This is the one-page reference for prompting Recraft V4 (and V4.1) — the design tool that outputs native, editable SVG vector art plus best-in-class text rendering, and raster when you want it. The big thing to internalize: in Recraft the style is a UI setting, not a parameter. There are no inline --parameters — aspect ratio, style, and detail are all controls in the interface, so your prompt stays pure natural language.
New here? Start with the best Recraft prompts roundup, then keep this sheet open while you build. For a deeper walk-through of vector work, see how to prompt Recraft for vector art.
The Recraft prompt formula
A strong Recraft prompt is one clean description in four parts, with style, aspect ratio, and detail set separately in the UI. Write what you want to see; let the interface handle the mechanics.
A [image style] of [main content]. [Detailed description of the main content]. [Description of the background]. [Detailed style description].The four parts, in order:
- Image style — name the look in words ("a flat vector illustration", "a minimalist line-art icon") to reinforce the style you picked in the menu.
- Main content — the one subject, described concretely (object, pose, key shapes).
- Background — plain, transparent, a color, or a simple scene. State it so it doesn't drift.
- Style detail — palette, line weight, shading, texture, mood — the finishing notes.
One worked example (with the style menu set to Vector illustration):
A flat vector illustration of a potted monstera plant. Bold clean shapes with a few overlapping leaves and a simple terracotta pot. Plain off-white background with generous negative space. Limited palette of sage green, terracotta, and cream, no gradients, uniform outlines, modern editorial look.Settings: Vector illustration · SVG export · 1:1
Why it works: each of the four parts is present and specific, the background can't wander, and because there are no tags the model reads it as a plain design brief — exactly what Recraft rewards.
Styles & when to use them
Style is the first thing you set, in the style menu — it decides whether you get a photo, a raster illustration, or true editable vector paths. These five are the top-level styles; each has substyles (covered below).
| Style | Output | Best for | Example use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Realistic image | Raster (PNG) | Photographic scenes with real lighting and texture | Product shots, portraits, hero photos |
| Digital illustration | Raster (PNG) | Drawn, painterly, or stylized art with shading | Editorial art, book covers, character scenes |
| Vector illustration | Editable SVG | Scalable flat art you can open in Figma or Illustrator | Web hero graphics, spot illustrations, patterns |
| Icon | Editable SVG | Small, simple, single-concept marks with few paths | UI icon sets, feature glyphs, app symbols |
| Logo | Editable SVG | Clean marks and wordmarks with crisp text | Brand logos, monograms, badges |
Substyle & aesthetic modifiers
Each top-level style offers substyles, and you can echo them in words in the fourth part of the prompt. Combine one substyle with a clear subject; stacking three at once fights the model.
| Modifier | What it does |
|---|---|
| Flat design | Solid fills, no gradients or shadows — the clean modern default for vector art and icons |
| Line art | Uniform-weight outlines only, no fills — minimal, technical, great for simple icons |
| Hand-drawn | Loose organic strokes with a sketched, human feel |
| Engraving | Fine cross-hatched linework, vintage etched or woodcut look |
| Isometric | Angled 3D-tile perspective for scenes, rooms, and product diagrams |
| Pixel art | Blocky retro grid aesthetic for game and 8-bit styling |
| Grain / texture | Subtle noise or paper texture over flat shapes for a tactile, printed feel |
| Minimal | Few shapes, lots of negative space — pares the subject to its essentials |
| Geometric | Built from precise circles, triangles, and polygons for a structured mark |
| Duotone | Two-color scheme only — bold, on-brand, and easy to keep consistent |
| 3D | Dimensional shading and depth on shapes for a rendered, tactile look |
Color, detail & text controls
These are the levers that keep a Recraft asset on-brand and legible. Most live in the interface; the text and background cues go in the prompt.
