Is character swap the same as a face swap?

No. A face swap pastes a new face onto the original person. A character swap replaces the whole person (face, hair, build and outfit) and follows the original motion, which is what an illustrated or 3D character needs.

The character gets two faces, or a twin appears.

Check the references: each image should show exactly one head. Remove the full sheet and any expression grid and keep the separate front, side and back views.

Can I replace two people in one clip?

Kling 4.0's guide shows replacing several people, each with their own @Image and a short description. Give each character its own images and name each target by position or clothing, such as "the person on the left".

Seedance refuses my clip or references.

Seedance 2.5 does not accept reference images or videos with real human faces uploaded directly, so filmed footage of a real person may be refused. Illustrated and 3D characters are the easy case; otherwise check ByteDance's authorized-portrait options or use another tool.

The outfit slips back to the original clothes.

Describe the outfit with its colors in the prompt and use views that show it clearly. Say exactly what should change and what should stay, as Kling's guide recommends, so the edit does not spill over.

AI character swap: replace the person in a video with your character

Character swap, also called character replacement, keeps a performance you already have (the motion, timing, camera and background) and puts a different character in it. Unlike a face swap, the whole character changes: face, hair, build and outfit. The model only knows your character from the reference images you give it, so most failed swaps start with the references. This page shows how to turn a character turnaround sheet into a video-ready reference set, which tools take a source video plus character references, a prompt template for each, and how to keep one character consistent across many swapped shots.

We have not made a character-swap example yet. The limits below come from each vendor's own documentation, checked on the date shown; the prep advice is general practice, not a test result.

Tools that take a source video and character references (official limits)

Checked 2026-10-26

Seedance 2.5 (ByteDance): edits a 4 to 30 second clip and can replace the person in it with the character from your references; the output keeps the input's length and aspect ratio. ByteDance recommends clips under 20 seconds and one to five reference images for edits. Reference images or videos with real human faces cannot be uploaded directly.
Kling 4.0: video editing takes up to 5 clips (one primary video), each 3 to 30 seconds and 30 seconds in total, alongside up to 10 reference images. Kling's guide says to write "Edit @Video1": "Reference @Video1" may be read as a new generation instead of an edit. Its examples include replacing several people, each with their own @Image.
Higgsfield Genjutsu: Object Swap changes a selected character, outfit, product or object and keeps the rest of the shot; Motion Transfer keeps the motion, camera and timing and rebuilds the scene from your references. Source video 4 to 30 seconds, up to 30 reference images in the app, output up to 1080p; the credit cost is shown before each run.
Higgsfield's object-swap API takes 1 to 8 reference images and an optional prompt. Videos longer than 30 seconds are trimmed to 30, and each frame needs at least 409,600 pixels (1280×720 qualifies).
ElevenLabs Chimera is not a swap tool: it is an ElevenCreative template that pairs Eleven v4 voices with Seedance 2.5 to turn an uploaded character and a written line into a talking video, directed with audio tags such as [whispers] or [laughs]. Templates run on every plan, but video generation needs a paid plan.

Sources: BytePlus ModelArk: Seedance 2.5 tutorial · Kling 4.0 User Guide (video editing) · Higgsfield Genjutsu · Higgsfield API docs: Genjutsu object swap · ElevenCreative on X: Introducing Chimera · ElevenLabs docs: Templates

Swap, face swap or generate from references?

Character swap: you already have a performance you like (your own phone footage, a licensed stock clip, an earlier AI clip) and want your character to perform it.
Face swap: only the face changes and the original body, hair and clothes stay. It is the wrong tool for an illustrated or stylized character.
Reference-to-video: you have no source clip. Generate the shot from the character's references instead; see the model guides linked below.
A talking character without a source clip: Chimera or a model with lip sync is the shorter path.

Prep a video-ready reference set

A turnaround sheet is laid out for people to read; a swap model needs it cut into single views. Upload these four pack images, in this order, and nothing else for the character.

