# hokusai-gen — Prompt Guide **Model:** `cryptomfer/hokusai` (Flux LoRA, fine-tuned by cc0toshi on ~60 archival Hokusai works from the Metropolitan Museum) **Trigger word (auto-prepended, comma-separated):** `a hokusai ukiyo-e print` **Style anchor:** Edo-period polychrome woodblock print — bold black inkwork; flat color planes of natural pigments (Prussian blue, vermilion, ochre, indigo); pale cloud bands at the top of the composition; often Mount Fuji in the background. Captions were auto-generated by LLaVA-13b at training time — your prompts work best when they match that flat-descriptive register. --- ## Prompt anatomy ```
, , ``` Three slots, comma-separated, ending with palette/style cues to lock in the woodblock-print visual signature. **Palette closers that activate the LoRA** (use one or two): - "polychrome woodblock print" - "deep Prussian blue sky" - "pale cloud bands at the top" - "Edo period ukiyo-e print" --- ## Theme clusters (from training set, ~110 prompts shipped) The LoRA was trained on 7 thematic clusters drawn from Hokusai's documented oeuvre. Prompts land cleanest when they sit inside one cluster — the LoRA has seen 8-20 captions per cluster. ### 1. Mount Fuji (Thirty-Six Views series) Fuji from different angles, seasons, weather conditions, with varying foreground subjects (trees, travelers, fields, boats, villages). > *Mount Fuji rising above a layer of pale grey clouds at dawn, cherry > trees in pink bloom in the foreground, polychrome woodblock print > with deep Prussian blue sky* ### 2. Waves & fishermen The Great Wave variations, fishing boats at sea, pearl divers, fishermen mending nets, coastal cliffs. > *a great curling cobalt blue wave with claw-like foam towering over > three narrow fishing boats, rowers bent flat to the deck, Mount Fuji > small on the horizon* ### 3. Edo daily life Markets, tea houses, workers, travelers, craftsmen — sake brewer, charcoal seller, paper maker, basket weaver, blacksmith, kite seller. > *a busy fish market at the edge of a canal at dawn, vendors weighing > tuna on hand scales, shoppers in indigo kimono inspecting the catch* ### 4. Kacho-e (birds & flowers) Tight close-ups: sparrows on plum branches, kingfishers and irises, cranes at sunrise, peonies with butterflies. Often vertical composition. > *two sparrows perched on a snow-laden plum branch, soft pink blossoms > just opening, pale grey winter sky with no horizon line* ### 5. Yokai / myth / supernatural Ghosts, oni, kitsune, tengu, tanuki, kappa, dragons. Often nocturnal. > *the ghost of Oiwa with disheveled hair and one disfigured eye > rising from a paper lantern, faint blue flames flickering around > her, deep black background* ### 6. Samurai & warriors Battles, duels on bridges, archers, ronin on snowy roads, warrior monks at temples. > *a samurai in full lacquered armor on horseback charging into battle, > banner fluttering behind, dust rising under hooves* ### 7. Nature — waterfalls, snow, rivers, forests Crashing waterfalls, snow-laden bamboo, autumn maples, mountain storms, moonlit hillsides. > *a great waterfall plunging from a cliff in white columns of foam, > a single pilgrim resting at its base, autumn leaves drifting in > the spray* --- ## Things to ALWAYS include 1. **A palette closer** — at least one of "polychrome woodblock print", "deep Prussian blue sky", or "pale cloud bands at the top of the composition". Without it the LoRA drifts toward generic Japanese illustration. 2. **Specific subject + context** — abstract prompts ("a beautiful Japanese scene") generate weak output. The training set was always concrete (Mount Fuji at sunset, two fishing boats riding the swell). 3. **Comma-separated descriptors**, not full sentences. Mimics the training register. ## Things to NEVER do - ❌ Don't add Western art-historian vocabulary ("chiaroscuro", "impasto", "tenebrism"). The style is woodblock, not oil. - ❌ Don't describe modern objects (cars, phones, electricity). Edo period only — pre-1850 visual vocabulary. - ❌ Don't omit the palette closer — most-impactful trick. - ❌ Don't write the trigger word yourself. The backend prepends it. ## Prompt length Max 1000 characters after auto-prepend. Hokusai prompts typically run 150-250 chars — descriptive but concise. ## Three more verbatim training examples ``` fishermen casting a wide net from a single-sailed boat at dawn, sea birds wheeling above, gentle Prussian blue swell ``` ``` a kingfisher diving toward a still pond, irises in bloom along the bank, dragonflies hovering over the water ``` ``` an arched wooden bridge crossing a wide river at dusk, travelers with lanterns walking single file, reflections shimmering in the current ```