Use references, characters and styles

Tell Wavemaker what each reference is for: product, character, style or voice.

Updated 2026-10-22

Give the agent a reference

1. In the composer, open the add menu and choose Add from Library for something you already have. For a file on your device, choose Upload files or drop it on the brief instead; it attaches to the draft without a purpose.
2. In the Library picker, select each item. A purpose field appears beside it in the tray, prefilled with the item's kind, such as character or image.
3. Change each purpose to say what the item is for, for example product, hero_character or style_reference. Every selected item needs a different purpose.
4. Check the version under each item's title, then choose Add to conversation (or Start chat with 2 when you are starting a new chat).
5. In the brief, say what each reference controls and what may change.
6. Send the message.

Use the product reference for the can's exact shape, colors and label text. Use the style_reference only for lighting and color grade, not for the setting. Make three square stills of the can on a beach towel at golden hour.

Check that it worked

• Before you send, the draft shows every reference you added. Remove any you don't need.
• When the reply arrives, open the stills at full size and compare them with your references: faces, proportions, clothing, product shape, label text and colors.
• If something drifted, name it ("the label text is wrong on the second still") and ask for that still again. A wrong first result calls for a clearer reference or brief, not more copies of the same result.

Purposes

A purpose is a short label that tells the agent what a reference is for. It travels with the message, so the agent reads "from the Library, for product" next to the file.

• A purpose starts with a lowercase letter and uses lowercase letters, digits, hyphens or underscores, up to 64 characters: product, hero_character, logo-dark.
• There is no fixed list. When you add an item, its purpose starts as the item's kind. A second item of the same kind gets a number, such as image_2.
• Two references in one message can't share a purpose. The picker says "Give each selected reference a different purpose."

Choose purposes that name the job, not the file. bottle_label tells the agent more than image_3.

How the agent uses each kind of reference

A message can carry at most 40 files, counting your uploads, the files of the Library items you chose and any video or logo a watermark adds. The Library picker holds up to 100 references.

The agent uses the exact items you attached or named. It does not swap in a different Library subject; if it can't find the one you named, it asks.

Characters, products and places across several shots

For a person, product or place that appears in more than one shot, the agent usually makes stills first: identity plates, which are stills of the subject built from your references. It reviews those stills, then makes the video shots from them. Stills give control over likeness, framing and product detail before any video is spent.

To help:

• Give a clear, well-lit photo for each subject. For a product, include the label straight on.
• Say which features must stay fixed (face, hair, logo, pack shape) and which may change (outfit, pose, setting).
• For a real or known subject, attach photos. Without them the agent may invent a stand-in, and it tells you when it does.
• Review the first stills at full size before you approve video.

The hero_character is the woman in both photos. Keep her face, curly red hair and freckles identical in every shot; her outfit can change. Show me the stills before you make any video.

Styles

A style reference controls look, not content: lighting, color grade, texture, composition. Identity and style are different constraints, so keep them on separate references with separate purposes. Say plainly what to take from a style image and what to ignore, or the agent may copy its subject or setting too.

Save the kinds you will reuse

The Library can keep reusable identities so you don't upload the same photos every time:

• Character: a person or creature you will show again.
• Place: a location you will return to.
• Object: a product's pack, label and shape.
• Style: a reusable look.
• Voice: a saved voice. See Create speech and reuse a voice.
• World: a set of saved characters, places, products and voices kept together.
• Brand: a brand's files. For a full brand system, use a brand kit.

Saved identities appear under Authored assets in My library when they were saved with a personal account. Choose them with Add from Library like any other item. See Library.

References the agent finds

When your brief needs real references the agent doesn't have, it can search for them. The conversation then shows the set it gathered, with a heading such as "Kept 4 references for “1960s diner interiors”". Each image is tagged Kept or Skipped; open an image's details to see its source page and the agent's review of it. When the agent saves the set as a reusable asset, the card says Saved as with the asset's name and version, and you can choose it later with Add from Library.

Likeness, logos and brands

Ordinary work can use logos, brands, product photos and real people's likeness. Adult (18+) images and video may not show a real person: a reference photo that shows a person is refused for adult work unless it was made on Wavemaker with no outside images in its history. Any request for sexual or nude content showing a real person or a minor is refused. See Policies.

If a reference doesn't work

• "The Library item chosen for product is unavailable" when you send: the item was moved to Trash, removed, or is hidden by your content settings. Remove it from the draft or pick another version.
• "A message carries at most 40 files; choose fewer Library items": remove references, or send them across two messages.
• "Purpose must start with a letter and use lowercase letters, digits, hyphens or underscores (up to 64 characters)." Retype the purpose without spaces or capitals.
• An item shows "Check access again" in the picker tray: the item was unavailable when the picker checked. Choose Check access again; selected references stay in the tray.

Related guidance

• Brand kits and watermarks
• Create and edit an image
• Library: find, organize and reuse your work
• Use trained models and reusable assets
• Create speech and reuse a voice