Course access
Prompt Planning Worksheet
A guided worksheet for turning an idea into a structured visual brief, one section at a time.
PDF · ~420 KB
Available nowBeginner friendly
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.
- Beginner friendly
- Self-paced
- Practical exercises
- Interactive Prompt Builder
- Downloadable resources
- Modules
- 7
- Lessons
- 38
- Downloads
- 7
What you'll learn
By the end, you should be able to…
- Turn vague image ideas into structured prompts
- Describe characters clearly and consistently
- Control pose, camera, and composition more deliberately
- Use lighting, colour, and atmosphere effectively
- Describe visual styles more intentionally
- Improve character continuity when using reference images
- Recognise common reasons a prompt may not produce the intended result
- Refine weak prompts rather than simply starting over
- Build a complete image prompt using a repeatable framework
What this course will not do is promise you perfect images. Generation tools are unpredictable by nature. What you get is a repeatable way to describe what you want and to work out what went wrong when a result misses.
What's included
Everything that comes with the course
38 short lessons across 7 modules
Each one focused enough to finish in a sitting, with examples you can copy and adapt.
The interactive Prompt Builder
A guided workspace that assembles your answers into a readable prompt, with unlimited saved drafts.
Seven downloadable resources
Worksheets, templates and cheat sheets that stay useful long after the course is finished.
Knowledge checks and practical exercises
Short, low-pressure reinforcement — never graded, never a test.
A final project
One idea of your own taken through the whole framework, start to finish.
Course curriculum
7 modules, a final project, 38 lessons
Expand any module to see what it covers.
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
Who this course is for
Made for people with a picture in their head
- Writers who want images of their characters and scenes
- Artists using AI tools alongside their own work
- Roleplayers and worldbuilders keeping a cast consistent
- Hobbyists who keep getting results that are nearly right
- Anyone who thinks visually and finds prompt writing frustrating
How the course works
No deadlines, no cohort, no pressure
- Work at your own pace
- Lessons are short by design. Do one a day or six in an evening — your progress is saved either way, and you can leave and return where you stopped.
- Read, then try
- Every module ends with something to make. The exercises are quick and the point is experimentation, not perfection.
- Bring your own tool
- The course teaches descriptive language rather than platform-specific syntax, so it applies to whichever image tool you already use.
- Keep what you make
- Downloads and saved prompt drafts remain yours, and the Prompt Builder stays available after you finish.
Resources
Things you keep afterwards
Every download is yours to reuse once you have course access.
- Course access
Character Continuity Template
A reusable template for keeping character details consistent — a fixed block you paste unchanged, and a variable block you rewrite per image.
TXT · ~12 KB
- Course access
Composition Cheat Sheet
Common camera distances, angles, framing, and perspective language, with a short note on when each one earns its place.
PDF · ~280 KB
- Course access
Lighting & Mood Guide
Useful descriptive terms for lighting direction, quality, time of day, atmosphere and emotional tone.
PDF · ~340 KB
- Course access
Visual Vocabulary Guide
Words and phrases for describing visual qualities more precisely — texture, edge, finish, palette and detail placement.
PDF · ~360 KB
- Course access
Final Prompt Checklist
A quick checklist to run through before you generate: subject, framing, light, style, and anything contradicting itself.
PDF · ~180 KB
- In production
From Idea to Image Workbook
The companion workbook for the complete course, with every exercise in one place and room to write.
PDF · ~1.8 MB
Course FAQ
Reasonable questions
Do I need previous experience with AI image tools?
No. If you have generated a handful of images and been frustrated by the results, you are in exactly the right place. If you have never generated one, the course still works — you will just want a tool open alongside it.
Which image generator does this course use?
None specifically. The course teaches descriptive visual language rather than the syntax of a particular platform, so it transfers across tools and keeps working as they change.
Will this guarantee better images?
No, and nothing honestly could. Image tools are unpredictable by nature. What the course gives you is a repeatable way to describe what you want and to diagnose what went wrong — which is what makes the unpredictability workable.
How long does it take?
Around five to six hours of reading and exercises if you go straight through. Most people spread it across a couple of weeks.
Can I keep using the Prompt Builder afterwards?
Yes. It stays available with your saved drafts, and it is designed to be useful long after the lessons are finished.
More questions are answered on the main FAQ page.
Course access
Yours to come back to.
Once you have access to this course, it stays on your account. Work through it in any order, at whatever pace suits you, and return to the Prompt Builder and downloads whenever you need them.
Cloverlight Studio is currently a prototype: progress and saved prompts are stored in your own browser rather than on a server, and final access terms will be confirmed here before enrolment opens properly.