A guide · v8 · May 2026

Krea K-2·base prompt guide

By Oleg Pars — composed from two weeks of testing

A working minimum — structure, vocabulary, 7 worked examples. Not a bible. If you're just starting with K-2, run example 1 first.

Chapter 01

Main rule — style goes first

The first word of the prompt is a genre/style tag. It controls the render (photo vs illustration vs collage vs mural) before the model even learns what to draw.

Without a genre tag the model defaults to smooth-realism. If you want surrealism, illustration, collage or a specific style — declare it first.

Opener examples

  • cinematic photograph
  • fine art photography
  • photorealistic street photography
  • dark cinematic photograph
  • surreal landscape photography
  • mixed media collage
  • pop art collage illustration
  • botanical illustration, scientific drawing
  • japanese anime style illustration
  • ukiyo-e woodblock print illustration
  • urban art mural

Chapter 02

How to write a prompt in practice

The 5-component structure (Style → Subject → Environment → Light+Camera → Color+Mood) is the target, the end point. Don't write all of it at once — get there through an iterative approach, adding layers based on what you see.

Working workflow

  1. Start with the minimum: genre opener + 1-2 words about the subject. For example: cinematic photograph, an old cellist. That's it, run it.
  2. Look at what came out. Composition ok? Period right? Light intensity matching?
  3. Find ONE thing that's off. Frame too flat? → add environment. Wrong era? → add a period detail. Light off? → add a lighting phrase.
  4. Add exactly that ONE component and run again.
  5. Repeat until the frame matches what you wanted.

Why this way and not a 60-word prompt right away? When you add component by component, you learn how the model reacts to each word in isolation. If you write everything at once and the result is weak, you won't know which word ruined the frame.

The 7 examples in this guide are final target prompts that took 5-10 iterations each to arrive at. Use them as a baseline, not as a starting point.

Fewer words = more variance

The shorter the prompt, the wider the space the model "fills in" from its priors. This is the artistic-variance palette.

  • When you want this: exploration phase. You don't yet know what you want. Short prompts give unexpected interpretations — raw material for further iteration.
  • When it hurts: when you need a specific frame for a client / for a series / for reproducibility. Then — detailed target prompt.

Don't confuse variance with "model creativity". On short prompts the model leans into its default aesthetic anchors — that's its averaged "taste", not yours.

K-2 specifically handles short ambiguous prompts well — that's its strength during the idea-search stage. Don't be afraid to start with 3-5 words.

What does NOT work — negations (no X)

In Krea, negations in the prompt are usually broken: no people → the model is more likely to draw people. To "understand" what NOT to draw, it first has to think about it.

Better — write positively what you want to see:

FragileReliable
no peopleempty room, deserted street
no textblank surface, clean background
no blursharp focus throughout

Sometimes the model "gets" negations unexpectedly — for me, no face once gave a figure with no face, and no hands the same week stubbornly kept drawing hands. That's randomness, not a rule — don't bet on it.

Chapter 03

Prompt structure — photo styles

#BlockWhatExample
1 Style / genre tag Genre opener cinematic photograph
2 Subject + Action Who/what in one frozen moment. Be specific. an elderly man with white hair, eyes closed, playing cello
3 Environment Where, what's around, depth cues in an abandoned theater, red velvet seats blurred in background
4 Lighting + Camera Light + lens + framing in one comma-separated phrase dramatic spotlight from above, medium shot, shallow depth of field, chiaroscuro
5 Color palette + Mood Palette + mood at the end warm color palette, melancholic mood

Chapter 04

Prompt structure — illustration / collage / abstract

For non-photo styles the Lighting + Camera block is usually dropped. The replacement is Visual finish.

#BlockWhatExample
1 Style / genre tag Genre opener pop art collage illustration
2 Subject / Composition Often a description of the composition itself, not just the subject head and shoulders portrait of a person
3 Visual elements Elements, patterns, palette inside the scene dotted stipple skin texture, geometric shapes, sky blue clouds, black and white stripes
4 Visual finish Composition + contrast + texture high contrast, vibrant color palette, sharp focus, glossy textures

Exception: botanical / scientific illustration can include soft studio lighting (imitating a photograph of the drawing). Optional.

Chapter 05

Vocabulary Krea understands

Don't write beautiful, amazing, 8k, trending on artstation, octane render, masterpiece. Krea has its own aesthetic prior — by default the model already looks better than what those tokens used to give in older models. They're either ignored or pull in random directions, fighting the model's own aesthetic. Write concretely — what's in the frame, what's lighting it, what palette.

