A growing visual trend on social media is turning regular photos into glossy, cartoon-styled 3D caricatures. This format, marked by oversized heads, expressive features and smooth surfaces, is gaining traction on X and Instagram. The effect is powered by Google’s Gemini Nano Banana Pro model, which allows users to transform their selfies or portraits using simple prompts. With creators sharing examples and ready templates, the process has become accessible to anyone experimenting with AI-generated visuals.
How the trend started
The caricature look began circulating after several creators posted their results using Nano Banana Pro. One of the early contributors, AI creator @ShreyaYadav_, shared a structured prompt and sample outputs that highlighted the exaggerated proportions and polished textures this model can generate. Soon after, more creators began posting similar transformations, including celebrity edits that pushed the exaggerated style further. Accounts such as @azed_ai helped fuel the trend by sharing their own prompts and showcasing how the model handles expressive poses, bold lighting and playful distortions.
The appeal of this style lies in its combination of character-driven exaggeration and easy accessibility. It avoids the precision of hyper-realistic edits and instead delivers a fun, stylised avatar-like result. Nano Banana Pro is optimised for smooth textures, simplified backgrounds and high-contrast lighting — traits that complement the caricature approach. The results work well for profile photos, reactions, thumbnails and short-form video content, making the trend quick to adopt across platforms.
How to create your own 3D caricature using Nano Banana Pro
Using the effect is straightforward. Users can upload a photo and enter a detailed prompt describing the style they want. The model follows the instructions closely, reproducing the oversized head, expressive eyes and polished plastic-like skin that define the trend. Most creators recommend including lighting conditions and background directions to ensure a clean and consistent output.
5 working prompts to try
Here are five prompts inspired by creators who popularised the trend. Replace the bracketed text with your subject or photo description.
1. “A highly stylized 3D caricature of [person], with an oversized head, expressive features and smooth polished textures. Minimal background, soft ambient lighting.”
2. “Create a 3D cartoon caricature of [person], emphasising playful exaggeration, glossy materials and rounded proportions. Clean studio lighting and a simple backdrop.”
3. “Render [person] as a 3D caricature figure with bright colors, oversized facial features and subtle reflections. Keep the background minimal.”
4. “Generate a stylized 3D character version of [person], with enlarged proportions, expressive eyes and a polished finish. Soft shadows and neutral lighting.”
5. “Produce a smooth 3D caricature portrait of [person], featuring exaggerated head size, cartoon-like details and clean textures. Simple gradient background.”
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