Create your own avatar
Your own avatar is a face and the voice it speaks with. Once it's made, you can use it in any video, and it looks and sounds the same every time.
Before you start
You need two things:
- A photo of one person, as a JPG or PNG.
- A voice — pick one from the voice library, or upload a 10–30 second sample of the person speaking, as a WAV or MP3.
Creating an avatar uses 200 credits. Custom avatars need the Starter plan or above; Creator and Studio let you make as many as you like. See Compare plans.
Create it
- Open Avatars in the left rail and go to My avatars.
- Select New avatar.
- Under Photo, select Upload a photo or drop one in. You can also choose Pick from Library to use a picture you already have.
- Under Voice, choose one from the voice library, or select Upload your voice to use a recording of the person.
- Under Name, give your avatar a name.
- Select Create avatar.
You can also start from the Talking Avatar skill: choose Create my own, then upload a photo or describe the person and Reela designs a face for you.
Choose a good photo
The photo sets how your avatar looks in every video, so it's worth getting right.
- One person, facing the camera or nearly so, shoulders up.
- Good, even light and a natural look.
- A clear, high-resolution picture of the face.
- Nothing covering the face: no sunglasses, masks or hair over it.
Avoid group shots, faces that are small in the frame, busy backgrounds, heavy filters, screenshots, and old or heavily edited photos. A licensed 2D or 3D character works too.
Choose a voice
- From the voice library — play a voice to hear it, then pick it. You can search by how it sounds, such as warm, British or narrator.
- Upload your voice — a recording of the person speaking, 10 to 30 seconds long, as a WAV or MP3.
Reela uses this voice whenever the avatar speaks.
Consent and permission
Only use a face or voice that is yours, or one you have permission to use. You'll be asked to accept the terms of service and privacy policy before the avatar is made.
When it's ready
Your new avatar appears in My avatars straight away, marked Making preview… while Reela makes its preview clip. When the preview is done, the avatar is ready to use.
From there you can:
- Use it in a video: pick it from the avatar option in Create, or in the Talking Avatar skill. See Avatars.
- Add it to a brand kit, so it appears in that kit's videos.
- Select it to change its photo, voice or name.