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Reference Images

Use reference images to guide DUTO's AI in creating exactly what you envision.

Types of References​

Character References​

Images showing people or characters you want to appear in your storyboard. These are used by the Character Reference worker during generation to establish visual consistency across all shots.

Best practices:

  • Clear face visibility
  • Good lighting
  • Front-facing or 3/4 view
  • Consistent with intended character

Style References​

Images showing the visual style you want:

  • Color palettes
  • Lighting approaches
  • Composition styles
  • Artistic treatments

Environment References​

Images of locations or settings:

  • Specific places
  • General environment types
  • Architectural styles
  • Natural settings

Product References​

For commercial content:

  • Product hero shots
  • Packaging
  • Usage scenarios
  • Detail shots

Uploading References​

How to Upload​

Reference images can be added in two ways through the References section in the Story Setup panel:

  1. Upload tab: Drag and drop images or click Browse Files to select from your device
  2. Library tab: Browse and select images from your Content Library

Only image files are supported -- other file types will be skipped with an error message.

Upload Process​

When uploading, images are:

  1. Uploaded to Supabase Storage (uploaded-media bucket)
  2. Given a public URL
  3. Added to the project's reference image list

Managing References​

  • View all uploaded references as a thumbnail grid below the upload area
  • Remove any reference by hovering over it and clicking the delete button
  • References show a count indicator (e.g., "Images (3)")
  • Adding the same library image twice is prevented (duplicates are detected by URL)

How References Are Used​

During Storyboard Generation​

The 11-worker pipeline uses your reference images at multiple stages:

  1. Character Reference Worker: Extracts character details from reference images, establishing locked descriptions and visual traits for consistency
  2. Research Worker: Uses references alongside web research to gather additional visual context
  3. Reference Digest Worker: Synthesizes all references into a structured digest with entities, style observations, and risk notes

Subject Registry​

After hero frame generation, DUTO builds a Subject Registry that tracks subjects (characters, products, objects, etc.) across your storyboard:

FieldDescription
Locked DescriptionCanonical visual description of the subject
Hero Frame URLReference image from the first successful generation
Detected DescriptionWhat the vision model actually observed in the generated image
Frozen TraitsVisual description and preservation hints extracted from the actual generated image
Matching KeywordsKeywords for intelligent prompt matching across shots

The registry ensures subjects look consistent across all shots. When shots are deleted, orphaned subjects are automatically removed from the registry.

Use Source Material Mode​

When Use Source Material in Story is enabled (Advanced Mode setting), reference images are passed directly to the image editing model rather than just being used for style guidance. This is useful when you want the AI to closely replicate elements from your reference images.

Subject Appearance Tracking​

Each shot tracks which subjects appear in it:

  • subjectAppearances: List of subject IDs that appear in the shot
  • isFirstSubjectAppearance: Whether this is the first time a subject appears (triggers reference frame capture)
  • usesSubjectReference: Whether the shot uses a stored subject reference for consistency

Best Practices​

Character Consistency​

For the best character consistency across shots:

  1. Upload clear reference images with good lighting and visible features
  2. Enable Single Model Consistency in Model Preferences to use the same model for all shots
  3. Review the Subject Registry after generation to verify frozen traits are accurate
  4. The first hero frame generated for a character becomes the reference for all subsequent shots

Style Guidance​

For effective style references:

  • 2-3 strong references are better than many mediocre ones
  • Choose references with consistent color palettes and lighting
  • Match the mood and genre of your concept

Product Content​

For product-focused storyboards:

  • Include a clean hero shot of the product
  • Show the product from the angle you want featured
  • Consider enabling Use Source Material for closer product fidelity

Troubleshooting​

Character Not Matching​

  • Use a higher quality reference with clear face visibility
  • Ensure even lighting on the face (avoid heavy shadows)
  • Try a front-facing or 3/4 angle reference
  • Add detailed character description in the concept

Style Not Applied​

  • Reference may be too subtle for the AI to extract style cues
  • Add more references with a consistent style
  • Be explicit about the desired style in your concept description
  • Check that the style preset complements your references

References Not Loading​

  • Verify the images uploaded successfully (check for error toasts)
  • Ensure you're connected to the internet
  • Try re-uploading the image
  • Check that the file is a valid image format