| Control | Where it lives | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Style Palette (brand hex) | UI setting | Enter your exact hex codes and Recraft restricts the whole generation to that set — the reliable brand-color lock |
| Monochrome / duotone | Palette + prompt | Set one or two hex values in the palette and add "monochrome" or "duotone teal and cream" in the style detail |
| Level-of-detail slider | UI setting | Slide low for flat, few-path icons; high for rich, dense illustration — controls path count and complexity |
| "Quote the text" | Prompt | Wrap the exact words in "quotes", name the weight and case, and place the text instruction early so it drives layout |
| Plain / transparent background | Prompt + export | Say "plain white background" or "transparent background"; vector styles export SVG with a clean or empty backdrop |
| Aspect ratio | UI setting | Pick the ratio in the interface (1:1, 3:2, 16:9, and more) — never write it as a flag in the prompt |
SVG & export quick tips
Recraft is one of the few tools that gives you genuinely editable vector files. A few habits keep those exports clean:
- Pick a vector style — Vector illustration, Icon, or Logo — before you generate; Realistic image and Digital illustration only export raster PNG.
- Keep the level of detail low for icons and marks. Fewer paths mean tidy curves that are easy to edit in Figma or Illustrator.
- Say "flat design, solid fills, no gradients" for the cleanest paths; heavy shading turns into dozens of stacked shapes.
- Ask for a plain or transparent background so nothing extra ends up in the SVG.
- Lock brand colors with the Style Palette before export, not after — recoloring in-app is faster than editing hex in the file.
- Use Custom Styles (5–10 reference images → a named style) and the Set tool (up to six images in one look) to keep an icon set consistent, then export the whole set as SVG.
- Run the Mockup generator only for previews — those wraps are raster, not the editable file you ship.
Example prompts
Six complete prompts that assemble the tables above. Set the style, ratio, and detail in the UI as noted under each, then paste and tweak. For more, browse the best Recraft prompts and the Recraft prompt templates.
1. Minimalist logo mark
A minimalist logo of an abstract mountain formed by two overlapping triangles. One solid shape with a clean notch of negative space, optically centered, balanced and symmetrical. Plain white background with generous margins. Flat design, single deep-teal fill, uniform edges, reads clearly at small sizes and in one color.Settings: Logo · SVG export · 1:1
Best for: a scalable brand mark you can drop straight into a style guide. See the Recraft logo design prompts for more marks.
2. Flat UI icon
A flat line-art icon of a paper airplane. A single simple glyph with uniform stroke weight, rounded corners, one clear shape. Transparent background, generous padding. Minimal, two-tone indigo and white, no shading, designed to read at 24px.Settings: Icon · SVG export · 1:1 · low detail
Best for: UI kits and feature rows. Turn the detail slider down so the SVG stays a handful of clean paths — more in the Recraft icon prompts.
3. Vector illustration scene
A flat vector illustration of a person working at a standing desk with a laptop and a mug of coffee. Bold clean shapes, relaxed pose, a small potted plant and a hanging picture frame nearby. Plain warm-cream background with soft negative space. Limited palette of mustard, sage, terracotta, and charcoal, no gradients, uniform outlines, modern editorial style.Settings: Vector illustration · SVG export · 16:9
Best for: landing-page heroes and blog headers that need an on-brand, scalable graphic instead of a stock photo.
4. Poster with text
A bold event poster with the ALL-CAPS headline "NEW SEASON" in a heavy geometric sans-serif across the top. Below it, a stylized abstract sunrise made of stacked semicircle arches. Plain background in a warm gradient-free block of color. Duotone burnt-orange and cream, flat design, strong negative space, confident editorial layout. Set the words exactly as "NEW SEASON".Settings: Vector illustration · SVG export · 2:3
Why it works: the exact words are quoted, kept to two ALL-CAPS words, and lead the prompt — Recraft's text rendering sets them crisply while the layout builds around them.
5. Realistic product image
A realistic image of a matte-black ceramic coffee mug on a wet slate surface. Three-quarter view with faint steam rising, crisp reflections, condensation on the rim. Dim minimalist studio backdrop in charcoal, seamless and softly lit. Photographic product-studio lighting with a subtle rim light, shallow depth of field, premium mood.Settings: Realistic image · PNG export · 1:1
Best for: e-commerce listings. This is a raster style, so it exports PNG rather than SVG — pick it when you want a photograph, not editable paths.
