Random Art Prompt Generator

How the random art prompt generator builds a prompt

A prompt is put together from six lists: 31 subjects, 24 styles, 22 moods, 21 color palettes, 10 technique suggestions and 12 settings. Many of the styles, such as impressionism, cubism and art nouveau, are art movements: look at a few real works in that style before you start.

The filters at the top fix the style, subject or mood; anything you leave open is drawn at random, with every option equally likely. A setting is added to about half of the prompts, and a technique to about half.

The parts are combined without checking whether they suit each other, so you will sometimes get an odd mix, such as a minimalist underwater scene in neon colors. Each pick is an unbiased draw from the browser's cryptographic random generator, as described in how our randomness works.

Example: one art prompt, one fifteen-minute sketch

Set the style filter to Ink Drawing and leave the rest open. One press can give: “Create a nostalgic ink drawing artwork of a vintage car in the rain, using sunset colors as your main palette.”

Block in the car's shape first, then the rain in quick vertical strokes. Keep the sunset colors for the reflections on the wet road, so the warm tones stand out against the ink. If the palette says complementary colors, pick one opposite pair, such as blue and orange, and use nothing else.

Ways to use random art prompts

• Daily sketch: one prompt, fifteen minutes, no erasing.
• Constraint practice: fix the style you are studying and let subject and mood vary.
• Group challenge: everyone draws the same prompt and compares results.

For an exact palette, start from a color picked by the random color generator. When the subject is “animal”, the random animal generator decides which one. For a story to illustrate, try the random plot generator.