How Riverflow Works

This guide is the best place to start if you are new to Riverflow. It explains what each part of the app does, how the main tools fit together, and when to use each one.

Riverflow is designed for CPG and Fashion brands with physical products sold online or in-store. The first part of onboarding is our intelligent brand analysis that pulls from your existing storefront website.

The analysis will find your latest logo, colors and brand context and populate it in your Brand Kit. You can update any of these details as part of onboarding or later on to reflect your brand.

Your Brand Kit includes:

Riverflow uses this information as background context when creating content. It does not replace your prompt, product images, scenes, or references, but it helps the output stay closer to the brand you are working in. In August 2026, we also launched Personas, which provide Riverflow with additional context if you have one or more target audiences you wish to capture.

Products are the SKUs, packs, objects, garments, or hero items you want Riverflow to preserve and feature in creative.

You can add products:

Good product inputs make a large difference. Use clear, high-quality product images where the product is visible, uncropped, and not hidden by hands, props, text, or heavy reflections. Add multiple useful angles when the product shape or artwork matters.

If you are working with packaging, upload additional images where the label, pack shape, lid, cap, logo, and key text are easy to see. If you are working with clothing or accessories, include images that make the material, fit, scale, and product outline clear. You can also add these in References (see below).

Riverflow gives you several reusable inputs that guide the output. They each do a different job.

Scenes are inspiration for the world surrounding the product: setting, composition, lighting, surface, props, camera angle, and mood.

Use Scenes when you want to create new product imagery inspired by a setting or composition.

We have a library of pre-created scenes for you to choose from, or you can create your own custom scenes by uploading reference images of your choice.

Read our full article on creating and using Scenes here.

Styles guide the visual treatment of an output. They can cover lighting style, colour grade, lens feel, material finish, art direction, campaign look, or general aesthetic rules.

We have a library of pre-created styles for you to choose from, or you can create your own custom styles by uploading reference images of your choice.

Read our full article on creating and using Styles here.

Characters help preserve a recurring person, animal, model, or mascot across generated images.

Use Characters when the same character needs to appear across several shots, campaigns, or product visuals.

You can create Characters by uploading images or Character reference sheets within the Characters page of the App.

Read our full article on creating and using Characters here.

References are saved visual guidance for specific details such as size, colour, pose, style, texture, layout, or composition.

Use References when one detail matters and you want Riverflow to pay attention to it without making it the entire scene.

You can create References by uploading images within the References page of the App.

Read our full article on creating and using References here.

Use Photoshoots to create product-led images from a selected Scene.

Photoshoots start from a product and a Scene. The goal is not exact product placement into a fixed source image. The goal is to generate a new image that respects the product and adapts the selected Scene, Style, References, Characters, aspect ratio, written guidance, and brand context around it.

Use Photoshoots for campaign imagery, ecommerce imagery, social visuals, product-in-scene images, and creative exploration where a product is the main subject.

Use Images when you want to create an image from a written idea without choosing a Scene. Images is the prompt-led image generation area for concept exploration, reference sheets, backgrounds, props, product-adjacent imagery, and other visual ideas where the written brief is the main input.

You can read more about how to create high quality Photoshoots here.

Use Ads when you want static ad creative rather than a clean photoshoot image.

There are two main ways to create ads:

Ads are useful when you need product-led creative with messaging, layout, and campaign structure. If you need help exploring ad angles or building a campaign direction, use the Ads Agent.

You can read more about how to create high quality Ads here.

Use Video when you want motion output.

Video generation can start from text, images, or references, depending on the workflow you choose. You can use it to create product motion, scene motion, social video, animated campaign assets, or short clips that can later be edited together.

After generation, use the Video Timeline Editor when you need to add timed text, combine clips, add audio, or control when overlays appear.

You can read more about how to create high quality Videos here.

Use Audio to generate reusable MP3 voice audio from a script and selected character voice.

Audio is useful for voiceover, UGC-style scripts, product explainers, ad variations, or video narration. Write the script, choose a voice, adjust the speed if needed, generate the audio, then review the MP3 before using it.

You can read more about how to create high quality Audio here.

Use Editor when you want to change one image or one video.

For images, Editor supports AI image edits, masking, canvas-based layer edits, downloads, and export options. For videos, the timeline editor lets you add and time layers such as text, clips, and audio.

You can often start editing by opening or clicking an image from a result, folder, upload, or product area, then choosing the relevant edit option.

Use Editor when the change is specific to one asset.

You can read more about our Editing tools here.

Use Batch when the same task needs to run across many assets or SKUs.

Batch is best for workflows such as:

Batch is the right choice when you care about repeatability, review, and throughput.

You can read more about how to create adapt images at scale with our Batch tool here.

Riverflow offers two paid Onboarding packages to help you fine tune your workflow for better results. You can read more about them here.

Riverflow also offers 24/7 Artworking Services for teams that need expert human production support. This support is only available to our Growth and Scale subscription tiers. Use this when you want help preparing, adapting, or delivering creative work rather than doing every step yourself inside the app. You can read more about our Artworking Services here.