5 Prompt Engineering Principles Every AI Artist Should Know

Whether you're using Midjourney, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion, or any other AI image generator, these five principles will dramatically improve your results.

Principle 1: Be Specific, Not Vague

The most common mistake beginners make is being too vague. AI models work best when you give them clear, specific instructions.

Bad vs Good Examples

Vague prompt:

a beautiful landscape

Specific prompt:

a misty mountain valley at sunrise, pine forests in the foreground, snow-capped peaks in the distance, golden hour lighting, atmospheric perspective

The specific prompt tells the AI exactly what elements to include, what time of day, what mood, and what visual techniques to apply.

Principle 2: Establish Visual Hierarchy

Think about what's most important in your image and structure your prompt accordingly. Most AI models give more weight to words at the beginning of the prompt.

The Priority Structure

1. Main subject - Always first

2. Action or pose - What they're doing

3. Environment - Where they are

4. Style and mood - How it should feel

5. Technical details - Camera, lighting, quality

Remember: The AI reads your prompt like a story. Lead with your hero.

Principle 3: Use Reference Points

AI models have been trained on millions of images, including famous artworks, photography styles, and film aesthetics. Use this to your advantage.

Effective References

• **Artists:** "in the style of Studio Ghibli"
• **Photographers:** "Annie Leibovitz portrait lighting"
• **Films:** "cinematography like Blade Runner 2049"
• **Genres:** "baroque oil painting", "90s anime aesthetic"
• **Mediums:** "watercolor illustration", "35mm film photography"

Combining References

You can blend multiple references for unique results:

Portrait of a cyberpunk samurai, Studio Ghibli character design meets Blade Runner aesthetics, rendered in the style of Ilya Kuvshinov

Principle 4: Control the Mood

Mood words are incredibly powerful but often overlooked. They can transform an ordinary image into something emotionally resonant.

Mood Categories

Positive Moods:

• Joyful, whimsical, serene, peaceful, hopeful, vibrant

Dramatic Moods:

• Epic, intense, powerful, majestic, awe-inspiring

Dark Moods:

• Mysterious, ominous, melancholic, haunting, eerie

Atmospheric:

• Dreamy, ethereal, nostalgic, intimate, cozy

Combining Moods

Don't be afraid to layer moods for complexity:

A haunted Victorian mansion, mysteriously beautiful, melancholic yet oddly inviting, autumn twilight

Principle 5: Iterate and Refine

The best prompts rarely come on the first try. Professional AI artists iterate constantly.

The Iteration Process

1. Start broad - Get the basic concept right

2. Identify issues - What's missing or wrong?

3. Adjust specifically - Make targeted changes

4. Add refinements - Polish details and quality

5. Document wins - Save prompts that work well

Building a Prompt Library

Keep a collection of:

• Style descriptions that work well
• Quality keywords for your preferred model
• Subject descriptions you use frequently
• Successful complete prompts for reference

Putting It All Together

Let's build a prompt using all five principles:

Goal: A fantasy book cover featuring a dragon and knight

Applying the principles:

1. Specific: Red dragon breathing fire, armored knight with glowing sword

2. Hierarchy: Knight vs dragon first, then the dramatic cliff setting

3. References: Fantasy art style, inspired by Magic: The Gathering

4. Mood: Epic battle, dramatic, intense, heroic

5. Iterate: This might be version 3 after refining

Final prompt:

An armored knight wielding a glowing blue sword faces off against a massive red dragon breathing fire, standing on a cliff edge overlooking a dark kingdom, epic fantasy art style inspired by Magic: The Gathering, dramatic battle scene, intense and heroic mood, cinematic composition, detailed rendering

Your Next Step

Theory only gets you so far - now it's time to practice. Pick one principle and focus on it for your next 10 prompts. You'll be amazed at the improvement.

Need help applying these principles? Use our Analyzer tool to get AI feedback on your prompts, or try the Generate tool for instant prompt creation.