Gen AI: A Practical Workflow for Better Image Creation — LiliDi Blog
Unlock the potential of generative AI for image creation with a step-by-step practical workflow. Learn to craft effective prompts and refine your results.
By lilidi editorial
Gen AI: A Practical Workflow for Better Image Creation Generative AI has swept across creative industries, promising to revolutionize how we approach visual content. But beyond the hype, many struggle to translate its potential into consistently high quality, usable images. This isn't about magic; it's about method. This article cuts through the noise to provide a concrete, step by step workflow for leveraging generative AI to create better images, faster. We'll focus on practical execution, specific prompting techniques, and iterative refinement to help you move from vague ideas to precise visual outcomes. Step 1: Define Your Objective with Clarity Before you type a single word into an AI image generator, thoroughly understand what you're trying to achieve. Vague objectives lead to vague results. Think about the purpose of the image, the desired mood, and its target audience. This
initial clarity will save you significant time in subsequent steps. What to Consider: Purpose: Is this for a website banner, a social media post, a book cover, or concept art? The application dictates many stylistic and compositional choices. Mood/Emotion: Happy, somber, futuristic, vintage, energetic, serene? Be specific. Key Elements: What absolute necessities must be in the image? Identify characters, objects, environments, and actions. Style/Aesthetics: Photorealistic, painterly, cartoonish, minimalist, sci fi? Reference specific styles or artists if possible. Composition: Is it a close up, wide shot, portrait, landscape? What is the main focal point? Example: Instead of "cool sci fi image," think: "A futuristic city at sunset, viewed from a high vantage point, with flying vehicles in the foreground, evoking a sense of wonder and advanced technology, in the style of Syd Mead." Step
2: Crafting Your Initial Prompt – The Foundation Your prompt is the instruction set for the AI. Think of it as explaining your vision to a very literal but incredibly skilled artist. Good prompts are descriptive, comprehensive, and structured. Break down your objective into actionable components. Essential Prompt Components: 1. Subject/Main Element: What is the primary focus? Example: "a lone wolf," "a majestic castle," "a astronaut on Mars." 2. Environment/Setting: Where is the subject? Example: "standing on a snowy mountain peak," "nestled in a enchanted forest," "exploring a red desert." 3. Action/Interaction (if any): What is happening? Example: "howling at the moon," "with smoke rising from its turrets," "collecting rock samples." 4. Lighting/Time of Day: Adds mood and realism. Example: "under a full moon with dappled light," "golden hour sunlight," "overcast and stormy." 5. Art
Style/Medium: Guides the aesthetic. Example: "oil painting by Rembrandt," "digital art, highly detailed," "ink and watercolor sketch," "cinematic photograph." 6. Artistic Qualities/Modifiers: Adjectives and adverbs to refine the look. Example: "epic, dramatic, vibrant, hyperrealistic, sharp focus, volumetric light, highly detailed, octane render." Combined Example Prompt: "A lone wolf howling at the moon, standing on a snowy mountain peak under a full moon with dappled light, hyperrealistic digital art, sharp focus, volumetric light, epic, dramatic, 8k." Step 3: Generating and Initial Review Use your carefully constructed prompt in your chosen generative AI platform. Platforms like lilidi.ai offer various models and parameters. For your first attempt, stick to the main prompt and default settings unless you have specific reasons otherwise. Generate a few variations. What to Look For in
the First Batch: Overall Coherence: Does it generally match your intent? Key Elements Present: Are the essential subjects, environments, and actions discernible? Major Flaws: Are there obvious anatomical errors, strange artifacts, or complete misinterpretations? Don't expect perfection. This initial generation is about gauging how well the AI understood your core prompt and identifying areas for improvement. Step 4: Iterative Refinement – Prompt Engineering and Parameter Adjustment This is where the real work happens. Based on your initial review, you'll refine your prompt or adjust generation parameters. This iterative process is crucial for moving from good to great. Strategies for Refinement: Adding Details: If something is missing, explicitly add it to the prompt. Initial: "A forest road." Refined: "A winding forest road, sun dappled, with ancient oak trees lining the path, a faint
