NovelAI V4 Image Generation Guide: Mastering Prompts, Styles, and Characters

NovelAI's image and text generation services are not free, but they are designed to be cost-effective. The platform uses a currency called 'anlas' for generation. The most economical option starts at $5, which provides 2000 anlas. Considering a base image generation costs approximately 17 anlas, this equates to roughly 117 AI images for $5. This is an estimation, as the anlas cost per image can vary based on the complexity of your settings. For users who generate a high volume of images, a monthly subscription offering unlimited anlas is available for $25. While this can be cost-efficient for heavy users, it's worth noting that even with moderate usage, costs can accumulate, as demonstrated by spending $16 on 9000 anlas within the first week of use.

Crafting unique characters in NovelAI involves using specific tags. Here are some key observations and tips: * **Pale Skin:** If you aim for a pale complexion without an albino or gothic look, avoid specifying skin color tags. NovelAI's default skin tone is typically a natural pale. * **Combining Tags:** To achieve nuanced results, combine tags. For example, if 'medium hair' is too short and 'long hair' too long, using both 'medium hair, long hair' can yield the desired length. * **Ears:** Occasionally, the AI might generate characters with short, pointed ears. Adding 'human only' or 'no ear' tags can help, but sometimes the AI may still produce pointed ears, possibly due to tag overload or the chosen art style. It's advisable to monitor ear details.

When you upload a base image for editing, two crucial settings appear: Strength and Noise. * **Strength:** This parameter dictates the degree of change applied to the image. At 0 or below 60%, the image remains largely unchanged, even with significant prompt alterations. As Strength approaches 100%, the generated image reflects more of the new prompt. * **Noise:** Explained by u/Peptuck, 'Noise' refers to the amount of extraneous details the AI is allowed to add. This can include random patterns on clothing, dust particles, or snow. If you're not aiming for a deliberately cluttered or atmospheric image, reducing Noise to 0 is generally recommended.

Maintaining a uniform art style across multiple generations can be challenging. To overcome this, incorporating an artist tag into your prompt is highly effective. While franchise tags (like Naruto or Granblue Fantasy) can offer some consistency, artist tags provide the most reliable method. Unfortunately, there isn't a readily available, comprehensive list of artist tags. However, this guide provides a curated list of artist tags contributed by the community, including: Aleriia_V, AtKO, bbc-chan, bowalia, boxman, centurii-chan, cutesexyrobutts, D-rex, Ebiblue, EU03, Fellatrix, gerph, gofa, GUWEIZ, houtengeki, IAHFY ART, incase, jamrolypoly, Kagami Hirotaka Fei, Kittew (requires softening with `[]`), kupocun (add 'oil painting (medium)'), Kuvshinov_Ilya, Magion LoVun, morry, nyantcha, Personal Ami, phantom ix row, Picturd, ratatatat74, Roadi3, Satou Shouji Kittew Oda Non Minaba Hideo, Sciamano240, snegovski, SpeedL00ver, Sulcate, tarakanovich, The golden smurf, TheMaestroNoob, WLOP, yilx, YOTARo, Yuritamashi, and Zunta. Experimenting with these tags, and even combining them, can lead to unique styles. Note that the effectiveness of combining artists might vary with the latest version of NovelAI. For those seeking unique styles, exploring resources like 'Tutorial: Prompting for Unique Artstyles with NovelAI Diffusion Anime' or Danbooru for style inspirations is recommended.

Generating images with multiple characters as the primary focus, such as two characters dancing, can be challenging. Many attempts result in one character dominating the scene with others appearing as silhouettes or background elements. The most successful method observed so far involves adding the tag 'twins' to the prompt, which has yielded images with two clearly focused characters. Further experimentation may be needed to reliably achieve compositions with more than two central figures.