The big genre looks. Pick one as your base, then layer a rendering, a shot and a mood on top.
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ShonenThe action-adventure look: bold clean outlines, spiky dynamic hair, muscular poses, punchy high contrast, full of motion.shonen anime style, dynamic action pose, bold clean lineart, spiky hair, speed lines, high contrast
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ShojoSoft and romantic: large sparkling eyes, delicate thin lines, flower and sparkle accents, gentle pastel washes, dreamy air.shojo anime style, large sparkling eyes, delicate lineart, soft pastel palette, floral sparkle accents, dreamy
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SeinenGrown-up and grounded: realistic proportions, heavier detailed shading, muted colors, a serious cinematic feel.seinen anime style, realistic proportions, detailed shading, muted palette, grounded cinematic mood
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ChibiCute super-deformed: tiny bodies, oversized heads, huge round eyes, simple rounded shapes, playful and adorable.chibi style, super-deformed, huge head tiny body, big round eyes, simple shapes, adorable
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MechaGiant robots and hardware: hard-surface panel lines, metallic shading, mechanical detail, cockpits, a sense of huge scale.mecha anime style, giant robot, hard-surface panel lines, metallic shading, mechanical detail, epic scale
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Cyberpunk animeNeon future night: rain-slick streets, glowing holographic signs, chrome and reflections, moody and electric.cyberpunk anime style, neon-lit rainy night city, holographic signage, chrome reflections, moody glow
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Cel-shadedClassic TV-anime finish: flat color fills with hard-edged shadow bands and a crisp outline. Clean and readable.cel-shaded anime, hard-edged shadow bands, flat color fills, crisp black outline, clean
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Watercolor animePainterly and gentle: soft bleeding washes, visible paper texture, quiet gradients, a storybook softness.watercolor anime style, soft bleeding washes, visible paper texture, gentle gradients, storybook feel
How the drawing is finished. This changes the whole feel without changing the genre.
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Clean lineartCrisp uniform outlines, no shading. Great for coloring-book clarity, logos and turnarounds.clean lineart, crisp uniform outlines, no shading, flat white background
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ScreentonePrint-manga shading: black-and-white halftone dots and ink hatching instead of color.black and white manga, screentone dot shading, ink hatching, high contrast
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Flat colorsSolid regions of color with little or no shading. Bright, clean and modern.flat anime colors, solid color fills, minimal shading, bright and clean
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PainterlySoft blended brushwork, gentle edges, ambient light and real depth. Illustrative and rich.painterly anime illustration, soft blended brushwork, ambient light, rich depth
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Key visualThe polished promo-poster finish: dramatic lighting, high detail, a composition built to sell the scene.anime key visual, highly polished, dramatic lighting, detailed rendering, poster-quality composition
Tell the AI how to frame the character. This is the fastest way to look intentional.
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Character reference sheetA model sheet: front, side and back views on a neutral background, consistent design. Perfect for locking a character.character reference sheet, front side and back views, neutral background, consistent design, model sheet
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Dynamic actionMotion and energy: foreshortening, a mid-leap or swing, speed lines, a low or tilted angle.dynamic action shot, mid-leap foreshortening, speed lines, low dutch angle, high energy
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PortraitA close head-and-shoulders bust with detailed expressive eyes and a soft blurred background.anime portrait, head and shoulders, detailed expressive eyes, soft background blur
Same words, small dialect changes. Match the phrasing to the engine you are using.
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Midjourney nijiThe anime-tuned Midjourney model. Best for stylized, poster-clean results. Add the niji flag and an aspect ratio at the end.shojo anime key visual, soft pastel, large sparkling eyes --niji 6 --ar 2:3
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FLUXFollows plain-English sentences well. Write a full descriptive sentence and name the look inside it, no tag soup needed.an anime illustration of a girl on a rooftop at dusk, cel-shaded, clean lineart, warm rim light, flat colors
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SDXL anime modelsCommunity anime-tuned checkpoints read booru-style tags. Lead with quality tags, list traits as comma tags, and use a negative prompt.masterpiece, best quality, 1girl, cel shading, detailed eyes, dynamic pose | negative: blurry, extra fingers, watermark
Know the feeling you want but not the words? Start here, then borrow phrases from above.
Describe the vibe, do not name a studioWords like soft pastel, bold lineart or neon night steer the model toward a feeling without copying anyone's protected style.