Create a reference from photos

The founder, the flagship product, the shop: they come back from post to post, and a description, however precise, only ever gets you a look-alike. A reference fixes that. The app keeps the subject once and for all, and every image that calls it draws it the same way: same face, same label, same counter.

What a reference is

References live in the project’s library, the “References” tab of the Brand page, next to the title. Each one comes in three parts:

• a sheet — the subject from several angles, in a single image, on a plain background under even light;
• a profile — “What never changes,” as a few named traits, and “What can change”;
• its original photos, one to four, one of them starred.

The sheet follows the type of subject:

Type	The sheet’s views
Character	Portrait, Front, Three-quarter, Profile
Product	Front, Three-quarter, Back, Detail (the markings, if any)
Place	Wide shot, Key feature, Material, Light — in four panels, with no one in them
Other	Front, Side, Top, Detail

Before you start

Gather one to four photos of the subject, in JPEG, PNG or WebP, 5 MB at most. The sharper and more varied they are, the more faithful the sheet. Under 768 px on a side, a photo is accepted, but the sheet will be less sharp. The window gives tips for the type you pick; for a character: “A sharp face, no sunglasses or hand in front,” “One person per photo, or crop to them,” “Different angles: from the front, then in profile or three-quarter.”

No photo of the subject — a mascot still to be invented, a product still at the mock-up stage? Create the reference with the assistant: it describes it with you, then draws three castings.

Step by step

1. Open “New reference”

   On the “References” page, the “New reference” button — its arrow also offers “From photos” and “With the assistant.” The same window opens from “Who appears?” in “New post,” from “In this post” in the editor, and from an image description, by typing @ and then “Create a reference…”.

2. Drop in the photos

   “Photos,” one to four, with “Add” or by dragging them in. They are checked on your device before anything is sent — format, weight, size — and the window confirms it: “Checked on your device: 2 photos of 768 px or more.”

3. Say what it is

   “It’s…”: “Character” (a real or invented person), “Product” (what you sell), “Place” (shop, workshop, neighborhood) or “Other” (animal, object, mascot). Then the “Name,” the “Handle in descriptions” — suggested from the name, in lowercase with hyphens, like @bastien or @kraft-bag — and “In one sentence,” which helps the AI understand.

4. Continue

   “In the next step” announces both costs: “The AI reads your photos and writes the profile,” “Then draws the sheet: 4 views on a neutral background.” Nothing is spent at this step; “Continue” carries their total.

5. Review, then save

   The profile comes first, “Written from your photos”: fix a trait, add one (“Add a trait”), spell out “What can change” — the pose, the expression, the outfit… Then the sheet is drawn, with a partial preview as it comes in. “Save the reference” when you’re happy with it; “Retouch” or “Regenerate” if you’re not.

A message confirms the arrival — “Bastien joins your references” — and gives you the one thing to remember: “Type @bastien in an image description to call it.”

The photos as they are

A real product that is already well photographed doesn’t necessarily need a sheet. At the first step, “Use the photos as they are, without a sheet” saves the reference without calling the AI, so at no cost: the starred photo is then sent as is with every image. The library marks it “Photos only.” A sheet holds the subject better from one image to the next, and you can always draw it later from the profile.

From a post image

A good image can become a reference: a character the AI invented that you want to see again, a setting people liked.

1. Start from the version

   In the “Image” panel, “All versions,” then on the version you want: “Create a reference from this image.”

2. Name what to keep

   “Who or what?” — what the sheet should keep from the image: “the baker,” “the bag on the counter.” The sheet keeps only the subject you name; the rest of the scene is ignored. Then the type, the name and the handle.

3. Draw the sheet

   “Draw the sheet” carries its cost. Here there is no profile read from photos: write the traits that matter yourself, and the AI will recall them in every image.

The profile, afterwards

Click a card in the library to open its profile in a side panel:

• “Sheet” and its versions: flip through them, “Keep this version,” “Retouch” (“Thinner glasses, the navy apron…”), “Regenerate,” “Download the sheet.”
• “Photos”: the star marks the main photo; “Attach the starred photo to every image” sends it along with the sheet — “Useful for a logo or fine lettering,” with its extra cost per image.
• “Used in”: the posts and images that call it.
• “Profile”: “In one sentence,” the traits under “What never changes,” each marked “AI” or “you,” and “What can change.” Each block is edited on its own.

At the bottom of the panel, a line reminds you what goes to the model with every image — “the sheet and the profile,” or the photo for a “Photos only” reference — and what it adds; next to it, “Try in a scene.”

Try in a scene

Before calling a reference in a real post, check that it holds up. “Try in a scene” sits at the bottom of the creation window, as soon as the sheet is ready, and at the bottom of the profile. The window says what it does: “Bastien in a 4:5 image, in the style of your posts.”

1. Describe the scene

   “What the scene shows” comes prefilled — for a character, “@bastien at work, three-quarter view, in natural morning light” — and you can rewrite it freely. The handle brings the reference in; if it’s missing, it’s added at the start.

2. Try it

   The field opens on the style: “same as your posts,” the brand’s default image style; “Change” or # picks another one — see create an image style. The format, “4:5 · standard quality.” “Try it” carries its cost, and “Stop” interrupts a try in progress.

3. Compare, try again

   “Try another” attempts a new scene; the earlier ones stay in the window, one thumbnail each, and “Download the scene” keeps the one on display. Every scene is “Saved in the media library, attached to no post”: you’ll find it from any image.

What’s next

The reference is ready: all that’s left is to call it wherever it appears. That’s what call a reference with @ covers.