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AI Image PromptingChapter 3. Descriptive prompting

Abstract and experimental prompting

Abstract and experimental prompting

Abstract and experimental prompting

While other descriptive prompting types aim to ground visuals in clear subjects, defined scenes, or layout-driven design, abstract prompting invites you to create images that are less literal and more emotional, conceptual, or symbolic. In this approach, the goal is not to describe a specific object or place—but to visualize an idea, a sensation, or a mood.

To make this guide even more effective, you can explore the Abstract Prompting Tool on AI Compare Hub. It offers an interactive way to practice, experiment, and refine your abstract prompts as you learn.

What abstract prompting is

At its core, abstract prompting is about letting go of realism. It uses visual tools—like color, form, movement, and atmosphere—to translate an intangible emotion or idea into a compelling visual.

Rather than naming specific characters, objects, or environments, you describe sensations, states of mind, or imagined phenomena using metaphorical or poetic phrasing. This approach guides the AI to create images that are less about literal representation and more about evoking meaning and mood.

Abstract and experimental prompting is particularly effective when you want your visuals to communicate a deeper message or set a tone without relying on obvious subjects. For example, you might generate images to:

  • Support a presentation slide in an educational seminar, illustrating a concept like growth, resilience, or innovation through symbolic visual language instead of direct charts or photos.
  • Design an advertisement or campaign background that immediately evokes feelings of calm, optimism, or curiosity, helping an audience form an emotional connection to your message.
  • Create an atmosphere for a website or digital product, using abstract textures or patterns that subtly reinforce your brand’s values or story.

The resulting images may sometimes look similar to a subject-focused or scene-focused output—like a landscape or an arrangement of objects—but the underlying method is different. Instead of describing the concrete details first, abstract prompting begins with a conceptual idea, an emotion, or an aesthetic principle, and then builds visual elements to express it.

This shift in approach can make your work feel more purposeful and nuanced. It allows you to explore how shapes, colors, and composition alone can inspire a specific reaction, tell a story, or create an unforgettable impression.

In this section, we’ll introduce three ways to approach abstract prompting: Conceptual Metaphor, Emotional Metaphor, and Abstract Textures & Patterns.

Conceptual metaphor

Conceptual metaphors turn intangible ideas into visual representations. You’re not showing what something looks like—you’re showing what it stands for.

For example:

  • Growth might be visualized as a tree emerging from a cracked surface.
  • Transformation could look like a cocoon dissolving into radiant mist.
  • Strength might appear as weathered stone columns standing against wind.

When writing conceptual prompts, define the core idea and connect it to a clear visual anchor.

Example prompts:

  • “A luminous staircase rising through clouds, symbolizing progress and aspiration.”
  • “Molten clock faces dripping over stone, representing change and impermanence.”
  • “A single seed sprouting from dark soil, illustrating renewal.”

Emotional metaphor

Emotional metaphors convey feelings by describing atmosphere, light, and suggestive forms. If conceptual metaphors ask what does this idea look like?, emotional metaphors ask how does this feeling feel?

For example:

  • Sadness could be visualized as a lone candle flickering in darkness.
  • Joy might appear as radiant orbs ascending into the sky.
  • Curiosity could look like a door glowing in a dark hallway.

Example prompts:

  • “A paper boat drifting in a dark ocean under a crescent moon, evoking loneliness.”
  • “Golden petals bursting from a dark center, expressing delight and surprise.”
  • “Fractured glass glowing red, suggesting anger and tension.”

Abstract textures & patterns

This approach doesn’t aim to represent ideas or feelings directly. Instead, you design surfaces, motifs, and compositions that create atmosphere or serve as decorative elements. These visuals are ideal for backgrounds, branding, and experimentation.

For example:

  • Soft Carrara marble veins can create a feeling of timeless elegance.
  • Iridescent holographic foils can feel futuristic and luminous.
  • Fluid watercolor washes can feel organic and calming.

Example prompts:

  • “Smooth Carrara marble surface with delicate grey veins, seamless texture.”
  • “Repeating geometric tiles with luminous gradients, minimalistic composition.”
  • “Abstract swirling ink in pastel colors, soft flowing movement.”

