---
title: Sketch and render in real time with Live
display: 'Sketch and render in real time with *Live*'
thumb: images/live-generation/thumb.webp
nav_title: Live sketching
summary:
  - "Live renders your sketch as you draw, so you can try many layouts quickly."
  - "Keep the prompt and the sketch in agreement, and use the render as a reference, not a final."
  - "Open it from Create > Live; it offers custom models only, and the slider starts at 25."
description: Draw on a canvas and watch a model render the sketch as you go, then take the best frame to a full-quality model.
section: images
order: 90
type: guide
level: Build
roles: [artist]
time: { read: 5, do: 15 }
needs: ["A mouse, a pen tablet or a rough sketch to import"]
last_verified: 2026-11-11
related: [generate-images, give-references-a-role, edit-images, upscale-and-enhance-images, keyboard-shortcuts]
steps:
  - title: "Open Live"
    text: "Create › Live opens a New Canvas: you draw on the left pane and the render updates on the right."
  - title: "Name the canvas and check that Live is on"
    text: "Click New Canvas to name it after the shot, and check the Live switch in the top bar is on. Save keeps the canvas under Assets › Canvas."
  - title: "Pick the model and write the prompt"
    text: "Click the IMAGE MODEL card (it opens on FLUX.1 Schnell; Category › My models for your team's custom models) and write a short prompt that agrees with the sketch. Prompt Spark suggests prompts."
  - title: "Sketch on the left pane"
    text: "Brush (S), color picker (C) and eraser (E): block in big, flat color shapes with clear contrast, then move and recolor them until the render works."
  - title: "Set how closely the render follows the sketch"
    text: "The unlabeled slider runs from 1 to 100 and starts at 25: around 40 to 70 keeps your drawing, around 10 to 30 frees the model. Move it in steps of 5 or 10."
  - title: "Try variations and settings"
    text: "The circular arrow renders a new seed of the same sketch; the gear holds Seed with FLUX.1 Schnell. Fix the seed while you change the sketch."
  - title: "Change one part with a mask"
    text: "Send the render to the left pane with the arrow, mask the area with draw mask, lasso or smart mask, and change the prompt to describe only that area."
  - title: "Finish the render on a full-quality model"
    text: "Save, open the render, click Use as Reference and pick a full-quality model such as GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst; say the reference sets the composition. Then edit and Enhance once approved."
updated: 2026-11-11
canonical: https://learn.scenario.com/images/live-generation
---

Last updated: 2026-11-11

# Sketch and render in real time with Live

> Draw on a canvas and watch a model render the sketch as you go, then take the best frame to a full-quality model.

In short:

- Live renders your sketch as you draw, so you can try many layouts quickly.
- Keep the prompt and the sketch in agreement, and use the render as a reference, not a final.
- Open it from Create > Live; it offers custom models only, and the slider starts at 25.

**Live** turns a rough color sketch into a rendered image while you draw. You find a layout by moving shapes instead of rewriting a prompt, which makes it good for thumbnails, compositions, poses and color blocking. This lesson walks through the Live canvas, from a blank page to a render you can finish on a full-quality model.

:::note As of November 2026
The models, settings and prices in this article are the ones Scenario offered in November 2026. New models and updates arrive often, so check the model library for newer options before you choose.
:::

:::steps Quick version
1. Open **Create** › **Live**. A **New Canvas** opens with two panes.
2. Pick a model on the **IMAGE MODEL** card and write a short prompt for the finished image.
3. Block in big, flat color shapes on the left pane and watch the render on the right.
4. Set the slider: higher keeps your sketch, lower gives the model more freedom.
5. **Save** the canvas, then finish the render you like on a full-quality model.
:::

## Before you start

- **What you need:** a mouse or a pen tablet. You can also import a rough sketch or a photo and draw over it.
- **Where it lives:** **Create** › **Live**, under GENERATE. Saved canvases are under **Assets** › **Canvas**.
- **Which models run in Live:** custom models only. That means Scenario's own trained models and the ones your team trained or uploaded. Third-party image models such as GPT Image or Nano Banana are not offered in Live. A new canvas opens with FLUX.1 Schnell.
- **Three things drive the render:** the model, the prompt and your sketch. Change any one and the render changes. Most of the work is keeping the three in agreement.
- **Live is fast, not final.** It renders in about a second, so it trades detail for speed. Treat a Live render as a layout or a reference, then finish it with another tool (Step 8).

## Step 1: Open Live

Go to **Create** › **Live**. A **New Canvas** opens.