Style openers — photo

  • cinematic photograph
  • fine art photography
  • photorealistic street photography
  • dark cinematic photograph
  • surreal landscape photography
  • retrofuturistic grainy film photograph
  • black and white candid photograph
  • black and white gritty candid street photography

Style openers — non-photo

  • pop art collage illustration
  • mixed media collage
  • japanese anime style illustration
  • ukiyo-e woodblock print illustration
  • botanical illustration, scientific drawing
  • urban art mural
  • surreal collage art
  • minimalist surrealism

Lighting

  • dramatic spotlight
  • soft natural light
  • golden hour
  • chiaroscuro
  • harsh fluorescent lighting
  • soft diffused lighting
  • volumetric dust
  • bokeh
  • film grain
  • key light from camera-left/right

Camera

  • shallow depth of field
  • medium shot
  • wide shot
  • close-up
  • eye-level shot
  • fisheye lens
  • wide-angle lens
  • low angle
  • overhead shot
  • centered composition
  • high angle

Mood

  • moody
  • dreamlike
  • melancholic
  • serene
  • whimsical
  • rustic
  • dark
  • brooding
  • nostalgic
  • intimate

Visual finish — non-photo

  • high contrast
  • vibrant colors
  • sharp focus
  • glossy textures
  • flat composition
  • intricate patterns
  • bold color palette
  • high detail
  • visible brushstrokes
  • woodgrain texture

Color palette

  • warm color palette
  • pastel blue and pink
  • muted browns and silver gray
  • vibrant orange sky
  • dark moody color palette
  • pale creamy sky
  • cool palette with warm accents
  • traditional indigo and pale beige

Chapter 06

5 principles

  1. 01

    Style first.

    Genre tag as the first word. That one token does half the work.

  2. 02

    Concrete > abstract.

    vivid cobalt-blue petals radiating from a yellow center > beautiful flower. The more precise the description — the more stable the result.

  3. 03

    One visual focus.

    Not a salad of 5 ideas. If you want a complex scene — break it into separate generations.

  4. 04

    Minimum filler, 30-80 words.

    Shorter — for exploration. Longer — for a specific target frame. Much longer than 80 — the model starts losing priorities.

  5. 05

    Photo vs non-photo grammar.

    If the genre isn't photo — lighting + camera are usually dropped, replaced by visual finish.

If you remember only one rule — №1. Open example 1 (cellist) and try it as-is in Krea K-2 — that's your reference point.

Chapter 07

7 worked examples

01

Photo · cinematic portrait

An elderly cellist in an abandoned theater

Cinematic photograph, a lone elderly cellist with white hair and deep wrinkles, frozen mid-bow with eyes closed in concentration. In an abandoned theater with empty red velvet seats blurred in background, dust particles drifting through beams of light. Single spotlight from above, medium shot, shallow depth of field, chiaroscuro. Warm color palette, melancholic mood.
Style
Cinematic photograph
Subject + Action
a lone elderly cellist..., frozen mid-bow with eyes closed
Environment
In an abandoned theater..., dust particles drifting through beams of light
Lighting + Camera
Single spotlight from above, medium shot, shallow depth of field, chiaroscuro
Color + Mood
Warm color palette, melancholic mood

02

Photo · fine art surreal

An empty chair in the middle of a calm sea

Fine art photography, an empty wooden chair standing alone in the middle of a calm sea at sunrise, the water surface mirror-still except for one small ripple emanating from a chair leg. Endless horizon meeting open water at all edges, faint pink clouds in pastel blue and pink sky. Golden hour soft warm light from camera-right, centered symmetric composition, wide shot. Dreamlike atmosphere.
Style
Fine art photography
Subject + Action
an empty wooden chair..., one small ripple emanating from a chair leg
Environment
endless horizon meeting open water at all edges, faint pink clouds (note: NOT no land in sight. To exclude land, describe what IS in its place — open water at all edges.)
Lighting + Camera
Golden hour soft warm light from camera-right, centered symmetric composition, wide shot
Color + Mood
pastel blue and pink sky, dreamlike atmosphere

This is still photo grammar — because the genre is fine art photography. A surreal subject ≠ non-photo grammar.

03

Photo · street / documentary

A motionless woman on a Moscow sidewalk in winter

Photorealistic street photography, a young woman with windswept dark hair, eyes closed, standing motionless on a busy Moscow sidewalk in winter, snow falling around her. Pedestrians blur past her in motion, distant tram glow in the background. Golden hour soft warm light from camera-left, medium shot, shallow depth of field, bokeh highlights. Muted cool palette with warm accents, melancholic mood.
Style
Photorealistic street photography
Subject + Action
a young woman..., eyes closed, standing motionless
Environment
busy Moscow sidewalk in winter, snow falling, pedestrians blur past her, distant tram glow
Lighting + Camera
Golden hour soft warm light from camera-left, medium shot, shallow depth of field, bokeh highlights
Color + Mood
Muted cool palette with warm accents, melancholic mood

The device — a static subject + a moving environment (standing motionless vs pedestrians blur past her) — gives the frame a strong emotional contrast read.

04

Photo · dark cinematic interior

A young man in a cluttered home studio

Dark cinematic photograph, a young man in a worn leather jacket sitting on the floor of a cluttered home studio, surrounded by tangled cables and dimly glowing vintage synthesizers, eyes downcast at a notebook. Single warm desk lamp from camera-right, deep shadows on the rest of the room, close-up, shallow depth of field, film grain. Cool blue ambient palette with warm desk-lamp accent, brooding atmosphere.
Style
Dark cinematic photograph
Subject + Action
a young man... sitting on the floor..., eyes downcast at a notebook
Environment
cluttered home studio, tangled cables, dimly glowing vintage synthesizers
Lighting + Camera
Single warm desk lamp from camera-right, deep shadows on the rest of the room, close-up, shallow depth of field, film grain
Color + Mood
Cool blue ambient palette with warm desk-lamp accent, brooding atmosphere

The device — mixed color temperature (cool blue ambient + warm desk-lamp accent). It gives the feeling of "one warm point in a cold room" — works in noir aesthetics and intimate portraits.

