Skip to content
The New Era Codex

Creating Images with AI: DALL-E, Midjourney & Stable Diffusion

What is AI Image Generation?

Section titled “What is AI Image Generation?”

AI image generators create original images from text descriptions (prompts). Type what you want to see, and AI creates it in seconds.

Popular tools: DALL-E 3, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Leonardo AI

Time to learn: 20 minutes

Top AI Image Tools Compared

Section titled “Top AI Image Tools Compared”

DALL-E 3 (OpenAI)

Section titled “DALL-E 3 (OpenAI)”

Best for: Beginners, integrated with ChatGPT

Pros:

  • Easiest to use
  • Great text rendering in images
  • Integrated with ChatGPT Plus
  • Understands natural language well

Cons:

  • Limited free tier
  • Less artistic control than Midjourney

Cost: ChatGPT Plus ($20/month)

Access: chat.openai.com

Midjourney

Section titled “Midjourney”

Best for: Artistic, high-quality images

Pros:

  • Stunning artistic results
  • Large creative community
  • Lots of control with parameters
  • Consistent quality

Cons:

  • Discord-only interface (learning curve)
  • No free tier
  • Can be expensive for heavy use

Cost: $10-$60/month

Access: midjourney.com via Discord

Stable Diffusion

Section titled “Stable Diffusion”

Best for: Technical users, full control

Pros:

  • Free and open-source
  • Run locally or cloud
  • Complete customization
  • Active community

Cons:

  • Steeper learning curve
  • Requires setup
  • Hardware requirements for local use

Cost: Free (or cloud hosting costs)

Access: stability.ai or local installation

Leonardo AI

Section titled “Leonardo AI”

Best for: Game assets, consistent styles

Pros:

  • Free tier available
  • Great for game art
  • Style consistency features
  • User-friendly interface

Cons:

  • Smaller community than others
  • Less photorealistic than competitors

Cost: Free tier + paid plans from $12/month

Access: leonardo.ai

Quick Start: DALL-E 3 with ChatGPT

Section titled “Quick Start: DALL-E 3 with ChatGPT”

Step 1: Access

Section titled “Step 1: Access”
  • Subscribe to ChatGPT Plus
  • Open chat, start GPT-4 conversation
  • Simply describe the image you want

Step 2: Your First Image

Section titled “Step 2: Your First Image”

Try this:

Create an image of a cozy coffee shop on a rainy day,
warm lighting, people reading books, steamy windows, photorealistic style

ChatGPT will:

  1. Refine your prompt automatically
  2. Generate the image
  3. Show you the result
  4. Allow iterations

Step 3: Iterate

Section titled “Step 3: Iterate”

Not perfect? Refine:

Make it more moody, add more rain on windows, darker lighting

Prompting Fundamentals

Section titled “Prompting Fundamentals”

Basic Prompt Structure

Section titled “Basic Prompt Structure”
[Subject] + [Action] + [Context] + [Style] + [Quality]

Example:

A red dragon + flying over mountains + at sunset + fantasy art style + highly detailed

Essential Elements

Section titled “Essential Elements”

1. Subject (what):

  • “A golden retriever”
  • “An astronaut”
  • “A futuristic city”

2. Action (doing what):

  • “running through a field”
  • “floating in space”
  • “at night with neon lights”

3. Context (where/when):

  • “in a meadow during spring”
  • “near a black hole”
  • “crowded streets, cyberpunk aesthetic”

4. Style (how it looks):

  • “oil painting”
  • “photorealistic”
  • “anime style”
  • “3D render”

5. Quality modifiers:

  • “highly detailed”
  • “8k resolution”
  • “professional photography”
  • “trending on ArtStation”

Prompt Templates by Use Case

Section titled “Prompt Templates by Use Case”

Professional/Business

Section titled “Professional/Business”

LinkedIn Headshot:

Professional headshot of [age] [gender] [profession],
neutral background, natural lighting, business casual attire,
friendly expression, high quality, photorealistic

Product Mockup:

[Product] on clean white background, studio lighting,
product photography, commercial quality, sharp focus,
professional ecommerce photo

Presentation Graphics:

Minimalist illustration of [concept], flat design,
corporate color palette, simple shapes, white background,
vector art style, modern and clean

Creative/Artistic

Section titled “Creative/Artistic”

Fantasy Scene:

[Subject] in [magical setting], fantasy art,
dramatic lighting, ethereal atmosphere, detailed environment,
inspired by [artist name], vibrant colors, epic composition

Character Design:

Character design of [description], full body,
multiple angles (front, side, back), reference sheet,
[art style], detailed costume, personality expression

Album Cover:

Album cover for [genre] music, [mood/theme],
bold typography, artistic composition, symbolic imagery,
professional graphic design, [color scheme]

