Sign up Log in

AI Character Art for Tabletop RPG Designers

Sourcebook-ready NPC portraits, class archetypes, and monster references — built for indie TTRPG designers publishing on DriveThruRPG, Backerkit, and Kickstarter without a full illustration budget.

Last updated · By the EZ Character team

The problem

An indie TTRPG sourcebook needs 20–60 character illustrations to hit the production quality that Backerkit and Kickstarter backers expect. Commissioning that art at $80–250 per piece costs $1,600–15,000 — often more than the Kickstarter goal. One- to five-person design teams either ship with placeholder art (killing backer confidence) or delay release while the illustration queue clears (killing momentum). A locked multi-angle reference set for each NPC, class archetype, and monster in the sourcebook provides production-quality art at a fraction of the commission cost.

How tabletop rpg designers and publishers use EZ Character

  • NPC portrait gallery for the core sourcebook

    Every named NPC in the sourcebook needs a portrait — the innkeeper, the rival warlord, the ancient lich. Generate a locked multi-angle set for each named NPC. Pull the ¾ front as the in-book portrait. The back and profile angles serve the GM's digital handout packet and VTT token library.

  • Class archetype and race example illustrations

    Player-facing chapter openers need archetypal illustrations — the fighter, the wizard, the ranger in your system's visual world. Generate a locked set for each archetype. Style-lock across all class illustrations so the sourcebook reads as a coherent visual world rather than a reference aggregation.

  • Monster and creature angle sheets

    Bestiary entries are strengthened by showing the creature from multiple angles — the front view for the stat block, the ¾ view for the encounter illustration, the back view for any hide/approach tactical note. Generate the creature angle set in your sourcebook's art style and pull each angle for its context.

  • VTT token library from sourcebook art

    Each NPC and monster portrait generates into a VTT-ready token library for Roll20, Foundry, or Owlbear Rodeo. Sell or bundle the token pack as a Backerkit add-on. The multi-angle reference set is the same asset powering both the print sourcebook and the digital VTT bundle.

Recommended workflow

Start with these step-by-step guides — tuned for the deliverables tabletop rpg designers and publishers ship most often.

Which tier fits this work

Start with PRO. A sourcebook with 40 illustrations needs 40 locked reference sets plus variant expressions and VTT token derivations. Pro, a monthly credit allowance plus member pricing on the EZ engines (fast FLUX 4B images cost 0.5 credits), matches a structured pre-production sprint — generate the full cast in a week without stalling momentum.

See all plans →

Frequently asked questions

Can I publish EZ Character art in a TTRPG product sold on DriveThruRPG or Backerkit?
Yes. Paid tiers include full commercial rights, covering publication on DriveThruRPG, itch.io, Backerkit, and Kickstarter. DriveThruRPG has not prohibited AI-generated art; itch.io requires content disclosure for AI-assisted products. Confirm platform-specific AI policy before your release — most indie TTRPG platforms are AI-positive with appropriate disclosure.

Does EZ Character support non-human species typical in TTRPG sourcebooks (elves, orcs, lizardfolk, constructs)?
Yes. The fantasy pipeline supports humanoid species across the SRD-standard range: elves, dwarves, half-orcs, tieflings, dragonborn, lizardfolk, kobolds, gnolls, and constructed beings. For systems with proprietary species, describe the species traits at the prompt level. The multi-angle set locks those traits consistently across the eight views.

Our sourcebook has a specific art style (OSR black-and-white, painted realism, anime-esque). Can EZ Character match it?
Yes. EZ Character supports OSR-style black-and-white ink, painterly high-fantasy realism, anime-adjacent, and stylised fantasy illustration. Specify the style at generation time. For cross-sourcebook visual consistency, lock the style once at the start of production and apply it across all generated sets.

How do I prep the art for professional PDF layout (InDesign, Affinity Publisher)?
Generate at full resolution on paid tiers. For InDesign and Affinity Publisher, the typical workflow is: generate at full resolution → export PNG → link into the layout document at 300 dpi → apply any final color adjustment at the layout layer. EZ Character outputs are not pre-colour-profiled — apply your print ICC profile in Photoshop or Acrobat before PDF export.

Generate your first reference set

Upload one image. Get 8 consistent angles. Use the set across every spread, frame, or sprite in your project.

Try EZ Character free

Free tier: 40 credits every month. No credit card required.