Master the art of generating AI content
Generative AI is a game-changer for creators. But to get the most out of it, you need to know how to use it right. Whether you’re making a short film teaser or thumbnails for your YouTube video, the quality of your output depends on the details.
In this article, we’re breaking down six key strategies to help you perfect your AI-generated visuals. While these practical tips are relevant for all types of generative AI tools, they are particularly useful for Artlist’s AI video generator, a carefully curated collection of generative AI models and visual styles to fit the needs of video creators. You can try it for free today.
Now, let’s dive into the tips and start making your AI content shine.
Tip 1: Start with stills
Before you even think about generating your AI videos, nail your image. Why? Because great videos start with great frames, and in the world of AI, that means getting your still image just right before you hit Animate.
It’s quicker, more cost-effective, and gives you more room to experiment. You can fine-tune your prompt, tweak the lighting, and adjust the framing, all without using too many credits or waiting on longer renders.
This is why we built the Artlist AI video generator to generate an image before turning it into a video. It’s designed to help you get the best results, fast, and get you the best use of your credits.
And now, you can also upload your own image — JPG or PNG — and animate it into an AI video. This gives you even more creative flexibility — whether you’re refining your own artwork or starting from an existing visual concept, you’re in control from the very first frame.
Tip 2: Write better prompts for better results
Your prompt is the secret sauce — it’s how you communicate your creative vision to the AI. So the more specific and descriptive you are, the better your results will be. Treat your prompt like you’re briefing a cinematographer or concept artist, and you’ll get results that are a lot closer to what you had in mind.
Not sure how to refine your prompt? Use the Enhance button in Artlist’s AI video generator tool to automatically expand your text into a more detailed, creative prompt that will guide the AI. You can keep enhancing the prompt to get more suggestions, and edit the enhancement to perfect the details. To learn even more about how to get great results, check out our complete guide to mastering prompts.Â
Prompt: “A floating jellyfish city drifting through a cotton candy sky, with giant translucent tendrils hanging below, glowing softly in pastel pinks, purples, and electric blues. Small airships and flying whales move around it, casting dreamy shadows across the clouds. The scene is surreal and magical, with sparkling particles in the air, golden hour light, soft lens flare, whimsical atmosphere, and ultra-detailed, dreamy, and ethereal composition.”
Enhanced Prompt : “Capture an ultra-detailed, professional photograph using a Canon EOS R5 that showcases a surreal, ethereal cityscape. The city resembles floating jellyfish, suspended in a sky swirled with hues of cotton candy, with gargantuan tendrils, translucent and softly glowing in pastel pinks, purples, and electric blues, hanging below. Add small, intricate airships and majestic flying whales that traverse the sky, their forms casting whimsical shadows across the cloud canvas. The atmosphere should emit a sense of magic, speckled with sparkling particles drifting in the air, bathed in the golden wash of the hour’s light. Incorporate a gentle, soft lens flare to enhance the dreamy ambience. The composition must be shot in RAW, ensuring perfect exposure, complemented by professional studio lighting techniques. Create a shallow depth of field for a focused, sharp image, and apply professional color grading to accentuate the high-end photography.”
Tip 3: Combine AI with other content
AI-generated visuals are powerful, but they’re just one piece of the puzzle. To really bring your projects to life, combine them with real-world assets from Artlist’s stock footage collection. You can then use Artlist to find royalty-free sound effects and music, and also generate AI voiceovers to craft a complete project.
Once you’ve generated your images and videos in Artlist, you’ll find them in My Creations. From there you can download them, save them to Artboards, or add them to your Favorites. This will help you stay organized and easily combine all your chosen elements so you get a finished project that feels authentic and intentional.
Tip 4: Play to AI’s strengths
Generative AI is an amazing tool, but like anything, it works best when you know what it’s particularly good at. To get the most out of it, focus on where AI delivers its strongest results.
Here are some areas where creators are getting particularly great results with generative AI tools:
- Photo-realistic scenes: You no longer need a huge budget to build complex sets. Now you can generate detailed visuals, complete with actors and props to fit your vision.
- Making the impossible possible: Until now, creators have been held back by the rules of physics or the cost of expensive special effects. Now you can generate wild building designs, make oceans part like curtains, or create a chase scene across the sky, in minutes.
- Fantasy and surreal imagery: AI is perfect for generating vivid, dreamlike visuals, fantasy worlds, or stylized art that would be costly or nearly impossible to create with traditional production methods.
- Previsualization and ideation: Quickly turn ideas into visuals by using AI to build mockups, concept art, or rough scenes. This is great for pitching or refining creative direction before filming begins.
- Moodboards and storytelling: Easily generate consistent visual assets to build moodboards or storyboards that bring your narrative or aesthetic vision to life in minutes.
Of course, this shouldn’t limit you. The beauty of generative AI tools is that they can do anything, and they’re improving all the time. Experimentation is key, so have fun and lean into what they do best, then use real footage, music, or voiceovers to ground your story.
Tip 5: Choose the best resolution and aspect ratio
Choosing the right resolution and aspect ratio might seem like a small detail, but it’s very important. Whether you’re creating a video for social media or a cinematic masterpiece, picking the right specs makes sure your content looks great everywhere.
For high-quality, cinematic visuals, 1080p (Full HD) is the way to go, but for other projects, 720p HD might be the right resolution for you. Using the Artlist AI video generator, you can easily upscale with the button on the right of your generated image to double your resolution.
And don’t forget about aspect ratio. Landscape 16:9 is standard for video, but if you’re creating content for Instagram, a 9:16 ratio might work better. Make sure your content is optimized for where it’s going to be seen.
Tip 6: Play around, embrace experimentation
AI is a tool, and like any tool, the more you experiment, the better you’ll get at using it. Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries of what your AI can do. Try different text prompts, tweak your parameters, and explore different variations of the same concept.
If you’re generating a scene, play around with elements like color tones, object placement, or even the time of day. AI can surprise you, so be open minded and let it! By embracing experimentation, you’ll unlock even more creative possibilities and find new ways to bring your ideas to life.
For example, the artist Murad Muradov loves experimenting with AI video. Check out some of his clips that are available for download in the Artlist catalog.
Ready to see what you can create with AI?
AI tools can take your creative projects to the next level, but only if you know how to use them to their full potential. With these six tips, you can create AI-generated images and videos that not only look great but also bring your vision to life with precision and style. Ready to get started? Dive into Artlist’s AI video generator, and let your imagination run wild.
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