Prompt Engineering 101

This module teaches you to craft precise Midjourney prompts that turn ideas into stunning AI art. We use a clear structure:

[subject] [aesthetic] [lighting] [art medium] [mood] [details] [parameters]

You'€™ll learn to pick a subject, set an aesthetic, choose lighting, select an art style, adjust mood, add details, and tweak parameters for perfect results. Let€'s start.

Structure:

[subject] [AESTHETIC] [lighting] [art medium] [mood] [details] [parameters]

Explanation of Each Bracket:

1. [Subject]: The core focus of the image - could be a character, object, or scene (e.g., "a dragon soaring over a mountain").

2. [aesthetic]: The stylistic or thematic vibe (look below for aesthetic examples).

3. [Lighting]: The type of illumination shaping the scene (e.g., "dramatic lighting," "blue hour," "torchlit", "dawn").

4. [Art Medium]: The artistic technique or material (e.g., "oil on canvas," "pencil sketch," "stained glass").

5. [Mood]: The emotional tone or atmosphere (e.g., "serene," "ominous," "joyful").

6. [Details]: Specific enhancements or descriptors (e.g., "intricate patterns," "weathered textures," "glowing accents").

7. [Parameters]: Midjourney-specific flags to refine the output (e.g., "--ar 16:9," "--v 6," "--chaos 50").

Example Prompt Using This Structure:

[A mysterious cloaked figure standing on a cliff] [gothic fantasy] [twilight hour] [charcoal drawing] [eerie] [tattered robes and swirling mist] [--ar 3:2 --v 6]

Breakdown:

[Subject]: "A mysterious cloaked figure standing on a cliff" - A compelling focal point with a sense of place.

[AESTHETIC]: "Gothic fantasy" - A dark, fantastical style with medieval undertones.

[Lighting]: "Twilight hour" - A soft, transitional light blending day and night.

[Art Medium]: "Charcoal drawing" - A smudgy, high-contrast black-and-white style.

[Mood]: "Eerie" - Sets a haunting, unsettling tone.

[Details]: "Tattered robes and swirling mist" - Adds texture and atmospheric depth.

[Parameters]: "--ar 3:2 --v 6" - Specifies a wider aspect ratio and uses Midjourney’s latest version for sharper results.

Resulting Visualization:

Picture a shadowy, cloaked figure perched on a jagged cliff, drawn in gritty charcoal strokes. The twilight hour casts a faint, purplish glow, enhancing the eerie mood. Tattered robes flutter in the wind, and swirling mist curls around the figure, all framed in a cinematic 3:2 aspect ratio with crisp, modern rendering.

