From Idea to Image
How to Write Better AI Image Prompts
Learn how to turn visual ideas into clear, structured prompts using a repeatable process for subject, composition, lighting, atmosphere, style, continuity, and refinement.
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Curriculum7 modules · a final project · 38 lessons
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Module 1Thinking VisuallyPrompting is visual communication. Before you write anything, work out what you can actually see.4 lessons32 min
- 1.1 What a Prompt Is Actually DoingA prompt is a brief, not a wish. Understand what an image tool can and cannot infer from your words.9 min
- 1.2 From Concept to Visible DetailTranslate abstract ideas — grief, luxury, safety, menace — into things a viewer could point at.8 min
- 1.3 Mood Is Not a DescriptionWhy atmosphere words belong at the end of a prompt, and what to write before you reach for them.7 min
- 1.4 Deciding What Matters MostEvery prompt has a hierarchy. Learn to name the one element that must survive contact with the model.8 min
Module 2Building the SubjectDescribe a person or creature clearly enough that they arrive recognisably — and the same way twice.5 lessons41 min
- 2.1 Naming the SubjectStart with a clear noun. Why “a person” and “a stocky man in his fifties” behave completely differently.7 min
- 2.2 Describing AppearanceBuild, age, hair, skin and face — an order that keeps descriptions consistent and readable.10 min
- 2.3 Clothing and SilhouetteGarments, layers, fit and wear — and why silhouette matters more than fabric detail.8 min
- 2.4 Expression and Body LanguageGetting a feeling onto a face without naming the emotion, and letting the body carry the rest.9 min
- 2.5 Identifying DetailsThe two or three specifics that make a character theirs, and how many is too many.7 min
Module 3Composition, Pose & CameraDecide where the viewer stands, what the subject is doing, and how the frame is cut.6 lessons55 min
- 3.1 Framing the SceneWhat the frame includes, what it cuts, and how orientation changes the story of a shot.8 min
- 3.2 Camera DistanceFrom extreme close-up to establishing wide — the single most reliable control you have over a composition.11 min
- 3.3 Camera AnglesLow, high, eye level, over-the-shoulder and overhead — and what each one implies about the subject.9 min
- 3.4 Posing Your SubjectDescribing a pose in terms of weight, limbs and direction rather than a single adjective.10 min
- 3.5 Movement and ActionFreezing a moment mid-action, and why the middle of a movement is harder than the start or the end.9 min
- 3.6 Putting It TogetherAssembling distance, angle, placement and pose into a single readable composition block.8 min
Module 4Lighting, Colour & AtmosphereLight does most of the emotional work in an image. Learn to place it deliberately instead of hoping for it.5 lessons42 min
- 4.1 Where the Light Comes FromFront, side, back and above — naming a direction is the fastest way to change how a face reads.9 min
- 4.2 Hard Light, Soft LightShadow edges tell the viewer what kind of day it is. Learn to specify quality, not just brightness.8 min
- 4.3 Time of DayDawn, midday, golden hour, blue hour and night — each one carries a colour temperature and an angle for free.8 min
- 4.4 Colour and TemperatureBuilding a restrained palette, and using one warm accent against a cool field.9 min
- 4.5 Atmosphere and Emotional ToneHaze, rain, dust and distance — the environmental details that put air between the viewer and the subject.8 min
Module 5Style & RenderingDescribe how an image is made — medium, finish, texture and detail — instead of borrowing someone's name.5 lessons43 min
- 5.1 Choosing a MediumPhotograph, oil painting, ink drawing, 3D render — the first style decision, and the one that changes everything else.8 min
- 5.2 Realism as a DialPhotoreal, stylised, graphic, abstract — and why the middle of that range is the hardest to hold.9 min
- 5.3 Rendering and TextureVisible brushwork, clean vector edges, film grain, paper tooth — the surface of the image itself.9 min
- 5.4 Detail LevelWhy “highly detailed” is nearly meaningless, and what to say instead.7 min
- 5.5 Describing an Aesthetic Without Borrowing a NameBreak a look you admire into the four or five decisions that actually produce it.10 min
Module 6Reference Images & Character ContinuityKeep a character recognisably themselves across many images, with or without a reference.5 lessons46 min
- 6.1 What a Reference Image Actually DoesReferences influence; they do not instruct. Understanding the difference saves a lot of frustration.8 min
- 6.2 Reference HierarchyWhen several inputs disagree — face reference, style reference, and your text — which one should lead.9 min
- 6.3 A Character Sheet in WordsBuild a reusable written description you paste unchanged into every prompt featuring that character.11 min
- 6.4 Faces, Hair and ProportionThe three features that drift first, and the phrasing that holds them steady for longest.10 min
- 6.5 What Must Stay the SameWriting an explicit continuity clause, and keeping it short enough to survive.8 min
Module 7Troubleshooting Your PromptDiagnose why a result missed, and repair the prompt instead of starting again from nothing.6 lessons53 min
- 7.1 Reading a ResultBefore changing anything, learn to describe precisely how the image differs from what you pictured.10 min
- 7.2 When a Prompt Is Too VagueThe symptoms of under-description, and the three fields that fix it most of the time.8 min
- 7.3 Too Much, and ContradictorySpotting clauses that quietly fight each other, and deciding which one to keep.9 min
- 7.4 When the Pose or Composition Will Not HoldDifficult poses, hands, crowds and overlapping subjects — what to simplify first.9 min
- 7.5 Character DriftWhy a character changes between images, and the smallest change that brings them back.9 min
- 7.6 Refining Instead of AddingA short editing pass that improves prompts by removal, and how to know when to stop.8 min
Final projectBuild Your Complete PromptProjectTake one idea of your own through the whole framework, from first sentence to finished brief.2 lessons30 min
Prompt Builder
The guided workspace that assembles your answers into a readable prompt. Useful from lesson one, not only at the end.
Course resources
7 downloads come with this course — worksheets, templates and cheat sheets you can keep using afterwards.