An application that generates consistent character portraits from written descriptions using OpenAI's DALL-E 3, allowing for variations in poses, expressions, and settings.

• Create fictional characters with detailed descriptions and optional names.
• Generate a base character portrait using OpenAI's image generation API.
• Create variations of the base character with different poses, expressions, and settings, aiming for consistency.
• Simple web interface for interacting with the application.
• Basic API key security (X-API-Key header).
• Simple file-based JSON storage for character data (MVP limitation).
• Generated images stored locally in the static/images directory.

• Backend: FastAPI (Python)
• Image Generation: OpenAI API (DALL-E 3)
• HTTP Client: HTTPX
• Storage: Simple file-based JSON storage (characters_db.json)
• Frontend: HTML, JavaScript, Bootstrap 5
• Configuration: Pydantic Settings, .env file

fictional_character_creator/
├── app/
│   ├── main.py              # FastAPI application entry point
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── endpoints/
│   │       ├── __init__.py
│   │       └── characters.py   # Character-related endpoints
│   ├── core/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   ├── config.py        # Configuration (API keys, etc.)
│   │   └── security.py      # Basic API security
│   ├── db/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── file_storage.py  # Simple file-based storage
│   ├── models/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── character.py     # Character data models
│   └── services/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       └── image_generator.py  # OpenAI integration
├── static/
│   ├── css/
│   ├── js/
│   └── images/              # Store generated images
├── templates/
│   └── index.html           # Web UI
├── requirements.txt
├── README.md
└── .env                     # Store secrets (add to .gitignore)

1. Clone Repository:

   git clone <your-repo-url>
   cd fictional_character_creator

2. Create Virtual Environment (Recommended):

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Configure Environment Variables: Update the .env file with your OpenAI API key and a secure API key for the application:

   OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key_here"
   API_KEY="your_chosen_secret_api_key_for_this_app"
   

5. Run the Application:

   uvicorn app.main:app --reload

   The application will be available at http://127.0.0.1:8000

All API endpoints are protected by the API key specified in your .env file. When making requests to the API (either via the web UI or directly), you must include the X-API-Key header with your API key.

• Storage: The current implementation uses a simple JSON file for storage, which is not suitable for production due to race conditions and performance limitations.
• Error Handling: Basic error handling is implemented but could be enhanced for production use.
• Image Generation Consistency: While the prompt attempts to maintain consistency, AI image generation might still produce variations.
• Testing: No automated tests are included in this MVP.
• Performance: File I/O operations are synchronous and could be improved for better performance under load.

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