Drift Correction

Style drift is the gradual erosion of visual consistency across a series of outputs. Each individual output may pass verification against the specification, but the cumulative effect is a slow walk away from the original style. By output 20, the style has shifted enough that outputs 1 and 20 no longer look like they belong together.

Drift happens because generative models introduce micro-variations on every dimension — each within tolerance individually, but compounding directionally over multiple generations. If the palette tolerance allows +-3 degrees of hue, and the model consistently generates at +2 degrees, after 10 outputs the effective palette has shifted 20 degrees from the original.

Drift correction: every 5 outputs, re-anchor the generation to the original reference images, not just the specification. The re-anchoring prompt includes: "Reference: [original reference images]. Recent outputs: [last 3 approved outputs]. The style is drifting — correct toward the references, not toward the recent outputs." This breaks the drift chain by resetting the model's style center to the original, not to the accumulated drift.

1. Monitor the Drift Every 5 outputs, compare the latest output against the first approved output using the consistency verification framework. If the cross-output consistency score drops below 0.80, drift is occurring.
2. Re-Anchor to the Original Include original reference images in the generation prompt alongside the style specification. Tell the model explicitly to correct toward the references, not toward recent outputs. The references are the source of truth.
3. Tighten Tolerances If drift persists after re-anchoring, the tolerances are too loose on the dimension that is drifting. Identify which dimension is moving and tighten its tolerance range. Palette drifting? Reduce from +-3 degrees to +-1 degree.