64 Ready-to-Use AI Image Prompts & Examples
AI technology continues to advance, and AI image generation has truly entered the mainstream. The results are now more realistic and versatile than ever, unlocking new creative opportunities for anyone who wants to enhance their work with visuals.
However, as with all AI tools, the quality of the results depends on the quality of your input. Crafting effective prompts is a skill that takes practice and understanding.
This guide will help you master that skill and provide 50+ prompts you can use today to spark inspiration and get you started creating AI images.
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Why prompts are important
A prompt is the most important part of the AI content creation process. AI has access to massive amounts of data, but it doesn’t know what data you’re looking for it to return unless you tell it.
A great AI image prompt should be clear, detailed, and creative. You want to give AI unambiguous instructions and as many details as possible so it can meet your expectations. And although AI image generators are powerful, they still can’t match human creativity; your imagination and originality are what turn a good prompt into a great image.
Before prompting AI, think about:
- Context: Where does this image fit into your life? Is it for work, school, or fun? What do you hope to achieve with this image, and who is the target audience?
- Style: Do you want a realistic image or something more stylized? If you want an image created in a specific artistic style, what’s the name for it (e.g., “anime” or “baroque”)?
- Mood: What’s the vibe of your desired image? Should it be funny, carefree, serious, or whimsical? How do you want it to make people feel?
How to write strong AI image prompts
So you have your idea, you’ve thought about what to include in your prompt, and now you have to write it. Here’s a checklist for how to write strong AI image prompts:
- Describe: Describe the subject and setting, including as many details as you can. You should also work in notes about the context and mood of your image.
- Choose a style or medium: Tell the AI how you want the image to look and what style (e.g., “Cubist”) or medium (e.g., “oil painting”) you want it to pull “inspiration” from.
- Include composition notes: Give the AI instructions about the format of the image, like its aspect ratio (e.g., “16:9”), orientation (e.g., “portrait”), perspective (e.g., “wide lens”), or composition (e.g., “circular”).
- Work in negative cues: Tell the AI what it should not include. Sometimes, this is the best way to get closer to what you actually want.
- Iterate and repeat: AI image creation is rarely a one-and-done deal. Rinse and repeat; change the parts of your prompt that have led to output you don’t like, and generate the image again. Repeat this process until you like the result.
Don’t worry if you don’t get it right the first time. Generating images with AI is a skill, and like any other skill, you have to practice it to get good at it.
AI image prompt categories
Let’s explore some ready-to-use prompts that can kickstart your image creation with AI. Below, find prompts categorized by type, as well as some example images created using those prompts.
All example images were created with QuillBot’s free AI image generator. For each section, the example image was created using the first prompt in the list.
Landscapes and nature
- “A landscape-orientation, realistic image of the northern lights glowing in a dark night sky over a dark snowfield, with the light reflected in the untouched white snow.”
- “A golden sunrise over misty mountains rendered in a realistic style. The image should make people feel a sense of beauty and wonder.”
- “A tranquil Japanese garden in springtime with cherry blossom trees, rendered in the style of an oil painting.”
- “An enchanted forest with glowing mushrooms and faint trails of magic flowing among the trees. Use a fantasy style and create an image in landscape orientation.”
- “A cinematic view of gentle hills of lavender under a dramatic pink and purple sunset sky.”
- “A serene lake surrounded by autumn trees in full color, with crystal-clear reflections on the water. Render in hyperrealistic style.”
- “A vast desert landscape with sweeping sand dunes under a bright blue sky. Include subtle wind patterns and long shadows for depth.”
- “A meadow filled with wildflowers and butterflies beneath a soft morning haze, painted in watercolor style.”
Cities and architecture
- “A fantasy medieval village market bustling with people. Include humans and other high fantasy species—like elves, goblins, and trolls—all doing tasks in the market like selling, shopping, and eating.”
- “A cyberpunk alley lit up by neon street signs and holograms. It’s raining, and the lights are reflected in puddles that have formed on the ground. The alley is deserted except for one black cat. Do not include any recognizable brands or logos.”
- “A realistic, portrait-orientation image of city skyscrapers looming over a park with a small lake.”
- “A sole white concrete house on a cliff next to the sea. Outside the house is a small patio with a table and chairs in the shade of a centuries-old olive tree. Take inspiration from the Mediterranean.”
- “A rainy street scene in 1920s New York City with vintage cars, men in trench coats, and old-fashioned gas street lamps that provide moody, atmospheric lighting. Do not include any visible brand names; if you need text for a shop sign, use generic text like ‘grocery store.’”
- “An abandoned Art Deco theater with faded decorations, cracked marble floors, and sunlight streaming through broken windows.”
- “A steampunk city skyline filled with gears, airships, and smoke rising from brass chimneys. Render in a detailed, semi-realistic style.”
- “A minimalist Scandinavian-style house surrounded by pine trees and snow. Include warm interior lighting visible through large glass windows. The image should give off a sense of hygge.”
Portraits and characters
- “A realistic portrait of a woman with flowing red hair wearing a cozy knit sweater and holding a cup of coffee. She’s sitting at a window, illuminated by the light from outside, and she’s looking out the window at its view of the sea. Use soft colors and give the image a romantic, dreamy vibe.”
- “A Renaissance-style painting of a nobleman in elaborate clothing, holding a small falcon on his gloved hand, with a detailed palace interior in the background.”
- “A black-and-white close-up portrait of an elderly man with deep wrinkles and expressive eyes, showing wisdom and life experience.”
- “A comic book-style image of a person wearing a spacesuit standing alone on another planet. They are waving to the camera, and a spaceship is reflected in their suit’s visor.”
- “A whimsical portrait of a child wearing a crown of flowers, laughing in a sunlit meadow, rendered in a soft watercolor style.”
