Let’s be real: between grading, meetings-that-could’ve-been-emails, and keeping approximately 47 tabs open (in your brain and your browser), your creative tank might be running a little low. That’s where trending art prompts and ChatGPT come in—not for your students, not for your school—but just for you. Think of it as your brain’s recess.
You’ve probably seen the viral toy figure trend popping up in your feed—teachers, librarians, moms, even pets, turned into action figures with their own accessories. Ever wondered how people are doing that? Surprise: it’s not magic, it’s ChatGPT. Whether you want to see yourself as a 90s cartoon hero, a fantasy book character, or yes, an action figure with your favorite snacks in a blister pack—it’s silly, visual, low-stakes fun. And guess what? You totally deserve it.
What is an AI Prompt?
First things first, let’s get the basics out of the way just in case you’ve never taken an AI tool out for a spin. An AI prompt is like chatting with a friend—if your best friend were a wildly talented, lightning-fast robot. Basically, it’s a set of instructions you give to an AI so it knows what to create for you.
You’re using words to guide the AI in designing something specific, whether it’s writing a poem, generating an image, or imagining your dog as royalty (true story, see below). Prompts can be super simple or wildly detailed, but the best ones strike a balance. They are clear, descriptive, and just specific enough to get exactly what you want.
For example, instead of just typing “dog,” you might say: An Anatolian shepherd dog with white fur sitting regally on a velvet throne, pop art style.
See? It’s like giving creative directions. The more details you give, the more magic you get.
The Basic Formula for Writing an Art AI Prompt
Writing an art prompt is kind of like ordering your favorite Starbucks drink. The more specific you are, the better the results. (Mine’s an iced caramel macchiato, in case you’re curious.) So, I thought who better to ask what the secret recipe to a good prompt was than none other than the source. I sat down with my friend, ChatGPT, and asked what exactly was that secret recipe to creating a good AI art. And it gave me this basic formula.
Here’s a simple formula to help you get exactly what you want:
[Subject] + [Appearance or Style] + [Setting or Background] + [Mood or Vibe] + [Art Style]
Let’s break it down:
- Subject: What are we looking at? A dog? A librarian? You in your velour tracksuit era?
- Appearance or Style: Add a few details. Think color, outfit, accessories, expression.
- Setting or Background: Where is this taking place? A field of sunflowers? A velvet throne?
- Mood or Vibe: What kind of feeling should the image have? Peaceful, whimsical, totally chaotic?
- Art Style: This is the fun part. Choose a vibe like, pop art, 90s cartoon, or Pixar.
Getting all of those layers right makes all the difference.
How Long Should an Art Prompt Be?
Think Goldilocks. You want your prompt not too short, not too long—just right.
A good art prompt is usually 1–3 sentences. That’s enough space to describe what you want in clear, specific terms without overwhelming the AI with a wall of text. It’s like ordering that iced caramel macchiato: you don’t just say “coffee,” but you also don’t recite your full coffee origin story.
Start with the subject, add a few key details, and finish with the art style. If it feels like you’re rambling, you probably are. If it feels like a Pinterest board in a sentence? You nailed it.
- Too short: A dog
- Too long: A large white dog named Penelope sitting on a throne in a magical world where stars are raining down and everything is made of marshmallows and also there’s a squirrel reading a book and the dog is wearing a crown and… wait what were we doing?
- Just right: A white Anatolian shepherd sitting regally on a velvet throne, surrounded by neon shapes, pop art style.
What to Do If Your AI Image Comes Out Weird
Sometimes the AI delivers exactly what you imagined. Other times… it gives your dog five legs and puts you in a Victorian ball gown you did not ask for. Don’t panic. It just means your prompt needs a little tuning.
- Too vague? Add more detail. “A teacher in a classroom” is fine, but “A teacher in a colorful elementary classroom, wearing glasses and a cardigan, Pixar-style” gives the AI something to work with.
- Too detailed? Yep, that’s a thing. If you throw 15 ideas into one sentence, the AI will either ignore some or mash them all together in ways that make zero sense. Less can be more!
- Wrong style? Be more specific. Instead of just saying “cartoon,” say “90s cartoon like Doug or Rugrats.” The more visual the reference, the better.
- Didn’t include a key detail? Just tweak and resubmit. Want your glasses to be pale teal? Add that. Want a sunflower field instead of a throne? Easy fix.
Basically, just try again, and have fun with the process. Sometimes the AI gets weird. And honestly, some of the results can be downright hilarious.
