Style and Artistic Medium Specification

Why Style Vocabulary Matters

Photorealistic Style

photorealistic_prompts = [
    # Basic photorealism
    'photorealistic portrait of a woman, DSLR photograph, '
    'f/1.8 aperture, 85mm lens, bokeh background, natural light',

    # Hyperrealism (even more detailed than photo)
    'hyperrealistic painting of a weathered old door, '
    'every crack and grain of wood visible, photorealistic quality',

    # Studio photography
    'product photography, white background, studio lighting, '
    'sharp focus, commercial quality, shot on Canon EOS R5',

    # Environmental photography
    'documentary photograph, photojournalism style, '
    'natural unposed lighting, 35mm film grain, raw authentic moment',
]

for prompt in photorealistic_prompts[:2]:
    print(prompt[:80], '...')

# Key terms for photorealism
photo_keywords = [
    'DSLR', 'shot on [camera model]', 'f/[aperture]', '[mm] lens',
    'bokeh', 'depth of field', 'film grain', 'natural light'
]

Oil Painting Styles

oil_painting_styles = {
    'classical_baroque': (
        'oil painting in the style of Rembrandt, '
        'chiaroscuro lighting, rich earth tones, '
        'detailed fabric and texture, dramatic shadows, '
        'museum quality, Dutch Golden Age'
    ),
    'impressionist': (
        'impressionist oil painting inspired by Monet, '
        'visible brushstrokes, soft edges, '
        'light and atmosphere over detail, '
        'en plein air quality, dappled light'
    ),
    'post_impressionist': (
        'oil painting in the bold style of Van Gogh, '
        'swirling expressive brushwork, '
        'complementary color contrasts, '
        'thick impasto texture, emotional intensity'
    ),
    'contemporary_realism': (
        'contemporary oil painting, hyperrealistic, '
        'smooth blending, photorealistic quality, '
        'intense focus on textures, classical technique'
    )
}

for name, prompt in oil_painting_styles.items():
    print(f'{name}:')
    print(' ', prompt[:70], '...')
    print()

Watercolor Style Vocabulary

watercolor_prompts = [
    # Classic watercolor
    'delicate watercolor illustration of cherry blossoms, '
    'soft washes of pink and white, paper texture visible, '
    'loose brushwork, gentle bleeding edges, '
    'traditional Japanese botanical art style',

    # Urban sketching style
    'watercolor urban sketch of a Paris cafe, '
    'loose gestural lines with ink, '
    'selective color washes over pen sketch, '
    'travel journal illustration style',

    # Children\'s book style
    'charming watercolor illustration for a children\'s book, '
    'soft pastel colors, cute rounded shapes, '
    'whimsical details, storybook warmth',
]

# Key watercolor vocabulary
watercolor_keywords = [
    'watercolor wash', 'soft edges', 'translucent', 'paper texture',
    'bleeding colors', 'wet-on-wet technique', 'loose brushwork',
    'granulation', 'wet-on-dry', 'color bloom'
]

print('Watercolor example:', watercolor_prompts[0][:100], '...')

3D Rendering Styles

rendering_styles = {
    'octane_render': (
        '3D render, Octane renderer, photorealistic, '
        'subsurface scattering on skin, ray-traced reflections, '
        'global illumination, cinematic depth of field, '
        'highly detailed environment'
    ),
    'blender_stylized': (
        'Blender 3D render, stylized low-poly art, '
        'smooth shading, vibrant colors, '
        'isometric perspective, indie game aesthetic'
    ),
    'unreal_engine': (
        'Unreal Engine 5 render, photoreal environment, '
        'Lumen global illumination, Nanite geometry, '
        'cinematic quality, game engine screenshot'
    ),
    'clay_render': (
        '3D clay render, matte white material, '
        'soft studio lighting, clean shadows, '
        'product design visualization, no textures'
    ),
    'vfx_compositing': (
        'VFX quality 3D render, photorealistic compositing, '
        'motion blur, film grain, color grading, '
        'blockbuster movie quality'
    )
}

print('Octane render example:',  rendering_styles['octane_render'][:80], '...')

Comic Book and Illustration Styles

illustration_styles = {
    'comic_book': (
        'comic book style, bold black outlines, '
        'flat cel-shaded colors, halftone dot pattern, '
        'dynamic action pose, 1960s Marvel Comics aesthetic'
    ),
    'manga': (
        'manga illustration style, clean line art, '
        'screen tones for shading, large expressive eyes, '
        'black and white with selective screentone, '
        'Shonen Jump aesthetic'
    ),
    'graphic_novel': (
        'graphic novel illustration, Moebius-inspired, '
        'detailed line work, flat color fills, '
        'SF aesthetic, intricate background architecture'
    ),
    'vector_flat': (
        'flat vector illustration, minimal outlines, '
        'geometric shapes, limited color palette, '
        'modern app icon style, clean and scalable'
    ),
    'concept_art': (
        'concept art for video game, detailed character design, '
        'front view turnaround sheet, '
        'multiple color variants, reference quality'
    )
}

for style, prompt in list(illustration_styles.items())[:3]:
    print(f'{style}: {prompt[:60]}...')

