Getting Started with Invoke

First, we're excited to welcome you to Invoke AI!

Our tool has grown and evolved from a simple toolkit to a powerful and flexible application with the ability to help you create with AI.

Whether you’ve used image generation technology before or not, getting started with a more advanced tool like Invoke AI requires some learning - But we’re here to help.

Our team is comprised of experts who have been working in this space since the early days of Stable Diffusion’s release, and we’ve crafted a guide to help you understand the basics, how pro-grade tools differ from others, and help you in generating your first set of images.

Basics

We think it is important to understand the basic mechanics of how this technology works, so that you understand the tools you are using.

In training the technology used by Invoke, Machines have been presented an image and description. They learn how those images appear as “Noise” is progressively added to an image. 

The computer is then tasked with recreating the image by reversing the “noise”, based on the original description - This process is called `denoising`. At first, the machine fails but with enough time it starts to get very good at creating coherent images based on only text descriptions. It becomes so good that it can even do this without needing an original image at all!

This technique is how the machine learns to take a text description of an image (your “prompt”) and create images from it. With a trained model, you can simply pass in a new Prompt, and it will try to generate the described image.

Prompts

To create the most accurate images, you need to provide the AI with detailed prompts. Just like an artist, the AI benefits from clear instructions about your desired image. You will typically want to include words that effectively describe the aesthetic you're looking to generate, from mood, lighting, medium, to compositional terms like "Close-up" or "portrait".

Read more in depth about Tips on Crafting Prompts

Models

Depending on the type of images and content that the machine is trained on, it may have a different understanding of what the world looks like. Different models, just like different artists, have a different understanding of the words you are using. A "portrait of a calm lazy cat" may come out totally different, depending on the model selected!

JuggernautXL	Invoke's FantasyAndArt	Seek.Art's MEGA V2

Read more in depth about Models here - What is a model? Which should I use?

General Settings

Read more in depth about General Settings

Some suggestions for getting started:

Follow our guide to prompting, or search the internet for "Stable Diffusion" prompts that are aligned with the style you're looking to achieve. Be sure that prompts you use are formatted for Invoke, by following our Prompt Syntax

You can also reference a helpful list of inspirational terms to include in your prompts, in our Style Prompt Book

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