Prompt Engineering Guide

Introduction

Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting text descriptions that produce the AI-generated images you envision. This guide teaches you proven techniques to get consistent, high-quality results from Percify’s Avatar Studio.

The Anatomy of a Great Prompt

A well-structured prompt typically includes:

[Subject] + [Style/Medium] + [Details] + [Setting] + [Lighting] + [Quality Modifiers]

Example Breakdown

Prompt: “Elegant elven sorceress, fantasy art style, flowing purple robes with gold trim, mystical forest setting, soft glowing lights, highly detailed, 8k”

Subject: Elegant elven sorceress
Style: Fantasy art style
Details: Flowing purple robes with gold trim
Setting: Mystical forest setting
Lighting: Soft glowing lights
Quality: Highly detailed, 8k

Essential Prompt Components

1. Subject (Required)

The main focus of your image. Be specific about:

Character Type
Physical Features
Expression & Pose

Profession: warrior, mage, scientist, artist
Species: human, elf, robot, alien
Age: young, middle-aged, elderly
Gender: male, female, androgynous

2. Art Style

Choose an aesthetic that matches your vision:

Realistic

photorealistic, hyperrealistic, photo, portrait photography, studio photo

Digital Art

digital art, digital painting, concept art, artstation trending

Illustration

illustration, hand-drawn, sketch, watercolor, oil painting

3D Render

3D render, Unreal Engine, Octane render, CGI, Pixar style

Anime/Manga

anime style, manga, cel shaded, Studio Ghibli, anime portrait

Artistic Movements

Art Nouveau, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionist, Cyberpunk

3. Visual Details

Add specifics to guide the AI:

✅ Good: "wearing futuristic armor with glowing blue accents"
❌ Vague: "wearing armor"

✅ Good: "long flowing silver hair with braids"
❌ Vague: "long hair"

✅ Good: "intricate golden crown with ruby gems"
❌ Vague: "crown"

4. Setting & Background

Context matters:

Urban Settings

cyberpunk city, neon lights, futuristic metropolis, urban alley, rooftop view, city street, skyscrapers

Nature Settings

mystical forest, mountain peak, ocean shore, desert landscape, jungle, meadow, waterfall

Interior Settings

royal throne room, laboratory, library, bedroom, workshop, spaceship interior, castle hall

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

floating islands, alien planet, magical dimension, space station, crystal cavern, ethereal realm

5. Lighting

Lighting dramatically affects mood:

Lighting Type	Description	Best For
Soft lighting	Gentle, diffused	Portraits, peaceful scenes
Dramatic lighting	High contrast, shadows	Action, mystery
Golden hour	Warm, sunset glow	Romantic, warm scenes
Rim lighting	Backlight outline	Epic, heroic
Neon lighting	Colorful, electric	Cyberpunk, modern
Moonlight	Cool, blue tones	Night, mystical
Studio lighting	Clean, professional	Headshots, professional

6. Quality Modifiers

Boost output quality:

highly detailed, 8k, professional, masterpiece, sharp focus,
intricate details, best quality, award winning, trending on artstation

Advanced Techniques

Weighting & Emphasis

Emphasize important parts:

// Mintlify supports emphasis syntax
"(glowing eyes:1.3) mystical sorceress"  // Strong emphasis on glowing eyes
"warrior with [leather armor]"           // De-emphasize armor

Negative Prompts

Exclude unwanted elements:

blurry, low quality, distorted, deformed, ugly, bad anatomy,
extra limbs, mutated hands, poorly drawn face, out of frame,
watermark, text, logo, signature

# For faces
asymmetric eyes, distorted face, extra fingers, missing fingers

# For bodies
extra arms, extra legs, bad proportions, disconnected limbs

# For overall quality
pixelated, jpeg artifacts, grainy, noisy, compression artifacts

Style Mixing

Combine multiple art styles:

"cyberpunk samurai, blend of traditional Japanese art and futuristic neon aesthetic"

"Victorian era portrait in the style of modern digital art"

"anime character with photorealistic rendering"

Prompt Templates

Professional Headshots

professional headshot of [description], business attire, 
confident expression, neutral background, studio lighting, 
corporate photography, LinkedIn profile photo, sharp focus, 
high quality, professional photographer

Example:

professional headshot of middle-aged woman with short brown hair,
business attire, confident smile, neutral gray background,
studio lighting, corporate photography, sharp focus

Fantasy Characters

[character type] [race/species], fantasy art style, 
[detailed appearance], [clothing/armor description],
[setting], magical atmosphere, [lighting], highly detailed,
concept art, trending on artstation

Example:

powerful elven mage, fantasy art style, long silver hair,
ethereal blue eyes, flowing robes with arcane symbols,
ancient library filled with glowing books, magical atmosphere,
soft mystical lighting, highly detailed, concept art

Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi

[character type], cyberpunk style, [tech features],
neon lights, [city description], futuristic, [lighting],
blade runner aesthetic, high tech, detailed, 4k

Example:

female hacker, cyberpunk style, augmented reality glasses,
neon purple and blue lighting, rainy city street with holographic ads,
futuristic, blade runner aesthetic, highly detailed

Cartoon/Stylized

[character description], [cartoon style], colorful, 
friendly expression, [setting], vibrant colors, 
professional character design, clean lines

Example:

cheerful robot mascot, Pixar animation style, colorful,
big friendly eyes, tech workshop setting, vibrant blues and oranges,
professional character design, clean lines

