# Animal/Creature Asset

> Build a reusable animal or mythical creature in the Creature Studio, with poses, variations, motion clips and a voice, and keep it the same in every shot.

Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/assets/creature

The **Animal/Creature Asset** node holds a reusable animal or creature: a pet, a wild animal, or a mythical or hybrid being. It keeps an approved main image, a written description, angle, pose and variation images, motion clips and a voice. You build it in the full-screen **Creature Studio**, or choose one you already have. Wire it into [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image) or [Generate Video](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/video/generate-video), and the same creature appears in every shot.

- Found in: Assets › Creatures
- Output: data
- API type: `creature`

## When to use it
- A recurring animal or creature appears in several scenes of a story.
- You need consistent angle and pose references of a creature for animation.
- You want a library of animals and creatures to reuse across workflows.
- You want short motion clips of a creature, such as a walk cycle or a roar.

## Quick start
### Add the node

Press Tab on the canvas and choose **Assets › Creatures › Animal/Creature Asset**. To reuse a creature you already have, click **Choose existing** on the node instead, and skip to the last step.

### Set the species

In the settings panel, type the **Species / Type**, for example `arctic fox with a thick winter coat` or `griffin`. Then click **Open Creature Studio**.

### Generate and approve the main image

On the **Appearance** page, add a description, choose the style, and generate the main image. Approve the one you want to keep.

### Add variants

Generate angles, poses, variations and motion clips on the pages in the sidebar. With Style Lock on, each one starts from the approved main image.

### Use the creature

Close the studio. Connect the node's **Animal/Creature** output to the **Assets** input of Generate Image or Generate Video.

Workflow: A creature feeds an image and the video made from it, and the mention places it inside the sentence.

- Text → Generate Image (prompt)
- Animal/Creature Asset → Generate Image (assets)
- Generate Image → Generate Video (start frame)
- Animal/Creature Asset → Generate Video (assets)

## Creature settings

You set these in the node's settings panel and on the **Appearance** page of the Creature Studio.

| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Name** | The creature's name. It is also the name you mention in prompts. |
| **Species / Type** | The kind of animal or creature, in free text, such as `red fox`, `griffin` or `dragon`. Suggestions come from the 126-entry [Animal](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/animal) catalog, but any text is accepted. |
| **Description** | A detailed description of the creature's appearance and features. |
| **Category** | A free-text group, such as cats, dogs, wild, birds, sea or mythical. |
| **Style** | realistic (default), anime, 3d-pixar or illustration. |
| **Reference Image** | An optional picture that guides the creature's look, for example an existing design. |
| **Style Lock** | On by default. See [Style Lock](#style-lock). |

## Inputs and outputs
| Input | Accepts | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Prompt** | Text nodes and pickers | Extra context when the node generates its main image. |
| **Creature type** | The [Animal](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/animal) picker, and the Vehicle, Furniture, Weapon, Material and Held Prop pickers | The picker's choice is added to the prompt when the creature generates. |

| Output | Carries | Connect it to |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Animal/Creature** | The creature's identity: the main image and the canonical description | The **Assets** input of Generate Image, Generate Video and other nodes that accept creatures |
| **Image** | The main image as a plain picture, with no description | Any image input, such as **References** or **Start Frame** |

## Style Lock

**Style Lock** is on by default. With it on, every variant is made from the approved main image and its canonical description, so the species and the form stay the same. With it off, each variant can reinterpret the creature more freely. Style Lock trades a little creative variety for much stronger consistency.

When you approve the main image, Nodaro writes a detailed **canonical description** of the creature. With Style Lock on, it anchors every later generation.

## The Creature Studio

The Creature Studio is a full-screen editor with a sidebar of pages:

| Group | Pages |
| --- | --- |
| **Resources** | References |
| **Identity** | Appearance |
| **Composition** | Angles, Poses |
| **Variants** | Variations |
| **Motion** | Motion |
| **Character** | Voice |
| **Sheet** | Board |

Each image page shows the images made so far, a row of preset chips, and a field for your own prompt, so you can go beyond the presets.

| Page | Presets |
| --- | --- |
| **Angles** | front, side, top, back, three-quarter, detail, in-context, low-angle, high-angle |
| **Poses** | standing, sitting, lying-down, walking, running, jumping, alert, playful, aggressive |
| **Variations** | juvenile, adult, elder, albino, melanistic, battle-scarred, majestic, fluffy, sleek |

### Motion

The **Motion** page animates the creature into short clips. The presets are idle-breathing, walk-cycle, run-cycle, head-turn, tail-wag, pounce, stretch, roar and fly-loop.

