# Style Reference The Style Reference feature helps you create visually consistent and appealing images from a prompt. Choose from a curated library of ready‑made styles, or upload up to three reference images to design your own custom style. Reuse your styles anytime to keep your creations cohesive and polished. ## Using Style Reference To generate an image with a selected Style: 1. Click or tap inside the [Prompt Box](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/ui-overview/ui-components/prompt-box) to reveal the option bar (if not already visible). 2. Select **Style** to open the Styles popup.\ (v3.0 models only. See [Styles in Older Models](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/features-and-tools/reference-features/style-reference/styles-in-older-models) for older models.) 3. Select one of the available options (see details below). 4. Enter your prompt and adjust any generation settings as needed. 5. Click or tap **Generate**.

### Available Modes * **Auto** – Automatically selects the most suitable style based on your prompt. * **General** – A flexible mode suitable for most uses, including artistic and abstract work. * **Realistic** – Produces lifelike photography with authentic colors, textures, and lighting. * **Design** – Ideal for clean, vector-style images such as logos, posters, and other design assets. {% hint style="warning" %} **Warning:** The **Random** mode is **deprecated** and no longer available. {% endhint %} #### While Using a Character Reference If a [Character Reference](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/features-and-tools/reference-features/character-reference) is present in the [Prompt Box](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/ui-overview/ui-components/prompt-box), the available modes adapt automatically. The selected Mode applies to the next generated image and incorporates the active Character Reference:

Modes available when a Character Reference is active.

* **Auto** – Automatically determines the most suitable rendering style based on your prompt and the referenced character. * **Realistic** – Generates lifelike results, preserving the character’s facial features, colors, and textures as faithfully as possible. * **Fiction** – Interprets the character creatively, blending stylized elements while keeping key traits recognizable. ### Style Presets The following preset options are always available, regardless of whether you are generating normally or using a Character Reference. * **Explore** – Select a style from a curated library of popular aesthetics. * **Recents** – Reuse a style from your most recently used styles. * **My styles** – Choose one of your custom styles. * **Quick reference** – Upload or select up to three images to define a **temporary custom style** that will not be saved. ### Examples These examples show how different style presets reimagine Grant Wood’s *American Gothic* using the same prompt. > **Prompt:** > > *A stern couple in front of a white church with a Gothic-style window. The woman wears a brown polka-dotted dress with a white lace collar and a large brown brooch, while the man holds a pitchfork and wears a black suit with a light blue shirt, white collar, and round wire-rimmed glasses. The church's white exterior features vertical siding, and the background includes green trees and a red barn.* The following images show the output produced by a few preset styles.

{% hint style="success" %} ### Tips & Tricks #### To generate the best images using Styles: * **Turn** Magic Prompt **off** to avoid unintended stylistic additions to your original prompt. * **Avoid** adding **style-related keywords** in your prompt, especially those that may conflict with the selected style. * Short, focused prompts usually yield the best results. {% endhint %} ### Creating Your Own Style In addition to using preset styles, you can also create your own custom styles to achieve a personalized aesthetic. How to create a style: 1. Select **Style** in the *Prompt Box*. 2. Open the **My styles** tab. 3. Select **Create new style**. 4. Upload or choose **up to three images** as visual references for your style. 5. Name your style. 6. Click or tap **Create**.

Your custom style appears under **My styles** and can be reused in any prompt. {% hint style="success" %} ### Tips & Tricks #### **Selecting the best images for custom styles:** * **For a strong, unified style:** Choose images that share a similar look, mood, aesthetic, and composition. * **For creative, unexpected results:** Mix diverse references to let the AI blend aesthetics and produce surprising outcomes. * **Using gradients to control color:** Upload a gradient-based image as one of your three references to influence the overall tone. {% endhint %} {% hint style="warning" %} The reference images for your custom styles **cannot be changed after creation**. This ensures that anyone who uses your style in the future will see consistent results based on the images you originally uploaded. {% endhint %} ## Combine Style Reference With Other Features Style Reference integrates seamlessly with other Ideogram features to expand creative possibilities: * [Describe](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/features-and-tools/describe) – Generate prompts from existing images and apply a style. * [Remix](#remix) – Reimagine existing images with a chosen style. * [Character Reference](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/features-and-tools/reference-features/character-reference) – Maintain a consistent subject across different aesthetics. * [Color Palette](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/generation-settings/color-palette) – Match your prompt to a specific mood or tone. ### Describe + Style Reference Use Describe to generate detailed text prompts from existing images, then apply a style to create a new version. {% hint style="success" %} Remove any stylistic keywords from Describe results for cleaner, more controlled outputs. {% endhint %} Example using the image below:

> **Original Describe prompt:** > > A dynamic ~~indoor photograph~~ of a young man playing an electric guitar with intense emotion. The musician wears a burgundy red hoodie and light blue jeans, displaying an enthusiastic expression with eyes closed and mouth open in a passionate singing pose. He holds a cream-colored Fender electric guitar with a black pickguard. The setting features a dark green wall with two black and white framed photographs visible in the background. A brown leather couch is partially visible in the lower portion of the frame. ~~The lighting creates a warm, indoor atmosphere, highlighting the musician's features and the guitar's cream finish. The composition captures a moment of musical expression, with the subject positioned slightly left of center in the frame.~~ Stylistic words and sentences shown with ~~strikethrough~~ were removed or replaced to optimize how the AI interprets and applies styles. Additionally, any words highlighted in green — which indicated the colors of elements in the image — have also been removed. > **Adjusted Describe prompt:** > > A dynamic image of a young man playing an electric guitar with intense emotion. The musician wears a hoodie and jeans, displaying an enthusiastic expression with eyes closed and mouth open in a passionate singing pose. He holds a Fender electric guitar with a pickguard. The setting features a wall with two black and white framed photographs visible in the background. A leather couch is partially visible in the lower portion of the frame. The images below show how different styles reinterpret the adjusted prompt.

### Remix + Style Reference Add a Style Reference to [Remix](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/features-and-tools/remix) to refresh existing images while preserving their structure. This method usually matches the composition better than using Describe alone. * **Higher Remix weight** → Keeps composition closer to the original image. * **Lower Remix weight** → Produces results more influenced by the selected style. The example below uses Remix at 60% with the same original image and adjusted Describe prompt:

### Character Reference + Style Reference Combine a Character Reference with Style Reference to maintain a consistent subject across multiple images while exploring different aesthetics. Perfect for creating variations while maintaining consistency. The following example shows how combining a character reference with different styles affects the final output.

### Color Palette + Style Reference Use them together to influence the overall tone and mood of your image. When a [Color Palette](https://docs.ideogram.ai/using-ideogram/generation-settings/color-palette) is applied, the selected colors are incorporated while maintaining the style’s visual identity. The images below show how different color palettes influence a single style. The selected palette appears in the lower-left corner of each image.

{% hint style="info" %} **Tip:** For the best results, choose palettes that enhance, rather than compete with, the style’s dominant tones. {% endhint %}