Image Prompt Cheatsheet
Quick-reference prompt templates for AI image generation, covering structure, style, and iteration.
Introduction
This cheatsheet gives you ready-to-use prompt templates for AI image generation. Each entry shows the pattern, an example prompt, and the expected outcome. Use it alongside the full guide: Prompt Engineering for Images .
Photography style prompts
| Pattern | Example prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait | A portrait of a young woman, natural light, shallow depth of field, 85mm lens, photorealistic. | Produces a lifelike portrait with blurred background. |
| Landscape | A mountain valley at sunrise, wide-angle view, glowing sky, photorealistic. | Creates a dramatic landscape photograph. |
| Aerial | Aerial drone shot of a coastal city at night, glowing neon lights. | Generates a top-down nightscape with neon highlights. |
| Macro | Close-up photo of a honeybee on a flower, detailed macro lens, natural lighting. | Generates a hyper-detailed macro photo. |
Illustration style prompts
| Pattern | Example prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Flat vector | Flat vector illustration of a laptop on a desk, pastel palette, minimal style. | Produces a simple flat vector drawing. |
| Watercolor | Fantasy forest scene, watercolor painting, soft warm tones, detailed brushstrokes. | Creates an artistic watercolor look. |
| Cartoon | A playful cartoon of a robot cooking breakfast, bold outlines, bright colors. | Produces a stylized cartoon illustration. |
| Ink drawing | A samurai standing under cherry blossoms, black and white ink sketch. | Generates a monochrome ink-drawing effect. |
Concept art prompts
| Pattern | Example prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk | Futuristic cyberpunk street, neon signs, rainy reflections, cinematic wide shot. | Generates concept art in a cyberpunk setting. |
| Alien world | Alien desert landscape, surreal colors, twin suns on horizon, highly detailed. | Produces an otherworldly sci-fi environment. |
| Fantasy | A medieval castle floating in the sky, epic fantasy concept art, dramatic lighting. | Creates fantasy-style key art. |
| Steampunk | Steampunk-inspired airship flying above a Victorian city, concept art, detailed textures. | Generates detailed steampunk scene. |
UI and design prompts
| Pattern | Example prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| App mockup | Mobile app dashboard mockup, clean and modern design, light theme, vector style. | Produces a stylized app UI draft. |
| Web layout | Minimalist landing page design, responsive grid, hero section with headline and CTA. | Generates a wireframe-like webpage draft. |
| Icon design | A set of flat vector icons for weather: sun, cloud, rain, storm. | Creates a consistent icon set. |
| Infographic | Infographic showing the water cycle, flat design, labeled arrows, clean layout. | Produces a clear infographic-style image. |
Negative prompting
| Pattern | Example prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Remove text | A medieval castle, oil painting style, no text, no watermark. | Generates a clean image without overlay text. |
| Remove distortion | A realistic photo of a sports car, cinematic lighting, no distortion, no extra wheels. | Produces a corrected car image without warped shapes. |
| Remove people | A city street at dusk, cinematic, no people, empty roads. | Creates a depopulated cityscape. |
Iteration examples
| Step | Prompt | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A forest at sunrise | Very generic forest scene |
| 2 | A misty forest at sunrise, golden light, birds in the distance | Adds mood and detail |
| 3 | Misty forest at sunrise, golden light, cinematic photography style, 35mm lens | Highly stylized, photorealistic shot |
Best practices
- Be specific but avoid overstuffed prompts
- Use style cues (painting, vector, photo)
- Control composition with camera terms (close-up, aerial, wide shot)
- Always use negative prompts for cleaner results
- Iterate and refine with small adjustments