Lesson 6. Art styles: anime, illustration, advertising, and digital art
Photorealism is one side of AI generation. The second, often more useful one is various art styles. Illustration, anime, watercolor, vector graphics, concept art — each has its own keywords and prompting principles.
Topic breakdown
Art styles are divided into categories: photographic (photography, realism), classical (oil painting, watercolor, pencil sketch), digital (digital art, concept art, 3D render), modern illustration (flat design, vector art), anime and manga.
Each style works with its own keywords and archives. For example, 'Studio Ghibli style' yields a result similar to Miyazaki films. 'Pixar 3D render' approaches the Disney-Pixar aesthetic.
For advertising and brand graphics: 'clean minimal design', 'corporate illustration', 'flat vector style', 'modern graphic design' — provide a commercial look.
Art movements work too: 'Art Deco', 'Bauhaus', 'Art Nouveau', 'Impressionist'. They reproduce the aesthetic of specific historical periods.
What you'll learn
- Know the main categories of art styles and their keywords
- Compose separate prompts for anime, illustration, and advertising
- Use art movements and references to famous artists
- Adapt the same content to different styles
Deep dive
Working with style is not about finding a pretty filter, but managing visual language. The same scene in different styles can solve completely different business problems and target different audiences.
The more precise and historical the style name, the easier it is for the model to pick a direction. But a name alone is not enough: add secondary signals like brushstroke, color density, or line art character.
For commercial illustration, readable shape and clean silhouette are often more important than fine detailing. Especially in a mobile feed, the viewer first reads the general silhouette, and only then the decorations.
Lesson plan
Taxonomy of art styles
Photographic, classical, digital, illustrative, anime — within each large category there are dozens of specific sub-styles. The more specific the style name, the more accurate the result.
Advertising and corporate graphics
'Clean minimal design', 'corporate flat illustration', 'professional infographic style' — provide a commercial, neutral, and modern look.
Historical art movements
Art Nouveau (organic forms), Art Deco (geometry, gold), Bauhaus (functionalism), Impressionism (visible strokes, play of light) — each gives a strong aesthetic.
Mixing styles and hybrid approach
'Anime style with oil painting texture', 'watercolor concept art' — merging two styles sometimes yields a unique result. But excessive mixing leads to blurriness.
Weak vs strong prompt
a character illustration
a brave young warrior, anime style inspired by Studio Ghibli, cel shading, expressive large eyes, detailed armor with floral motifs, soft watercolor background in muted greens and blues, dynamic pose, clean line art
The second prompt specifies the anime style, color palette, character details, and composition. The result is less random and closer to the goal.
Ready visual prompt template
Copy and adapt[subject], [specific style name], [specific style terms], [color palette], [composition], [lighting]
Why it works
Specific style name: 'Studio Ghibli style', 'Pixar 3D render', 'classic oil painting in the style of Vermeer'.
Style terms: for watercolor — 'loose brushstrokes, wet-on-wet technique, paper texture'.
For vector/flat: 'flat vector illustration, clean lines, solid colors, minimal shading'.
For concept art: 'detailed concept art, environment design, moody atmosphere, matte painting'.
For anime: 'anime style, clean line art, cel shading, vibrant colors, expressive eyes'.
Practice
- Choose a scene: 'a young girl with a cat'.
- Studio Ghibli: '...Studio Ghibli style, hand-drawn animation, soft watercolor background, warm colors'.
- Advertising illustration: '...flat vector illustration, minimal style, pastel colors, clean design'.
- Classic painting: '...oil painting in the style of Vermeer, rich colors, dramatic lighting, texture visible'.
- Generate all three and compare.
Checklist
Common mistakes
- writing 'anime style' without specifying a specific subgenre (Ghibli, Makoto Shinkai, shonen manga are all different)
- mixing style and photorealistic terms ('oil painting, photorealistic')
- adding 'detailed texture' for vector art instead of 'sharp lines'
- improperly referencing an artist: many models don't reproduce living authors' styles
Lesson FAQ
Can I use the style of a specific artist?
Many models attempt to reproduce the styles of famous artists. However, using the styles of living authors is ethically debatable. Deceased artists (Van Gogh, Monet, Klimt) or historical movements (Art Deco, Impressionism) are less problematic.
Is Midjourney suitable for creating vector art?
Midjourney creates images that look like vectors, but not true SVG. For actual vector art, it's better to use Adobe Illustrator for refinement or Adobe Firefly / Canva AI.