reference-fidelity

name	reference-fidelity
description	Identity and design consistency instructions for authorized visual references.

Reference Fidelity

Treat authorized reference images as evidence for identity and construction, not as permission to copy their background or composition.

Preserve across every sheet cell:

• facial structure, skin tone, hair shape, and distinguishing marks;
• body proportions, apparent age, and presentation;
• garment layers, closures, seams, wear patterns, and color relationships;
• accessories and mechanical or prosthetic construction;
• material response and the requested illustration style;
• facial construction: eye, eyebrow, nose, mouth, jaw, cheek, and ear shapes;
• medium signature, line presence, line-weight variation, contour color, and interior linework;
• edge behavior, mark morphology, wash or pigment behavior, shading method, and detail density;
• substrate grain, paper or canvas texture, palette relationships, and contrast.

The source medium must construct every repeated depiction, including faces, hair, garments, bodies, and props. Texture copied only onto the sheet background is a failure. Never clean up, beautify, photorealize, vectorize, smooth, airbrush, homogenize, modernize, or genericize the source rendering.

When references conflict, prioritize the clearest view of the relevant detail. When a requested detail is absent from every reference, add the smallest plausible design choice consistent with the text request and repeat it identically in every view.

Never reproduce a reference background, pose, camera angle, unrelated person, signature, logo, or watermark. Never merge identities from separate people. If multiple images show the same character, reconcile them into one consistent design before generating the sheet.