> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trugen.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Custom Avatars

> Create your own TruGen avatar from a single source photo or a live camera capture.

Custom avatars let you build agents with your own face, a customer's face, a spokesperson, or a designed character — all driven by TruGen's **Huma-2** neural rendering engine.

<Note>Detailed step-by-step instructions and the API for creating custom avatars are coming soon. In the meantime, follow the guidance below to prepare a great source image.</Note>

## Create a Custom Avatar

<Steps>
  <Step title="Prepare a source image">
    Choose or capture a well-lit, front-facing photo that follows our [source image best practices](/docs/avatars/best-practices).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload to the Developer Platform">
    Go to [app.trugen.ai](https://app.trugen.ai), open the **Avatars** section, and click **Create Avatar**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Preview and save">
    Preview the generated avatar in a live conversation. If you're happy, save it — you'll receive a new avatar ID you can use in any agent.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Create via API

You can also create a custom avatar programmatically by sending a `POST` request to the `/v2/custom-avatar` endpoint with the avatar details and a base64-encoded source image.

<CodeGroup>
  ```javascript JavaScript theme={null}
  const myHeaders = new Headers();
  myHeaders.append("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
  myHeaders.append("Content-Type", "application/json");

  const raw = JSON.stringify({
    "avatar_id": "20072601",
    "avatar_name": "my_avatar",
    "gender": "male",
    "input_image": "data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD...",
    "is_private": true
  });

  const requestOptions = {
    method: "POST",
    headers: myHeaders,
    body: raw,
    redirect: "follow"
  };

  fetch("https://api.trugen.ai/v2/custom-avatar", requestOptions)
    .then((response) => response.text())
    .then((result) => console.log(result))
    .catch((error) => console.error(error));
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests
  import json

  url = "https://api.trugen.ai/v2/custom-avatar"

  payload = json.dumps({
    "avatar_id": "20072601",
    "avatar_name": "my_avatar",
    "gender": "male",
    "input_image": "data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD...",
    "is_private": True
  })
  headers = {
    'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }

  response = requests.request("POST", url, headers=headers, data=payload)

  print(response.text)
  ```
</CodeGroup>

## When to use a Custom Avatar

* **Personal brand agents** — use your own face for a coach, tutor, or spokesperson agent.
* **Enterprise personas** — create a consistent brand character across all customer touch points.
* **Character-driven experiences** — build entertainment, storytelling, or roleplay agents with a designed persona.
* **Customer-facing sales agents** — use a photo of a real team member to make outreach feel personal.

## Using Your Custom Avatar

Once created, your custom avatar receives an `avatar_id`. Use it exactly like a stock avatar in the `avatar_ids` array when creating an agent:

```json theme={null}
{
  "avatar_ids": ["your_custom_avatar_id"],
  "name": "My Custom Agent",
  "system_prompt": "..."
}
```

## What's Next?

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Voices" icon="microphone" href="/docs/agents/voices/overview">
    Choose a voice and language for your custom avatar agent.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom Image Best Practices" icon="camera" href="/docs/avatars/best-practices">
    Get the highest-quality result on the first try.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>