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Prompting guide

How to prompt Stable Diffusion v3.5 Large

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large prompt guide: how to prompt SD 3.5 with named colors, counts, and placement, short sign text, image-to-image, and prompt examples.

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Miniature world
Made with Stable Diffusion v3.5 LargeMiniature world

Quick start

Your first great Stable Diffusion v3.5 Large prompt

Everything a beginner needs in one minute: what to know first, the rules that matter most, a template to fill in, and prompts to copy.

What to know first

Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large is the Stable Diffusion that follows detailed prompts best. Write a clear description that names every element, its color, and where it is; a short keyword list and a long narrative paragraph both work. Put the essentials in the first sentence, because the opening carries the most weight. The aspect ratio is a setting, and one optional picture in the Image setting gives it a starting point.

The rules that matter most

  1. Name every element with its color

    Say which object is which color, and how many there are: five jars, one each of red, yellow, green, white, and black.

  2. Say where things are

    In front, behind, on the left, from left to right, in the top corner. Placement words beat a vague "with".

  3. Name the medium

    At the start or the end: watercolor illustration, tilt-shift photo, claymation still, paper-cut collage.

  4. Keep sign text short

    A few words on a named surface: a wooden sign that reads "SLOW DOWN". Longer text comes out garbled.

  5. Lower the Guidance Scale if colors burn

    Mage runs SD 3.5 Large at a high Guidance Scale. If an image looks over-contrasted or oversaturated, set it to about 4.5.

Fill in this template

Replace each part in square brackets with your own idea, and leave out a part you do not need.

Template
A [medium] of [main subject with its colors and count], [what it is doing or how things are arranged]. [Secondary elements and where they are]. [Setting and time]. [Palette and light].
The template, filled in
A claymation still of two snails, one with a red shell and one with a yellow shell, racing across a garden table, the yellow one a nose ahead. A ladybug referee holds a tiny checkered flag at the finish line on the right. Morning in a vegetable garden, dew on the tomato leaves behind. Bright saturated colors, soft sunlight from the left.
  • [medium] claymation still, watercolor illustration, product photo.
  • [main subject with its colors and count] two snails, one with a red shell and one with a yellow shell.
  • [what it is doing or how things are arranged] racing across a garden table, the yellow one a nose ahead.
  • [Secondary elements and where they are] A ladybug referee holds a tiny checkered flag at the finish line on the right.
  • [Setting and time] Morning in a vegetable garden, dew on the tomato leaves behind.
  • [Palette and light] Bright saturated colors, soft sunlight from the left.

Prompts to start from

  • A shelf of counted, colored jars

    A wooden kitchen shelf holding five glass jars in a row, filled from left to right with red lentils, yellow split peas, green mung beans, white rice, and black beans. A small brass scale stands on the shelf below, and a sprig of dried lavender hangs from the right edge. Soft daylight, clean product photo.

    Why it works: Five items, five colors, and a stated left-to-right order: the kind of instruction SD 3.5 Large follows best.

  • A short sign

    A capybara in a tiny straw hat sitting beside a steaming hot spring, holding a wooden sign that reads "SLOW DOWN". Snowy pine trees behind, warm evening light.

    Why it works: Two words on a named surface, which is the amount of text SD 3.5 Large renders well.

  • A keyword prompt with a palette

    Lone astronaut in an overgrown jungle temple, cold color palette, muted colors, detailed

    Why it works: Short keyword prompts work too, in the style of the model card. The two palette phrases set the whole mood.

  • A long narrative scene

    A whimsical hybrid creature, half waffle and half hippopotamus, basking in a river of melted butter in a breakfast-themed landscape. It has the bulky body of a hippo, but its skin is a crispy golden waffle with a glistening grid of syrup. Pancake-like foliage and oversized utensils peek out in the background, and a towering pepper mill stands in for a tree. A warm morning glow falls over the scene as the creature yawns and a flock of birds takes flight.

    Why it works: Long prose works when the creature and its main features come first and each later sentence adds one layer.

Advanced

Advanced Stable Diffusion v3.5 Large prompting

Techniques for more control once the basics work.