6. Seamless pattern
A flat vector seamless pattern of small citrus fruits — lemons, limes, and leaves — evenly scattered and tiling with no visible seams. Simple bold shapes, consistent spacing, edges that repeat cleanly. Plain pale-yellow background. Limited palette of lemon yellow, lime green, and white, flat design, no gradients, cheerful modern look.Settings: Vector illustration · SVG export · 1:1
Best for: packaging, textiles, and web backgrounds. Ask for "seamless" and even spacing so the exported vector tiles without gaps.
Set the style, keep the prompt to four plain-language parts, and lean on the palette and detail slider instead of tags. Keep this sheet next to the best Recraft prompts roundup, and grab reusable skeletons from the Recraft prompt templates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Recraft use no --parameters?
Recraft splits the job between the prompt and the interface. The prompt is pure natural language describing what you want to see; everything mechanical — the style, the level-of-detail slider, the aspect ratio, the export format — is a control in the UI, not a flag you type. So there is no --ar or --style to write. Pick Vector illustration from the style menu, set the ratio, then write a clean four-part description with no tags. Trying to paste Midjourney-style flags just puts literal text into the image.
Which Recraft style gives a real editable SVG?
Choose Vector illustration, Icon, or Logo from the style menu and Recraft generates true vector paths you can download as SVG and open in Figma or Illustrator. Realistic image and Digital illustration are raster styles — they output PNG, not editable curves. If your goal is a scalable, editable file, start in a vector style; keep the description simple and the level of detail low so the exported paths stay clean and easy to edit.
How do I lock my brand colors in Recraft?
Use the Style Palette. Enter your exact brand hex codes and Recraft restricts the generation to that set of colors, so every asset comes out on-palette. You can also name the colors in the prompt as a backup — for example "deep navy #10203A and warm cream #F5EFE0" — but the palette control is the reliable lock. For a single-color look, set one or two hex values and describe the piece as monochrome or duotone.
How do I get exact text in a Recraft image?
Recraft has best-in-class text rendering, but you still wrap the exact words in "quotes" and say where they go. Keep the string short, name the weight and case — for example the ALL-CAPS headline "NEW SEASON" in a bold sans-serif across the top — and put the text instruction early so it drives the layout. Quoting the characters tells the model precisely what to set instead of paraphrasing, which is why Recraft posters and logos come out legible.
Realistic image vs Digital illustration — which do I pick?
Pick Realistic image when you want a photograph — real lighting, texture, and depth for product shots, portraits, or scenes. Pick Digital illustration when you want a drawn, painterly, or stylized raster look with brush and shading control. Both are raster, so neither exports as SVG. If you need clean scalable shapes instead of a rendered picture, switch to Vector illustration, Icon, or Logo.
How do I get simpler, cleaner icons?
Turn the level-of-detail slider down. Recraft lets you dial complexity from minimal to highly detailed; low detail gives flat, single-concept icons with few paths that read at small sizes and export as tidy SVG. Combine a low detail setting with the Icon style, a flat or line-art substyle, and a short prompt that names one object on a plain background. High detail is for rich illustrations, not UI icons.
Can I make my own reusable Recraft style?
Yes — Custom Styles. Upload 5 to 10 reference images that share a look and Recraft learns them into a single named style you can apply to any future prompt, so a whole icon set or illustration series stays visually consistent. Pair it with the Set tool, which generates up to six images in one coherent style at once, and the Style Palette to keep colors locked across every asset.
Does Recraft output raster as well as vector?
Yes. Recraft V4 does both: Realistic image and Digital illustration are raster and export as PNG, while Vector illustration, Icon, and Logo produce editable SVG. The Mockup generator wraps any asset onto products and scenes as raster previews. Choose the style based on the file you need — pick a vector style whenever the asset has to scale or be edited downstream, and a raster style when you want a finished picture.