Turn Your Selfie Into Something Awesome
Ready to see yourself as an action figure? Or on a movie poster? This is your permission slip to play. Pick a prompt, upload a photo, and let ChatGPT do its thing—you might just surprise yourself.
How to use it:
- Upload a photo of yourself.
- Copy and paste the prompt below into ChatGPT and hit enter.
- Wait for the magic.
Hop Onto the Toy Figure Trend(Blister Packs and All)
Ever looked at those custom action figure posts and thought, “How did they do that?” Time to fix that. This prompt is pure fun—perfect for a creativity break, a new profile pic, or just proving to the world that your life absolutely deserves to be on a collector’s shelf. Because every educator deserves their own action figure. Bonus points for including your sidekick dog.
For this first trend, I’ll show you the exact prompt I ended up with after going back and forth with it one night for an hour and realizing I needed to be more detailed. Now that I’ve done the hard work for you, hopefully you won’t have as much back and forth as I did.
The Prompt I Used:
You are an amazing graphic designer. You are going to take an image of me and create a toy of the person in the photo. Let it be an action figure. The toy figure should be wearing a vintage jean jacket, white top, and a floral long skirt. Next to the figure, there should be the toy’s equipment, each in its individual blisters. 1) a white-cream-gray Anatolian shepherd 2) a MacBook with Airpods. On the screen should be the Dateline logo 3) Peonies, garden shears, and a puzzle piece. Don’t repeat the equipment under any circumstance. The card holding the blister should be a strong purple. Also, on top of the box, write ‘Sara Marie’ and underneath it, ‘Marketing by Day, True Crime by Night. The figure and equipment must all be inside blisters. Visualize this in a realistic way.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are an amazing graphic designer. You are going to take an image of me and create a toy of the person in the photo. Let it be an action figure. It should be wearing [insert outfit here]. Next to the figure, there should be the toy’s equipment, each in its individual blisters:
- [insert companion, pet, or sidekick]
- [insert tech item and detail what’s on the screen]
- [insert a set of three personal items—think hobbies, favorites, or daily essentials]
Don’t repeat the equipment under any circumstance. The card holding the blister should be [insert favorite color or aesthetic vibe]. On top of the box, write ‘[Your Name]’ and underneath it, ‘[Day Persona] by Day, [Alter Ego or Passion] by Night.’ The figure and all equipment must be inside blisters. Visualize this in a realistic way.
Don’t like the results it returned? Just go back and forth with it giving it directions.
Barbie-fy (or Ken-ify) Yourself
Sticking with the toy figure trend, I kept seeing these Barbie action figure portraits in my feed—bright, playful, and totally tailored to the person in the photo. So I did some digging and yep, there’s a prompt for that. The original one I found was pretty bare bones, so I gave it a little glow-up. Whether you’re a “Caffeine-Fueled Librarian Barbie,” “STEM Barbie,” or “Principal of Positivity Ken,” this one is all about celebrating your brand of fabulous. Prepare for that hot pink magic.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are a toy designer at a top global brand. Develop a realistic action figure (Barbie doll) of the person in this photo. The doll should be wearing [insert outfit style—professional, casual, glam, etc.]. The doll should come with accessories that represent their lifestyle or personality, such as [insert 3–4 items like a laptop, coffee cup, gardening tools, etc.]. The packaging should be a Barbie doll box. The package should include their name: “[Insert Your Name]” and title: “[Insert fun Barbie edition title, like ‘Data-Driven Ken’ or ‘Teacher Librarian Barbie’].” Style the doll and box in a playful, polished, and Instagram-worthy aesthetic.
Step Into a Softly Drawn Anime World
Confession: I’m not exactly a Studio Ghibli expert. I didn’t grow up on Spirited Away or Totoro, and I couldn’t tell you the plot of Howl’s Moving Castle if I tried. (Yes, I had to look all those up.) But while digging through trending ChatGPT prompts, this one kept showing up and once I saw the dreamy, hand-drawn style, I got the hype. The portraits are peaceful, nostalgic, and full of cozy magic. It’s the perfect way to see yourself in a whole new animated light.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are one of the top animators in Japanese animation. Turn this image into a Studio Ghibli-style animated portrait. Use a soft color palette, a whimsical background, and facial features inspired by Ghibli characters. Style it like a scene from My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. The final image should feel peaceful, magical, and hand-drawn.