mist rising from the ground." Removing/Adjusting Undesired Elements: If the AI is consistently including something you don't want, use negative prompts (if available) or rephrase. Many platforms, including lilidi.ai, allow negative prompts. Prompt for cars: "City street." Negative Prompt (if cars appear too often): "no cars, empty street." Reordering for Emphasis: Elements at the beginning of a prompt often have more weight. Experiment with moving crucial descriptors to the front. Before: "A vibrant garden, with a stone path leading to a small gazebo." After: "A stone path leading to a small gazebo, within a vibrant garden." Adjusting Artistic Modifiers: Experiment with different art styles, lighting conditions, or quality descriptors. Instead of "photorealistic": Try "cinematic photograph, hyperdetailed, professional studio lighting." Parameter Tuning: Most AI generators offer
parameters like cfg scale (guidance scale), steps (iteration steps), or seed (for reproducibility). Understanding and adjusting these can significantly impact your output. CFG Scale: Higher values make the AI adhere more strictly to the prompt but can reduce creativity; lower values allow more interpretation. Steps: More steps generally lead to higher detail and coherence, but diminishing returns apply after a certain point (often 30 50 steps). Using Image to Image (Img2Img): If you have a base image (e.g., a sketch, a reference photo) that's close to your vision, Img2Img can guide the AI to generate variations based on its structure and content while applying your prompt's style and details. This is incredibly powerful for maintaining consistency. The Importance of Reproducibility (Seeds): When you get a result that's close but not quite right, note the seed number (if your platform
provides it). Using the same seed with slightly adjusted prompts or parameters allows you to make minor changes to a specific image's generation process, preventing the AI from starting from scratch each time. Step 5: Post Processing and Integration Even the best AI generated images often benefit from a final touch in traditional editing software. Think of the AI as your incredibly fast and versatile concept artist; you're still the art director and finisher. Common Post Processing Tasks: Minor Retouching: Fixing subtle anatomical errors, removing small artifacts, or cloning out unwanted elements. Color Correction/Grading: Adjusting hue, saturation, and luminance to match your project's aesthetic. Cropping and Resizing: Optimizing the image for its final use case. Sharpening/Noise Reduction: Enhancing detail or cleaning up imperfections. Adding Text/Graphics: Integrating the image into a
larger design with typographic elements. This final step ensures that the AI generated image seamlessly integrates into your project and meets professional quality standards. Conclusion: The AI as Your Creative Partner Mastering generative AI for image creation isn't about finding one magical prompt; it's about developing a systematic workflow. By clearly defining your objective, crafting structured prompts, iterating thoughtfully, and applying judicious post processing, you transform the AI from a unpredictable novelty into a reliable creative partner. Platforms like lilidi.ai provide the tools; your method provides the mastery. Embrace this process, and you'll find yourself consistently generating visuals that truly resonate with your vision. FAQ Q: How many words should be in a good AI image prompt? A: There's no strict word count. A good prompt prioritizes clarity and specificity
over length. Focus on descriptive nouns, strong verbs, and evocative adjectives. Sometimes, a short, highly descriptive prompt works compared to a long, rambling one, but generally, 10 30 words can effectively convey complex ideas. Q: What's the most common mistake people make with generative AI for images? A: The most common mistake is underspecifying the prompt or giving up after the first few unsatisfactory results. Many users treat AI as a mind reader rather than a literal engine that requires clear instructions and iterative guidance. Patience and systematic refinement are key. Q: Can generative AI truly replace human artists? A: Generative AI is a powerful tool that augments human creativity, not entirely replaces it. It excels at generating variations, exploring concepts, and producing base imagery quickly. However, human artists still bring a core understanding of narrative,
emotion, nuanced design principles, and intentionality that AI currently lacks. The most effective use is often a collaboration between human vision and AI execution.