05

Non-photo · botanical illustration

A scientific drawing of a sunflower

Botanical illustration, scientific drawing of a sunflower in full bloom, bright yellow ray petals radiating from a dark brown disc center, broad green leaves and thick stem visible below, central composition on a cream antique paper background, intricate vein detail and stipple shading, high detail, naturalistic color palette.
Style
Botanical illustration, scientific drawing
Subject / Composition
a sunflower in full bloom, central composition on cream antique paper background
Visual elements
bright yellow ray petals radiating from a dark brown disc center, broad green leaves and thick stem, intricate vein detail and stipple shading
Visual finish
high detail, naturalistic color palette

Optional: add soft studio lighting at the end for a faint shadow (imitating a catalog photograph of the drawing).

06

Non-photo · mixed media collage

A 1960s Soviet textbook page reimagined

Mixed media collage, pop art style, vintage black and white photograph of a 1960s Soviet science textbook page with colorful cartoon elements overlaid, a yellow rocket trailing rainbow smoke launching from a teacup, hand-drawn red arrows pointing to abstract geometric shapes, torn paper edges visible. Dynamic asymmetric composition, high contrast, bold red, yellow, and cobalt color palette, sharp focus, glossy magazine finish.
Style
Mixed media collage, pop art style
Subject / Composition
vintage black and white photograph of a 1960s Soviet science textbook page with colorful cartoon elements overlaid
Visual elements
yellow rocket trailing rainbow smoke launching from a teacup, hand-drawn red arrows pointing to abstract geometric shapes, torn paper edges visible
Visual finish
Dynamic asymmetric composition, high contrast, bold red, yellow, and cobalt color palette, sharp focus, glossy magazine finish

No lighting block, no camera lens — a collage has neither. Instead: composition + contrast + palette + finish.

07

Non-photo, cultural · ukiyo-e woodblock

The great wave in Hokusai style

Ukiyo-e woodblock print illustration in Hokusai style, Edo period, a great wave curling over a fishing boat with three workers braced inside, white foam breaking into claw-like fingers, distant Mount Fuji visible through the spray. Flat composition with bold black outlines, traditional indigo and pale beige palette with white highlights, visible woodgrain texture, high detail.
Style
Ukiyo-e woodblock print illustration in Hokusai style, Edo period
Subject / Composition
a great wave curling over a fishing boat with three workers braced inside
Visual elements
white foam breaking into claw-like fingers, distant Mount Fuji visible through the spray
Visual finish
Flat composition with bold black outlines, traditional indigo and pale beige palette with white highlights, visible woodgrain texture, high detail

Artist + period (Hokusai style, Edo period) — an anchor for a specific school. Without them the model can drift into modern anime, which is visually close but aesthetically a different world.

Bonus

Style references — moodboards

The text prompt is half of Krea's power. The other half is style references.

Krea accepts up to 4 images as style references alongside your text prompt. Each can be set with a weight 0-100 (default 50). What used to need a fine-tune is now one photo.

How this changes the workflow

  • Want a polaroid aesthetic — drop in one polaroid photo as a reference, no need to spell out shot on Polaroid 600, instant photo aesthetic.
  • Want a specific artist's style — drop in their painting.
  • Want oil paint — drop in an oil painting.

If one image isn't enough — assemble a moodboard of 2-4 references. A hybrid works well: the text prompt sets what is in the frame (subject + composition + lighting), and 2-3 style references set how it looks. Weights tune the balance — for example, primary reference 70, accent 30.

Trick for a consistent "look": first generate a few images in Krea from a text prompt, pick one or two with the aesthetic you hit, and feed THEM as style references for the next prompts. Your style amplifies iteratively, and the series ends up visually consistent.

Image-to-Prompt — the reverse path

Krea has a separate feature: upload any image — Krea writes a ready-to-use prompt for it (roughly 30-100 words). Useful when:

  • you saw an image you like but don't know how to describe it in words — Krea gives you the vocabulary, then you can adapt it to your subject;
  • you want to lock in the style of a generation you found, for repeats across a series — you get a dense prompt that reproduces the look more accurately than your handwritten description.

Don't use the result as-is — it's a baseline, not a final. Swap subject/environment for your task, keep the vocabulary.

What's next

The full review — coming in a few days

For the past two weeks I've been testing 6 image models on the same prompts — Krea K-2 Large/Medium, Nano Banana Pro/2, ChatGPT 2, Flux 2 Max. The review comes out in a few days. Where each model shines, where all six fail in the same way — plus the full prompt pack so you can reproduce it.

Subscribe to the channel so you don't miss it:

youtube.com/@olegpars

— Oleg