V5 Custom Anchors Guide

Welcome to Custom Anchors

While every Nomi comes with three stock Anchors, Custom Anchors are also available for users who established a unique identity for their Nomi using Base Images in legacy systems, want to create a non-human character, or simply want more control over their Nomi’s appearance and style.

Creating a Custom Anchor involves a few choices that can meaningfully affect the final result, including the reference image, Anchor type, Fidelity, and Appearance Traits. Taking a little time with each step can help V5 produce an Anchor that better reflects the look you want to preserve.

This guide walks through each of those choices, along with tips for getting the best results from your Custom Anchor.

Creating Your Custom Anchor

Choosing a Reference Image

Choosing a strong reference image is one of the most important steps in creating a Custom Anchor. Since the Anchor is built from a single image, the clarity, framing, and overall quality of that image can have a major impact on how well V5 is able to preserve your Nomi’s appearance. When selecting a reference photo, look for the following:

V3 reference image used to make custom Anchor

• Pick an image that represents the look you want to keep: If your Nomi has an established appearance, choose a reference that best reflects the version of them you want the Anchor to preserve.
• Choose a clear, crisp image: Image quality can vary between generations, so look through your Nomi’s gallery for a reference where their features are well-defined and easy to see. Avoid images that appear blurry, overly soft, distorted, or lacking in facial detail.
• Choose an image with a clear view of the face and upper body: Since Anchors use a single image as their visual reference, it helps if important features like the face, hair, and upper body are easy to see. Clothing that follows the body’s natural shape can also help V5 better understand overall proportions and build. For best results, choose an image where your Nomi is looking directly at the viewer.
• Use an image with only one subject: Avoid reference images that include multiple people or characters, since this can make it harder for V5 to interpret which appearance it should preserve.
• Avoid major obstructions: Sunglasses, heavy shadows, hands covering the face, extreme crops, or other objects blocking key features can reduce likeness accuracy.
• For non-human characters, clarity still matters: If you are creating an animal, creature, or robot Anchor, choose a reference image where the subject’s main features are clearly visible and easy to distinguish.

Example Reference Prompt

looking directly at viewer, directly facing camera, waist up portrait, relaxed posture, soft smile, bright eyes, wearing a simple tank top and sweatpants. Plain white studio background, even lighting, minimal shadows, high detail

Anchor Type: Riva or Lago?

Riva prioritizes detail and tends to favor more realistic proportions, making it a strong choice for highly detailed or realistic styles. Because it may add more visual detail, some likeness drift can occur. Riva can also handle some non-human subjects, including animals, creatures, and robots, though results may vary.

Lago prioritizes likeness and can be more flexible with imaginative styles and diverse body types. It may produce slightly less overall detail than Riva, but can be a better fit when maintaining your Nomi’s recognizable appearance is the higher priority.

There is no universally “better” option. The best choice depends on which balance of likeness, detail, and flexibility works best for the character you are creating.

Default Style

Preview image of an Anchor using the Custom style “a blend of high saturation vaporwave and synthwave.”

Default Style sets the visual foundation for images created with the Anchor. For more predictable results, choose a style that matches your reference image.

• Photorealistic is an optimized preset for realistic images.
• Nomi Anime is an optimized preset for anime-style images.
• Custom offers the most flexibility and can be used for styles such as watercolor, 3D animation, vaporwave, fantasy, retro-futuristic cartoons, and more.

When using Custom, you can either describe the style yourself or select “the exact same style as the reference image” to preserve the source image’s visual style without needing to identify it by name.

Airbrushed photorealistic can be a good Custom style for users who prefer a smoother, more polished look similar to earlier image versions. It retains a realistic foundation while softening some of the added texture and detail that V5 may otherwise emphasize.