Crafting Effective Prompts — AI Art Sellers Masterclass

Summary

The video explains how to write detailed Midjourney prompts for creating art, especially prints intended for sale. The presenter combines Midjourney’s general prompting guidance with his experience creating more than 18,000 images.

Prompt-Writing Guidelines

A Midjourney prompt can specify:

• Subject: A person, animal, or object
• Medium: An oil painting, sketch, or photograph
• Environment: Indoors, underwater, or on the moon
• Lighting: Soft, ambient, or cinematic
• Color: Vibrant, muted, or black and white
• Mood: Calm, peaceful, or energetic
• Composition: A portrait, close-up, or bird’s-eye view

The presenter also recommends:

• Choose specific synonyms instead of vague words—for example, “gigantic” rather than “big.”
• Include numbers and quantities. “Three cats” is more predictable than “cats.”
• Describe what you want to see rather than what you don’t. For exclusions, Midjourney offers the advanced --no parameter.
• Experiment with composition and wording, since small changes can significantly affect the result.

Medium, Composition, and Style

The presenter suggests exploring different visual approaches:

• Mediums: Oil painting, sketch, vintage print or lithograph, and watercolor
• Compositions: Portraits and close-ups, as well as the rule of thirds and golden ratio
• Guiding the viewer’s eye: Describe how elements such as brushstrokes lead the viewer through a scene to influence the composition.
• Styles: Impressionist, minimalist, broad brushstrokes, and still life

Impressionism can give realistic scenes a painted look, while minimalism can reduce visual clutter. Still-life compositions can frame objects such as fruit, flowers, or books.

The presenter recommends Mid Library as a resource for exploring styles and viewing examples of how Midjourney interprets them.

Using Artists as Style References

Adding an artist’s name to a prompt can further shape an image. The presenter demonstrates this with an oil-painting prompt about an oak tree in an autumn landscape, comparing results with and without an artist reference. He recommends trying different artists or rotating names to find a preferred look.

The video also mentions two custom GPTs created by the presenter: one generates prompts based on Midjourney’s guidelines, and the other also cycles through artist references.

Creators and Contributors Featured

• Alec Phelps — Presenter
• Claude Monet — Referenced as a style example
• Pablo Picasso — Suggested as an artist to try
• Vincent van Gogh — Suggested as an artist to try
• Midjourney — Image-generation tool discussed