![The Live canvas: a blank drawing area on the left, the render area on the right, a vertical toolbar of drawing tools, and a bottom bar with the image model, the Prompt box, Prompt Spark, variation and settings buttons and a slider set to 25](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/80a7a001d7ab163db539d731d59db721058275ad1f79a16bdb7849b86583db0a.webp "Create › Live. Draw on the left, the render updates on the right.")

The screen has four parts:

- **Left pane:** your drawing canvas. The zoom controls under it set how big it shows on screen (64% here).
- **Right pane:** the live render. A progress bar and a **Queued** tag show while a render waits its turn.
- **Left toolbar:** the drawing, eraser and masking tools, import, undo, redo, clear, and the shortcut sheet (Step 3).
- **Bottom bar:** the model, the prompt, three buttons and the slider (Steps 2, 4 and 5).

The small arrow between the panes sends the render on the right back to the left pane, so you can keep drawing on top of it (Step 6).

## Step 2: Name the canvas and check that Live is on

The top bar holds the canvas name, the **Live** switch, **Collections** and **Save**.

![The top bar of a Live canvas: the name New Canvas, the Live switch with a red dot, Collections and Save, and a Queued tag over the render pane](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/d5de9272e4e86a4e3cd8b4fc5400ee580f69f124c01cd3b12a0e8b836f889b69.webp)

- **Canvas name:** click **New Canvas** and give it a name the team will recognize, such as the shot or the scene. Saved canvases are listed by this name under **Assets** › **Canvas**.
- **Live:** the switch that keeps the render updating as you draw. If the right pane stops changing, check it first.
- **Collections:** adds the canvas to one of your collections.
- **Save:** saves the canvas and its renders. Renders change with every stroke, so save each time you get one you like.

## Step 3: Pick the model and write the prompt

The bottom bar holds everything that controls the render.

![The bottom bar of Live: the IMAGE MODEL card set to FLUX.1 Schnell, an empty Prompt box, the Prompt Spark, variation and settings buttons, and the slider at 25](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/78c4a42921d81cd0b1ff0be1905779c34ca1d9cc82fcfdb1efe9f7f47e7012d0.webp)

1. Click the **IMAGE MODEL** card to choose a model. Filter the list with **Category** › **My models** for your team's models, or **Scenario Models** for Scenario's. Pick a style model to get a house style, or a character model to keep one character consistent across sketches.
2. Write a short prompt in the **Prompt** box: the subject, the setting, the style and the light of the finished image. Start short and add detail as the sketch grows.
3. For ideas, click the first button over the slider, **Prompt Spark**. It suggests prompts based on your model and what you typed. Click one to use it, then edit it.

The prompt and the sketch must say the same thing. If you draw a tree, the prompt can mention it. If you erase the tree, take it out of the prompt too. A dark blue sky in the sketch needs a night prompt, not "at noon".

## Step 4: Sketch on the left pane

Pick the brush in the toolbar (shortcut **S**), choose a color, and start drawing. The render on the right updates as you go.

1. **Block in big shapes with flat colors first:** the sky, the ground, the main subject's silhouette. A blue area at the top tends to render as sky, a blue area at the bottom as water.
2. **Change the brush size and color** from the toolbar. Use the color picker (shortcut **C**) to sample a color that is already on the canvas.
3. **Erase** with the eraser (shortcut **E**), and use undo and redo freely: every change gives a new render.
4. **Move and recolor shapes** until the render works. It is faster to drag a shape than to describe its new place in the prompt.
5. **Import an image** with the upload button to start from a scan, a photo or an earlier render instead of a blank page.

Press **H**, or click the keyboard button at the bottom of the toolbar, to see every shortcut.

Contrast matters more than neatness. Bold shapes with clear edges between colors give the model a layout to follow. Pale, thin strokes mostly get ignored.

## Step 5: Set how closely the render follows the sketch

The slider under the three buttons has no label. It runs from 1 to 100 and starts at 25. It sets how closely the render follows your sketch's shapes and colors.

- **Higher values**, around 40 to 70, keep your drawing's structure and colors. Use them when the layout is settled and you want it kept.
- **Lower values**, around 10 to 30, give the model more freedom, so the prompt counts for more. Use them when your sketch is very rough and you want the model to fill in the detail.

There is no single best value. It depends on how the model was trained, how detailed your sketch is and how specific your prompt is. Move the slider in steps of 5 or 10 and watch the render.

