How to Create a Custom Visual Style and Turn Reference Images into a Reusable Personal Style Template

Have you ever run into this situation: you know exactly what tone you want, but you just cannot describe it clearly in words. You have collected a pile of reference images, yet the generated results look different every time.

The solution is not to keep stacking adjectives, but to let the model look directly at your reference images. In NadouPro, Image Fusion mode and multi-reference input serve exactly this purpose: upload a batch of reference images with a consistent style, and the model reads their composition, lighting, color palette, and atmosphere. Every generation after that continues the same visual DNA. This tutorial breaks the whole process into four steps.

Step 1: Collect reference images

The quality of your reference images directly determines how stable the style will be. Selection criteria:

• Consistent style: The same batch of reference images should share the same aesthetic, with aligned color palette, lighting, and subject direction. Mixed references will make it hard for the model to identify the focus;

• Image quality first: Blurry, low-resolution images will pollute style learning, so it is better not to upload them;

• A moderate number: Around ten high-quality references are usually enough to establish a style. If you want more stability, you can increase that to twenty or thirty;

• Use faces carefully: When reference images mainly focus on scenes, atmosphere, and composition, style transfer is cleaner. A large number of face references will pull attention toward the people rather than the style.

A useful self-check method: shrink the images into thumbnails and place them together. If you can tell at first glance that they are "the same kind of thing," they are a qualified reference set.

Step 2: Upload references and generate the first image

In the NadouPro Image node, choose Image Fusion mode and upload your reference images. The model will analyze and extract their visual features: composition habits, lighting logic, color tendencies, and overall character.

For the first generation, it is recommended to write a neutral prompt that only describes the subject and scene, without adding extra style words. First see what the model has learned from the reference images, then decide whether anything needs to be supplemented. If the tone of the first image is already close to what you expect, it means the reference set is strong enough. If it is off, prioritize replacing the reference images instead of forcing the prompt to correct it.

Step 3: Turn it into a fixed generation recipe

After the style is established, turn it into a reusable recipe so you do not have to experiment from scratch every time:

• Keep the same reference image combinations, and label the style direction corresponding to each batch of references;

• Keep the prompt structure fixed: maintain the same description order for subject, scene, and action;

• When you need to fix the color tone, make small adjustments with descriptive words for color tendency;

• Save outputs you are happy with. Later, they can be added as new reference images, making the style more accurate the more you use it.

The essence of this step is to turn "a great image that happened by inspiration" into "a process that can be reproduced at any time."

Step 4: Apply it in batches

Once the recipe is fixed, the same style can be applied across all kinds of content while keeping a consistent tone between them:

Visual consistency for a personal homepage. Continuously publish content in the same style, and viewers can recognize your work at a glance. Style consistency itself is a kind of brand signal.

Digitizing a photography style. If you already have a mature collection of photographic works, your retouching style—lighting, color, and contrast—is hidden in those photos. Uploading them as references is equivalent to turning your personal signature into an asset that can be called repeatedly.

Visual settings for a story world. Novelists, game creators, and worldbuilding creators can establish the visual language of the entire world before generating the first scene. After that, every character illustration and scene concept image will feel as if it exists in the same world.

Brand visual assets. Build a reference set from the brand's existing visual materials, and all content generated afterward will naturally match the brand tone, keeping every touchpoint consistent.

Visual content for musicians. Covers, promotional images, and performance materials can unfold around the same set of conceptual imagery, so the visual language of the whole album feels like one song.

FAQ

Q: How many reference images should I upload?
A: Around ten are enough to establish a style. If you want greater stability, you can increase that to twenty or thirty. The upper limit is not the key; consistency is. Ten highly consistent images are better than eighty images that each go in a different direction.

Q: Can I mix my own photos with style references?
A: Yes. Use character three-view images or multi-reference input to lock the person's identity, and keep the style references in a separate group so the two lines do not interfere with each other.

Q: What should I do if I am not satisfied with the style?
A: Replace the reference images instead of forcing changes through the prompt. The root cause of style drift is almost always in the reference set: either it is not consistent enough, or there are too few images.

Q: Can the same style be used across models?
A: Reference images can be reused across different image models, but each model understands style slightly differently. After switching models, it is recommended to generate a few test images first before scaling up.

Q: What is the advantage compared with directly writing style words?
A: Text describes the concept of a style, while reference images show the style itself. An atmosphere that is hard to put into words can be understood at a glance.

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Contains AI-generated information that may be incorrect. Please verify independently.