Name: Proteus v0.3 API: Anime Image and Character Generator
Brand: magicapi
SKU: api-magicapi-anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3
Availability: InStock
Author: API Market

Shashank Agarwal

# 🎨 Anime Image Generator API (datacte Proteus v0.3)

## Overview
Proteus v0.3 is an image generation model published by datacte. Its developer calls this release "The Anime Update", and its default prompt is an anime character portrait.

Send a text `prompt` and the API returns a list of image URLs. Add an `image` for image-to-image generation, or an `image` plus a `mask` for inpainting. You set the size, the number of images (1 to 4), the scheduler, the guidance scale and the number of denoising steps.

## Features
- **Text to image**: generate anime characters and scenes from a `prompt`. The default size is 1024 x 1024; the model recommends 1024 or 1280 per side.
- **Image to image**: send an `image` and control how much it changes with `prompt_strength` (0 to 1, default 0.8).
- **Inpainting**: send an `image` and a `mask`. Black areas of the mask are kept and white areas are repainted.
- **Negative prompt**: `negative_prompt` (default "worst quality, low quality") lists what to avoid.
- **Up to 4 images per request**: set `num_outputs` from 1 to 4.
- **Schedulers**: `DDIM`, `DPMSolverMultistep`, `HeunDiscrete`, `KarrasDPM`, `K_EULER_ANCESTRAL`, `K_EULER`, `PNDM`, `DPM++2MSDE` (default).
- **Guidance and steps**: `guidance_scale` from 1 to 50 (default 7.5, recommended 7 to 8), `num_inference_steps` from 1 to 100 (default 20).
- **Watermark and safety checker**: `apply_watermark` (default `true`) marks images as generated; `disable_safety_checker` (default `false`) turns off the safety checker.
- **Seed**: set `seed` to reproduce a result.

## Use Cases
1. **Anime character art**: portraits and full-body characters for games, comics and stories.
2. **Key visuals and posters**: anime-style scenes, including short words on signs in the image.
3. **Restyling an image**: turn a reference image into an anime-style version with image-to-image.
4. **Fixing part of an image**: repaint only the masked area with inpainting.

## Visual Examples
### Example Input
Prompt: "Anime mugshot of a tough woman. She is holding a prison sign that reads "Proteus". Her face is censored. Anime key visual (best quality, HD, ~+~aesthetic~+~:1.2)"

Negative prompt: "nsfw, bad quality, bad anatomy, worst quality, low quality, low resolutions, extra fingers, blur, blurry, ugly, wrongs proportions, watermark, image artifacts, lowres, ugly, jpeg artifacts, deformed, noisy image"

Settings: `width` 1024, `height` 1024, `scheduler` `DPM++2MSDE`, `num_outputs` 1, `guidance_scale` 7.5, `apply_watermark` `true`, `prompt_strength` 0.8, `num_inference_steps` 30. No input image was sent.

### Example Output
![Proteus v0.3 output generated from the anime mugshot example prompt](https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/proteus-v0-3-output-9bthjm86-api-market-1.jpg)

## Input Parameters
| Field | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `prompt` | string | No | `Anime full body portrait of a swordsman holding his weapon in front of him. He is facing the camera with a fierce look on his face. Anime key visual (best quality, HD, ~+~aesthetic~+~:1.2)` |  | Input prompt |
| `negative_prompt` | string | No | `worst quality, low quality` |  | Negative input prompt |
| `image` | string (URL) | No | none |  | Input image for img2img or inpaint mode |
| `mask` | string (URL) | No | none |  | Input mask for inpaint mode. Black areas will be preserved, white areas will be inpainted |
| `width` | integer | No | `1024` |  | Width of output image. Recommended 1024 or 1280 |
| `height` | integer | No | `1024` |  | Height of output image. Recommended 1024 or 1280 |
| `num_outputs` | integer | No | `1` | 1 to 4 | Number of images to output |
| `scheduler` | string | No | `DPM++2MSDE` | `DDIM`, `DPMSolverMultistep`, `HeunDiscrete`, `KarrasDPM`, `K_EULER_ANCESTRAL`, `K_EULER`, `PNDM`, `DPM++2MSDE` | Scheduler |
| `num_inference_steps` | integer | No | `20` | 1 to 100 | Number of denoising steps. 20 to 60 steps for more detail, 20 steps for faster results |
| `guidance_scale` | number | No | `7.5` | 1 to 50 | Scale for classifier-free guidance. Recommended 7-8 |
| `prompt_strength` | number | No | `0.8` | 0 to 1 | Prompt strength when using img2img / inpaint. 1.0 corresponds to full destruction of information in image |
| `seed` | integer | No | none |  | Random seed. Leave blank to randomize the seed |
| `apply_watermark` | boolean | No | `true` |  | Applies a watermark so generated images can be identified in downstream applications. You can disable it if you have other provisions for generating or deploying images safely |
| `disable_safety_checker` | boolean | No | `false` |  | Disable the safety checker for generated images |