Customize It: Change the background to something more personal—like a sunflower field, your favorite park, or even a cozy reading nook. You can also tweak the vibe: adventurous, dreamy, joyful, or introspective. The more specific you get, the more magical it becomes.
Most Likely to Make AI Art Look Cool
This trend is part nostalgia, part hilarity, and 100% worth your five-minute brain break. It’s a throwback to those awkward-glorious yearbook photos—but with better lighting, better clothes, and no braces. You can make it classic 90s, ultra-modern, or completely ridiculous (I once saw one with “Most Likely to Be Found Talking to the Laminator”). Whether you use it to prank a coworker or spotlight yourself as “Most Likely to Survive a Field Trip,” it’s low-effort, high-fun. Go ahead and drop this one into the group chat with zero context and see how they respond.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are a yearbook designer. Create a retro yearbook photo of the person in this image. Style it in [insert decade or theme—1990s, early 2000s, ultra-modern]. Include a fake quote underneath, something playful like “[Insert your fake quote here].” The final result should feel like it came out of a real yearbook, complete with a themed background of [insert your theme] and slightly cheesy flair.
The Movie Poster Version of You
Because let’s be honest—your life already feels like a movie half the time. This prompt is for the drama queens, the plot-twisters, and anyone who’s ever paused mid-chaos and thought, “Is this seriously my life right now?” It’s one of my favorite trends because it turns your photo into a legit movie poster—title, tagline, genre, and all. Bonus points if your sidekick is a stapler or your nemesis goes by “Budget Cuts.”
I had just finished watching The Residence on Netflix (I highly recommend, by the way) when inspiration struck. I added my co-worker Peggy to the mix, gave it a twist of mystery, a sprinkle of snacks, and voilà—cinematic brilliance.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are a movie poster designer. Create a movie poster for the person in this photo. The movie is called “[Insert Your Movie Title].” The tagline is “[Insert dramatic or funny tagline].” The genre is [insert genre—action-comedy, rom-com, mystery, etc.]. Include visual elements that reflect this genre (e.g., lightning in the background, scattered books, glowing tech). The design should look like a real movie poster with bold fonts, cinematic lighting, and moody drama.
Customize It: Want a co-star? Add someone else’s photo to the prompt. Want to go totally off-script? Make the genre something wild like “educator time travel sci-fi” or “post-apocalyptic professional development.”
Blockify Yourself (Minecraft Style)
With the Minecraft movie coming out, block-style everything is back in the spotlight—and it’s not just for students. This prompt lets you create a Minecraft-style avatar of yourself, your co-workers, or your dream school library (blocky bookshelves included). It’s weirdly adorable and sometimes you just want to see what you’d look like made of pixels.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are a pixel artist for a Minecraft-style world. Create a Minecraft avatar based on this photo. The character should be wearing [insert outfit or style], holding [insert item—coffee mug, book, laptop], and standing in front of [insert Minecraft-style background—school, library, garden, etc.]. The style should match the pixelated, blocky look of Minecraft with bright, bold colors.
If My Job Were a Video Game
Because some days really do feel like a boss battle.
This prompt is one part nostalgia, one part reality check, and all creative gold. It imagines your work life as a video game—complete with a title, challenge levels, and some truly dramatic cover art. You’ll either laugh or cry (maybe both), but it’s the kind of prompt that’s fun to do solo or with your whole team.
The Prompt You Can Use:
You are a video game cover artist. Create a video game cover for the person in this image. The game is titled “[Insert Game Title],” and the theme is [insert genre—survival, puzzle, fantasy, etc.]. The main challenge in the game is [insert your work life chaos]. The cover should be dramatic, bold, and styled like a real video game box—retro 8-bit, realistic RPG, or modern gaming cover design.
Customize It:
Add a co-op partner (a.k.a. work bestie), power-ups (coffee, sticky notes, hallway passes), or an unbeatable boss (hello, email inbox).
Now It’s Your Turn
You don’t have to be an artist, designer, or tech wizard to have fun with AI-generated art—you just need a good prompt and a little imagination. Whether you turn yourself into a librarian Barbie, star in your own fake movie poster, or give your dog the pop art throne they clearly deserve, it’s all about playing around and seeing what you can create.
So go ahead—pick a prompt, upload a photo, and see what happens. And if you make something that makes you laugh, smile, or say “Okay, wait… this is actually amazing,” please, oh please, tag @TCEA so I can join in on that amazingness. We want to see your creations. And remember, there are always bonus points if it involves glitter or a dog. Happy creating!
