AI prompts are the instructions you give to AI image generators like Stable Diffusion to produce a desired image. A well-crafted prompt leads to better results. Writing an effective prompt requires both creativity to imagine the image you want and technical precision to guide the AI.
This article will teach you how to write excellent prompts to create stunning AI-generated art with Stable Diffusion.
Describe the Content
The first step is deciding what you want the AI to generate. Describe the main subject and content of the image in 1-2 sentences. Be specific about what is in the image while still leaving room for creativity:
- “A portrait painting of a girl with red hair wearing a blue dress”
- “A fantasy landscape with tall mountains, evergreen trees, and a castle”
Add Relevant Details
Add extra descriptive details to refine your vision while giving the AI more to work with:
- Subject details: age, gender, clothing, facial expression
- Setting details: time of day, weather, season, location, architectural style
- Composition details: angle, depth of field, lighting, color scheme, medium (painting, drawing etc.)
For example:
“A close-up portrait painting of a smiling 20 year old girl with long curly red hair, wearing a blue sleeveless dress, standing in a green meadow on a sunny spring day”
Describe the Style
Specify an art style to emulate if you have one in mind:
- “oil painting by Rembrandt”
- “watercolor in Monet’s style”
- “pen and ink drawing reminiscent of Tim Burton”
Or try inventing new styles:
- “a retro futurism digital illustration”
- “an abstract neon popup book style”
Add Guiding Keywords
Sprinkle additional keywords throughout your prompt to guide the AI:
- Quality: “intricately detailed”, “hyperrealistic”, “cinematic lighting”
- Emotion: “whimsical”, “serene”, “magical”
- Composition: “rule of thirds”, “golden ratio”, “symmetrical”
Repeat key terms at the beginning and end of your prompt.
Use Negative Prompts
Add negative prompts to specify what you don’t want to avoid undesirable outputs:
- Content: “no text”, “no logos”, “no violence”
- Style: “not anime”, “not cartoon”, “not abstract”
- Quality: “not blurry”, “not pixelated”, “not poorly drawn”
Experiment and Iterate
Be prepared to try different prompts and tweak them based on the results. Pay attention to what works and improve on it.
Save your best prompts to reuse and build upon later.
Prompt Formulas
These templates can help you structure effective prompts:
Simple Formula
[Subject] [Style] [Details]
“A girl in a blue dress in Rembrandt’s style with a meadow background”
Expanded Formula
[Subject] [Style] [Details] [Quality Keywords] [Emotion Keywords] [Composition Keywords]
“A smiling girl with red hair wearing a sleeveless blue dress, in Rembrandt’s oil painting style, standing in a detailed green meadow background with flowers on a sunny spring day, intricately detailed and visually pleasing, with a serene magical atmosphere, rule of thirds symmetrical composition”
Useful Websites
Here are some websites with more Stable Diffusion prompting tips:
- Stable Diffusion Prompt Engineering Guide
- Awesome Stable Diffusion Prompts
- Stable Diffusion Prompt Design
With practice, you’ll be able to write prompts that produce jaw-dropping images tailored to your creative vision. Have fun unleashing your imagination with Stable Diffusion!