AI Comic Lab User Guide: Prompts, Rules & Credits

Getting started

Sign up to get 5 free credits. Each request costs 1 credit, whether it illustrates a panel, designs a character, or plans a scene. There is no subscription, and the studio keeps context across the conversation, so you refine results instead of restarting.

Core concepts

• Chat-based: you talk to the studio. Describe, review, adjust, repeat.
• Reusable characters: save a character once and reference it so it looks the same across panels.
• Planning: it can plan a multi-panel comic before drawing anything.
• 4K export: finished images export at up to 4K, ready for print or web.

Writing prompts

Clear prompts get the right image on the first try; vague ones cost extra credits and retries. Eight rules:

1. State what you want up front. Open with a verb, Draw…, Design a character…, Outline…, Explain…. Vague openers like something cool or make it nice may return a text reply instead of an image.
2. Be specific about the visuals. For images, include art style (manga, western comic, noir, chibi, watercolor), mood and lighting, composition or camera angle, and color palette. A hero on a rooftop is weak; wide-angle shot of a cyberpunk hero on a neon-lit rooftop at night, rain, high-contrast noir lighting is strong.
3. Describe characters fully on first creation. Age, build, hair, outfit, expression, and distinguishing features. The more concrete the first character sheet, the more consistent that character looks in later scenes.
4. Reuse characters and images via attachments. Attach an existing character or reference image, up to 10 per message, instead of retyping their appearance. This keeps their look consistent across panels.
5. Specify orientation when it matters. Say portrait, landscape, or square (for example a character sheet vs. a wide splash panel). Otherwise a sensible default is used.
6. For multi-panel or multi-page work, ask for a plan first. Outline the story before generating scenes, outline a 4-page short story about…, so it stays coherent and you approve structure before spending credits on art.
7. One clear ask per message. Each message uses one credit and triggers one generation, so bundling several unrelated requests usually only gets the first done well. Split them into separate messages.
8. Iterate within the same chat. Follow-ups keep the context of what you already made, so make her jacket red instead works better than a fresh, from-scratch prompt.

Set image size

Request an exact size as width x height, up to 4K quality: 3840x2160 for landscape or 2160x3840 for portrait. A valid size is produced exactly; if the size is not valid, it falls back to a size chosen for you.

Worked examples

Designing a character:

Create a character for my sci-fi comic — a bounty hunter in her 30s, cybernetic left arm, scar across one eyebrow, wears a worn leather trench coat.

A one-page comic from a single prompt:

Create a funny one-page comic where a cat orders food delivery using its owner's phone, and chaos unfolds when the delivery guy arrives expecting a human. Keep the humor lighthearted and the art style playful, not slapstick-violent.

An open-ended, artistic image:

create an artistic image for me.

Recommended workflow

1. Plan the story or scene in the chat.
2. Design and save your main characters.
3. Generate each panel, referencing those characters.
4. Refine anything off in plain language.
5. Export at up to 4K when you are happy.

Content policy: what is not allowed

The studio enforces a content policy on every request, and it cannot be switched off by anything typed into the chat. It refuses:

• Sexual, pornographic, or obscene content, or sexualizing any person.
• Any sexual or suggestive depiction of minors, in any form.
• Hateful, harassing, or demeaning content targeting a protected group.
• Gratuitous, realistic gore meant to shock, or glorifying real-world violence or self-harm.
• Instructions to hack, exploit, or attack systems, or other illegal wrongdoing.

Stylized, non-explicit action and mild comic peril are fine. Full details are in the AI Comic Lab privacy policy.

Credits and pricing

AI Comic Lab runs on a simple pay-per-use credit system. Every request costs one credit, and new accounts start with free credits to try the studio.

So you can make 5 requests free to start, and the smallest top-up is 50 credits for $5. With the launch code PH40, a purchase of 100 credits or more ($10+) gets 40% off, valid until August 25, 2026. There is no subscription, so your cost scales with what you create. Start in AI Comic Lab.