The Basics of Prompting: The Art of Writing Effective Image Prompts
Reading time: approximately 7 minutes
Writing a good prompt is the most important skill in AI image creation. It is like being a director and giving the AI, your actor, clear instructions. A vague instruction gives a vague result, while a detailed instruction can lead to fantastic images.
What You Will Learn
- The structure for an effective prompt: Subject, action, environment.
- How to add details to control the result.
- Common mistakes and how to avoid them.
The Basics
A good basic prompt usually contains three parts:
- Subject: Who or what is the main focus of the image?
- Action: What is the subject doing?
- Environment: Where does the scene take place?
The more specific you are with adjectives and descriptions, the better. Think "show, not just tell".
Practical Examples
Let us build a prompt step by step:
Step 1: Basic Idea
- Prompt:
a dog - Result: A random, often generic image of a dog.
Step 2: Add Details (Subject)
- Prompt:
a happy golden retriever puppy - Result: More specific, but still simple.
Step 3: Add Action and Environment
- Prompt:
a happy golden retriever puppy playing with a red ball in a green summer meadow - Result: A complete scene! The AI now has much more information to work with.
Step 4: Add Style and Atmosphere (We will deepen this in the next lesson)
- Prompt:
Photorealistic image of a happy golden retriever puppy jumping after a red ball in a green summer meadow, soft morning light, close-up - Result: A much more controlled and atmospheric image.
Tips for Creating Your Own Material
- Create illustrations for lesson material: Do you need an image of a specific historical person in a certain situation, or an illustration of a biological concept? Use the structure
subject + action + environmentto quickly create a unique image for your presentation, worksheet or test. - Visualize metaphors: To explain an abstract concept, try describing it as a visual metaphor. Prompt:
A light bulb made of interconnected gears, symbolizing an idea built on logic. This can create powerful images that clarify complex subjects.
Next Steps
You can now create simple, coherent scenes. But how do you make the image look like an oil painting, a comic panel or a technical diagram? In the next moment, "Control the Style: From Photorealism to Fantasy", we learn to use "magic words" to control the artistic style of the image.