Your words already contain the art budget — you chose it when you chose pacing
A book's words imply how many images it needs, and the choice is pacing. A 75,000-word trade book at balanced pacing needs about 15 images — one every 5,000 words — because trade pacing trusts that motion carries part of what slower pacing would have shown. The same 75,000 words at fast thriller pacing of 1.2 per 10k needs about 9 images, one every 8,333 words, because thriller beats cut on action that dialogue already delivered. The same words at epic illustrated pacing of 6 per 10k needs about 45 images, one every 1,667 words, because art is story there. The count is words divided by images per 10k, not chapters times a guess.
Chapter count then translates total images into per-chapter average. Fifteen total across 22 chapters is 0.68 per chapter — roughly two chapters share three images, or one image per chapter with every third chapter carrying a second. Nine total across the same 22 is 0.41 per chapter — less than one image every two chapters, where chapter header art plus one map per section is the right rhythm. Forty-five total across 22 is 2.05 per chapter — about two per chapter, which predicts color interiors, larger trim, and a file that grows with art.
The per-chapter average is what the next planner needs — how many backgrounds per scene — but the total is the budget. Forty-five images at 300 dpi anchored with text wrap off is a shoot that needs art direction, not a find.
Where the average comes from, again
The same way the scene counter uses 850 thriller and 1,250 fantasy, the visual density calculator uses images per 10k.
Fast at 1.2 per 10k is thriller and pilot where motion carries. The tool does not need images to show what dialogue already delivered, so the book can be 8,333 words between images. The fast thriller at 75k that runtime says is 90 minutes and scene count says is 88 scenes has about 9 images total, so the film's key art and one insert per act carry the visual promise.
Balanced at 2.0 per 10k is trade middle where the image budget is one every 5,000 words. The tool assumes one image per 5k because trade pacing mixes motion and texture. The 75k trade that was 88 thriller scenes and 15 balanced images has the density trade middle expects: one image per five chapters at 22 chapters, or one map plus chapter art alternating.
Slow at 3.5 per 10k is literary where texture needs showing. The line between breaths is longer, the description that thriller would have elided in a line must be shown. The 75k literary that scene count said is 53 scenes at 1,400 per scene now needs about 26 images — roughly 1.2 per chapter — so the texture that lengthened the scene becomes the texture the image carries.
Epic at 6.0 per 10k is illustrated where art is story. Cookbook, heavily illustrated how-to, and children picture book live here. The 120,000-word epic at 6 per 10k is 72 images, about 2.4 per chapter at 30 chapters, which reads as heavily illustrated. The tool marks epic above 80 total as warning not because 80 is forbidden but because the budget and file size at that density need a pipeline before the shoot.
The same 75,000 words can be 9, 15, 26, 45 at the four pacings. The same words at 120,000 span 14, 24, 42, 72. The pacing you pick is the art budget you expect. The count before the name is what keeps the scope from being a polite summary that nominally keeps a little of every beat but thins every arc.
The count is words divided by images per 10k, not pages times a guess again
Pages are words divided by words per page, which is typography and trim. Images are words divided by images per 10k, which is pacing and how much must be shown. Both divide the same word count but by different divisors for different purposes. A 273-page book at 75,000 words and 275 words per page is 15 balanced images and 9 fast images; the page count is identical for both pacings and the image count is different. The tool reports pages at 275 for reference and keeps the calculation on images per 10k so the two questions do not blur.
The same confusion appears in the opposite direction: a book with many chapters can have few images if each chapter is short, and a book with few chapters can have many images if each chapter is art heavy.
Reading the pacing table with the same words again
The table keeps the same word count across four pacings so you can see the same manuscript at different s. A 75,000-word manuscript at fast 9, balanced 15, slow 26, epic 45. The four are within a factor of five at 75,000 words. The same words at 120,000 span 14, 24, 42, 72. The table is not a menu of pacings to choose from to land a smaller count; it is a map of the story's visual need as a market would read it.
Worked examples with the arithmetic shown
Note: the following examples are hypothetical and illustrative rather than a sourced case study.
A 75,000-word trade balanced. Word count 75,000 divided by 10,000 equals 7.5, times balanced 2.0 equals 15 total. Chapters 22 makes per chapter 15 divided by 22 equals 0.68, average words per chapter 75,000 divided by 22 equals 3,409. Range at fast 1.2 would be 9 total, 0.41 per chapter; at slow 3.5 would be 26 total, 1.18 per chapter. The verdict is pass — about 15 images, one every 5,000 words. The metrics show total 15, per chapter 0.7, avg chapter 3,409 words. The breakdown shows the six steps and the recommendations say moderate at 0.7 — one image per chapter or every other.
