How to write great Prompts for AI art generators

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The best tips to create great prompts for AI.
Every AI-generated image can only be as great as its prompt. Just ask any AI artist
or designer you know, and they’ll agree with that statement.
Good prompts are the key to creating high-quality and visually accurate designs.
Since most of the work is done by a computer, the human element comes in through
prompts for AI. If you’re just starting out in this medium or want to know more
about AI art, keep reading.
In this prompt guide, we’ll discuss:
• Common questions asked about writing prompts for AI
• Top tips for writing the perfect text-to-image prompt
• 50 words you can use in your prompts
• Prompt examples you can try

What are prompts in AI?

Prompts are detailed text descriptions that help AI art generator tools create AI
images. These usually include the subject of your artwork, additional details like
background textures and colors, and the name of the artist whose style you want to
capture.

Why is creating a good prompt important?

Creating a good prompt is important in AI because it is the only thing that the AI
art generator tool can use as a reference. Since it uses text-to-image processing,
your prompt text should be very detailed, specific, and clear so that the tool and
neural networks it uses can give you the best possible AI image.

Does the prompt have to be in English?

As of writing, AI tools can only understand prompts written in the English
language. But this may change in the future. Until then, you can try different free
online translator tools to convert your prompts from your mother tongue to English.

Top tips for writing the perfect text-to-image prompt

It is very easy to create prompts for AI art generators like CF Spark. The
important thing to keep in mind is to be clear with your main idea, then define the
correct details and styles you want to replicate. If you need more help, you can
refer to our Prompt Book.

• Start with a small idea

The perfect prompt comes with practice and experimentation. In the beginning,
explore how AI interprets simple prompts of everyday items and ideas. It is
absolutely fine to play around with different objects, ideas, and art styles with
no clear goal in mind. Your prompts will get better in time.

• Be clear and specific

Anything left unsaid may surprise you. When it comes to writing prompts, be as
clear and specific as possible. You don’t have to write paragraphs of prompts but
it’s important to avoid being vague.
Example:
Avoid: “a unicorn with steampunk elements”
Try: “a steampunk unicorn, roses and flowers, gears”

• Try visually well-defined objects

AI art generator tools scan the various databases to build the image you want to
create. So, it makes sense to give it something that it can reference via the
internet.
Example:
Avoid: “a fantastic beast”, “a magical creature”, “a relaxing landscape”
Try: “a unicorn”, “a fairy”, “a peaceful river”

• Include strong feelings or mystical-sounding themes

Adjectives are a good prompt’s best friend. Tap into your inner creative writing
skills and try to insert some sense of emotion into your prompt.
Example:
Try: “astral”, “dreamy”, “elegant”, “epic””the resonance of my dreams”, “the shore
of the galaxy”, “the birth of time”

• Describe a specific style

It also helps if it can include certain art styles that the generator tool can take
inspiration from. Whether you like a modernist style, surrealism, or abstract, it’s
important to let the tool know what you want.
Example:
Try: “pop art”, “surrealism”, “art deco”, “afro-futurism”, “baroque style”

• Invoke a certain art medium

Aside from a particular art style, citing your desired medium can also help bring
texture and balance to the colors of your AI-generated image.
Example:
Try: “mosaic”, “watercolor”, “charcoal”

• Speak in positives, avoid negatives

As much as possible, write only things you want to see in a prompt. If you really
want to omit certain parts of your reference, then do so clearly to avoid confusing
the program.
Example:
Avoid: “no red flowers”
Try: “yellow flowers, blue flowers”

• Spare no detail unsaid

Specify what you want clearly. AI art is a visual medium so the key is to be as
descriptive as possible in your prompts. But practice this with caution as too many
small details may overwhelm the system. Make sure to filter out your descriptors
and use only the important ones.
Example:
Avoid: “A little boy on a dilapidated sidewalk looking through a dirty graffiti
wall into a round portal, inside the portal is a beautiful landscape with rivers
forests and a rainbow”
Try: “A little boy looking through a dirty graffiti wall into a round portal.
inside the portal is a dreamy landscape”

• Describe your desired composition

Note that you can also include certain compositional elements you often use in
photography. This makes it easier for the AI to process your image, sparing you the
hassle of cropping and resizing.
Example:
Avoid: “a cyberpunk traveler of the universe”
Try: “a full-body portrait of a cyberpunk traveler of the universe”

• Use singular nouns or include numbers

If you have something in mind that features multiple elements in a single image,
define how many you want exactly. Instead of just adding ‘s’ to the end of your
noun or subject, try including the number of elements you want to see.
Example:
Avoid: “cats”
Try: “fours cats”
• Do not leave room for assumptions
Going back to our first tip, anything left unsaid may surprise you. So, if you
leave any loopholes in your prompts, the AI art generator will fill it out for you.
Sometimes, it works out in the end. But, other times, you end up having to edit the
output. As artists, you need to take creative control over your finished product
even if it was made by an AI.
Example:
Avoid: “a fantastic beast, with ornaments, in a retro-futuristic style”
Try: “a portrait of a unicorn, roses and gears, steampunk”

• Combine two or more well-defined concepts

Let your creativity flow and don’t be afraid to mix-and-match concepts or art
theories in ways never tried before. Who knows? You might just end up creating
something groundbreaking in the AI art community.
We know that building prompts can be really hard. If you want some help creating
good prompts, you can also try our free online prompt builder, promptoMANIA.
This tool is extremely useful to add details, such as different art styles, into
your starting prompt and it is also easy to use. When you are happy with your
prompt, copy it and paste it into the CF Spark page.

50 powerful words that you can use when writing good prompts
We’ve listed down the top words or phrases you can use to write excellent prompts
for AI art generators:
portrait long exposure blooming; in bloom transitioning modern
landscape galactic colorful in action retro
standard one, two, (any number) black and white happy scary
oil painting abstract charcoal drawing sad at the beach
steampunk style HD minimalist crying living room
cyberpunk 4K expressionist laughing dark
anime style bird’s eye in the background on canvas light
Picasso worm’s eye foreground Mona Lisa foggy
Andy Warhol wide shot wrinkled Vincent Van Gogh sunny
Salvador Dali close up smooth mixed medium raining

Prompt examples you can try

Here are some ready-to-use prompts for your next great AI art!
• A Husky in the style of Jean-Michel Basquiat
• A portrait of a cyberpunk panda holding two flamethrowers, fantasy, elegant,
digital painting, concept art, matte, sharp focus, illustration
• Portrait of a beautiful pale gothic maiden, warhammer 40000, cyberpunk,
intricate, elegant, highly detailed, digital painting
• A dream of a distant galaxy, by caspar david friedrich, matte painting
• Digital painting of a lush wet natural scene on an alien planet
Visit our website to view our complete list of good prompts.
We hope this prompt guide was able to teach you a thing or two about writing
prompts for AI. Remember that as with any other medium, one cannot simply create an
AI art masterpiece on the first try. So, be open to changes and improvements, and
keep practicing prompt writing. If you want to learn more about AI art, check out
our Ultimate AI guide.
Stay curious and set your imaginations free with our Text to Image converter. We
are always open to feedback from our future prompt masters. Share your experience
with us at [email protected].