# How to optimize your avatar

URL: https://www.atmee.ai/docs/guides/optimize-your-avatar

> What to try when an Atmee V2 avatar looks wrong: another take, a small change to the photo, or a livelier voice.

A weak first result doesn't mean the model can't make your avatar. Most of the time the fix is
another take, a small change to the photo, or a livelier voice. This page says which fix to try
first for what you see. It is for Atmee V2; [Avatar 101](/docs/guides/negative-examples) lists
the photos that animate badly on either model.

## Each preview is one take

When Atmee builds an Atmee V2 avatar, it records a short talking clip from your photo, voice and
preview line. That clip is one **take**, and each take comes out a little differently: one can
have clear lip movement where another barely moves. So a single bad take is worth one more try
before you change anything else. Capturing another take costs no credits.

## What you see, and what to try

Start at the left of each row, and move right only when the fix before it didn't help.

| What you see                                                            | Try first                  | Then                                                                   |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Lips barely move                                                        | Another take               | A livelier preview line; the photo tips below; a more expressive voice |
| Lips move but out of time                                               | Another take               | The photo tips below; a more expressive voice                          |
| The face warps, or drifts from the person                               | Another take               | The photo tips below, especially facing the camera                     |
| Artifacts: blur, stray objects, shapes appearing in an empty background | Another take               | A different background; a bigger face in the frame                     |
| Only the head moves, no hand or body gestures                           | An upper-body photo        | -                                                                      |
| Stiff or jittery movement in a conversation                             | A different motion setting | Another take                                                           |

When one kind of fix didn't help, the cause is usually somewhere else: after a new take or a
livelier line, look at the photo and the voice.

A new preview line, photo or voice builds a new version of the avatar, and its first take goes
live by itself. You can switch back to the earlier take. The motion setting (`runtimeSeed` when you
[update the avatar](/docs/api/reference/avatars/updateAvatar)) changes how the avatar moves in each conversation;
it is free and rebuilds nothing.

## Photo tips for Atmee V2

* **Chest-up or half body works best.** A head-only close-up gives no hand or body gestures, and
  in a very wide shot the face gets small and artifacts grow.
* **Zoom in when the face is small,** but not closer than chest-up.
* **Face the camera.** A face turned away tends to distort and drift from the person's look.
* **Keep the lips visible.** Not closed tight, covered or behind a filter. A slight smile with
  some teeth showing works well; a wide grin or an open mouth repeats in every frame.
* **Avoid a plain white or empty background,** and a busy one with other people in it.
* **Use even, soft light** on the face, and a relaxed, upright posture.

You can retake or crop the photo yourself, or use Atmee's portrait enhance to fix light, blur or
resolution. A restyle can change the pose or framing of the same person; see
[Images](/docs/api/generation/images).

## Voice tips

* **An expressive, energetic delivery animates better** than flat reading. A quiet or monotone
  sample is a common reason the lips barely move.
* **Record 10 to 60 seconds of one person** speaking clearly, with no music or other voices.

You can record a new sample yourself, or design a voice from a description; see
[Voices](/docs/api/generation/voices).

An AI agent with the atmee plugin coaches you through these fixes as you build: it watches each
take and suggests what to try.

- [Build with AI agents](/docs/agents): Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or Claude makes the avatar and suggests fixes while you chat.

- [Avatar 101: Negative examples](/docs/guides/negative-examples): The photos that animate badly, on Atmee V2 and Atmee V1.
- [Create an avatar](/docs/api/create-avatar): Build one through the API, with a portrait, a voice and a persona.