Characters

Using Characters in Scenes

There are two ways to bring a character into a panel: pick them from the / mention picker (the reliable way), or just write their name in the scene description (the convenient way). Knowing when to use which one is the difference between a panel that nails the cast and one where the AI improvises.

The / mention picker (recommended)

While typing your scene description, press /. A dropdown appears listing every character and prop in your story. Pick the one you want — they get attached to the panel as an explicit reference, and their name is inserted into your scene text at the cursor.

Use / whenever:

• The panel has two or more characters — slot order matters for the AI, and / makes it deterministic
• Two characters in your story share a first name or look similar
• You want to attach a character to a panel without typing their name in the prose (e.g., a silent appearance)
• You're publishing or submitting a draft and want maximum reliability

Just typing the name

If you'd rather write naturally, just include the character's name in your panel description. YarnSaga scans the text when you save and automatically attaches every character it recognizes — you don't have to press / for every mention.

When you save the panel, YarnSaga's AI validates the scene, detects Elena, and injects:

• Elena's character sheet as a visual reference image
• Her hair color, hair style, facial structure, and signature hook as text anchors
• Her default outfit (unless you describe different clothing — see below)

Name forms the system recognizes

Auto-detection looks for several forms of each character's name, so you can write naturally:

• Full name as entered in the character form — e.g., Tadashi Maeda "Mizuki"
• Nickname in quotes — if the name field contains a nickname in quotes (straight "…", curly “…”, or single '…'), you can type just the nickname: Mizuki
• First name alone — Elena instead of Elena Voss; Daisuke instead of Daisuke Mitsunobu

All three forms work in any combination, and matching is case-insensitive. The system picks the longest distinct match in a sentence and uses the canonical casing from the character form in the prompt to the AI.

Multiple characters per panel

You can include any number of characters in a single scene. Each one gets their own character sheet injected as a separate visual reference. For scenes with two or more characters, we strongly recommend using / for each of them — see the warning below for why.

Changing outfit in a scene

A character's default outfit is applied automatically — but you can override it for any panel just by describing different clothing in the scene. YarnSaga detects clothing language near the character's name and skips the default outfit, letting your scene take full control.

Words that trigger the override: wearing, dressed in, outfit, clothes, armor, uniform, suit, robe, jacket, shirt, coat, and similar terms.

In all of these cases, Elena's face, hair, and signature hook (the crescent scar) remain exactly the same — only the clothing changes. The character sheet is still passed as a visual reference; the AI is just told to use the scene's clothing description instead of the default.

When auto-detection misses a character

Auto-detection is a forgiveness layer for natural writing, not a substitute for /. There are a few specific situations where typing a name in the scene text is not enough to bring the character into the panel — and in each case the fix is simply to use /.

Two characters share a name form

If two characters in the same story have the same first name (e.g., both are named Alex), or both have the same nickname, that name form is ambiguous and the system refuses to guess. Neither character is attached. You'll see the panel generate without their reference — and the AI will invent faces from scratch.

The longer canonical name still works unambiguously (e.g., Alex Voss and Alex Marsh are unique even if Alex alone isn't). Or just use / — it carries the character's unique ID, not their name.

First names that overlap with English words

Auto-detection looks for the literal text of a name in your scene. A character named Will Stone means every sentence containing the word will (the modal verb) will pull Will's character sheet into that panel — usually not what you want.

Other risky first names: Rose, Hope, Mark, Bill, Grace, Dawn, Pat. If you want to use one, either always write the full name in the scene (and never the first name alone), or rely on /.

Pronouns, roles, and paraphrased mentions

Auto-detection requires the literal name to appear in the text. These do not count as mentions:

• Pronouns — she walked in, he raised his fist
• Roles — the captain ordered, the detective entered
• Misspellings — Eleena won't match Elena
• Translations — if your character is named in English but the scene is in another language, the name has to appear somewhere

Make sure each character's name (or nickname / first name) appears in the panel text at least once, or use / to attach them explicitly.

Attaching a character without naming them

Sometimes you want a character in the panel but don't want their name in the prose — e.g., a silent appearance, a stranger seen from behind, a character the reader hasn't been introduced to yet. The / picker is the only way to do this. Auto-detection has nothing to scan if the name isn't in the text.

What if the character sheet isn't ready yet?

If you use a character in a panel before their sheet has finished generating, YarnSaga will still generate the panel — but only using the text description anchors (hair, hook, face, outfit), with no visual reference image. The result is less consistent than panels generated after the sheet is ready.

Wait for the character sheet to appear in the Characters tab, then re-generate any panels that looked off. Panels generated with a sheet are noticeably more accurate.