The clips run on [Kling 2.5 Turbo Pro](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/kling-2-5-turbo-pro) (default), [Kling 2.6](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/kling-2-6), [Kling 3.0](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/kling-3-0), [Hailuo 02 I2V Pro](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/hailuo-02-i2v-pro), [Hailuo 2.3 Standard](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/hailuo-2-3-standard), [Wan 2.6 I2V](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/wan-2-6-i2v), Seedance 1.5 Pro and [Bytedance Lite I2V](https://nodaro.ai/docs/models/video/bytedance-lite-i2v). The frame is square `1:1` by default, and you can choose another ratio on the page.

### Voice

The **Voice** page gives the creature a voice for talking animals: browse the voice library or design a voice from a description, and use the **Talk** panel to hear the creature say a line.

### References and Board

The **References** page holds reference photos that guide the creature's look. The **Board** page combines several of the creature's images into one board image.

## Use the creature in a prompt

Wire the creature into the **Assets** input of an image or video node. A wired creature that you do not mention adds its phrase, such as *the creature from reference image A*, at the end of the prompt.

To place the creature inside your sentence, mention it by name: `@nessie:1`. Add a role to take one aspect: `creature` (default), `anatomy`, `markings`, `pose`, `color` or `style`, for example `@nessie:1:markings`. Add `~lock` to make the model match the creature exactly. Creature mentions have no autocomplete, so type them in full. Read [Reference roles](https://nodaro.ai/docs/guides/reference-roles) for the full grammar.

## Choose an existing creature

Click **Choose existing** on the node, or **Choose from library or gallery** in the settings panel. The picker has two tabs:

- **My Library**: the creatures you saved.
- **Public Gallery**: creatures shared with everyone. Choosing one copies it into your library first, and the node uses your copy. The Public Gallery is available on Nodaro Cloud and the Business edition.

Once the node has a creature, the buttons read **Replace**. The node takes the whole creature, with its main image and every variant and clip. If you pick a gallery creature you copied before, the picker asks whether to use your copy or **Make a new copy**. To remove a creature from **My Library**, point at its card and click the trash icon: the creature is archived and can be restored, and nodes that already use it keep working.

## Credits
The node itself costs nothing to keep on the canvas. Generations in the Creature Studio are charged like the standalone nodes:

- **Images**, such as the main image, angles, poses and variations, cost the price of the chosen image model. See [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image).
- **Motion clips** cost the price of the chosen image-to-video model. See [Generate Video](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/video/generate-video).

## Tips
- **Approve a strong main image first.** With Style Lock on, it anchors every other image and clip.
- **Be precise in Species / Type.** "Arctic fox with a thick winter coat" prompts better than the category alone.
- **Generate angles before poses and variations.** Angles give the most useful references for later compositions.
- **Add a reference image for a specific look.** Use one when the creature must match an existing design.
- **Need a person instead?** For people, use the [Character Asset](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/assets/character) node, which adds expressions, a portrait workflow and a LoRA.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I make a mythical creature, such as a dragon or a griffin?

Yes. The Species / Type field is free text. It suggests entries from the animal catalog as you type, but it accepts any value, such as griffin, dragon or a hybrid of your own.

### How do I keep the same animal in every shot?

Approve a main image in the Creature Studio and keep Style Lock on. Then wire the Animal/Creature Asset node into the Assets input of Generate Image or Generate Video. Its main image and description are sent with every run.

### Does the Animal/Creature Asset node cost credits?

The node itself does not. Generations in the Creature Studio are charged at the price of the image or video model you choose.

### How do I mention a creature in a prompt?

Type @, the creature's name and a number, for example @nessie:1. Add a role to take only one aspect, such as @nessie:1:markings. Mentions of creatures are typed by hand.

### Can a creature have a voice?

Yes. The Voice page of the Creature Studio lets you choose or design a voice and hear the creature speak a line, which suits talking animals.