Free to try
AI Anime Filter
Redraw a selfie as a hand-drawn animation character — flat cel shading, clean linework, large expressive eyes — from one photo.
What the anime filter does
The anime filter redraws your photo in the visual language of Japanese hand-drawn animation: flat cel shading instead of photographic gradients, clean ink-style outlines, simplified skin and hair, and larger, more expressive eyes. Your face shape, hairstyle and expression still read as you underneath the stylisation — that recognisability is the whole point of the effect.
In FaceCast you add one photo, tap the style and the render comes back in seconds. There is no prompt box, no sliders and no editing step. The app is free to download on iOS and Android and includes a free trial, so you can produce an image before deciding on anything premium.
One honest note on what this is: it is an anime-style effect applied to your own photo. FaceCast has no affiliation with, and no endorsement from, any anime studio, and the filter does not generate characters from any existing series or film.
How to get the anime look
Add one clear selfie
Front-facing, evenly lit, one face in frame. The filter can only stylise the features it can actually see.
Tap the anime style
Pick it from the filter library. Nothing to write, nothing to configure — the look is a ready-made preset.
Save or compare styles
The render arrives in seconds. Save it, post it, or run the same photo through the Pixar-style, PS2 and claymation looks to compare.
Why anime restyling depends on the source photo
Anime works by simplification. The model throws away most of the photographic detail and rebuilds your face from a small number of shapes and lines, so it needs those shapes to be unambiguous in the original. A front-on photo in soft, even daylight gives it a clean read on the eye line, the hairline and the jaw.
The photos that come back disappointing are predictable: heavy side lighting that hides half the face, steep upward or downward angles, sunglasses, hair falling across the cheek, a beauty filter that has already flattened the features, or a low-resolution face cropped out of a group shot. If a result looks generic, replacing the source photo fixes it far more reliably than re-running the same one.
What else sits in the same library
3D cartoon
The Pixar-style look — rounded features and film-style lighting instead of flat 2D shading.
PS2
Low-poly, early-2000s game cover art, complete with hard render lighting.
Claymation
A stop-motion look with visible modelled texture, as if the portrait were sculpted by hand.
Over 100 more
Cartoon, painterly and photographic styles, plus one-tap enhancement for the original photo.
Frequently asked questions
Is the anime filter AI free?+
FaceCast is free to download on the App Store and Google Play and includes a free trial, so you can generate an anime-style image before deciding on any optional in-app purchase.
Is there an anime filter online, or do I need an app?+
The filter library lives in the FaceCast app on iOS and Android. The download is free and the trial lets you produce a result without paying first, so there is nothing to buy before you see what it looks like.
Can I apply the anime filter to a video?+
The anime filter is a photo effect — it renders a still image. FaceCast does have video features, but they are separate: the Future Baby Video animates a baby the app generated from two parent photos, and the photo animator with puppet masks adds playful movement to a still. Neither turns an existing video clip into anime.
What anime filter prompt should I write?+
None. FaceCast has no prompt box for filters — you tap the style. The long descriptive prompts people trade online are written for general-purpose image models that need the shading, linework and eye style spelled out.
Is this connected to Studio Ghibli or any other anime studio?+
No. It applies an anime-style rendering to your own photo. FaceCast is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any anime studio, and it does not produce characters from any existing series.
How do I post the result on Instagram or TikTok?+
Create the image in FaceCast, save it to your camera roll, then upload it like any other photo. It is a saved file rather than an in-camera effect running inside those apps.
Are my photos private?+
Your photos are processed securely to create your images and are not shared with third parties.
Turn your selfie into an anime character
Download FaceCast free and try the anime filter alongside 100+ other styles.