## Pricing
- **Pay As You Go (PAYG) pricing**: you only pay for what you use.
- **Price**: $0.051 per API unit.
- **1 API unit = 1 successful request with up to 47 seconds of processing.** A request that takes longer is billed one more unit for each started block of 47 seconds (for example, 50 seconds of processing is 2 units, $0.102).
- **Example cost**: the example request above took 7.2 seconds of processing, so it used 1 API unit and cost $0.051.
- **Failed or cancelled predictions are not billed.**
- **GET requests to check prediction status** are free and don't count toward API unit usage.
- **No monthly subscription fee.**

## API Documentation

### Base URL
All API requests go to: `https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3`

### Authentication
Send your api.market API key in the `x-api-market-key` header:
```
x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY
```

### Asynchronous Processing
**IMPORTANT**: This API is asynchronous. The flow is:
1. Send a POST request to `/predictions`. A successful request returns **201 Created** with a prediction `id` and a `status` of `starting` or `processing`.
2. Poll GET `/predictions/{id}` with that ID.
3. Keep polling while `status` is `starting` or `processing`.
4. Stop when `status` is `succeeded` (read `output`), `failed` or `canceled` (read `error`).

A polling interval of 1 second and an overall timeout of 600 seconds (10 minutes) work well.

### Endpoints

#### Create a Prediction
```bash
curl -X POST "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3/predictions" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "version": "b28b79d725c8548b173b6a19ff9bffd16b9b80df5b18b8dc5cb9e1ee471bfa48",
    "input": {
      "width": 1024,
      "height": 1024,
      "prompt": "Anime mugshot of a tough woman. She is holding a prison sign that reads \"Proteus\". Her face is censored. Anime key visual (best quality, HD, ~+~aesthetic~+~:1.2)",
      "scheduler": "DPM++2MSDE",
      "num_outputs": 1,
      "guidance_scale": 7.5,
      "apply_watermark": true,
      "negative_prompt": "nsfw, bad quality, bad anatomy, worst quality, low quality, low resolutions, extra fingers, blur, blurry, ugly, wrongs proportions, watermark, image artifacts, lowres, ugly, jpeg artifacts, deformed, noisy image",
      "prompt_strength": 0.8,
      "num_inference_steps": 30
    }
  }'
```

Response (201 Created):
```json
{
  "id": "9bthjm862srmy0d1ccn884bazm",
  "version": "b28b79d725c8548b173b6a19ff9bffd16b9b80df5b18b8dc5cb9e1ee471bfa48",
  "status": "starting",
  "created_at": "2026-10-22T10:31:01.032Z"
}
```

#### Check Prediction Status
```bash
curl -X GET "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3/predictions/{id}" \
  -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
```

Response when the prediction has finished (200 OK):
```json
{
  "id": "9bthjm862srmy0d1ccn884bazm",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "output": [
    "https://blog.api.market/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/proteus-v0-3-output-9bthjm86-api-market-1.jpg"
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-10-22T10:31:01.032Z",
  "started_at": "2026-10-22T10:31:01.042Z",
  "completed_at": "2026-10-22T10:31:08.256Z"
}
```

`output` is a list of image URLs, one per image (`num_outputs`).

### Status Codes
- **201 Created**: prediction created (POST `/predictions`). This is the normal success response.
- **200 OK**: prediction details returned (GET `/predictions/{id}`).
- **400 Bad Request**: invalid input, for example a `scheduler` that is not in the list or `num_outputs` above 4.
- **401 Unauthorized**: missing or invalid API key.
- **404 Not Found**: no prediction with that ID.
- **429 Too Many Requests**: rate limit exceeded.
- **500 Internal Server Error** or **503 Service Unavailable**: temporary server problem; retry later.

## Rate Limits
All plans allow 10 requests per second. Requests above that return `429 Too Many Requests`; back off before retrying and honour any `Retry-After` header. Polling a prediction with GET is free but still counts toward the per-second limit, so poll every 1 to 5 seconds rather than in a tight loop.

## Error Handling
- Check the HTTP status code of every request and read the response body for the error message.
- A prediction can also end with `status` set to `failed`; the `error` field then explains why. Failed predictions are not billed.
- Make sure `image` and `mask` URLs are publicly reachable.
- Retry 429, 500 and 503 responses with exponential backoff. Fix the input before retrying a 400.

