A style reference tells the model what your render should look like: the materials, the colour palette and the mood. It is not a second subject and it is not a composition to copy. It only influences appearance, so a reference of a concrete building will not put concrete geometry into your render, it will push the surfaces and light towards that feel.
The slot sits under Upload style references on the Render and Stage pages.
Two rules about the slot itself
- You must upload your main image first. Until you do, the style slot is locked and reads "Upload main image first". This trips people who start by dropping in the mood image they came with.
- It takes exactly one image. There is no way to give it three references and ask for a blend. Adding another replaces the first. Remove the current one with the small cross on its preview.
When a reference is silently dropped
This is the case worth knowing about, because nothing on screen tells you it happened. If the style image fails to upload, or cannot be fetched when the render actually runs, the render goes ahead without it. You are charged the full price, the job reports success, and you get a normal render that simply ignored the reference.
So if a result looks like the reference was never there, that is a real possibility rather than the model disregarding you. What to do:
- Check the preview thumbnail appeared under the slot before you pressed Generate. No preview means no reference.
- Re-upload the reference and run it again.
- Use a plain JPG or PNG for the reference. See what you can upload.
When the reference did arrive and still did not show
Style references are a nudge, not an instruction. Three things weaken one:
- A busy reference. An image full of different materials gives the model nothing clear to take. One dominant material and one lighting condition works far better.
- A reference that fights your description. If your text asks for warm evening light and the reference is a grey overcast photograph, the text usually wins.
- The Light model. Light follows references less closely than Pro. If the reference matters, use Pro. See choosing a render model and an output quality.
Say in the description what you want taken from it. "Use the reference for the facade material and the palette" is far more likely to land than attaching it silently.