Elements, colors, and subjects

SD 3.5 Large rewards a strong, descriptive prompt that names the elements, their colors, and the subjects. It reads both styles: a compact keyword list ("lone astronaut, overgrown jungle temple, cold color palette") and a narrative paragraph of several sentences.

It reads up to roughly 200 words, but the opening carries the most weight. Put the subject and its key details in the first sentence, and the background and finishing touches after.

  • Give counts as numbers and say how each item differs: three kites, one red, one green, one shaped like a fish.
  • Placement words: in front of, behind, on the left, from left to right, in the top corner, between.
  • Parentheses are plain text here, not weights. To stress something, put it first.
  • Filler such as 8k or masterpiece does little. A palette (cold color palette, muted colors) and a light source do more.

Short text on signs

SD 3.5 Large renders short text better than the older Stable Diffusion models. Put a few words on a named surface: a sign that reads "SLOW DOWN", a mug printed with "MONDAY". Longer lines and small print come out garbled. For posters and layouts, use GPT Image or Mango.

Starting from an image

Upload a picture in the Image setting and SD 3.5 Large uses it as a starting point: the composition and colors carry over, and the details change. The result takes the picture's shape.

The prompt must describe the whole finished image, not an edit. "Make the sofa leather" does not work; "a brown leather sofa in a sunlit living room with a green rug" does. Prompt Strength sets the balance: higher follows the prompt more and the picture less.

  • Style References borrow the look of the images you upload, their palette, texture, and rendering, without copying their layout. The weight beside them sets how strongly.
  • To keep a person or a product exactly as they are, use a model with Characters and references, such as Mango.

Guidance and the negative prompt

Mage runs SD 3.5 Large at a Guidance Scale of 7.5, above the 3.5 to 4.5 its model card uses. That keeps it close to the prompt, at the risk of burnt colors and hard contrast. When you see them, set the Guidance Scale to about 4.5.

The Negative Prompt takes keywords for what you do not want to see: blurry, text, watermark, extra limbs, clutter. Keep it short and aimed at what keeps appearing.

  • Leave Prompt Enhance off. It appends random words to the prompt.
  • Keep the Seed fixed while you adjust the Guidance Scale, so you see only its effect.

Common mistakes

Avoid this, do this instead

  • Avoid: An edit instruction with an uploaded picture.

    make the sofa leather and add a rug

    Instead: A description of the whole result.

    a brown leather sofa in a sunlit living room, a green wool rug on the wooden floor, plants by the window

  • Avoid: Vague colors.

    colorful jars on a shelf

    Instead: Each color named on its object.

    five glass jars on a shelf, filled from left to right with red, yellow, green, white, and black beans

  • Avoid: Weights such as (blue:0.3).

    Instead: Plain words, with the important ones first.

  • Avoid: The key detail at the end of a long paragraph.

    Instead: The subject and its key details in the first sentence.

  • Avoid: A paragraph of sign text.

    Instead: A few words on a named surface.

  • Avoid: Burnt, oversaturated colors left as they are.

    Instead: The Guidance Scale lowered to about 4.5.

FAQ

Stable Diffusion v3.5 Large prompting questions

How long can a Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large prompt be?
Up to roughly 200 words, but the first sentence matters most. Most images need two to five sentences, or a short keyword list.
Can Stable Diffusion 3.5 Large write text?
Short text, yes: a few words on a sign, a label, or a mug, in quotes. Longer lines garble. For posters and logos, use GPT Image or Mango.
Why do my SD 3.5 Large images look over-contrasted?
Mage runs it at a Guidance Scale of 7.5, higher than its model card suggests. Lower the Guidance Scale to about 4.5 for softer, more natural color.
Can I edit a photo with SD 3.5 Large?
Not with instructions. Upload it in the Image setting and describe the whole result you want; the composition and colors carry over. For precise edits that keep everything else, use Mango.
Does SD 3.5 Large support negative prompts and weights?
Negative prompts, yes: list what you do not want in the Negative Prompt. Weights, no: parentheses are read as text.
Should I use SD 3.5 Large or Stable Diffusion XL?
SD 3.5 Large for prompts with several objects, colors, positions, or a short sign. Stable Diffusion XL for photographs from short, tag-style prompts.

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