Spaces:
Sleeping
Sleeping
| # Character Forge - Release Version | |
| **Release Date**: November 2025 | |
| **Version**: 1.0.0 | |
| **License**: Apache 2.0 | |
| --- | |
| ## 🎉 What's Included | |
| This is the first official release of Character Forge, ready for: | |
| - ✅ Local installation on Windows/Linux/Mac | |
| - ✅ Deployment to HuggingFace Spaces | |
| - ✅ Integration into your own projects | |
| - ✅ Commercial use (Apache 2.0 licensed) | |
| ## 🚀 Key Features | |
| ### Character Forge | |
| Transform a single image into a complete multi-angle character sheet: | |
| - 2 facial views (front + side) | |
| - 3 body views (front + side + rear) | |
| - Automatic composition into single sheet | |
| - ~2-3 minutes generation time | |
| - Professional quality results | |
| ### Composition Assistant | |
| Smart multi-image composition with AI-generated prompts: | |
| - Upload 1-3 images | |
| - Auto-detect image types | |
| - Generate professional compositions | |
| - Minimal manual work required | |
| ### Standard Interface | |
| Direct text-to-image and image-to-image generation: | |
| - 10 aspect ratios supported | |
| - Temperature control (0.0-1.0) | |
| - High-quality output | |
| - Fast generation | |
| ### Library Management | |
| Organize and reuse your assets: | |
| - Save characters, backgrounds, styles | |
| - Quick access for compositions | |
| - Build your creative library | |
| ## 🔧 Backend Support | |
| ### Gemini API (Cloud) - Default | |
| - No local installation needed | |
| - High quality results | |
| - ~$0.03 per image | |
| - Free tier available (1,500 requests/day) | |
| ### ComfyUI (Local) - Optional | |
| - Complete control | |
| - No per-image costs | |
| - GPU required | |
| - Advanced workflows | |
| ## 📦 Installation | |
| ### Quick Start - Local | |
| **Windows:** | |
| ```cmd | |
| install.bat | |
| set GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here | |
| start.bat | |
| ``` | |
| **Linux/Mac:** | |
| ```bash | |
| ./install.sh | |
| export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here | |
| ./start.sh | |
| ``` | |
| ### HuggingFace Spaces | |
| See [docs/HUGGINGFACE_DEPLOYMENT.md](docs/HUGGINGFACE_DEPLOYMENT.md) | |
| ## 📚 Documentation | |
| Complete documentation included: | |
| - **README.md** - Overview and quick start | |
| - **docs/QUICK_START.md** - 5-minute getting started guide | |
| - **docs/API_KEY_SETUP.md** - Complete API key setup instructions | |
| - **docs/HUGGINGFACE_DEPLOYMENT.md** - HF Spaces deployment guide | |
| - **LICENSE** - Apache 2.0 license | |
| - **NOTICE** - Third-party licenses | |
| ## 🔒 Security & Privacy | |
| ### Your Privacy | |
| - API keys are YOUR responsibility | |
| - Use environment variables or HF Secrets | |
| - Never commit keys to version control | |
| - See docs/API_KEY_SETUP.md for best practices | |
| ## 🎯 Use Cases | |
| ### Game Development | |
| - Character reference sheets for NPCs | |
| - Environment backgrounds | |
| - Texture variations | |
| - Scene composition | |
| ### Animation | |
| - Character sheets for consistency | |
| - Background art generation | |
| - Style references | |
| - Storyboard composition | |
| ### Creative Projects | |
| - Story illustration | |
| - Concept art development | |
| - Visual worldbuilding | |
| - Character design iteration | |
| ## 💰 Cost Estimation | |
| ### Gemini API | |
| - Single image: ~$0.03 | |
| - Character sheet: ~$0.15 (5 images) | |
| - Composition: ~$0.03-0.06 | |
| - Free tier: 1,500 requests/day | |
| ### HuggingFace Spaces | |
| - CPU Basic: Free | |
| - CPU Upgrade: ~$0.03/hour (~$21/month 24/7) | |
| - Persistent storage: Free up to 50GB | |
| ## 🛠️ Technical Stack | |
| ### Frontend | |
| - **Streamlit**: Modern Python web framework | |
| - **PIL/Pillow**: Image processing | |
| - **NumPy**: Array operations | |
| ### Backend | |
| - **Google Gemini API**: AI image generation | |
| - **ComfyUI** (optional): Local generation | |
| - **WebSocket**: ComfyUI communication | |
| ### Configuration | |
| - **YAML**: Configuration files | |
| - **TOML**: Streamlit configuration | |
| - **Environment variables**: Secret management | |
| ## 📋 Requirements | |
| ### System Requirements | |
| - **Python**: 3.10 or higher | |
| - **RAM**: 2GB minimum, 4GB recommended | |
| - **Storage**: 500MB for app, more for outputs | |
| - **Network**: Internet connection (for Gemini API) | |
| ### Python Dependencies | |
| See `requirements.txt` for complete list: | |
| - streamlit >= 1.31.0 | |
| - google-genai >= 0.3.0 | |
| - Pillow >= 10.0.0 | |
| - numpy >= 1.24.0 | |
| - And more... | |
| ### Optional | |