Model-Specific Tips

Flux (2 credits - Fast)

Works best with: Clear, straightforward prompts
Optimal length: 20-50 words
Strengths: Speed, consistency, general portraits
Best for: Testing ideas, iterations, simple concepts

Example:

portrait of young woman, professional photo, natural lighting, smile

Imagen3 (5 credits - Premium)

Works best with: Detailed, descriptive prompts
Optimal length: 30-80 words
Strengths: Photorealism, complex scenes, fine details
Best for: Final outputs, professional work, detailed characters

Example:

portrait of young woman with auburn hair and green eyes,
professional photography, natural window lighting creating soft shadows,
genuine smile, wearing elegant navy blazer, blurred office background,
shot with 85mm lens, shallow depth of field, professional headshot

Reality4 (5 credits - Ultra-Realistic)

Works best with: Highly specific, technical prompts
Optimal length: 40-100 words
Strengths: Photorealism, skin textures, lighting accuracy
Best for: Commercial work, ultra-realistic renders, product demos

Example:

ultra-realistic portrait of young woman with auburn hair in loose waves,
striking green eyes with natural eye reflections, fair skin with subtle freckles,
professional studio photography, softbox lighting with subtle rim light,
genuine confident smile showing natural teeth, wearing elegant navy blazer,
perfectly focused on eyes, shot with Canon 5D Mark IV, 85mm f/1.4 lens,
shallow depth of field, background softly blurred, professional retouching,
commercial photography quality

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Being Too Vague

❌ “a person” ✅ “young female scientist with glasses in a modern laboratory”

Overloading with Keywords

❌ “beautiful gorgeous stunning amazing incredible ultra mega super…” ✅ Pick 2-3 quality modifiers maximum

Conflicting Descriptions

❌ “photorealistic anime cartoon oil painting” ✅ Choose one primary style

Forgetting Negative Prompts

Always include basic quality excludes in negative prompt

Too Many Subjects

❌ “warrior, mage, dragon, castle, forest, and a robot” ✅ Focus on one or two main subjects

Perfect prompts come from iteration:

Start Simple

Begin with a basic prompt describing your core vision

Generate and Evaluate

See what the AI produces and note what’s missing or wrong

Add Details

Add specific details for elements that need improvement

Use Negative Prompts

Exclude unwanted elements that appeared

Refine Quality

Add quality modifiers and lighting details

Lock with Seeds

Use the same seed with prompt variations to compare results

Prompt Library

Save these proven prompts:

Corporate Professional

professional business portrait of [description], wearing formal attire,
confident posture, neutral gray background, studio lighting with soft shadows,
corporate photography style, shot with 85mm lens, sharp focus on face,
professional retouching, LinkedIn profile quality, 4k resolution

Fantasy Hero

epic portrait of [hero type], fantasy art, detailed armor with intricate engravings,
heroic pose, dramatic lighting with rim light, mystical background,
concept art style, trending on artstation, highly detailed, 8k,
cinematic composition, professional digital art

Friendly Character

friendly [character type], Pixar animation style, big expressive eyes,
warm smile, colorful and vibrant, simple background with soft gradient,
professional character design, clean vector style, appealing to all ages,
animation ready, high quality render

Mysterious Figure

mysterious [character type], dramatic portrait, face partially in shadow,
moody atmosphere, dark background with selective lighting, cinematic,
film noir style, high contrast, professional photography,
shallow depth of field, enigmatic expression

Testing Your Prompts

Use this checklist:

Resources

Avatar Studio

Try your prompts

Community Gallery

See prompts from other creators

Discord

Share and discuss prompts

API Reference

Programmatic generation

Ready to craft the perfect prompt? Open Avatar Studio and start creating!

Getting Started with Percify SDK & Integration Guide

​Introduction

​The Anatomy of a Great Prompt

​Example Breakdown

​Essential Prompt Components

​1. Subject (Required)

​2. Art Style

Realistic

Digital Art

Illustration

3D Render

Anime/Manga

Artistic Movements

​3. Visual Details

​4. Setting & Background

​5. Lighting

​6. Quality Modifiers

​Advanced Techniques

​Weighting & Emphasis

​Negative Prompts

​Style Mixing

​Prompt Templates

​Professional Headshots

​Fantasy Characters

​Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi

​Cartoon/Stylized

​Model-Specific Tips

​Flux (2 credits - Fast)

​Imagen3 (5 credits - Premium)

​Reality4 (5 credits - Ultra-Realistic)

​Common Mistakes to Avoid

​Iterative Refinement

​Prompt Library

​Corporate Professional

​Fantasy Hero

​Friendly Character

​Mysterious Figure

​Testing Your Prompts

​Resources

Avatar Studio

Community Gallery

Discord

API Reference

Introduction

The Anatomy of a Great Prompt

Example Breakdown

Essential Prompt Components

1. Subject (Required)

2. Art Style

3. Visual Details

4. Setting & Background

5. Lighting

6. Quality Modifiers

Advanced Techniques

Weighting & Emphasis

Negative Prompts

Style Mixing

Prompt Templates

Professional Headshots

Fantasy Characters

Cyberpunk/Sci-Fi

Cartoon/Stylized

Model-Specific Tips

Flux (2 credits - Fast)

Imagen3 (5 credits - Premium)

Reality4 (5 credits - Ultra-Realistic)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Iterative Refinement

Prompt Library

Corporate Professional

Fantasy Hero

Friendly Character

Mysterious Figure

Testing Your Prompts

Resources