Keep Character Design References Separate From Decisions
A character board can contain research, experiments, and approved design choices. Label those roles explicitly. Without that distinction, an attractive costume photograph or an early sketch can be mistaken for a production instruction.
Keep the collection useful
Keep original source sets together and use tags for reusable subjects such as footwear, closure, posture, or fabric. Preserve creator and source information. Keep the character’s working designs in a clearly identified project area.
| Part of the set | What to record |
|---|---|
| Research | Outside references and observations |
| Exploration | Your alternate silhouettes or costume ideas |
| Current design | The choices you are presently developing |
| Approved details | Decisions reviewed for the intended handoff |
Build the working selection
On a refern canvas, group references by the question they answer: how a garment folds, how a prop is held, or how a silhouette reads. Keep mutually exclusive ideas apart. Add a note when only one detail from a reference is relevant.
Find and use the references
Use library tags to retrieve supporting material across characters, and save each project’s canvas with a clear name. Compare your own views at a consistent scale when checking proportions. Photographs from different cameras do not automatically provide matching measurements.
Check the handoff
Before a handoff, produce a separate reference sheet that distinguishes final drawings from inspiration. Use the team’s review system for approval and version status. A library rating is not a substitute for sign-off.
Normal refern workspace indexing reads existing files in place. Imports and file actions can create or change files. Back up the source media and workspace data that preserves your organizing work.
Continue with Build a Character Reference Sheet With Clear Decisions.