Whether you've been on NC for a minute or a month, chances are you've seen at least one or two portraits that are almost jaw-dropping. Portraits of beautiful people young and old are one of my truly favorite things to create on NC and I am constantly searching/ experimenting to find additional artists' styles I can combine to achieve the maximum results. Below are just a few of the different "beautiful" portraits I've created - each with a different or refined style prompt.
Let me first warn you that Stable (which is the only format I use on NC) sucks at being able to understand hands and arms. Seriously... it sucks. Results are best described as a "crapshoot" where you'll be clapping with glee if you get a rendering that only has 5 fingers and two arms. So keep that in mind when you are deciding how much of your character you want to show (head and shoulder portrait, 3/4, full body etc.) and be prepared to spend a few credits more often than not to get specific results.
Secondly, you can create an entire series of portraits just by changing a word or phrase. For instance: You could use the same prompt (beautiful woman) but change the next phrase in your prompt, "serene" - which tends to give a pretty closed mouth, open eye result, with "wise", "curious" etc. OR change their hair/eye combo OR the embellishments (like types of flowers and other nature elements: oak leaves, red roses, moss & twigs, or costumes/clothing of a particular era). You can also do this with ethnic/cultural descriptors: Norwegian (which is used for the Moon Goddess on the top row in the gallery above), Haitian (as opposed to saying African-American or black woman) for the dark skin beauty shown in the bottom row of the gallery, or a specific tribe of Native Americans (Navajo and Lakota have rendered great results for me). Also, when I'm creating a series, I use the duplicate function as opposed to evolve, leaving the seed and the ratio the same. You can also get a drastically different result (which is not a bad thing many times) by changing the aspect ratio between square and portrait. Skip widescreen or landscape for portraits.
Now to the artists...
Two of my favorites are Anna Dittman and James Gurney. And I love to combine the two! This "Old Indigenous Woman" is a perfect example of a combined Dittman/Gurney style and recently earned me 20 credits for being in the Top 5% in NC's new daily challenge events. Both of these artists have a very detailed, realistic style which Stable recognizes it seems for literally thousands of adjective modifiers.
More artists' styles to explore (just click on their name to go to their websites or gallery profiles)
Sometimes it helps to reference a current-day celebrity to get a face or full body portrait that looks realistic and shows off specific facial/body traits. For instance, here's Pierce Brosnan, Robin Williams and Jason Momoa . (Artists used in combo or alone for these three: Thomas Kinkade, Gustave Doré Greg Rutkowski (Pierce Brosnan & Jason Momoa)
Ferdinand Knab, Albert Bierstadt, Martin Johnson Heade, John Constable, Gustave Courbet (Robin Williams)
More descriptives to use: close-up portrait, photorealistic (good to use in combo with "detailed matte painting"), 8k resolution concept art portrait, ethereal, elegant, intricate, volumeric lighting, luminescent, dramatic, ornate, regal, fantasy, dramatic lighting, glamorous, fashion photo shoot, symmetrical face, lens flares effects, swirly bokeh, brush effect, precise anatomy, octane render and character concept.
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Thank you so much for sharing this information, which has been so helpful. Elaine AJ x