Write a better prompt
The description field decides what you get. Here is how to write one that produces the picture you actually had in mind.
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Why this matters more than anything else
Every credit you spend goes through that text field. Two minutes spent improving the description will save you three rerolls, which is three credits, which is most of a day’s allowance. This is the highest-value skill in the app.
The four things worth naming
Subject. What is actually in the picture, concretely. Not “an animal” — “a small round hedgehog wearing a blue scarf”.
Setting. Where it is and what time it is. “In a snowy pine forest at dusk.”
Style. What kind of picture. “Soft watercolour children’s picture book illustration.” “Bold flat colour with thick outlines.” “Coloured pencil on textured paper.” Style words do more work than any others.
Mood and light. “Warm golden afternoon light.” “Cool blue moonlight.” “Cosy and calm.” This is what separates a picture from an illustration.
A worked example
First attempt: a dragon
Add the subject detail: a small friendly green dragon with tiny wings and a round belly
Add the setting: a small friendly green dragon with tiny wings and a round belly, sitting on a rock beside a mountain lake
Add the style: ...children's picture book illustration, soft watercolour, visible paper texture
Add mood and light: ...early morning light, mist on the water, calm and gentle
That last version will give you something usable on the first try.
Keeping the original drawing’s character
When you are working from a child’s sketch, the keep these details box is where you protect what they care about:
- “The dragon is purple, not green”
- “Keep the three eyes”
- “The chimney must be crooked”
- “Six legs exactly”
Children notice these instantly. Getting them right is the difference between “that’s my dragon!” and “that’s not mine.”
Things that do not help
- Very long prompts. After about sixty words you get diminishing returns and contradictions.
- Negatives. “No cars, no people, not scary” works less reliably than describing what you do want.
- Quality adjectives. “Beautiful, amazing, 8K, masterpiece” adds noise. Style words work; praise words don’t.
- Naming living artists. Describe the technique instead — “loose ink lines with watercolour washes” rather than a person’s name.
Reuse what works
When a description gives you something good, keep it. Paste it into the next page’s field and change only the subject. Consistency across a book comes from reusing the style half of the prompt, not from hoping.