Aesthetic & Style

• Anime: A vibrant Japanese art style known for its distinct look. Landscapes adapt well to this aesthetic, but for portraits, try adding “cartoon” or “animated” to enhance the stylized, hand-drawn feel.
• Art Nouveau: An elegant, decorative style that swept Europe and the U.S. between 1890 and 1910, marked by flowing lines and intricate patterns.
• ArtStation: A platform where artists in gaming, film, and entertainment display their portfolios, often inspiring polished, industry-ready visuals.
• Astral: Think cosmic vibes—alien worlds, starry skies, and celestial-themed characters.
• Astrological: Like “astral” but toned down, focusing on zodiac-inspired motifs without the dazzling sparkle.
• Blender: A versatile, free software tool for crafting 3D graphics and animations.
• Cinematic: Delivers a lifelike look with dramatic, movie-quality lighting effects.
• Comic Book: Bold vector-style landscapes paired with dynamic, superhero-esque characters.
• Concept Art: A creative style for sketching out ideas, scenes, or characters, widely used in films, games, and storytelling media.
• CryEngine: A specialized game design software known for producing high-fidelity visuals.
• Dark Fantasy: A moody fantasy subgenre weaving in unsettling or macabre elements.
• DeviantArt: An online hub where artists share and showcase their creative works.
• Dieselpunk: A gritty sci-fi subgenre blending retro-futuristic diesel tech with a vintage edge.
• Dreamy: Soft pastel hues and misty, ethereal landscapes for a gentle, surreal touch.
• Elaborate: Adds steampunk flair—think ornate gears and embellishments on characters, plus alien-world landscapes.
• Epic Composition: Striking scenes with bold character poses and sweeping, fantasy-inspired vistas.
• Ethereal: A haunting twist on “dreamy,” with an eerie, otherworldly glow.
• Extraterrestrial: All about aliens—strange beings from beyond the stars!
• Fantasy: Transforms landscapes into magical realms and gives characters a medieval or elvish charm.
• Gradient: Features a warm palette of pinks, yellows, and reds blending seamlessly.
• Graphic Novel: Vector-style landscapes meet varied, expressive character designs.
• Heat Haze: Evokes a scorching atmosphere for both characters and shimmering landscapes.
• Hyperrealistic: Art that’s strikingly lifelike yet retains a subtle, artistic edge—akin to “photorealistic.”
• Impressionism: A French painting style from the 1860s, defined by loose brushstrokes, vibrant color shifts, and fleeting light.
• KitBash3D: A toolset for building detailed 3D assets, perfect for film and game environments.
• Krita: A free, open-source digital painting program, rivaling Photoshop for creative flexibility.
• Magic: Echoes “fantasy” for landscapes but leans into witchy or wizard-like character vibes.
• Monochrome: Stark, realistic scenes in timeless black and white.
• Muted: Washed-out colors for a subdued, faded aesthetic.
• Octane: Refers to Octane Render, a tool for turning 3D models into crisp, rendered images.
• Ominous: Creates a brooding, foreboding atmosphere—expect the unexpected.
• Ornate: Drapes characters in lavish headdresses and jewelry while adding grand architecture to landscapes.
• Photorealistic: Near-real visuals with an artistic twist, closely related to “hyperrealistic.”
• Pixel Art: Retro digital art made of blocky pixels, reminiscent of 8-bit and 16-bit games.
• Rich Color: Deep, bold hues—often heavy on reds—for a striking palette.
• Sense of Awe: Captures breathtaking lighting, lifelike characters, and towering mountain scenes.
• Sharp Focus: Highlights key elements with crisp detail while softly blurring the rest.
• Solarpunk: A sci-fi subgenre fusing solar-powered tech with a bright, retro-futuristic vision.
• Steampunk: A sci-fi subgenre mixing steam-driven machinery with Victorian-inspired flair.
• Tenebroso: Dark, shadowy images with a gloomy, mysterious vibe.
• Ultra Detailed: Highly realistic characters and scenes packed with intricate touches.
• Underwater: An aquatic aesthetic—landscapes and characters steeped in ocean tones, even if they’re not swimming.
• Unreal Engine: A leading software for crafting photorealistic visuals in games and beyond.
• Vast: Produces expansive, sparse landscapes—think distant peaks—though its effect on characters is less clear.
• Vibrant: Pops with bright hair and outfits on characters, and a lively pink, blue, and orange mix for landscapes.

