Reference Sheet
Composite a turnaround, expression board, detail, or full reference sheet from a Character, Object, or Location — then export it or feed the clean panels into generators as a multi-image reference.
Overview
Reference Sheet assembles a single, presentation-ready model sheet for an entity (a Character, Object, or Location). A sheet can include a turnaround (multiple angles), an expression or variation board, detail close-ups, a wardrobe row, a color palette extracted from the main image, and a notes block — laid out on one canvas in one of four visual skins.
On Run, the node first generates any panels the chosen type needs but the entity is missing (extra angles, expressions, details, …) off the entity’s main image, reuses the ones it already has, extracts a palette from the main image, and composites everything into one image plus a clean panel set. Because generating panels costs credits, the node tells you how many it will generate and asks you to confirm before it starts. To control cost (or pre-build exactly the panels you want), you can also generate them ahead of time in the entity’s Studio — the sheet then reuses them for free.
You can also generate sheets directly from the Sheet tab inside an entity’s Studio — the node is the canvas-wired equivalent so a sheet can be produced as part of a workflow.
Note — auto-generation: workflow vs single-node runs. Both generate the missing panels off the main image, then compose. The only difference is the cost confirmation: clicking Run directly on the node shows a confirm dialog with the panel count before it generates; an automated workflow or app run can’t prompt, so it generates the missing panels without a confirm (each charged at the per-panel rate). To control cost in automated runs, pre-build the panels in the entity’s Studio first — existing panels are reused for free. (If the entity has no main image, the run fails
main_image_required; if generation can’t produce any panels, the compose failsno_panelsand refunds the assembly fee rather than charging for an empty sheet.)
How to use
- Connect a Character, Object, or Location node (one that has an approved main image) to the Subject input.
- Pick a Type:
- Turnaround — angle coverage (front / side / back, etc.).
- Variation Board — an expression / pose / material / variation grid.
- Detail — close-up detail panels.
- Full Reference — the complete stack (header + turnaround + board + detail + palette + notes).
- Pick a Skin — Studio (clean neutral), Cinematic (dark, accent rules under each heading), Blueprint (drafting grid + corner ticks, monospace), or Illustrated (warm storybook plate, serif).
- Adjust the flavour knobs as needed: show/hide text, show/hide panel labels, aspect (landscape / square / story), and background.
- Run. If the entity is missing any panels the type needs, the node tells you how many it will generate (each is charged) and asks you to confirm; it then generates them, reuses any that already exist, and composites the sheet.
Tip: the node generates whatever panels the chosen type needs that the entity is missing. To keep a Run cheap, generate (or trim) the panels you want in the entity’s Studio first — the sheet reuses existing panels for free and only generates what’s absent.
Configuration
| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | select | turnaround |
turnaround / variation-board / detail / full-reference. The available types adapt to the connected entity kind. |
| Skin | select | studio |
Visual treatment: studio / cinematic / blueprint / illustrated. Chrome (grid, accent rule, header band), colors, and font differ per skin. |
| Show text | boolean | true |
When off, the entity name / metadata / notes text is suppressed (structural section headings are still drawn). |
| Show labels | boolean | true |
When off, per-panel caption labels are suppressed. |
| Aspect | select | landscape |
Canvas shape: landscape (1600w) / square (1200w) / story (900w). Height grows with the band stack. |
| Background | select | grey |
Panel/canvas backdrop treatment: grey / white / transparent / in-context. |
| Output format | select | still |
still → a PNG sheet; motion → the chrome rendered as a background with the entity’s motion clips overlaid into the slots → MP4. See Motion / video sheets. |
Inputs & Outputs
Inputs:
| Handle | Side | Accepts | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
in (Subject) |
left | Character, Object, or Location node | The entity to build the sheet from. The sheet reads this entity’s saved panels and its main image (for the palette). |
Outputs:
| Handle | Color | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
sheet |
cyan | image | The composited reference sheet as a single image. Download it, display it, or wire it anywhere an image is accepted — but note it is a poster (it carries text/labels), so it is not meant to be used as a generation reference. |
panels |
rose | reference | The clean panel set (the individual panel images, no poster chrome). Wire this into an image or video generator’s reference input for multi-image consistency. |
Use the right output: for a deliverable you show a human, use sheet. To drive consistency in downstream generation, use panels — the text poster is never used as a generation reference.
