, Animate chalk writing, Frame board and character). See Teacher mode.
Background	Background & set: the scene library with 3D sets (colors, branding and size) and Real places · 360° panoramas (View direction, Environment light). Narrow it with Find a scene…, the categories and the scene format.
Camera	Frame the character and save camera positions.
Objects	Select, move and arrange objects in the scene.
Look & quality	Adjust appearance and inspect model compatibility.
Face & Motion	Blinking, eye contact, natural gaze and face checks (see below).
Animation, Idle, talk & listen	The motion library and the three conversation states (see below).
Timeline	Timing: motion, narration, music, video, cards and camera shots on one clock.
Media library	Reuse your models, images, audio and video.
Experience	Website guidance, saved and published on its own. See Website experience.

The Scene & motion panel on its Background tab, with image upload controls and the Scene library search box, next to the character on the stage. — **Scene & motion › Background**. The tab strip at the top reaches every scene tool. **Upload or reuse an image** places your own picture, such as a **Stage logo**. Below it, the **Scene library** starts with **Find a scene…** for searching its 3D sets and panoramas.

Scene edits are kept as a draft. The scene studio saves the draft a moment after each change, and Save saves it too. Visitors see the scene only after you publish it (below). If a scene seems to be missing from the library, choose Clear filters. A panorama changes the light on the character, so check its appearance again after switching.

The transparent Floating Companion website template hides the background and scenery on purpose. Choose a scene or portrait template when you want the setting to show, and test the template you will use: each template crops the view differently.

Idle, talking and listening animation

Open Scene & motion › Animation. The motion library lists IAMX library motions, My motions and the clips In this model. Preview a motion before you use it. Upload animated GLB adds your own clips; use a humanoid skeleton.
Assign the conversation states. In Idle, talk & listen, give each slot a motion: Idle (while the character waits), Listening (while the microphone is on) and Talking (while it speaks). Add idle variation plays further idle clips after each full idle loop.
Tune the face. In Face & Motion, use Quick face check (Smile, Blink, Lip movement), Auto blink, Natural gaze and head movement, Eye contact and Face response (smile, blink and mouth strength).
Watch it on the real model. If hands enter the body, limbs twist or the character jumps, choose a compatible clip. The panel warns about a skeleton or blendshape mismatch.

The Scene & motion panel on its Animation tab, showing the Motion library with an upload button, a search box, source filters and a Calm idle motion. — The **Motion library** on **Scene & motion › Animation**. Filter by **IAMX library**, **My motions** or **In this model**, or search and pick a category. **Upload animated GLB** adds your own clips: up to 50 MB, with a humanoid skeleton.

These controls are for 3D characters. LiveFace 2D, Pixel Streaming and Unreal Engine characters are animated at their source. A body animation does not provide lip sync; see Lip sync.

Make something happen automatically

An action is what plays: a movement, narration, music or video. A behavior decides when it plays. Both are in the Behavior group. Start with a single welcome action before combining several steps.

Create the content in Actions. Combine animation, speech, music and video in an action and give it a clear name. Narration gets its lip sync prepared once and saved for repeat playback.
Open Behavior and add a rule. Choose the moment: When a visitor arrives, After the visitor is quiet, Person detected by the camera, When the AI sends an action code or Card or button clicked.
Choose what the rule plays and set its delay and repeat options.
Test the trigger in Channels › Publish preview (below), then publish.

Higher priority runs first. A conversation always takes priority over starting a behavior. With repeat off, a successful rule runs once per scene session. Person detection runs after the visitor turns the camera on. An AI-code rule needs the action code itself; mentioning the action's name in ordinary text is not enough.

Use Cards & forms for clickable content next to the character, Presentations to play several actions in a guided sequence, and Scene & motion › Timeline to place media on a shared clock.

Test a real conversation

Choose Test conversation below the right dock's groups, or Test conversation on the Characters gallery. Your edits are saved first, the docks hide and the character answers on the same stage, in this scene, with your saved settings. Type a message or use the microphone. End test closes the test.

The Test conversation panel beside the 3D character on the stage, with two visitor questions, the character's answers and the message box. — **Test conversation** with the sample character Selim. The docks are hidden and the character answers on the stage, in this scene, with your saved settings. Type in the message box, or use the microphone and camera buttons beside it.

For a character the scene studio cannot draw — LiveFace 2D, Pixel Streaming or Unreal Engine — the same button opens Preview & test, a live preview with its chat.

Preview in the toolbar hides the docks and the panel so you see the stage as visitors will. Back to editing leaves Preview mode.

To rehearse the real website embed, open Channels › Publish preview. Its test room has Desktop, Mobile and Widget views and buttons for First visit, Watch inactivity, Interrupt, Person detection and Inspect framing. It uses the last published scene; Preview unsaved scene sends your draft only to that test.

Tests are real conversations and play real media. Allow microphone or camera access when the browser asks, and tap once to enable audio if the browser requires it.

Save, then publish the scene

Save. Save (Ctrl/Cmd+S) is active only when there are unsaved changes; moving to another tab or menu saves first. The panel footer then shows “Saved to your workspace”.
Publish. The toolbar's Publish saves, publishes the saved Studio scene and publishes the character; a Private character becomes Unlisted. “Saved · Scene not published” means the saved scene has not reached widgets and embeds yet.
Open published scene on Channels › Publish and compare it with the editor: background, framing, animation and voice.
Add it to your website. Pick a template under Website Templates and choose Copy website code. Follow the website embed guide.

Channels › Versions & publishing keeps the scene history: name a release and choose Publish scene, compare a version with your draft, or Restore one of the latest 20 published versions into the draft. Channels › Capture & export saves a picture, records a video or exports your work.

Website guidance has its own Save experience and Publish experience buttons in Scene & motion › Experience; publishing the character does not publish it. See Website experience.

If the result is different from the editor

Problem	What to check
The gallery still shows the old look	Open the character and choose Refresh gallery image, or choose Stage portraits on the Characters gallery when it appears.
The website still shows the old look	Close the Character Studio tool or choose Save so the look is saved, then Publish and start a new preview.
The background is missing	Publish the saved Studio scene. Check whether the website uses the transparent Floating Companion template.
There are only colored studio backdrops	Open Background for the scene library; Scene (Light & environment) holds the studio lighting and platform.
An uploaded model has no appearance tools	The left dock edits Character Studio and Cartoon pack characters. For your own GLB use Model settings, or edit the model and upload it again. Choosing 3D opens Character Studio's Templates; saving one there replaces your model.
The action does not start	Check that its rule is enabled, a target is selected and the trigger occurs. Use First visit to repeat a once-only rule.

Maintained by IAMX. Updated 7 November 2026.