Prompts bridge human creativity and artificial intelligence, allowing users to describe their desired visual outcomes in natural language. They can range from simple phrases to complex, detailed descriptions that specify subjects, actions, environments, color schemes, and artistic styles. These instructions act as a blueprint for the AI, directing it to create images that align with the user's vision. 

The art of crafting effective prompts, known as prompt engineering, is crucial in harnessing the full potential of AI image-generation tools like Recraft. By mastering prompt writing, creators can unlock all levels of creative control, enabling the production of unique and stunning visual content. 

Users can select a set of images to establish a brand’s visual style and fine-tune it until it perfectly matches the desired look and feel. The primary method of achieving this is through visual references, with prompt engineering serving as a valuable supplemental tool in specific cases.

As opposed to other image generation tools, Recraft allows working with very simple prompts by providing style reference images and creating styles. Additional prompt engineering can enhance this further.

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Basic Prompts

A basic prompt can be as simple as a single word, phrase, or emoji 🔑. These fundamental inputs are the starting point for AI image generation, allowing designers to convey their ideas quickly.
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Single words like "pillow," "dog" or "sunglasses" can evoke specific imagery, leveraging the AI's understanding of everyday objects, scenes, and styles. 

Phrases such as "red car for speed racing" or "futuristic hairstyle" provide slightly more context, guiding the AI towards more specific visual outcomes. 

Although basic prompts may not offer the same level of control as more complex inputs, they excel in spontaneity and can lead to surprising results. They're handy for quick experimentation or when users want to explore Recraft’s interpretative capabilities. 

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Advanced Prompts

More advanced prompts can include multiple text phrases and one or more parameters. This approach to prompt engineering allows for greater control and specificity in AI image generation, resulting in more nuanced and tailored outputs.

Multiple text phrases in a single prompt enable Recraft’s users to create complex scenes or concepts. Enhanced prompt-following refers to how accurately the image aligns with the details specified in the prompt. Recraft V3 can generate images with complex scenes, including the correct count, color, and positions of objects mentioned in the prompt. This level of control is particularly valuable for professional designers, artists, and content creators who require precise outputs for their projects.

A structured approach is best when crafting the ideal AI art prompt in Recraft.

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Here’s the best AI prompt structure to use in Recraft:
‍A <image style> of <main content>. <detailed description of the main content>. <description of the background>. <detailed style description>.

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Word Choice

When crafting prompts for AI-generated images, using synonyms can help clarify ambiguities, especially with nouns that have multiple meanings. For example, the word "bat" could refer to either a flying mammal or a baseball bat. To avoid confusion, you can specify "a flying bat in the night sky" or "a wooden baseball bat on the field." Similarly, "jaguar" might mean a wild animal or a luxury car—clarify with "a jaguar in the jungle" or "a sleek Jaguar car." Using precise language ensures the AI generates exactly what you have in mind.
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Plural Words and Collective Nouns

Plural words can introduce ambiguity. Opt for specific numbers when possible. For instance, "Three cats" provides more clarity than simply "cats." Collective nouns can also be effective; "flock of birds" is more descriptive than just "birds."

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Focus on Desired Elements

Requesting an image of a party with 'no cake' might paradoxically result in an image that still includes a cake. When requesting an image, including negative phrases like "no cake" or "without penguins" can sometimes confuse the AI, leading to unexpected results—such as an image of a party that still includes a cake. If you encounter this issue, it's better to avoid mentioning the element you don’t want altogether. For example, instead of asking for "a beach without penguins," simply request "a beach." This approach works well, especially when the element you want to exclude isn’t typically associated with the scene.

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Prompt Length and Details

Strive for clarity regarding any important context or details.

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Consider the following aspects:

• Subject: This could be a person, animal, character, location, or object

• Medium: Specify if you want a photo, painting, illustration, sculpture, doodle

• Environment: Describe the setting, such as indoors, outdoors, on the moon, underwater, or in the city

• Lighting: Define the type of light, like soft, ambient, overcast, neon, or studio lights.

• Color: Indicate your preference for vibrant, muted, bright, monochromatic, colorful, black and white, or pastel tones.

• Mood: Convey the desired atmosphere, such as sedate, calm, or energetic.

• Composition: Specify the framing, like portrait, headshot, closeup, or bird's-eye view.

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This approach enables creators to craft more effective prompts, resulting in images that closely align with their desired vision.

Even short or single-word prompts will produce beautiful images in Recraft's curated 100+ styles, plus designers can create personalized results by creating new styles. Prompt engineering helps define both the style and the scene of an image. Style prompts are especially effective in raw model or when aiming for photorealism and illustrations. Meanwhile, scene prompts — such as setting the view angle or composition — enhance creative control across all Recraft styles, ensuring a well-rounded visual output.
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Prompting Tips

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Precision to avoid confusion

In a prompt, if you write: “A painting of a Chinese New Year.” you will probably get something painterly.

But being precise might get better results:
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From Chaos to Order

How the creator describes things and the order they put them in can make a huge difference in what they get back.

Imagine describing a scene to someone who's never seen it before. You wouldn't just throw out a bunch of random objects - you should start with the big picture and then add details in a way that makes sense. 
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From Micro to Macro

When crafting prompts for AI image generation, specifying sizes can dramatically influence the outcome of creation. Whether aiming for a miniature scene or a grandiose landscape, understanding how to communicate scale effectively is crucial. By using precise language and comparative descriptions, designers can guide the AI to produce images that accurately reflect their vision in size and proportion.
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Text prompts for generating text

‍Recraft V3 is the only model in the world that can generate images with long texts instead of just one or a couple of words.
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Recraft V3 model allows specifying the exact positions and sizes of text on a design. So creators can adjust any image with the Positioning Control feature.
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Here are the key takeaways to remember:

1. Be specific and detailed in prompts to achieve the desired results.
2. Don't be afraid to try different approaches and refine prompts based on the outcomes.
3. Strive for a harmonious blend of visual elements and text in prompts.
4. The more you work with prompts, the better you'll become at crafting them effectively.
5. While following guidelines is helpful, don't let them limit your imagination. 

Prompt engineering is both an art and a science. By combining technical knowledge with creative vision, creators can unlock the full potential of AI image generation and bring their ideas to life in ways never before possible.

Happy prompting!