Character Consistency, Image Reference & Upload – Full Guide
Storyboarder.ai includes a powerful Character Consistency feature to help you maintain coherent and recognizable character designs throughout your entire storyboard – across all scenes, art styles, and shot compositions.
Whether you're working with AI-generated characters, customizing them manually, or uploading your own reference images – this guide walks you through all the available options and best practices.
🔧 Where Can I Set Character Consistency?
You’ll find the Character Editor by going to your Shotlist or Storyboard and clicking on the Character Editor in the top bar. Here, all characters from your screenplay will be listed automatically.
Each character shows:
A preview image generated by AI
A description based on script analysis
Fields for scene-specific look changes ("Clothing and Accessories"), and image reference options
🧍 How Do I Refine a Character’s Look?
Open the Character Editor
Select a character
Edit their text description to include additional visual cues (e.g., “short gray beard, brown baseball cap, long blonde ponytail”)
Click Update Image to generate a new preview based on the new description
Save your changes
Repeat this for each character. The more detailed and clear your descriptions, the better the results.
🎭 How Do I Handle Character Variations in Different Scenes?
In the Character Editor, you can define scene-specific variations.
Example:
Marla wears a green shirt in most scenes
But in Scene 7, she should be in orange swimwear
Steps:
Scroll down in the editor
Under Clothing & Accessories, enter:
Scene 7 → wearing orange swimwear
All other scenes → wearing a green shirt
Remove conflicting info from the general description
Save your character
When generating your storyboard, the character will automatically change outfits based on the scene context.
🖼️ What Is the “Based On Image Reference” Option?
By default, Storyboarder uses your character’s text description when generating storyboard images.
However, you can switch to using a specific preview image (or your own uploaded image) as a reference.
To enable image-based generation:
Click the toggle: “Based On Image Reference”
Save your character
Refresh the storyboard to apply changes
Important:
If your character appears with multiple others in one frame, the text description is used instead to correctly assign characters. That’s why it’s always important to maintain a consistent and complete description even when using image references.
📤 Can I Upload My Own Character Images?
Yes! You can upload custom images as references for your characters.
Steps:
In the Character Editor, click the Upload Image button
Choose your image from your device
After upload, the system automatically switches to “Based On Image Reference”
Make sure the text description also matches the uploaded image
Save and refresh storyboard frames
This is especially helpful if you want to use pre-designed character artwork.
🔁 Can I Switch Between Description and Image Reference?
Yes – you can toggle between:
“Based On Description Reference” for more flexibility and shot variation
“Based On Image Reference” for higher facial consistency
Feel free to test both and compare results using the arrow navigation in the storyboard to view previous versions side-by-side.
🎨 Does This Work with All Art Styles?
Absolutely!
After setting your character consistency:
Head to the Storyboard
Choose a new Art Style
Click RETRY on all images
The storyboard will regenerate in the new visual style – with your consistent characters intact.
✅ Tips for Best Results
Always combine image reference and detailed descriptions for best results
Be specific (e.g., “short gray beard” instead of “beard”)
Use Clothing & Accessories to handle outfit or appearance changes
Reuse generated images as reference if they match your vision
When uploading your own character image, update the description to match the image
💬 Still Need Help?
If your characters aren’t generating consistently or something seems off, reach out via our support chat.
We’re happy to take a look at your project and help you troubleshoot.