Abstract prompting approach

Abstract prompting is different from other prompting approaches. Instead of starting with a detailed description of a subject or scene, this method is often more free-form, poetic, and open-ended. You can use it to produce imagery that feels expressive, symbolic, or purely decorative—without needing to define every element precisely.

While it may seem unstructured at first, abstract prompting still benefits from including key elements in your instructions. For example:

  • Artistic styles can influence whether the image feels smooth, painterly, or highly detailed.
  • Lighting effects can set a mood—like soft diffuse glow for calmness or sharp high-contrast highlights for tension.
  • Color themes can carry emotional weight, such as warm golds to suggest optimism or cold blues to evoke introspection.

Even when you keep your prompt short and conceptual, adding these details will help the model deliver more coherent and visually consistent results.

Building conceptual and emotional metaphors

If you want to create conceptual metaphor or emotional metaphor imagery—like an image expressing growth, resilience, joy, or nostalgia—it often helps to first develop your idea into a clear visual story before generating the image.

You can type your idea directly into an image generation tool (for example, “the feeling of curiosity” or “transformation into something new”), but the result may end up vague or unfocused.

Instead, it’s often more effective to use an AI chatbot to help you explore how that concept or emotion could look as a scene or composition. This extra step can give you richer details and a stronger foundation for your final prompt.

For example, you can simply ask the chatbot:

Describe a visual scene that shows resilience. What objects, lighting, and details are in it?

The chatbot might reply with something like:

A small green sprout pushing up through cracked, weathered concrete. The cracks spread outward like a starburst, emphasizing the plant’s strength. Soft golden sunrise light falls across the scene, casting long shadows and highlighting drops of dew on the leaves.

This gives you a vivid starting point you can refine into a well-structured prompt for the image generator.

Conceptual metaphor prompt example

Here is an example of a conceptual metaphor prompt for the concept of “balance.”

Example Prompt:

A metaphorical image that represents balance. A perfectly smooth, flat stone rests atop a precariously balanced stack of river stones, each a different shape, size, and color. A gentle waterfall cascades behind the stones, its mist catching the light and creating a shimmering rainbow that arches perfectly over the balanced apex. The water flows into a crystal-clear pool below, reflecting the stone structure and the sky above with equal clarity. Surrounding the stones, lush green moss clings to the riverbank, mirroring the steady, unwavering balance of the central structure within the dynamic, ever-flowing environment. The air is still and silent, imbued with a sense of tranquil equilibrium, where the forces of nature and gravity find perfect harmony. The image is using Flat Design Style, lit by Soft lighting, rendered with a Pastel color palette.

In this prompt, the visual elements are designed to symbolize balance in a clear, tangible way. The smooth stone at the top represents stability and simplicity, while the varied shapes and colors of the supporting stones suggest diversity and complexity working together in harmony. The waterfall and rainbow introduce movement and light, reinforcing the idea that balance can exist even within constant change. By combining natural textures, carefully arranged forms, and a tranquil atmosphere, this image tells a story about equilibrium that feels both universal and grounded.

metaphorical image that represents balance

Emotional metaphor prompt example

Here is an example of an emotional metaphor prompt for the emotions of “memories” and “missing.”

Example Prompt:

A metaphorical image that represents memories and missing. A faded photograph, its edges softened by time and touch, lies half-buried in windswept sand. A spectral figure, translucent and shimmering, reaches for it, fingers brushing the image of a laughing family. The beach stretches out, empty save for the ghostly presence and the scattered remnants of a picnic basket, now weathered and grey. The air hangs heavy with the silent echo of laughter, a bittersweet reminder of moments lost to the tide of time.

In this prompt, the scene is crafted to evoke feelings of longing, nostalgia, and the ache of missing someone. The faded photograph acts as a symbol of cherished memories, while the ghostly figure’s gesture suggests a desire to reconnect with the past. The empty beach and weathered objects create an atmosphere of absence, and the soft, muted details amplify the emotional impact. This kind of imagery is powerful for illustrating how emotions can linger, even when moments have passed beyond reach.

metaphorical image that represents memories and missing

Generating abstract textures and patterns

When your goal is to create abstract textures and patterns, the approach is closer to inspirational prompting. Here, a short phrase can be enough to guide the model.

