AI art prompts: a simple formula and 30 examples
An image generator draws what you write, not what you meant. The prompts that work are not long or full of magic words — they are ordered: the main subject first, then where things are, then colour and light, then style. Here is that formula, what it looks like in practice, and 30 examples you can copy and change.
The formula: five parts, in this order
Why this order? Most generators pay the most attention to what comes first, and the subject is what you care about most. It is also how our game scores a description: 50 points for the subject, 20 for layout, 20 for colour and light, 10 for style. The order that wins in Speakasso is the order that works in prompts.
- Subject — who or what, how many, doing what. “An old fisherman mending a net.”
- Setting and layout — where it is and where things are in the frame. “On a wooden pier, the sea behind him, a small red boat on the left.”
- Colour and light — two or three main colours, time of day, where the light comes from. “Golden evening light from the right, long shadows, teal water.”
- Style and medium — how it is made. “Thick oil paint with visible brushstrokes.” Or “flat woodblock print”, “soft watercolour”, “35 mm photo”.
- Framing — the camera. “Close-up”, “wide shot from above”, “square format”.
Weak prompts vs strong prompts
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| a beautiful landscape | a narrow river winding through green hills toward a white village, morning mist in the valley, soft pink sky, watercolour |
| a cute cat | a fluffy grey kitten asleep in a sunlit window box between red geraniums, close-up, shallow depth of field, warm afternoon light |
| a scary house | a tall crooked wooden house on a bare hill at night, one lit window upstairs, dead tree on the left, cold blue moonlight, heavy clouds |
| a portrait in the style of an old master | portrait of a middle-aged man in a black coat and white ruff collar, dark brown background, strong light from the upper left, oil painting with smooth glossy finish |
| futuristic city | a city of glass towers connected by bridges, seen from a rooftop garden, sunset reflecting orange in the windows, small flying vehicles, wide shot |
30 AI image prompt examples
Copy them as they are, or swap one part at a time to see what changes. That is the fastest way to learn what each part of a prompt does.
Portraits
- An elderly woman laughing at a kitchen table, flour on her hands, window light from the left, warm tones, documentary photo
- A young man in a yellow raincoat on a rainy night street, neon reflections in puddles, close-up, cinematic
- A girl in a straw hat reading under an apple tree, dappled sunlight, loose impressionist brushstrokes
- A knight taking off his helmet, tired face, sunset behind, painted in the style of a medieval manuscript
- A chef tasting soup from a wooden spoon, steam rising, busy kitchen blurred behind
Landscapes
- A lonely lighthouse on black rocks, huge waves, stormy green-grey sky, dramatic oil painting
- Lavender fields in rows toward a stone farmhouse, noon sun, bright purple and yellow
- A frozen lake with skaters, bare trees, pale pink winter sunset, flat folk-art style
- A desert road with one red car, heat haze, cloudless sky, wide shot from above
- A mountain village at night, warm windows, snow on roofs, stars, cozy storybook illustration
Animals
- A red fox curled asleep in fresh snow, soft blue morning light, close-up
- An owl on a mossy branch, big orange eyes, dark forest behind, detailed pencil drawing
- A whale jumping out of a calm sea at sunset, tiny sailboat for scale
- Three ducklings following their mother across a garden path, watercolour
- A tiger lying in tall golden grass, only its eyes visible, late afternoon
Still life and objects
- A glass of lemonade with ice on a wooden table, lemons beside it, bright summer light, hard shadows
- An old typewriter with a half-typed page, coffee cup, desk lamp glow, night
- A bowl of cherries on a white cloth, dark background, Dutch still-life lighting
- A stack of colourful books with a sleeping cat on top, top-down view
- A brass compass on an old map, candlelight, warm sepia
Fantasy and fun
- A tiny dragon drinking tea from a teacup on a windowsill, morning light
- A floating island with a waterfall pouring into clouds, castle on top, bright fairytale colours
- A giant jellyfish drifting over a city at dusk, glowing pink and blue
- A library inside a hollow tree, spiral stairs, lanterns, cozy
- A robot watering flowers on a balcony, rusty metal, spring day
Scenes to practise describing
- A crowded café terrace at night, yellow awning, blue starry sky, cobblestone street
- Two people rowing a small boat across a misty lake, early morning, grey-green palette
- A woman pouring milk from a jug by a window, blue apron, quiet kitchen, soft light
- A huge wave curling over three small boats, snowy mountain far behind, blue and white
- A man in a black coat standing on a rock above a sea of fog, seen from behind
Style without names
Our list of words to describe art has a hundred more.
- Brushwork: thick swirling strokes, smooth invisible brushwork, small dabs of pure colour, loose sketchy lines.
- Medium: oil on canvas, watercolour, charcoal, woodblock print, gouache, pastel, fresco.
- Colour mood: muted earth tones, bright complementary colours, pastel, monochrome blue.
- Era feel: medieval manuscript, Renaissance portrait, Japanese print, 1950s poster, vintage photo.
Mistakes that waste generations
- Only adjectives. “Epic, beautiful, stunning, masterpiece” adds noise, not content.
- Contradictions. “Minimalist, highly detailed” — pick one.
- Too many subjects. Five things in the centre of attention means none of them is.
- No layout. Say left, right, foreground, background — otherwise the generator decides.
- Guessing a style you are unsure of. A wrong style changes the whole picture.
Tool-specific extras
Some tools add controls on top of the text. Midjourney takes parameters at the end of the prompt, such as --ar 16:9 for the aspect ratio. Stable Diffusion interfaces usually have a separate negative prompt for what you don’t want to see. The formula above still does most of the work: the extras only tune it.
How to practise
Prompt writing is describing, and describing gets better with feedback. In Speakasso you get 20 seconds to describe a famous painting, the AI draws what you said, and a judge shows you what was missing: the subject, the layout, the colours or the style. A few rounds a day train exactly the order that makes prompts work. The method is written up in our guide to describing a painting.
Try it in Speakasso
Train your prompt skills as a game: describe a masterpiece in 20 seconds, see what AI paints, and find out where the points went. Speakasso is an Android game, coming soon to Google Play.
Questions
How do you write a good AI art prompt?
Put the parts in order: the main subject, then setting and layout, then colour and light, then style and medium, then framing. Describe what should be visible instead of piling up adjectives.
How long should an AI image prompt be?
Usually one to three sentences. Long enough to cover subject, layout, light and style; short enough that nothing contradicts anything else.
Should I use artist names in prompts?
Describing the style (brushwork, medium, colours) gives you more control than a name, and it avoids copying living artists. Names of old masters often work, but the result is the generator’s idea of that artist, not a specific picture.
How can I get better at prompts?
Practise describing real pictures and compare the result with the original. That is what a round of Speakasso is: describe, see the AI’s version, see the score.