Artist-Style References

artist_style_prompts = [
    # Classic masters
    'oil painting inspired by Vermeer, domestic interior scene, '
    'soft diffused window light from the left, pearl earring quality',

    # Impressionists
    'painting in the style of Monet, water lilies and reflections, '
    'dappled light, loose impressionist brushwork',

    # Modern
    'illustration in the style of Alphonse Mucha, '
    'art nouveau ornamental border, flowing hair, '
    'decorative circular frame, spring theme',

    # Contemporary illustrators
    'digital illustration in the style of James Gurney, '
    'painterly quality, dinosaur, Dinotopia aesthetic',

    # Graphic designers
    'poster design inspired by Saul Bass, '
    'geometric minimalism, bold primary colors, '
    'mid-century modern style'
]

# Best practice: 'in the style of' activates learned style patterns
# Not appropriate: 'a painting by [living artist]' (may raise IP concerns)
print('Style reference example:', artist_style_prompts[2][:80], '...')

Photography Genre Styles

photography_genres = {
    'street_photography': (
        'street photography, candid unposed moment, '
        'grain, black and white, Henri Cartier-Bresson style, '
        'decisive moment, natural light'
    ),
    'fashion_editorial': (
        'high fashion editorial photography, '
        'Vogue magazine quality, strong directional lighting, '
        'model on textured white backdrop, '
        'Avedon-inspired minimalism'
    ),
    'macro_nature': (
        'macro photography of dewdrops on a spider web, '
        'extreme shallow depth of field, '
        'lens bokeh background, natural dawn light, '
        '1:1 macro ratio'
    ),
    'astro_photography': (
        'astrophotography, milky way over mountain landscape, '
        'long exposure, star trails, '
        'foreground silhouette, deep space colors'
    ),
    'documentary': (
        'documentary photography, photojournalism, '
        'natural ambient light, authentic emotion, '
        'Magnum Photos aesthetic, raw unedited'
    )
}

for genre, prompt in list(photography_genres.items())[:3]:
    print(f'{genre}: {prompt[:60]}...')

Mixing Styles: Creative Combinations

# Coherent style combinations
coherent_combos = [
    # Shared aesthetic DNA
    'art nouveau meets watercolor illustration, '
    'organic flowing forms, soft pastel palette',

    'vintage film photography meets dark academia aesthetic, '
    'sepia tones, dust and grain, leather-bound books',

    'Studio Ghibli inspired oil painting, '
    'lush pastoral landscape, impressionist brushwork, '
    'gentle nostalgic atmosphere',

    'cyberpunk neon aesthetic meets traditional Japanese woodblock print, '
    'bold outlines, flat colors, ukiyo-e composition'
]

# Incoherent combinations (avoid)
incoherent = [
    'minimalist AND maximalist AND baroque AND minimalist',  # contradictory
    'photorealistic AND cartoon AND oil painting AND pixel art',  # too many
]

print('Best combo example:', coherent_combos[3][:80], '...')
print('Warning: avoid contradictory combinations like:', incoherent[0][:50])

Model-Specific Style Tips

model_style_notes = {
    'DALL-E 3 (OpenAI)': [
        'Responds well to natural language descriptions',
        'Artist name references work well',
        'Avoid very long prompt strings (>300 words loses coherence)',
        'Instruction-following is strong ("Do not include text")',
        'Good for: illustrations, portraits, abstract concepts'
    ],
    'Midjourney': [
        'Aesthetic quality is very high with minimal prompting',
        'Suffix parameters: --ar 16:9 for aspect ratio, --v 6 for version',
        'Style references: --sref for image style transfer',
        'Photography terms work especially well',
        'Good for: artistic renders, character design, landscapes'
    ],
    'Stable Diffusion': [
        'Negative prompts are very important and effective',
        'LoRA models enable fine-grained style control',
        'CFG scale controls prompt adherence (7-12 recommended)',
        'Model checkpoints determine base style (e.g., SDXL, Juggernaut)',
        'Good for: customization, fine-tuning, commercial use'
    ]
}

for model, tips in model_style_notes.items():
    print(f'{model}:')
    for tip in tips[:2]:
        print(f'  - {tip}')

Style Sheet: Quick Reference

# Project style sheet — game UI concept art
GAME_STYLE_SHEET = {
    'base_style': 'dark fantasy concept art, game UI illustration quality',
    'medium': 'digital painting with painterly brushwork',
    'lighting': 'dramatic rim lighting, deep shadows, magical glow effects',
    'color_palette': 'deep purples, midnight blues, gold accents, shadow blacks',
    'composition': 'centered composition for icons, rule of thirds for scenes',
    'quality': 'highly detailed, professional game art, AAA quality',
    'forbidden': [
        'photorealistic', 'photograph', 'anime', 'cartoon',
        'watercolor', 'sketch'
    ]
}

def build_game_prompt(subject, composition_override=None):
    s = GAME_STYLE_SHEET
    return ', '.join([
        subject,
        s['base_style'],
        s['medium'],
        s['lighting'],
        s['color_palette'],
        composition_override or s['composition'],
        s['quality']
    ])

print(build_game_prompt('a fire mage casting a spell, flames erupting from hands')[:120], '...')

Quick Check

Style and Medium Summary