Types × Flavours × Skins
| Axis | Options | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Turnaround · Variation Board · Detail · Full Reference | Chooses which bands (sections) appear and which of the entity’s panels are pulled in. |
| Flavour | With/without text · with/without panel labels · panel count · aspect (landscape / square / story) · background (grey / white / transparent / in-context) | Tunes density and presentation without changing the type. |
| Skin | Studio · Cinematic · Blueprint · Illustrated | Changes the chrome, palette, and typography only — same content. Blueprint adds a faint drafting grid + corner registration ticks; Cinematic adds an accent rule under each heading; Illustrated adds a warm header band; Studio is clean and neutral. |
Pricing
Cost = (newly-generated panels at the entity provider’s rate) + a flat 4-credit assembly fee. Panels that already exist in the entity’s Studio are reused for free — you only pay to generate the panels that don’t exist yet, plus the one-time assembly fee.
| Scenario | Math | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Turnaround reusing 4 angles the entity already has | 0 + 4 |
4 |
| 4 new angles generated with Nano Banana (1 cr each) | 4×1 + 4 |
8 |
| Full reference with 4 new angles generated with Flux 2 Pro (3 cr each) | 4×3 + 4 |
16 |
The flat assembly fee covers layout, palette extraction, and compositing. The node’s Run button shows the assembly fee; when panels need generating, the node first asks you to confirm how many it will generate (each charged at the entity provider’s rate) before it starts.
Motion / video sheets
The sheet has two output formats, set by the flavour’s outputFormat:
still(default) — the composited sheet is a single PNG image (everything above).motion— the chrome (text, palette, panel labels, header) is rendered once as a background image with empty panel slots, then the entity’s motion clips are overlaid into those slot rectangles via FFmpeg and the result is exported as an MP4. Thesheetoutput then carries the video URL, so a downstream video consumer receives a video.
Motion sheets are compose-only: they use the motion clips the entity already has in its motion bucket (a Character’s motions, an Object’s motion_clips, a Location’s atmosphere_motions), matched to each panel by name. A panel whose matching motion clip doesn’t exist simply keeps the static background in its slot — the motion is absent, not generated. Generate the motion clips you want in the entity’s Studio first, then run the sheet in motion mode to overlay them. The clip with the shortest duration sets the sheet’s playback length (clamped to a small minimum).
Motion pricing: each motion clip is priced separately by the per-asset motion routes that generate it (in the entity’s Studio); the sheet itself adds a flat 6-credit reference-sheet:assembly-motion FFmpeg-assembly fee (vs the 4-credit still assembly fee). As with still sheets, clips already present are reused for free — the motion-assembly fee is the only cost the sheet node itself charges.
| Scenario | Math | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Motion sheet overlaying 4 motion clips the entity already has | 0 + 6 |
6 |
Requirements & errors
- The connected entity must have a saved main image. Without one, the node returns
main_image_required— approve a main image in the entity’s Studio first. - An entity with only a main image is fine — the node generates the panels the chosen type needs on Run. The more panels the entity already has, the fewer the node generates (and the cheaper the Run).
Best Practices
- To control cost, build (or trim) the entity’s panels in its Studio before running the sheet — the node reuses existing panels for free and only generates the ones that are missing.
- Use
panels(notsheet) when feeding a sheet into a generator for character/object consistency.sheetis the human-facing poster. - Pick Blueprint for technical/asset documentation, Cinematic for pitch decks, Illustrated for storybook/character bibles, and Studio when you just want a clean grid.
Common Use Cases
- Producing a character model sheet (turnaround + expressions + palette) for animation or game-art consistency.
- Building an object or prop reference card to keep a product looking identical across shots.
- Exporting a location reference plate for set/background continuity.
- Wiring the clean
panelsoutput into a Generate Image or Generate Video node as a multi-image reference.