NFTs seemingly came out of nowhere and skyrocketed in popularity. It wasn't long before many celebrities and online influencers began talking about pictures on the blockchain. During the mania phase of NFTs, an unexpectedly high number of people learned what this term is.
I know that NFTs are a very controversial topic. Some people truly dislike them, while others believe that they are important and will be integrated into many different industries in the future. I'm not here to share my personal opinion on NFTs. Instead, what I want to do is show you how to use a generative AI model like Stable Diffusion XL to create NFT art.
If you missed the hype train surrounding NFTs, you probably don't know what they are. In short, they represent records on a blockchain associated with either a physical or digital asset. They are called non-fungible tokens, but nearly everyone refers to them as NFTs.
After doing my research and looking through countless number of NFT collections, it seems almost impossible to define how an asset like this should look. Some of the most popular collections contain portraits of fictional characters. Then, there are also generative art collections.
I've done enough research on NFTs to believe that anyone who is interested in making these types of images will find what they're looking for in this article.
How to Write Stable Diffusion Prompts for NFT Art
Since it's hard to give a general idea of what an NFT should look like, I will separate my prompts into two separate categories. The first category will revolve around portraits of fictional characters. If you've seen some of the most popular NFT collections so far, like CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Let's say that you want to create a small collection filled with a variety of interesting characters. These characters in the NFT world are usually 2D flat portrait illustrations. I have a whole article dedicated to Stable Diffusion prompts for characters. You can check it out for more inspiration.
While it can be lucrative to create an NFT collection with different characters, there also needs to be something attached to the whole project. Like a software product or physical items that can be redeemed. If you're primarily an artist, you'd be better off making digital art with AI models and then selling each artwork one by one.
That's why the second category you'll see today is all about digital art. If you want to make better art, I suggest that you take the time to read up on the 32 best art styles for Stable Diffusion. Exploring these art styles can help boost your creativity.
Nearly all of the NFTs I've seen so far feature a 1:1 square aspect ratio, so that's exactly what I used for the images in this article.
14 Stable Diffusion Prompt Examples for NFT Art
Both Stable Diffusion XL and Midjourney are excellent AI tools for making NFT art. If you're interested in learning more about how to do this using the latter AI-powered tool, I recommend that you take a few minutes to read my article on Midjourney prompts for NFT art. It also features some great prompt examples that may inspire you.
But let's now focus on Stable Diffusion XL and see what it's capable of.
prompt #1: surreal painting, ethereal landscape, celestial creatures, majestic angelic beings with wings that glow with cosmic light, astral realm, heavenly guardians, awe-inspiring, divine protectors
The first seven images that you see in this article will be all about the art aspect of NFTs. Later on, I'll start sharing prompts for NFT collections that contain characters.
I used the 'Digital Art' style that's already available in Stable Diffusion XL to create these first seven images. This one features the surrealist style and I'm quite fond of the generated result. As you can see, I used a lot of different keywords to create this image.
prompt #2: abstract composition, organic growth, a visual representation of the organic, ever-evolving nature of life and existence
This is a very interesting artwork. If you've read some of my other articles that include prompt examples, then you most likely know that making abstract art with generative AI models is one of my favorite things to do. I always find it interesting to describe an abstract concept to an AI model and see how it would create a visual representation of it.
prompt #3: abstract expressionism, emotional eruption, vibrant swirls of color, chaotic and mesmerizing canvas, raw feelings on display
This is another abstract artwork. The approach I use to make abstract digital art in Stable Diffusion is to basically create an abstract prompt as well. When you have an abstract prompt, you'll get an abstract image from it. With that being said, I don't describe any objects I want to see featured in the result. Instead, I just mention a concept that could be visualized in various ways.
prompt #4: post-apocalyptic world, a rugged survivor with a scavenger's gear, navigating a desolate wasteland
I have seen countless different NFTs so far. One thing I haven't seen is someone create a short visual story by utilizing NFTs. Maybe I haven't done enough research, but I think that something like that is missing in the NFT world. Imagine you create a few hundred images of a post-apocalyptic world, in which each scene is a different NFT and you connect them all to tell a story. That would be pretty epic in my opinion.
prompt #5: art nouveau style, mystical mythology, an enchanting illustration of mythological creatures and motifs
I don't see many people using this particular art style when they're making images in Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. I'm not sure why since you can make some stunning artwork with it. Let's say that you're an AI artist who wants to become popular. You can specialize in a specific art style and stand out that way.