| - **GPU**: For local ComfyUI backend | |
| - **Git**: For cloning and updates | |
| ## 🐛 Known Issues | |
| ### Current Limitations | |
| - ComfyUI backend requires manual setup | |
| - Maximum 3 images per composition | |
| - 20MB max file size per image | |
| - Rate limits on free tier (15/min, 1500/day) | |
| ### Planned Improvements | |
| - More backend options | |
| - Batch processing | |
| - API endpoint for programmatic access | |
| - Video generation support | |
| - Improved caching | |
| ## 🤝 Contributing | |
| We welcome contributions! | |
| ### How to Contribute | |
| 1. Fork the repository | |
| 2. Create a feature branch | |
| 3. Make your changes | |
| 4. Test thoroughly | |
| 5. Submit a pull request | |
| ### What We're Looking For | |
| - Bug fixes | |
| - Documentation improvements | |
| - New features | |
| - Performance optimizations | |
| - UI/UX enhancements | |
| ### Code Style | |
| - Follow PEP 8 | |
| - Add docstrings | |
| - Include type hints | |
| - Write tests where possible | |
| ## 📄 License | |
| **Apache License 2.0** | |
| - ✅ Commercial use allowed | |
| - ✅ Modification allowed | |
| - ✅ Distribution allowed | |
| - ✅ Private use allowed | |
| - ⚠️ Must include license and notice | |
| - ⚠️ Changes must be documented | |
| See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for full text. | |
| ## 🙏 Acknowledgments | |
| This project builds on amazing open-source work: | |
| - **Google Gemini API** - AI image generation | |
| - **Streamlit** - Web framework | |
| - **ComfyUI** - Local generation pipeline | |
| - **Python community** - Countless libraries | |
| Thank you to all contributors and users! | |
| ## 📞 Support | |
| ### Getting Help | |
| - **Documentation**: Check `/docs` folder first | |
| - **Issues**: Report bugs on GitHub | |
| - **Discussions**: Ask questions on GitHub Discussions | |
| - **API Help**: https://ai.google.dev/ | |
| ### Reporting Bugs | |
| Include: | |
| - Description of the issue | |
| - Steps to reproduce | |
| - Expected vs actual behavior | |
| - Screenshots if applicable | |
| - System info (OS, Python version) | |
| ## 🗺️ Roadmap | |
| ### Version 1.1 (Planned) | |
| - [ ] Batch processing | |
| - [ ] More aspect ratios | |
| - [ ] Improved caching | |
| - [ ] Performance optimizations | |
| ### Version 1.2 (Planned) | |
| - [ ] REST API endpoint | |
| - [ ] Multiple backend support improvements | |
| - [ ] Advanced composition features | |
| - [ ] Better error handling | |
| ### Version 2.0 (Future) | |
| - [ ] Video generation | |
| - [ ] Animation support | |
| - [ ] Advanced character persistence | |
| - [ ] Web-based editor | |
| ## 🎓 Learning Resources | |
| ### For Beginners | |
| - Start with docs/QUICK_START.md | |
| - Follow the examples | |
| - Experiment with different settings | |
| - Join the community | |
| ### For Developers | |
| - Check the code documentation | |
| - Study the plugin system | |
| - Review the architecture | |
| - Contribute improvements | |
| ### For Artists | |
| - Explore different prompts | |
| - Experiment with temperature | |
| - Build your style library | |
| - Share your creations | |
| ## 📊 Project Stats | |
| - **Lines of Code**: ~15,000+ | |
| - **Files**: 50+ | |
| - **Documentation**: 5 major guides | |
| - **Dependencies**: 15+ packages | |
| - **Supported Platforms**: Windows, Linux, Mac, HuggingFace | |
| - **License**: Apache 2.0 (permissive) | |
| ## 🌟 Success Stories | |
| We'd love to hear how you're using Character Forge! | |
| Share your projects: | |
| - Tag us on social media | |
| - Post in GitHub Discussions | |
| - Include in your project credits | |
| ## ⚡ Quick Tips | |
| ### For Best Results | |
| 1. Use clear, well-lit source images | |
| 2. Start with temperature 0.4 | |
| 3. Be specific in prompts | |
| 4. Save good results to library | |
| 5. Experiment and iterate | |
| ### Performance | |
| 1. Close other applications | |
| 2. Use reasonable image sizes | |
| 3. Consider local backend for heavy use | |
| 4. Monitor API quotas | |
| ### Cost Optimization | |
| 1. Preview before generating | |
| 2. Use lower temperature (fewer retries) | |
| 3. Batch similar tasks | |
| 4. Reuse library assets | |
| ## 🎯 Next Steps | |
| After installation: | |
| 1. ✅ Get your Gemini API key | |
| 2. ✅ Run the installation scripts | |
| 3. ✅ Generate your first image | |
| 4. ✅ Try the character sheet feature | |
| 5. ✅ Build your asset library | |
| 6. ✅ Integrate into your workflow | |
| 7. ✅ Share your creations! | |
| --- | |
| **Thank you for using Character Forge! Happy creating! 🎨** | |
| *For the latest updates, visit our GitHub repository.* | |