Step-by-step workflow
Complete AI Image Creation Workflow
An AI image creation process from concept to final output, covering concept design, image generation, editing and refinement, and final delivery.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Estimated time
- 2-3 hours
- Steps
- 5
- Best for
- Individual creators and design teams producing illustrations, concept art, or marketing key visuals; non-designers who need usable images from text fast.
This workflow is rated "Intermediate" and takes about 2-3 hours, with 5 steps across 3 tools. Steps are editorial suggestions — add or drop stages to fit your project, and confirm each tool's account, quota, and platform requirements before starting to avoid interruptions.
Required tools
Steps
- 01
Concept Design
Define your creative goals, gather reference materials, and establish the visual style direction.
- 02
Prompt Writing
Write detailed text prompts based on the concept design, covering style, composition, lighting, and other elements.
Suggested tool: ChatGPT
- 03
Image Generation
Use AI image generation tools to create initial images, iterating multiple times to refine the results.
Suggested tool: Midjourney
- 04
Image Editing
Fine-tune details, fix imperfections, and enhance the quality of the generated images.
Suggested tool: Adobe Firefly
- 05
Final Output
Export the final image in the appropriate format and resolution for its intended use.
Executable exercise and acceptance
This is an editorial procedure based on official documentation, not a completed product test. Inputs and numbers are exercise targets; expected results are acceptance criteria, not observed performance. Listed durations are planning estimates. Record actual versions and settings; cloud outputs can vary.
Prepare inputs
Exercise input: a fictional café launch brief, your own cup photo, and two brand colors. Target a 1600×900 landscape with space for a heading on the left.
Environment, versions, and prerequisites
Use Midjourney for generation and Firefly for local edits; Stable Diffusion is an alternative, not a mandatory extra stage. Save the actual model, aspect ratio, prompt, and references. Cloud updates prevent a promise of pixel-identical reproduction.
Run in this order
- Split the brief into subject, setting, colors, and empty space; generate two rounds with the sample and save job IDs.
- Choose one composition; use a Firefly selection to repair the background without repainting the real cup branding.
- Add the heading manually, inspect edges and colors, then export at the target size and retain the original.
Copyable English exercise fixture
Editorial fixture: café opening, ceramic cup on the right, warm ivory and forest green, soft window light, empty left third, no generated lettering, landscape composition.Expected delivery and pass criteria
- Deliver one 1600×900 image, a prompt/model log, and an edit comparison. The heading must be legible and the cup outline intact.
Failure conditions and fallback
- Reject garbled branding, a distorted cup, or missing heading space; upscaling cannot repair composition. Do not publish references with unresolved rights.
Official references and review date
· Sources support tool capabilities and limits. Fixtures, sequence, and acceptance targets are our editorial design, not vendor performance promises.
Common mistakes to avoid
These are typical pitfalls our editors hit when assembling similar tool chains — check against them before you start and save yourself rework:
- Piling too many style keywords into one prompt so elements conflict
- Delivering at generation resolution without upscaling, losing detail in print or large screens
- Skipping human curation and shipping the first batch directly to production