![Sketching with Live. The canvas has two panes: you draw flat color shapes on the left and the render updates on the right within moments. 1 Block in big shapes with flat colors; a blue area tends to render as sky or water. 2 The unlabeled slider runs from 1 to 100 and starts at 25: higher keeps your shapes and colors, lower gives the model more freedom. 3 Keep the prompt in agreement with the sketch. Live renders are fast and soft, so finish elsewhere: keep a render, use it as a reference, run a full-quality model and get the final image.](https://ufgc0c9mhl4ueq76.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/academy/692c75e87782d74b1883994c956d60b3dd0971fcf5dc5d0a514047e58e6611cd.svg "Sketch on the left, watch the render on the right, then finish with a full-quality model.")

## Step 6: Try variations and settings

The other two buttons over the slider:

- **Variation** (the circular arrow): renders the same sketch and prompt with a new seed. Click it a few times to see different readings of one layout.
- **Settings** (the gear): with FLUX.1 Schnell it holds only **Seed**. Set a fixed seed to keep the render stable while you change the sketch, so you see the effect of your strokes and not of a new seed. Other models can show more settings here, such as a negative prompt or sampling steps.

## Step 7: Change one part with a mask

Live normally re-renders the whole canvas. To change one area and keep the rest:

1. Click the arrow between the panes to send the render to the left pane.
2. Pick a masking tool in the toolbar: draw mask, lasso or smart mask.
3. Mask the area to change. You can also sketch inside the mask to guide it.
4. Change the prompt to describe only that area, for example a new jacket on a character.

Only the masked area changes. The first masked render can take a little longer while the model loads; after that it is fast again. The slider and the prompt work as before.

## Step 8: Finish the render on a full-quality model

Live renders are soft and loose in detail. When the layout is right, **Save**, then take the render you like further:

- **Use it as a reference.** Open the render, click **Use as Reference**, and choose a full-quality model on the image panel. GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst is a strong default. In the prompt, describe the finished look and say that the reference sets the composition. To keep the style of your Live model, keep the same model and prompt instead and set the reference's influence fairly high.
- **Edit, then upscale.** Run **Edit with Prompts** on the areas that need fixing, then **Enhance** once the image is approved. With Scenario's own upscalers, add a few style images from the model you used and compare the **Precise** and **Balanced** presets.

:::check
**Accept when:** the render keeps the layout you drew (horizon, subject position and size, main color areas), and the finished image made from it keeps that layout at full quality.
**Reject when:** the render ignores the sketch (raise the slider), the prompt and the sketch fight (a subject appears that you didn't draw), or the final model loses the composition (say what the reference is for in the prompt).
:::

## Live at a glance

| Control | Where | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| **IMAGE MODEL** | Bottom bar, left | The custom model that renders the sketch. Opens with FLUX.1 Schnell |
| **Prompt** | Bottom bar, middle | Describes the finished image. Keep it in agreement with the sketch |
| **Prompt Spark** | First button over the slider | Suggests prompts from your model and your text |
| Variation | Second button | Same sketch and prompt, new seed |
| Settings | Gear button | **Seed** with FLUX.1 Schnell; more with some other models |
| Slider | Under the buttons | 1 to 100, starts at 25. Higher follows the sketch, lower frees the model |
| Arrow between panes | Center | Sends the render to the left pane to keep drawing or mask an area |
| **Live** | Top bar | Keeps the render updating as you draw |
| **Save** | Top bar | Saves the canvas to **Assets** › **Canvas** |

## Make it repeatable

- **Name canvases clearly** so the team can reopen a layout.
- **Write down the model, the prompt, the slider value and the seed** for a series in one style, and use the same model for every render.
- **Save often.** A good render is replaced by the next stroke.

## Common problems

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| The render doesn't update | Check that **Live** is on at the top, and wait for a queued render to finish |
| The render ignores your drawing | Raise the slider; use bigger, bolder shapes with more contrast |
| The render copies your rough strokes too literally | Lower the slider and describe the finished look in the prompt |
| Something appears that you didn't draw | Take it out of the prompt, or draw it in the sketch |
| The render jumps around while you draw | Set a fixed **Seed** in the settings |
| The model you want isn't in the list | Live offers custom models only; finish with that model from the image panel instead (Step 8) |
| The result looks soft | Expected from a real-time render: finish it with a full-quality model |
| You lost a good render | Renders change with each stroke. **Save** each one you like |

## What's next

Take your best render into [Generate images](https://learn.scenario.com/images/generate-images.md) as a reference, fix details with [Edit images](https://learn.scenario.com/images/edit-images.md), and upscale the approved result with [Upscale and enhance images](https://learn.scenario.com/images/upscale-and-enhance-images.md).

Source: https://learn.scenario.com/images/live-generation