The reference guide
Choose references that leave less to invention
The editor can preserve what your references clearly show. It has to invent what they hide. A small, deliberate reference set is the strongest lever for both consented adult photos and owned illustrated characters.
For a person, begin with permission: use yourself as an adult, a consenting adult, or a hired adult model whose agreement covers the work. For an illustrated subject, use a character you created, own, or are licensed to adapt. A good crop does not fix a rights problem.
One reference can start; three cover more angles
A clear front-facing image often handles a gentle change in setting. It only defines one view, though. A three-quarter reference helps with depth and facial geometry; a full-body or side view helps with standing, walking, and profile scenes. Two or three relevant images usually outperform one image plus a long prompt because they show the information instead of asking the model to guess.
One reference image
The editor can only infer one angle. Faces and costume details are more likely to drift when the new scene needs a pose the single reference never showed.
Three reference images
Front, three-quarter, and a full-body or detail shot give the editor enough to anchor the same character through new poses and scenes. This is the recommended setup.
For adults: keep identity visible and current
Do
- Use an unobstructed front-facing portrait with natural skin texture.
- Add a three-quarter view and a full-body image for ambitious scenes.
- Keep hair, age, and general appearance consistent across the set.
- Choose images the adult approved for generated likeness work.
Avoid
- Use sunglasses, beauty filters, motion blur, or a face hidden by hair.
- Crop away the jaw, hairline, or body information the new scene needs.
- Use a group photo where the intended person is ambiguous.
- Assume a public photo, friendship, or employment equals consent.
For illustrated characters: cover the model sheet
Show the face, costume silhouette, signature colors, and defining props. A turnaround is useful because it reveals what one hero illustration hides. Flat and storybook styles transfer well in our illustrated bench, but naming the medium in the request helps keep it from drifting toward a denser or more generic rendering.
Match the references to the shot you want
A front portrait cannot fully define a side-profile face, and a waist-up crop cannot prove body proportions in a walking shot. Before generating, ask what the new camera angle reveals that your references do not. Add that view or simplify the request. More images are useful only when each contributes relevant information; three near-duplicates do not equal three angles.
In the illustrated bench, the softer identity results traced back to an ambiguous, face-hidden source. In the synthetic-adult bench, one clear portrait carried surprisingly well across eleven scenes, but profile and distant full-body frames still deserve stricter review because less facial information is visible.
Lay your chosen images out with the free reference-sheet planner. It runs locally in your browser, so the planner never uploads the adult or character images you are arranging.
Questions, answered plainly
Is one adult portrait enough?
It can be enough for a first, gentle scene change. Add a three-quarter and full-body or side reference when changing pose, camera angle, or framing. The new scene should not demand information the reference set never shows.
Should all person references come from the same day?
Not necessarily, but they should describe the same current appearance. Large differences in hairstyle, age, makeup, facial hair, or body shape make it unclear which version should stay.
Can I use screenshots from someone's social account?
Only if that adult has explicitly agreed to this generated use. Public visibility is not permission. Public figures and celebrities are outside the marketed workflow even if an image is licensed.
Where do I make a reference sheet?
Use the free planner on this site. It arranges up to three local images into a contact strip, model sheet, or labeled turnaround and exports a PNG without sending the images anywhere.
Have a clear, approved reference set?
Bring the views the new scene needs, describe what changes, and compare the output to every reference.
Opens in the EditThisPic editor — free to start, no signup.