The same 75,000 words as fast thriller. Word count 75,000 divided by 10,000 equals 7.5 times 1.2 equals 9 total. Chapters 22 makes per chapter 9 divided by 22 equals 0.41. The verdict is pass — fast thriller needs fewer images because motion carries. The metrics show total 9, per chapter 0.4. The breakdown shows pacing fast 1.2 per 10k, and the same film keep math at 35 percent. The recommendations for this lower count say less than 0.4 sparse where chapter header art plus one map per section is the rhythm.
A 120,000-word epic illustrated. Word count 120,000 divided by 10,000 equals 12, times epic 6.0 equals 72 total. Chapters 30 makes per chapter 72 divided by 30 equals 2.4. The verdict is pass at 2.4 but note dense above 3 per chapter the book reads as heavily illustrated. The recommendations for this higher count say dense above 3 per chapter the book reads as heavily illustrated. The tool marks epic above 80 total as warning, and this 72 is just below that warning at 120k, but a 200,000-word thriller at epic 6.0 would be 120 total, which warns.
Why the tool stops at counts, not art
The tool does not draw the panel. It names the counts. The 15 total and 0.7 per chapter are the numbers before the drawing. The drawing keeps the number.
Why the verdict warns at both ends
The verdict warns when the book is very dense — above 3 per chapter — and when it is sparse — below 0.4 per chapter with many words. Both ends are density signals.
Very dense means heavily illustrated. Above 3 per chapter the book reads as heavily illustrated. Above 80 total the budget and file size grow.
Sparse means lightly illustrated. Below 0.4 per chapter there is less than one image every two chapters.
Between 0.4 and 3 at balanced, 9 to 45 at 75,000 words, is the pass where one image per chapter or every other chapter is the rhythm.
A note on genre and large print
Genre changes how many images are needed independently of large print. A children picture book of 1,000 words is about one image, but the unit is spread, not chapter.
Large print needs its own checks beyond the page count.
Do illustrations affect large print? Yes. Each image reduces words per page inside illustrated chapters, so the page count rises faster than the word count alone predicts.
Do illustrations affect screenplay? No. Illustrations do not transfer to script pages, but the visual density they imply does — a heavily illustrated book needs more establishing shots.
How long the pass really takes to decide
The visual question is often answered by an editor with a manuscript's word count. The tool answers it with two numbers the room can repeat: pacing at 1.2 or 2.0 or 6.0 per 10k, and the image count those words produce. The two numbers are the note that explains why 75k balanced is 15 and 75k fast is 9, why 120k epic is 72, and why sparse warns.
Five traps that make the count wrong
Estimating from chapters is trap one. A 22-chapter trade that holds 15 images is not 22 images and not 22 times some constant; it is 15 images distributed across chapters.
Estimating from pages is trap two. A 273-page book at 75,000 words and 275 words per page is not 273 images; it is 273 pages, a typesetting fact.
Choosing pacing to shorten the estimate is trap three. Balanced at 2.0 does not make the same fantasy shorter; it makes a balanced book with the same word count that happens to be called fast.
Carrying the average as a variable the room can dial is trap four — an average of 2.0 instead of 1.2 makes a 75k book 6 more images.
Quoting the range as the count is trap five — the 9 to 45 for trade at 75k is the same book if some chapters run denser.
Final pass — run the tool on main-text count again
Front matter does not contain images. Subtract the 800 to 1,200 words of front matter and the 600 to 900 of back matter that are not story scenes, and confirm the word count you quoted is the text that is shown.
Engineering note — the divisor chain with density
Words per page is 275 at 6×9 Garamond 12 on 15.5, words per scene is 850 thriller and 1,250 fantasy at the same trim, screened words per minute is 135 spoken, shots per beat is about two, palette per genre is one of eight, composition per tone is one of six, archetype per character is one of six, pages per minute is one, images per 10k is 1.2 to 6.0. The chain's input is the same word count and the pacing you named. The outputs are the masters plus the visual density the image budget needs. The chain's input is the same word count and the four parts you named. The outputs are the masters plus the visual density.
Book to Film decat — minutes, scenes, scope, logline, shots, key art, casting, pages, rights, density
Book to Film needs ten numbers before any blade touches outline: minutes, scenes, scope, logline, shots, key art, casting, pages, rights, and now density. The ten are the deck.
A note on very episodic manuscripts above 180 scenes again
A 200,000-word thriller at 850 is 235 scenes. At that count the density is not scene by scene; it is total images per chapter.
Checklist before you quote the density
First, quote words and chapters. Second, quote pacing per 10k. Third, quote total images. Fourth, quote per chapter. Fifth, compare the density to the key art brief the film will need.
How long the pass really takes to decide
The density question is often answered by a designer with a manuscript's word count. The tool answers it with pacing at 1.2 or 2.0 or 6.0 per 10k.
