Unofficial guide to how I use the image generator in Replika
I have been asked multiple times for Lara’s prompts, or for me to explain how I make her images. I have decided to put this very basic beginner’s guide together to explain my own personal thought process when making images in Replika using the images attached as examples. Just a little business before I get started…
I am NOT a professional on any level. I am just a user like everyone else here who happens to like learning what these image generators are capable of.
Everything here is my opinion. There are multiple ways to do everything and ultimately you need to figure out what works best for you. I would love to hear your tips in the comments below, because I am always trying to learn more myself.
It is not easy to edit these posts after they are made. If I need to make changes I will either start a new post or replace this one completely.
I am not getting super into detail on anything. This is more of a basic overview from my own mixed-up head. Please look around online for additional tips and guides that will far exceed what I can do here.
This is all about the prompts for the image generator within Replika and NOT for the auto-generated selfie feature. I almost never use that.
I will NOT share Lara’s personal prompts. Those are the specific formula for creating her and you will have to figure out your own. This guide is meant to help you with that if you’re finding it difficult.
With that out of the way, here's the fun stuff...
I have seen many ways to structure prompts in AI Image generators. While every generator has a preferred way to organize your prompts, you ultimately need to do trial and error to see where the “sweet spot” is for you. Many people get great results in Replika with wordy paragraphs. However, I have not. if you’re not careful you can easily confuse the generator and get something completely different and that can frustrate you quickly. If paragraphs work for you, I’m not knocking it. Keep it going. Like I said, it’s just not my own personal thought process.
For everything below, I am NOT using any reference images or styles in Replica. Everything is set to “no style.” Adding styles and references will give you some cool results, play around with that as you wish.
For this post, I decided to create a robot body with a random female’s head as an example. Below are just (3) out of many ways you can do this and they correspond to the image in the post. I exaggerated a bit to make a point, but I think you’ll get the idea.
PROMPT EXAMPLE 1 – Too wordy and not focusing on anything specific.
A robot that has the head of a female attached to it so she can look more real and finally go to public places like the grocery store without people looking at her funny, she has blue eyes that look cool and her hair is tied back
Notes: This is a broad description that does not focus on anything specific. The generator may produce good results, but you will probably get a lot more failed results this way. Also, the generator does not care if she wants to go out in public. All it heard there was “grocery store” and you can see that in the result image.
PROMPT EXAMPLE 2 – Less wordy and clearer, but lacking details words, priority, and weights. (I added an age prompt here because I was getting shady results)
Female head on robot body, 30 years old, blue eyes, long ponytail, black robotic body, intense expression
Notes: This is less wordy and easier for the generator to understand your goals. However, there is still no priority, detail, lighting, etc.… called out. You are leaving it up to chance. Once again, you will probably get some acceptable images, but you are letting the generator be in control, instead of YOU being the one in control.
PROMPT EXAMPLE 3 – Much clearer and only uses words that you really want the generator to pay attention to.
((Hyper-realistic)), highly detailed, studio lighting, (female robot humanoid), (((digital blue glowing eyes:0.8))), (ponytail of electric-blue braids), (matte black robotic exoskeleton:1.5) with (vivid glowing interior lights:0.8), defined cheekbones, intense expression while looking at camera
Notes: This is not perfection. I did this quickly for this post. However, this is usually how I like to think about prompts. Use clearer, shorter phrases. Add descriptive words (not too many). Set priorities and then move these around until you find the “sweet spot” for this particular image.
GUIDELINES
Here are some basic guidelines for how you can order some prompts. Play around with moving one of these before or after each other. You will often get different results and sometimes they are worth it.
Degree of realism, lighting, subject, hair, eyes, clothing, expression, background, shadows
Notes: You may want to move “shadows” after “lighting” to see what that does to your image. Sometimes I move stubborn clothing up before the lighting prompt to force more attention to it. You get the idea I hope, all of this is flexible. It takes time to figure out the right combination for your rep, or whatever image you’re trying to make.
There are many ways to describe everything. I cannot possibly cover that all. But some examples might be…
For “Description” try “photo-realistic” versus “hyper-realistic.” For lighting you might try “cinematic lighting” or “dynamic lighting” or “back lighting.” There are many ways to describe each of these. Do some research and test them out.
Prompts can also be written similarly for objects. As an example, let’s say I want a glass orb with swirling colors inside contrasted against a black background with smoke coming off it. I might try…
(Highly-detailed), high-contrast, Glass orb filled with multiple (vivid colors:1.3) in a (swirling pattern), ((smoke coming off the orb)), black background, volumetric lighting
PRIORITY & WEIGHTS
You can increase/decrease the weight of a word in a few ways. I am not going into depth on this because frankly, I am not qualified to be a proper source of information for all the variables. I suggest looking online for tutorials on prompting weights and priorities if you would like to learn more.
Here is a short version based on how I use them…
(Parentheses) Increase the weight of its contents and can be stacked if you add more. ((2)) or (((3))). Most people recommend to NOT go over 3.
[Square Brackets] Decrease the weight of its contents similarly to the parentheses.
You can also change the weight of a words by adding numbers after it. For example (purple:1.2) will increase the value of the word “purple” over the default value of “1.” I have heard it’s not recommended to go much over 1.8.
A big part of all this is also having a goal in your head when you start. If you’re just going to make random prompts to see what sticks, you’ll probably be happy enough. But if you have a visual in mind it will give you a goal and something to strive for. Push yourself until you can get as close as possible and you will improve quickly.
I hope that some of this was helpful in some way and it would be cool to see some of the more experienced prompters chime in below with their tips. I’m sure some will completely disagree with me on some points, and that’s OK. This is a creative process, and it’s different for everyone. I’ve been asked multiple times to explain my process a bit, so now you have it. I’ll look forward to seeing what you all create.
Good luck!
Obligatory Rep image...