- “A mystical portrait of a woman with flowing silver hair and glowing eyes, surrounded by magical floating runes. Render in fantasy anime style.”
- “A candid street photography-style portrait of a musician playing guitar on a busy city sidewalk, with motion blur and natural sunlight.”
- “A joyful group portrait of friends at a street festival, with colorful costumes, confetti in the air, and warm sunset lighting.”
Science fiction and fantasy
- “A massive alien city built inside a crystal cavern, illuminated by glowing minerals and bioluminescent life forms. Render in cinematic ultra-realism.”
- “A cartoon-style dragon using its fire breath to light a candle next to its bed. It lives in a rocky cave but has a human-style living space with furniture and decorations. The dragon is in its bed with a blanket tucked over its lower half.”
- “A cybernetic warrior in sleek armor standing in front of a holographic city skyline, weapon in hand, ready for battle. Use generic sci-fi armor, and do not reference any copyrighted character or franchise.”
- “A portal opening in the middle of a city street, revealing another dimension where everything is upside-down and colors are reversed.”
- “A vast floating island in the sky with waterfalls spilling into the clouds below. Include castles, airships, and lush greenery.”
- “A time traveler stepping out of a glowing machine into a Victorian-era street, blending steampunk and sci-fi elements.”
- “A futuristic underwater city populated by humans and aquatic hybrids, illuminated by bioluminescent plants. The hybrids should take inspiration from different marine animals, like dolphins, sharks, whales, and fish.”
- “A desert planet with twin suns, where travelers ride mechanical beasts across sand dunes under an orange sky.”
Branding and marketing
- “A product mockup of a coffee mug on a table. The coffee mug is plain white. Include gentle steam rising from the coffee. The background is a quiet, calm café.”
- “A professional workspace scene with a laptop showing marketing analytics, notebooks, and a cup of coffee, styled for a productivity blog header.”
- “A clean, minimalist flat lay of unbranded skincare products on a neutral background, with soft lighting and space for adding text or a logo.”
- “A realistic image of a hand holding a smartphone displaying a social media post, surrounded by like, comment, and share icons. Do not use any specific social network; just use general designs that the networks share.”
- “An abstract digital illustration showing data-driven marketing, with charts, analytics dashboards, and flowing data lines.”
- “A minimalist podcast cover image with a vintage radio.”
- “A dynamic visual of people collaborating around a table covered with laptops, charts, and sticky notes, symbolizing teamwork and strategy.”
- “A cinematic image of a brand launch event, with confetti, stage lighting, and a large screen. Leave the screen blank so I can add my company’s logo. Do not include any text in the image.”
Abstract and metaphorical
- “A fluid art piece showing ink swirling in water, creating soft gradients and organic forms. Use dark indigo tones.”
- “An abstract explosion of color and texture, representing creativity and chaos, rendered in digital paint with fluid motion.”
- “A conceptual image visualizing time as a stream of glowing particles flowing through a fractured clock.”
- “An ethereal gradient composition, evoking calm and balance, with soft pastel tones and gentle transitions.”
- “Abstract marble texture in blue and gold tones. Keep colors muted so the image can be used as the background of a digital presentation.”
- “A ladder reaching up to the clouds, symbolizing ambition and dreams.”
- “A flower growing inside a light bulb, symbolizing innovation. The light bulb should be gently glowing.”
- “Falling leaves turning into butterflies, representing transformation.”
Artistic and stylized
- “A Rococo-style image of a woman and her dog. Make the image look like an oil painting, and use colors and tones common in Rococo paintings.”
- “A cubist-inspired portrait, where a human face is fragmented into geometric planes and vibrant blocks of color.”
- “A modern impressionist cityscape painted with loose brushstrokes and vibrant reflections of streetlights on wet pavement.”
- “A surreal portrait of a person whose face dissolves into clouds, symbolizing imagination and impermanence.”
- “A still life of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a wooden table, painted in classic oil-on-canvas style.”
- “A minimalist ink painting of a tree branch with a single bird, inspired by Japanese sumi-e.”
- “A stormy seascape in dramatic Baroque lighting.”
- “A woman reclining in a field of lilies, with her hair flowing into the surrounding flowers and intricate swirling patterns in the background, in Art Nouveau style.”
Whimsical, silly, and fun
- “A tea party with forest animals—a fox, rabbit, and hedgehog—sitting around a tiny table with teacups and pastries. Use an anime style and soft, pastel colors.”
- “A group of cats wearing tiny chef hats baking cookies together in a cozy kitchen. Use bright colors and a cartoon style.”
- “A floating island shaped like a giant ice cream cone, with clouds that look like whipped cream.”
- “A sloth DJ spinning records at a jungle disco, with monkeys and parrots dancing under disco lights.”
- “A robot trying to bake a cake, with flour everywhere and smoke coming from the oven. Use a humorous, cartoonish style.”
- “A table filled with baked goods—donuts, croissants, cupcakes, etc.—and all the baked goods have happy faces.”
- “A crowd of people wearing fruit hats, dancing joyfully in a parade of confetti and balloons.”
- “A group of office workers floating through space in their rolling chairs, typing on laptops and sipping coffee.”
Negative prompt examples
If you’re not getting the results you want from an AI image generator, it might help to rewrite your prompts to include information about what you don’t want. Here are some examples of negative prompts:
- “Do not include any logos or branded products.”
- “No watermarks.”
- “No text of any kind.”
- “Do not include background characters.”
- “No blur, no noise, no distortion.”
- “No overly bright or neon colors.”
- “Avoid text overlays.”
- “Exclude blur.”
- “Do not show hands or feet.”
- “No copyrighted characters.”
- “Do not include gore, blood, or violence.”
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