## Implementation Guide
### Example Code

#### JavaScript
```javascript
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY";
const baseUrl = "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3";

async function createAndWaitForPrediction(input) {
  const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/predictions`, {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "x-api-market-key": apiKey
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ version: "b28b79d725c8548b173b6a19ff9bffd16b9b80df5b18b8dc5cb9e1ee471bfa48", input })
  });

  if (response.status !== 201) {
    throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status} ${await response.text()}`);
  }

  const prediction = await response.json();
  return pollForResults(prediction.id);
}

const delay = (ms) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));

async function pollForResults(predictionId) {
  const maxTimeout = 600000;
  const pollInterval = 1000;
  const startTime = Date.now();

  while (Date.now() - startTime < maxTimeout) {
    const response = await fetch(`${baseUrl}/predictions/${predictionId}`, {
      headers: { "x-api-market-key": apiKey }
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`API error: ${response.status} ${await response.text()}`);
    }

    const prediction = await response.json();

    if (prediction.status === "succeeded") {
      return prediction.output;
    }

    if (prediction.status === "failed" || prediction.status === "canceled") {
      throw new Error(`Prediction ${prediction.status}: ${prediction.error || "Unknown error"}`);
    }

    await delay(pollInterval);
  }

  throw new Error("Prediction timed out after 10 minutes");
}

createAndWaitForPrediction({
  width: 1024,
  height: 1024,
  prompt: "Anime mugshot of a tough woman. She is holding a prison sign that reads \"Proteus\". Her face is censored. Anime key visual (best quality, HD, ~+~aesthetic~+~:1.2)",
  scheduler: "DPM++2MSDE",
  num_outputs: 1,
  guidance_scale: 7.5,
  apply_watermark: true,
  negative_prompt: "nsfw, bad quality, bad anatomy, worst quality, low quality, low resolutions, extra fingers, blur, blurry, ugly, wrongs proportions, watermark, image artifacts, lowres, ugly, jpeg artifacts, deformed, noisy image",
  prompt_strength: 0.8,
  num_inference_steps: 30
}).then((output) => console.log(output));
```

#### Python
```python
import time
import requests

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY"
BASE_URL = "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/magicapi/anime-character-generator-datacte-proteus-v0-3"


def create_and_wait_for_prediction(input_data):
    headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json", "x-api-market-key": API_KEY}
    response = requests.post(
        f"{BASE_URL}/predictions",
        headers=headers,
        json={"version": "b28b79d725c8548b173b6a19ff9bffd16b9b80df5b18b8dc5cb9e1ee471bfa48", "input": input_data},
    )

    if response.status_code != 201:
        raise Exception(f"API error: {response.status_code} {response.text}")

    return poll_for_results(response.json()["id"])


def poll_for_results(prediction_id):
    max_timeout = 600
    poll_interval = 1
    headers = {"x-api-market-key": API_KEY}
    start_time = time.time()

    while time.time() - start_time < max_timeout:
        response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/predictions/{prediction_id}", headers=headers)

        if response.status_code != 200:
            raise Exception(f"API error: {response.status_code} {response.text}")

        prediction = response.json()

        if prediction["status"] == "succeeded":
            return prediction["output"]

        if prediction["status"] in ("failed", "canceled"):
            raise Exception(f"Prediction {prediction['status']}: {prediction.get('error') or 'Unknown error'}")

        time.sleep(poll_interval)

    raise Exception("Prediction timed out after 10 minutes")


print(create_and_wait_for_prediction({
    "width": 1024,
    "height": 1024,
    "prompt": "Anime mugshot of a tough woman. She is holding a prison sign that reads \"Proteus\". Her face is censored. Anime key visual (best quality, HD, ~+~aesthetic~+~:1.2)",
    "scheduler": "DPM++2MSDE",
    "num_outputs": 1,
    "guidance_scale": 7.5,
    "apply_watermark": True,
    "negative_prompt": "nsfw, bad quality, bad anatomy, worst quality, low quality, low resolutions, extra fingers, blur, blurry, ugly, wrongs proportions, watermark, image artifacts, lowres, ugly, jpeg artifacts, deformed, noisy image",
    "prompt_strength": 0.8,
    "num_inference_steps": 30
}))
```

## FAQ
- **How do I edit an existing image?**
  - Send it as `image` with a `prompt`. Lower `prompt_strength` keeps more of the original; 1.0 replaces it completely. Add a `mask` to repaint only the white areas.
- **What size should I use?**
  - The model recommends 1024 or 1280 for `width` and `height`. The default is 1024 x 1024.
- **How many images does one request return?**
  - `num_outputs` images, from 1 to 4. `output` is always a list of URLs.
- **Can I turn off the watermark?**
  - Yes. Set `apply_watermark` to `false` if you have other provisions for identifying generated images.
- **How is a request billed?**
  - $0.051 per request for up to 47 seconds of processing, plus one more unit for each further started block of 47 seconds. The example request took 7.2 seconds and cost $0.051.
- **Is the 201 response from POST an error?**
  - No. 201 Created means the prediction was accepted. Use the returned `id` to poll GET `/predictions/{id}` until `status` is `succeeded`, `failed` or `canceled`.

## Contact Us
If you have any questions, reach out to us through the chat on the bottom right of the page. You can also email our support team at hello@magicapi.com.


Generate anime-style images from text with Proteus v0.3, with image-to-image and inpainting modes and up to 4 images per request. Pay as you go, no monthly fee.