For example:

  • “Marble surface with soft grey veins”
  • “Iridescent holographic foil texture”
  • “Interlocking hexagonal grid in pastel colors”

The main difference from inspirational prompting is that abstract pattern prompts tend to be more targeted and descriptive. Instead of suggesting a broad mood or impression, you usually specify:

  • The type of material (e.g., concrete, terrazzo, linen)
  • The style or treatment (e.g., polished, rough, vintage)
  • The color palette (e.g., muted neutrals, bold contrasts)

Here is an example prompt for Smoke & Mist abstract image.

Example Prompt:

Abstract Textures & Patterns with Abstract Smoke & Mist. The image is lit by Luminous lighting, rendered with a Neon color palette.

In this prompt, the focus is on creating an abstract image built purely from smoke and mist textures rather than depicting any objects or scenes. The luminous lighting adds a glowing, ethereal effect, while the neon color palette gives the composition a modern, high-energy look. This kind of image works well as a dynamic background, a visual accent for digital interfaces, or a striking element in motion graphics.

Abstract Smoke & Mist


Abstract prompting gives you countless ways to express ideas, feelings, and visual impressions that don’t rely on literal subjects. As you continue exploring, try combining conceptual metaphors, emotional metaphors, and abstract textures to develop a unique style that feels authentic to you.

If you’d like to practice further or experiment with new ideas, you can use the Abstract Prompting Tool on AI Compare Hub. It’s a practical way to test different descriptions, see instant results, and refine your prompts as you grow your skills.

Tags:

Visual Storytelling

Abstract Prompting

Conceptual Metaphor

Emotional Metaphor

Abstract Textures

AI Image Prompting
Course Content

Chapter 1. Introduction to AI image prompting

Fundamentals of AI image generation

Choosing the right AI image generation service

AI Image use cases and image sizes

Anatomy of AI prompts

Inspirational prompting vs. descriptive prompting

Chapter 2. From inspirations to effective AI image prompting

Learning from the history of art

Exploring modern artistic styles

Understanding camera angles and perspectives

Mastering lighting techniques

Applying color techniques

Techniques for effective inspirational prompting

Chapter 3. Descriptive prompting

Subject-focused prompting

Scene-focused prompting

Design-focused prompting

Abstract and experimental prompting

Chapter 4. Beyond text-to-image prompting

Removing background and resizing images

Remixing images: creating new scenes and characters

The Image-to-prompt-to-image technique

Blending images: creating new visuals through image fusion

Sketch to image: bringing hand-drawn ideas to life with AI

Chapter 1. Introduction to AI image prompting

Fundamentals of AI image generation

Choosing the right AI image generation service

AI Image use cases and image sizes

Anatomy of AI prompts

Inspirational prompting vs. descriptive prompting

Chapter 2. From inspirations to effective AI image prompting

Learning from the history of art

Exploring modern artistic styles

Understanding camera angles and perspectives

Mastering lighting techniques

Applying color techniques

Techniques for effective inspirational prompting

Chapter 3. Descriptive prompting

Subject-focused prompting

Scene-focused prompting

Design-focused prompting

Abstract and experimental prompting

Chapter 4. Beyond text-to-image prompting

Removing background and resizing images

Remixing images: creating new scenes and characters

The Image-to-prompt-to-image technique

Blending images: creating new visuals through image fusion

Sketch to image: bringing hand-drawn ideas to life with AI

FAQ: Abstract and Experimental Prompting

What is abstract prompting?

Abstract prompting involves creating images that are emotional, conceptual, or symbolic rather than literal. It uses elements like color, form, and atmosphere to visualize ideas or moods.

How does abstract prompting differ from other types?

Unlike descriptive prompting, which focuses on specific subjects or scenes, abstract prompting is more free-form and poetic, aiming to evoke meaning and mood without relying on concrete details.

What are conceptual metaphors in abstract prompting?

Conceptual metaphors turn intangible ideas into visual representations, showing what something stands for rather than what it looks like.

How can emotional metaphors be used in abstract prompting?

Emotional metaphors convey feelings by describing atmosphere, light, and suggestive forms, asking how a feeling feels rather than what it looks like.

What role do abstract textures and patterns play in this approach?

Abstract textures and patterns create atmosphere or serve as decorative elements, ideal for backgrounds, branding, and experimentation without directly representing ideas or feelings.