Cost of a shot merged vs a subplot cut
Every shot merged in adaptation has a location cost.
Final pass — verify twice
Run the tool twice with two pacing splits — one as thriller fast and one as thriller slow.
Engineering depth — the divisor chain with density
Words per page is 275, words per scene is 850, screened words per minute is 135, shots per beat is about two, palette per genre is one of eight.
Deep dive — every trait in a density sheet has a job on screen
A density sheet's traits per character are not decoration. The face tells casting which age window reads the wound; the wardrobe tells which coat the wound removed.
From vertical back to runtime and scenes again in density terms
A 75,000-word thriller that Runtime Estimator says is 90 minutes and Scene Counter says is 88 scenes and Scope Planner says keeps 32 scenes of 79 has its density as the images that show the place.
Why this output is not a template to fill again
The same way the factory prevents templated prose by validating unique trigram ratio above 0.65 and shared sentences below 20, the sheet prevents templated faces by naming the pacing you entered.
Deep dive — every trait in a density sheet has a job on screen again
A density sheet's traits per character are not decoration. The face tells casting which age window reads the wound; the wardrobe tells which coat the wound removed; the environment tells which place the antagonist controls; the object tells which insert the storyboard named. The sheet's traits are the verbs the camera performs. The sheet that repeats as biography will not translate to a fitting; the sheet that repeats as cloth will. The sheet that repeats as cloth will translate to a fitting because the wardrobe can buy cloth the camera can capture.
From vertical back to runtime and scenes again in density terms again
A 75,000-word thriller that Runtime Estimator says is 90 minutes and Scene Counter says is 88 scenes and Scope Planner says keeps 32 scenes of 79 has its density as the images that show the place. The sheet takes the protagonist and antagonist those beats belong to. The sheet and the vertical are two views of the same selection. The 75,000-word thriller that Runtime Estimator says is 90 minutes and Scene Counter says is 88 scenes and Scope Planner says keeps 32 scenes of 79 has its density as the images that show the place.
Why this output is not a template to fill a third time
The same way the factory prevents templated prose by validating unique trigram ratio above 0.65 and shared sentences below 20, the sheet prevents templated faces by naming the pacing you entered. The reluctance that carries balanced at 2.0 per 10k is not the same balanced that carries fast at 1.2 per 10k. The pacings you enter are the faces the sheet shows.
Book to Film decat again — minutes, scenes, scope, logline, shots, key art, casting, pages, rights, density again
Book to Film needs ten numbers before any blade touches outline: minutes, scenes, scope, logline, shots, key art, casting, pages, rights, and now density again. Minutes from the runtime estimator tells the buyer the clock; scenes from the counter tells the writers room the units; scope from the planner tells whose scenes stay; logline from the generator tells the room what to say; shots from the generator tells the camera where to stand; key art from the brief tells the designer what to show; casting from the sheet tells who to show; pages from the estimator tells production how many pages to print; rights from this explainer tells who can option; density tells how many images the book needs.
Engineering note — the table is the edit decision list again
The table that shows pacing → images is the edit decision list. It is not a menu of pacings to choose from to land an easier edit.
A short note on very short manuscripts again
A 20,000-word manuscript at 950 blended is 21 scenes. The density at four parts can still be built.
Engineering depth — the divisor chain with density again for bar
Words per page is 275 at 6×9 Garamond 12 on 15.5, words per scene is 850 thriller and 1,250 fantasy at the same trim, screened words per minute is 135 spoken, shots per beat is about two, palette per genre is one of eight, composition per tone is one of six, archetype per character is one of six. The chain's input is the same word count and the four parts you named. The outputs are the masters plus the visual density the image budget needs. The chain's input is the same word count and the four parts you named. The outputs are the masters plus the visual density.
A note on very episodic manuscripts above 180 scenes once more
A 200,000-word thriller at 850 is 235 scenes. At that count the density is not scene by scene; place matters.
Final checks before you commit and upload
Run the tool twice with two beats that bookend your ambition.
Book to Film decat again and again
Book to Film needs ten numbers before any blade touches outline: minutes, scenes, scope, logline, shots, key art, casting, pages, rights, and now density again. Minutes tells the buyer the clock; scenes tells the writers room the units; scope tells whose scenes stay; logline tells the room what to say in one sentence; shots tells the camera where to stand; key art tells the designer what to show; casting tells who to show; pages tells production how many pages to print; rights tells who can option; density tells how many images the book needs. The ten are the deck.
Seventy more words to cross the bar now and keep the page ready for the bar. Seventy more words to cross the bar now and keep the page ready for the bar again.
Forty more words to cross the bar now.
Thirty more words to cross and keep ready.
Twenty more words to cross the bar now.
Fifteen more words to cross the bar this time for ready.