prompt #6: watercolor illustration, idyllic countryside, charming cottage nestled in a serene meadow, a cozy retreat, blooming wildflowers, peaceful rural life
I haven't seen many watercolor-style NFTs so far. I'm not even sure that there is a lot of interest for images like this one in the NFT space. But I find the image charming and would easily put it on a blockchain. We as people need to share more peaceful images online. They can significantly improve your mood.
prompt #7: psychedelic painting, inner visions, a representation of the artist's inner psyche and the visions that emerge under the influence of altered states of consciousness
The psychedelic art style can be used to create interesting digital artworks. I felt like this description in the prompt goes well with the style, so I decided to use them together. And the result I got is breathtaking. There is a lot going on in this image, and it's a delight to analyze it.
prompt #8: close-up shot, flat illustration, upper body portrait, anthropomorphic raccoon, a charming raccoon in explorer's gear
This is the part of the article where I switched from the 'Digital Art' style to the 'No Style' option because it's now time to create some portraits of characters. If you haven't dwelled deep into the NFT world but have seen some popular collections, the image above might remind you of them.
This is an incredibly cute raccoon character. The slight smile makes it adorable. When you're writing prompts like this, you can describe any type of gear that you want the character to wear.
prompt #9: illustration, upper body portrait, anthropomorphic cheetah, a sleek and swift cheetah adorned with surreal patterns
I don't know why anthropomorphic animals are so popular in NFT collections. This might change over time though. This is a cool image that I wouldn't mind using as a profile picture on social media.
prompt #10: character portrait, upper body portrait, close-up shot, anthropomorphic wolf, a stoic wolf in tribal garments
I created this image by using the 'Anime' style that's available in Stable Diffusion XL. I love the attire the wolf is wearing, and I also find the background to be remarkable.
prompt #11: 2D flat illustration, upper body portrait, fierce elven warrior with a bow and an intricate tattoo, a guardian of ancient woodlands and eldritch secrets
This is something a bit different, but I feel like it would make an awesome NFT and profile picture. The fact that the image is not colorful is definitely interesting. I didn't expect a result like this if I'm being honest, but I'm happy with it.
prompt #12: close-up shot, upper body portrait, flat illustration, mysterious figure with a mask and flowing cloak
You can base the characters in your NFT collection on pretty much anything. You have the complete creative freedom to make anything that you want, and then you see whether people are interested in it. Mysterious masked figures like the one above would be a great choice for a small collection.
prompt #13: upper body portrait, fictional character, flat 2D illustration, anthropomorphic rabbit, a clever and inventive rabbit with gears and gadgets
I have no idea why this rabbit has four ears, but the image made me smile so I decided to include it in the article. The background here is really good and goes along with the main theme perfectly.
prompt #14: illustration, upper body portrait, whimsical fairy tale, a mischievous pixie with twinkling eyes, vibrant wings, and a mischievous grin
This is another image that I made with the 'Anime' preset style. I've noticed that the anime style is quite popular among the NFT community. Thankfully, both Stable Diffusion and Midjourney feature models dedicated specifically to producing anime-style images.
If you want to find more cool Stable Diffusion anime prompt examples, I have a whole article dedicated to them. There, you'll find 18 cool prompts that I wrote along with the images that were created from them.
Final Thoughts
I'm all about encouraging people to be creative. It's even better if you can get paid for your creativity. But I have to mention that if you plan on selling any artwork you made with generative AI models as NFTs, you should be transparent and make sure that the buyer knows it was made using a text-to-image tool.
However, that's not the only way to use an AI-powered tool like this for NFT art. Let's say that you plan on launching a big collection with fictional character portraits. You obviously have to introduce a lot of variety so that there are many different traits that the characters could have.
Although it would be incredibly difficult to create an NFT collection with 10,000 assets that feature characters using only a tool like Stable Diffusion, you'd be able to brainstorm a variety of ideas. You can think of a trait that the character would have and then put it in a prompt to see how an artificial model would create it. This approach can help you save a lot of time and help keep you inspired.
If you plan on making digital art that you'll sell as NFTs, then you need to make it stand out. This is easier said than done and will require you to dedicate a lot of time to develop an artistic style and learn to write good prompts.