@Image 102_turnaround_views/view_front.pngFace and front of the outfit
@Image 202_turnaround_views/view_side.pngProfile and hair from the side
@Image 302_turnaround_views/view_back.pngHair and outfit from behind
@Image 407_expressions_poses/expression_neutral.pngFace close-up (neutral expression)

One face per image. Do not upload the whole sheet or an expression grid: several heads in one image can make video models mix or duplicate faces, which creators report with Higgsfield and Kling. The front, side and back views each show a single head.
Plain background. The pack's views sit on a plain background, so the model takes the character, not a room. Crop out labels, color swatches and text.
The outfit you upload is the outfit you get. The swapped character wears what the references show, so use the views of the outfit you want in the shot.
Cover the hardest angle. If the person in the clip turns away or shows a profile, the side and back views matter more than extra front shots.
Four images fit both Seedance's recommended one to five for edits and the Genjutsu API's limit of eight.

Pick and trim the source clip

One clearly visible person to replace, ideally with no hard cuts. For a multi-cut video, swap shot by shot.
Trim to the shot you need: Seedance and Genjutsu stop at 30 seconds, and ByteDance recommends under 20 for edits.
Test the hardest few seconds first: a head turn, a hand crossing the face, fast motion. If the character breaks there, a longer run will not fix it.
Use footage you have the rights to and characters you own or license. Do not put a real person's likeness into a video without their consent.

Prompt templates

Name the person to replace, say which uploads define the character, and list what must stay. Replace the [brackets].

Seedance 2.5 (edit)

Replace the character in @Video 1 with the character in @Image 1, @Image 2 and @Image 3 (front, side and back of [Name]). Keep the motion, camera, timing and background of @Video 1 unchanged.

Kling 4.0 (video editing)

Edit @Video1. Replace the [woman in the red coat] with the character in @Image1, @Image2 and @Image3 (front, side and back of [Name]): [skin, eyes, hair], [outfit with colors]. Use @Image4 for the face. Keep the original person’s movements, position and timing from @Video1. Keep everything else unchanged: background, camera movement, lighting, duration and aspect ratio. No subtitles.

Higgsfield Genjutsu (Object Swap; the prompt is optional)

Replace the [person on the left] with the character in the reference images. Keep the motion, camera and background unchanged.

Keep the same character across 10+ swapped shots

Lock one reference set per character: the same four files, in the same order, for every shot.
Paste the same appearance sentence word for word into every prompt; change only who to replace and what to keep.
Swap each shot separately and approve it before the next; regenerate the shot that drifted instead of fixing it later.
If the story needs a second outfit, make it a second locked set instead of mixing outfits in one set.

More on long sequences in the character consistency guide

Don't pay for a bad sheet

Edits are billed by output length (and on some APIs the input video adds cost), so a weak reference set costs as much as a good one. Run a short, low-resolution test first, check the face on the hardest turn, then render the full clip. Official prices are in the Seedance 2.5 and Kling 4.0 guides; Higgsfield shows the credit cost before each run.

Common problems

Is character swap the same as a face swap?: No. A face swap pastes a new face onto the original person. A character swap replaces the whole person (face, hair, build and outfit) and follows the original motion, which is what an illustrated or 3D character needs.
The character gets two faces, or a twin appears.: Check the references: each image should show exactly one head. Remove the full sheet and any expression grid and keep the separate front, side and back views.
Can I replace two people in one clip?: Kling 4.0's guide shows replacing several people, each with their own @Image and a short description. Give each character its own images and name each target by position or clothing, such as "the person on the left".
Seedance refuses my clip or references.: Seedance 2.5 does not accept reference images or videos with real human faces uploaded directly, so filmed footage of a real person may be refused. Illustrated and 3D characters are the easy case; otherwise check ByteDance's authorized-portrait options or use another tool.
The outfit slips back to the original clothes.: Describe the outfit with its colors in the prompt and use views that show it clearly. Say exactly what should change and what should stay, as Kling's guide recommends, so the edit does not spill over.

Browse character turnaround sheets Seedance 2.5 Kling 4.0 Character reference sheet prompts

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