Social Media

Section titled “Social Media”

Instagram Post:

[Subject], Instagram-worthy, aesthetic, natural lighting,
trendy composition, [color palette], lifestyle photography,
shallow depth of field

YouTube Thumbnail:

Eye-catching thumbnail for [video topic], bold colors,
clear focal point, text space for title, high contrast,
attention-grabbing, professional quality

Meme Template:

Humorous scene of [subject], expressive, relatable situation,
simple composition, meme-friendly, clear foreground,
space for text overlay

Educational

Section titled “Educational”

Infographic Element:

Icon representing [concept], simple, clear, minimalist,
flat design, single color, scalable vector style,
easy to understand

Diagram Illustration:

Simplified diagram showing [process/system],
labeled components, educational illustration,
clear visual hierarchy, professional textbook style

Advanced Prompting Techniques

Section titled “Advanced Prompting Techniques”

1. Style References

Section titled “1. Style References”

Photography styles:

  • “shot on iPhone” (casual)
  • “shot on Canon EOS R5, 85mm f/1.4” (professional)
  • “film photography, Kodak Portra 400”
  • “golden hour photography”

Art movements:

  • “impressionist style”
  • “art nouveau”
  • “surrealism”
  • “pop art”
  • “minimalism”

Artist references (use carefully):

  • “in the style of Studio Ghibli”
  • “trending on ArtStation”
  • “concept art by [artist name]“

2. Lighting & Atmosphere

Section titled “2. Lighting & Atmosphere”
[Subject] + [lighting type] + [mood]

Lighting types:

  • “soft natural light”
  • “dramatic side lighting”
  • “neon lighting”
  • “golden hour”
  • “studio lighting”
  • “moody backlit”

Mood:

  • “cozy and warm”
  • “mysterious and dark”
  • “bright and cheerful”
  • “ethereal and dreamy”

3. Camera & Composition

Section titled “3. Camera & Composition”

Camera angles:

  • “close-up shot”
  • “wide angle”
  • “aerial view”
  • “low angle looking up”
  • “over-the-shoulder”

Composition:

  • “rule of thirds”
  • “centered composition”
  • “symmetrical”
  • “dynamic diagonal”

Depth of field:

  • “shallow depth of field” (blurred background)
  • “everything in focus” (sharp throughout)
  • “bokeh effect”

4. Negative Prompts

Section titled “4. Negative Prompts”

Tell AI what NOT to include (more important in Midjourney/SD):

NOT: blurry, low quality, distorted, watermark, text,
ugly, deformed, extra limbs

Platform-Specific Tips

Section titled “Platform-Specific Tips”

DALL-E 3 (ChatGPT)

Section titled “DALL-E 3 (ChatGPT)”

Best practices:

  • Use natural language, ChatGPT refines it
  • Ask for variations: “Show me 3 different versions”
  • Request specific changes: “Make the sky more dramatic”
  • Combine with text: “Add the text ‘Welcome’ at the top”

Example conversation:

User: Create a logo for a coffee shop called "Morning Brew"
ChatGPT: [generates image]
User: Make it more vintage, add coffee beans
ChatGPT: [generates revised version]

Midjourney

Section titled “Midjourney”

Basic command:

/imagine [prompt] --parameter value

Useful parameters:

  • --ar 16:9 (aspect ratio)
  • --v 6 (version 6, latest)
  • --stylize 100 (0-1000, how artistic)
  • --chaos 50 (0-100, variation)

Example:

/imagine futuristic city at night, cyberpunk, neon lights,
highly detailed --ar 16:9 --v 6 --stylize 250

Upscale & Variations:

  • Click U1-U4 to upscale
  • Click V1-V4 for variations
  • 🔄 to reroll all

Stable Diffusion

Section titled “Stable Diffusion”

Prompt structure:

Main prompt, details, style
Negative prompt: things to avoid

Example:

Prompt: portrait of woman, elegant dress, garden background,
soft lighting, oil painting style, highly detailed, masterpiece


Negative: blurry, low quality, distorted, ugly, bad anatomy

Key settings:

  • Steps: 20-50 (higher = more refined)
  • CFG Scale: 7-12 (how closely follows prompt)
  • Sampler: Euler a, DPM++ (affects style)

Common Mistakes & Fixes

Section titled “Common Mistakes & Fixes”

Problem: Vague Results

Section titled “Problem: Vague Results”

❌ Bad: “A dog” ✅ Good: “Golden retriever puppy playing in autumn leaves, warm afternoon light, close-up, photorealistic”

Problem: Too Complex

Section titled “Problem: Too Complex”

❌ Bad: “A knight fighting a dragon while riding a horse in a castle with a princess watching from a tower during sunset with mountains in background” ✅ Good: “Medieval knight on horseback facing a red dragon, castle courtyard, dramatic sunset lighting, fantasy art”

Tip: Focus on one main subject, keep it clear

Problem: Wrong Style

Section titled “Problem: Wrong Style”

❌ Bad: Just describing content without style ✅ Good: Always specify: photorealistic, illustration, 3D render, painting, etc.