Art Medium

• Acrylic Painting: Bright, vivid colors meet realistic portraits, with visible brushstrokes adding a painterly charm.
• Airbrush: Portraits stay fairly standard, but landscapes gain a smooth, blended finish typical of airbrush techniques.
• Ballpoint Pen: Expect sketch-like art in shades of blue or navy ink, mimicking the look of pen doodles.
• Batik: An Indonesian cloth-dyeing method that brings subtle textile textures to landscapes.
• Black Paper: Striking white artwork pops against a bold black background.
• Bone Carving: A step beyond wood, evoking intricate, etched designs with a primal edge.
• Carving: Images that appear chiseled from wood, full of rustic detail.
• Chalk: Powdery, soft-textured art that feels drawn on a chalkboard.
• Charcoal Drawing: Smudgy, high-contrast black-and-white visuals crafted from crumbly carbon.
• Colored Pencil: A gentle, precise style with soft hues and controlled lines.
• Detailed Painting: Brighter-than-usual colors in a vivid, brushstroke-heavy aesthetic.
• Drone Photography: Captures sweeping, bird’s-eye perspectives of sprawling scenes.
• Gold Leaf: Thin, hammered gold sheets adorn landscapes, lending a luxurious shimmer.
• Gouache: Like watercolor but opaque, offering bold, flat colors with a matte finish.
• Impasto Oil Painting: Thick, textured layers of oil paint create a tactile, standout effect.
• Ink Illustration: Sharp black-and-white contrast defines this striking medium.
• Linocut: A printmaking style where linoleum is carved, inked, and pressed, yielding bold, stamped designs.
• Markers: Vibrant colors and a playful, cartoonish vibe dominate this style.
• Mixed Media: Combines multiple materials, resulting in richly textured, eclectic artwork.
• Oil on Canvas: A realistic look with softer, muted tones reminiscent of classic oil paintings.
• Pen and Ink: Builds on ink illustration with varied shading and dynamic strokes.
• Pencil Sketch: Delicate, monochromatic lines create a tender black-and-white sketch.
• Pointillism: Tiny dots form the image, blending into a detailed, textured whole.
• Quilted: Landscapes shine with a stitched effect, while characters blend quilting with painted elements.
• Sculpture: Landscapes feel abstract, but characters take on a chiseled, three-dimensional form.
• Sewn: Doll-like characters pair with landscapes rich in stitched textures.
• Spray Paint: Bold, drippy colors bring an urban, graffiti-inspired energy.
• Stained Glass: Vibrant, mosaic-like designs reminiscent of colorful church windows.
• Stencil: Silhouette-style images with a reproducible feel, spiced up with splattered details on characters.
• Tapestry: Portraits gain woven, tactile textures for a unique, fabric-like finish.
• Ukiyo-E: Traditional Japanese art from the 17th to 19th centuries, steeped in historical elegance.
• Vector Art: Clean, digital designs built from geometric shapes and crisp lines.
• Watercolor: Light, splashy pastel tones create a fluid, dreamy artwork.

Lighting

• Backlighting: Places the main light source behind the subject, creating a glowing silhouette effect.
• Beautiful Lighting: Delivers unpredictable yet always lovely illumination, typically with a gentle, soft glow.
• Bioluminescence: Light produced by living organisms, interpreted by Midjourney as a striking blue radiance.
• Blue Hour: A cool, blue-toned ambiance cast when the sun dips just below the horizon.
• Cinematic Lighting: Designed to stir emotion, subtly brightening the subject against a dimmer backdrop.
• Crepuscular Rays: Sunbeams piercing through from a just-hidden sun, rendered as pale, generic rays—lighter than the “sunbeams” prompt.
• Dappled Light: A playful mix of light patches and shadows dancing across the scene.
• Dawn: Infuses skies with soft pinks and purples, offering gentler light than “dusk.”
• Dramatic Lighting: Bold contrasts between deep shadows and vivid highlights steal the show.
• Dusk: Casts a brighter glow than “dawn,” with a warm, fading intensity.
• Fluorescent: Pops with neon, electric hues that hum with energy.
• Golden Hour: Bathes scenes in rich, golden tones from the fleeting moments post-sunrise or pre-sunset.
• Lens Flare: Captures the dazzling streaks of bright light spilling into the frame.
• Midnight: Envelops everything in dark, mysterious light, often tinged with purples or blues.
• Moody Lighting: A dim, velvety glow that sets a contemplative tone.
• Overcast: Mutes the scene under a blanket of gray clouds hiding the sun.
• Rim Lighting: Highlights the subject’s edges with light positioned behind, framing them in a subtle halo.
• Shimmering Light: A delicate, golden shimmer that glimmers softly across the image.
• Sunbeams: Warm, yellowish rays that stand out brighter than “crepuscular rays.”
• Torchlit: Lit by the flicker of a torch or flame, with landscapes featuring a radiant sun-like glow.
• Twilight Hour: The tender light of pre-sunrise or post-sunset, blending day and night.