Make AI Images Look Real: Prompt Rules to Avoid Plastic Skin, Bad Text, and Warped Hands

If your AI image looks almost real but something feels off, it is usually one of three things:

• Skin looks like wax or plastic
• Text is misspelled or melted
• Hands look warped, fused, or uncanny

This guide gives you practical prompt rules, not vague advice. You will get copy-paste prompt blocks, a troubleshooting flow, and a checklist you can run before you generate again.

The core rule: realism is specific, not louder

Many people try to fix realism by adding words like ultra realistic, 8k, masterpiece. That often makes results more artificial, not more real.

Realistic images come from describing:

• What a real camera would capture
• How real light behaves
• What real skin and materials look like
• What you want to avoid, in plain constraints

Prompt structure that consistently produces realism

Use this order. Keep it tight.

1. Subject and setting
2. Camera and framing
3. Lighting
4. Realism details
5. Constraints and exclusions

Copy template:

Rule 1: Ask for natural skin texture and ban heavy retouching

Plastic skin usually happens when the model tries to smooth everything like a beauty filter.

Add one or more of these realism phrases:

• natural skin texture
• visible pores
• fine facial hair
• subtle imperfections
• realistic specular highlights on skin
• no heavy retouching
• no beauty filter look

Copy blocks:

Rule 2: Use believable lighting or your skin request will not matter

Even perfect skin text cannot save flat, unrealistic lighting.

Pick one clean lighting setup:

• Softbox daylight: flattering, modern
• Window light: natural, documentary
• Rembrandt: dramatic, classic
• Overcast outdoor: soft, realistic

Copy blocks:

Fast fix when faces look fake:

• Add catchlights in eyes
• Specify a single key light direction
• Reduce glow, bloom, haze unless you want it

Rule 3: Use camera language that matches reality

Camera details help models stop inventing weird proportions.

Choose one:

• 85mm portrait lens, shallow depth of field, shoulders-up
• 35mm lens, documentary feel, moderate depth of field
• 50mm lens, product realism, sharp details

Copy blocks:

Add one realism anchor:

• sharp eyes
• natural perspective
• realistic focal length
• no extreme wide angle distortion

Rule 4: Do not ask for text unless you truly need it

Bad text is one of the most common failures. If you want realism, the easiest win is to avoid text entirely.

If you do not need text:

Say no text, no logos, no watermark, no signatures

Copy block:

If you do need text, follow these rules:

• Keep it short, 1 to 4 words
• Use simple fonts
• Put text on a flat surface with high contrast
• Ask for clean, readable, correctly spelled text
• Still expect to fix it in an editor for best results

Copy block:

Best practice for creators:

Generate the image without text, then add text in Canva or your editor. This gives you professional typography every time.

Rule 5: Hands need explicit instructions and good framing

Hands get weird when they are small in frame, partially hidden, or doing complex gestures.

Use these fixes:

• Keep hands visible and unobstructed
• Ask for natural hand anatomy
• Limit complexity: relaxed hands, simple poses
• Avoid tiny hands in the distance
• Ask for five fingers per hand if needed

Copy blocks:

Framing tip:

If hands keep failing, change the shot.

• Cropping to shoulders-up solves many problems
• If you must show hands, use a medium shot with hands closer to camera

Rule 6: Prevent warped faces and body proportions

Warping often happens from vague prompts and too many conflicting style cues.

Do this:

• Specify a single subject
• Specify age range and general build
• Use realistic lens and avoid extreme angles
• Ask for symmetrical facial features if needed
• Avoid stacking too many aesthetics at once

Copy block:

Rule 7: Limit stylization words that fight realism

Some words quietly push the model away from realism:

anime, illustration, concept art, hyperreal, unreal engine, CGI, render, octane render

If you want photoreal, keep your style line clean:

• photorealistic
• documentary photo
• editorial portrait
• natural color grade

Copy block:

Rule 8: Add small imperfections that real cameras capture

Perfectly clean images often look fake.

Pick one or two:

• slight skin blemishes
• subtle under-eye texture
• tiny flyaway hairs
• mild film grain
• lens breathing or gentle bokeh shape
• realistic chromatic aberration, subtle only

Copy blocks:

Do not overdo it. Two details is enough.

Rule 9: Use negative constraints like a surgeon, not a vacuum

A long negative list can confuse some models. Keep it focused on your real problem.

Starter negative set:

If hands are the only issue, do not include 20 other negatives. Tighten it.

Rule 10: Run this quick troubleshooting flow

When your result is not real enough, change one thing at a time.

If skin is plastic

• Add natural skin texture and no heavy retouching
• Reduce glow, beauty, flawless, perfect skin
• Change lighting to soft window light or overcast daylight

If hands are warped

• Change framing or pose
• Add natural hands, five fingers, hands visible
• Avoid complex gestures

If text is bad

• Remove text and add it later in an editor
• If needed, keep text short and request readable letters on a flat surface

If everything feels uncanny

• Simplify the prompt
• Use a realistic lens like 35mm or 85mm
• Use one lighting setup
• Remove conflicting style terms

Copy-paste prompt packs

Pack A: Realistic portrait, safest default

Pack B: Realistic lifestyle photo

Pack C: Product photo with clean edges

How QuestStudio helps

Realism comes from iteration, and iteration is easier when you can compare outputs and save what works.

QuestStudio helps you:

• Compare results side by side across popular models to see which one handles skin and hands best for your style
• Save your best realism prompt blocks in your Prompt Library so you stop rewriting rules every time
• Build complete creative assets around your images, like AI Video Generator for motion and YouTube Thumbnail Generator for creator graphics

Helpful internal links based on what you are making:

• AI Image Generator for realistic images
• Prompt Library to save your realism prompt rules
• Image to Image AI if you are refining an existing photo
• Background Remover to clean subject cutouts
• Image Upscaler when you need more detail

FAQ

Conclusion

Making AI images look real is about control: realistic lighting, realistic camera language, and a few targeted constraints.

Start with the default portrait pack, adjust one variable at a time, and avoid generating text unless you truly need it. If you want to keep your best realism rules organized and quickly compare outputs across models, try QuestStudio and save these prompt templates in your Prompt Library.