15 Keywords to Enhance Your AI Prompts with Unique Painting Techniques! (Patreon)

Hi! As an artist, one of my favorite things in the world is exploring different mediums and techniques. Back in college, I spent hours studying the classics, analyzing textures, blending pigments, and discovering just how many shades of orange can exist in a single piece of fruit. (Spoiler: way more than you’d ever expect.)

Fast-forward to today, and AI image generation has become one of my biggest sources of inspiration. It lets me play with endless creative ideas and experiment with techniques I’ve always loved, including the effect that different brush strokes, textures, and paint styles can have on a final image.

There are countless ways to get paint on a canvas. Tiny, delicate brush strokes can build a world of detail, while sweeping, bold strokes create energy and mood. Wet brushes blend colors into dreamy gradients; dry brushes scrape texture into every corner. And that’s not even counting the fun stuff like palette knives that leave thick ridges of paint, modern techniques like pouring, spraying, splattering… basically, the whole “let’s make a glorious mess” toolbox.

And the magic? You can bring all of these techniques into your AI image prompts to add texture, personality, and artistic flair.

So let’s dive into 15 painting technique keywords you can use to inspire unique, unconventional, and wildly creative AI compositions:

1. Small Brush Strokes

Small Brush Strokes style painting, modern hipster bunny, whimsical details, fantasy concept art,

2. Large Brush Strokes

Large Brush Stroke style painting, feminine beauty, woman with long curly hair, smiling,

3. Wet Brush Strokes

Wet Brush Stroke painting, profile of a girl with short wavy hair and bangs, drinking coffee at a café

4. Dry Brush

Dry Brush Stroke painting of an abstract cityscape

5. Impasto

Impasto painting, of orchid blooming, expressive, visible brushstrokes

6. Feathering

Feathering brush effect style painting, a flower field beneath a blue sky with pink smoke

7. Cross-Hatching

Cross-Hatching painting, man walking a deserted country road, detailed, layered

8. Stippling

Stippling painting effect of a city rainstorm, blooming flowers

9. Glazing

Glazing painting of a young man strolling through verdant meadows

10. Sgraffito

Sgraffito painting of a cubist desert scene with cactus

11. Spray Paint

Spray Painted effect design of lightning in a storm, bright colors, modern

12. Poured Paint Effect

Poured paint effect of a bright shimmering galaxy

13. Splattering

Splattering painting with a tiger running, 3/4 view, white background

14. Soft Brush

Soft Brush painting of cotton candy clouds and English meadows, a woman taking a selfie in a flower field

15. Hard Brush

Hard Brush painting of a cute fuzzy worried emoji

A Quick Note

I’m not affiliated with Midjourney or any other AI app, and I don’t receive compensation from them. I just genuinely love using AI tools to explore artistic ideas — and Midjourney happens to be the one I find most intuitive and fun to experiment with.

Even though these prompts were created on Midjourney, you can absolutely try them on other platforms too! NightCafe, Leonardo AI, and Styler AI all offer free credits, and each one adds its own flavor to your final results. So go ahead, play around, try a few versions, and see what kind of magic you can make.

Thanks so much for reading — and as always, happy AI image generating! 🎨✨