In the world of generative AI, telling the model what to create is only half the job; the other half is telling it what not to create. This is the function of the negative prompt, a critical field that guides the AI by establishing boundaries.
Mastering this technique is essential for eliminating common artifacts, maintaining aesthetic control, and saving significant time on generating usable images.
Understanding how the negative prompt works
A negative prompt does not simply delete elements; it tells the diffusion model to steer away from the visual characteristics listed. This is a crucial concept, especially when working with photorealistic styles where the AI tends to generate common defects like distorted hands or blurred faces.
Code
// Typical Negative Prompt for Midjourney or Stable Diffusion
Ugly, deformed, blurry, low resolution, bad anatomy, watermarks, text, cartoon, 3d rendering, oversaturated
The list of exclusions acts like a filter, minimizing the probability of those concepts appearing in the final image. Without a negative prompt, the AI is more likely to include these undesired outcomes as it attempts to fill in details.
Three essential categories to include
To make your negative prompts effective, you should focus on three main areas of exclusion: defects, unwanted styles, and problematic colors.
- Technical Defects: These are universal issues like blurriness, artifacts, low resolution, or poor composition (bad anatomy). These terms are your first line of defense against poor technical quality.
- Unwanted Styles: If you are generating a photorealistic image, you must actively exclude non-photorealistic styles, such as
cartoon,anime,illustration, or3D render. - Color and Mood Control: Sometimes, you need to exclude specific colors that contaminate the palette, such as
oversaturated,monochrome, or unnatural colors.
The subtle power of excluding text and signatures
One of the most persistent issues in AI art is the generation of gibberish text or fake signatures. Adding the terms watermark, text, and signature to your exclusions will significantly clean up the edges of your image and make it look more professional.
Cita
"A beginner uses the positive prompt to guide; a professional uses the negative prompt to refine."
Advanced negative prompting techniques
For more creative control, you can use negative prompts to exclude entire themes or subjects that interfere with your scene. For example, if your prompt is an astronaut in a desert, you might negatively prompt water or trees to ensure the environment remains barren.
Avoiding common mistakes
A common mistake is using weak or ~~overly generic~~ terms. Stick to strong, visual descriptors. Also, remember that a negative prompt is not a substitute for a good positive prompt; the positive command must still be clear and detailed. You can find more targeted negative terms on AI Prompt Engineering Forums.
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