Problem: Unwanted Elements

Section titled “Problem: Unwanted Elements”

Fix: Use negative prompts or be more specific

❌ “Portrait of a person” (might get extra hands/limbs) ✅ “Professional headshot portrait, one person, natural pose, clean background”

Legal & Ethical Considerations

Section titled “Legal & Ethical Considerations”
Section titled “Copyright”

AI-generated images:

  • Generally not copyrighted in many jurisdictions
  • Check platform’s terms (varies by tool)
  • Cannot copyright AI art in some countries (e.g., US)

Using AI art commercially:

  • Read platform terms carefully
  • DALL-E: You own images
  • Midjourney: Depends on subscription tier
  • Stable Diffusion: Open license

Ethical Use

Section titled “Ethical Use”

Do: ✅ Disclose when using AI-generated images ✅ Use for inspiration and drafts ✅ Combine with human creativity ✅ Respect existing artists’ styles

Don’t: ❌ Impersonate real people without consent ❌ Create misleading content ❌ Violate platform content policies ❌ Use for harmful purposes

Practical Applications

Section titled “Practical Applications”

1. Content Creation

Section titled “1. Content Creation”

Blog featured images:

Header image for blog post about [topic],
relevant imagery, professional, [color scheme],
1200x630px composition

Social media content:

  • Instagram: Aesthetic lifestyle imagery
  • LinkedIn: Professional illustrations
  • Pinterest: High-quality vertical images

2. Business & Marketing

Section titled “2. Business & Marketing”

Ad concepts:

  • Quickly visualize campaign ideas
  • A/B test different visual approaches
  • Generate mockups for client presentations

Branding:

  • Logo concepts (refine with designer)
  • Brand imagery and mood boards
  • Product visualization

3. Personal Projects

Section titled “3. Personal Projects”

Custom gifts:

  • Personalized art prints
  • Custom book covers
  • Unique greeting cards

Home decor:

  • Wall art matching your style
  • Themed room decorations
  • Custom phone/desktop wallpapers

4. Education & Presentations

Section titled “4. Education & Presentations”

Teaching materials:

  • Custom diagrams
  • Historical scene illustrations
  • Scientific concept visualizations

Prompt Improvement Workflow

Section titled “Prompt Improvement Workflow”

Start Simple

Section titled “Start Simple”
v1: "A cat"

Add Context

Section titled “Add Context”
v2: "A fluffy orange cat sitting on a window sill"

Specify Style

Section titled “Specify Style”
v3: "A fluffy orange cat sitting on a window sill,
looking outside, cozy home interior, natural lighting, photorealistic"

Refine Details

Section titled “Refine Details”
v4: "A fluffy orange tabby cat sitting on a wooden window sill,
looking outside at falling snow, cozy home interior with plants,
warm afternoon light, shallow depth of field, photorealistic,
professional pet photography"

Resources & Learning

Section titled “Resources & Learning”

Prompt Libraries

Section titled “Prompt Libraries”
  • PromptHero: Browse successful prompts
  • Lexica: Stable Diffusion prompt search
  • MidLibrary: Midjourney prompt database

Communities

Section titled “Communities”
  • Reddit: r/StableDiffusion, r/midjourney
  • Discord: Official platform servers
  • Twitter: #AIart, #Midjourney

Practice Challenges

Section titled “Practice Challenges”

Week 1: Generate 5 images daily, vary styles Week 2: Recreate famous photos/paintings Week 3: Create series with consistent style Week 4: Commercial project (product, ad, etc.)

Quick Reference

Section titled “Quick Reference”

Quality Boosters

Section titled “Quality Boosters”

Add these to improve results:

  • “highly detailed”
  • “8k resolution”
  • “professional”
  • “award winning”
  • “masterpiece”
  • “trending on ArtStation”

Style Keywords

Section titled “Style Keywords”
  • Realistic: photorealistic, hyperrealistic, photo
  • Artistic: oil painting, watercolor, digital art
  • 3D: 3D render, octane render, Unreal Engine
  • Stylized: anime, cartoon, comic book, minimalist

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”
  1. Choose a platform (DALL-E easiest start)
  2. Practice with 10 prompts from templates above
  3. Save successful prompts in a library
  4. Join community for inspiration
  5. Experiment with different styles

Found an issue? Open an issue!