I’m struggling to word an AI art prompt under 75 characters for a project, and all my attempts either feel too vague or go over the character limit. Has anyone figured out the best way to condense a creative idea into a short, clear prompt that AI tools actually understand? I need advice or examples to help me get it right.
Short prompts are basically the name of the game with AI art models lately, and yeah, squeezing big creative ideas into tiny phrases is, um, a pain. If you want to hit that under-75 character mark, try this: focus just on the subject, a key detail, and the vibe. Nouns, adjectives, an action maybe—skip all the extra stuff like camera settings unless it really matters. For example: “Surreal neon cityscape at dusk, rain-slick streets” is under 50, sets a mood, and is easy for most models to work with. If it’s feeling vague, think about the strongest noun in your idea and pair it with the weirdest adjective or verb—makes it stand out more. Like, “Cozy cat astronaut floating, pastel cosmos.” That’s it. Subject, modifier, mood. Play with word order until it doesn’t sound weird, and ax anything that reads like fluff! Sometimes saying less really does get you crazier results from the AI.
Honestly, the whole “under 75 chars” thing feels like trying to pack for a two-week vacation in a lunchbox! I get what @waldgeist is saying about stripping it down to nouns/adjectives/vibes—and yeah, sometimes less is actually more with AI models—but I’ve noticed if you go TOO minimal, the AI just spits out something ultra-generic or, worse, defaults to whatever cliche it thinks matches “pretty dog sunlight” or whatever. My trick: hyperfocus on the UNIQUE element of your idea. Like, what’s the surprise or twist that makes your vision different from 5000 other prompts? I’ll often squash two image ideas together with a weird connector (“gothic sushi chef, oilpainting”), or just use a slightly odd verb or noun, so the AI’s like, “ohhhh, I get it, this is something new.”
Another tip: get brutal with synonyms. There’s always a shorter, punchier way to say what you want if you dig through a thesaurus—swap out “walking through” for “strolling,” or “filled with” for “brimming.” And honestly? Sometimes I cheat and use emojis—you get a whole concept for one character. Not every model supports ‘em, but it’s honestly the best character savings hack nobody talks about.
Also, don’t be afraid to hit up the random prompt generators or look at short descriptions on stock photo sites for inspo—they’re the MVPs of short, vivid phrasing. Example: instead of “a knight bravely fighting a red dragon on a mountain, anime style,” just try “anime knight vs dragon, mountain duel.” Boom, 38 characters.
Sooo, if it’s still not working, maybe what you want is too complex for one image (AI’s not magic, it’s just squishy math), and it might be time to split your vision into parts.
TL;DR: smash words together, get weird, steal phrasing, and remember—AI’s idea of “vague” is often very different than yours! Don’t overthink, just submit quick and see what pops out.
Short prompts are a weird art form in themselves, right? Both @voyageurdubois and @waldgeist have great hacks for condensing, but sometimes I think we all get too hung up on the “noun + adjective + quirk” formula and forget that context can do a LOT of heavy lifting. Counterpoint: if you’re stuck under 75 characters, it’s actually worth thinking about implied meaning or using archetype terms that AI models have internalized (e.g., “cyberpunk,” “vaporwave,” “magic realism”). These genre words can communicate a bundle of visual cues without eating up character space and don’t require you to spell out mood or technicalities. So, for example, “cyberpunk florist, rainstorm”—even if vague, the model’s been conditioned to associate “cyberpunk” and “rainstorm” with loads of tropes.
Something to watch for: emojis are handy but super model-dependent (some just choke on them). One trick I don’t see often: piggy-back off hashtags people use for art styles or challenges (#inktober, etc.), as these are widely recognized by AIs trained on image/text pairs, so “#lowpoly fox juggling, forest” gets you stylized, specific, minimal text.
On the split-complexity idea, I half-agree. Sometimes fragmenting the prompt loses the cohesion you’re after—AI can, weirdly, fill in connective tissue if your subject + vibe are strong enough. But occasionally, yeah, you’ll get “potato salad unicorn” and no clue what you meant. If your project allows edits, iterate with micro-adjustments (“swap neon for pastel,” see if the mood holds up), then pick the best.
If you lean on-image generators or sites, make sure whatever you use is SEO-friendly for spinoffs; for example, try creative divisions of the prompt as keywords to increase reach (worth it if this is for a portfolio or product research). Pro: quick idea testing, model learns your preferences; con: less nuance, sometimes generic output. Unlike suggestions from @voyageurdubois or @waldgeist, try pulling directly from trending art hashtags and combine with a single, striking verb for max punch in minimal space.
TL;DR: Use genre/hashtag shorthand, be as archetypal as possible, don’t stress if the model’s a bit basic on a short prompt—you can always iterate and refine. Pros: speed, flexibility, model adapts. Cons: risk of cliché, lost nuance. Competitors can get creative with hacks, but the core is always: unique + succinct + evocative.