Night Run, Weightless Impact — hero visual for a lightweight running shoe promo
Creative brief (evocative guide)
Rain freckles the asphalt like scattered stardust. A lone runner cuts through the velvet-blue night, each footstrike sparking neon echoes across wet streets. The shoe hangs in a razor-sharp freeze-frame against a river of magenta-cyan light trails; breath turns to silver mist; a halo of rim light carves the silhouette as if speed itself were sculpting the air. The city becomes a blur of electric calligraphy, and the shoe—featherlight, aerodynamic, all breath and mesh—feels like a comet skimming the ground.
SD prompt set A — Product hero, cinematic freeze-frame (primary key visual)
Positive prompt:
ultra-detailed lightweight running shoe, airy knit mesh upper, micro-perf ventilation, sculpted midsole, translucent outsole with fine grooves, dynamic laces, zero-gravity feel, mid-stride freeze over rain-slick street, neon city night, cyan and magenta light trails, long-exposure streaks behind, droplets suspended around the shoe, crisp specular highlights on wet asphalt, dramatic rim light, volumetric mist, deep bokeh skyline, rule of thirds composition, generous copy space to the left, cinematic contrast, photoreal product photography, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field, f/2.0, sharp subject, background motion blur, hyper-clean edges, no logo, no text
Negative prompt:
text, logo, watermark, brand mark, duplicated shoe, extra soles, warped laces, deformed, melted, low-res, noisy, sketch, cartoon, flat lighting, overexposure, underexposure, blown highlights, muddy blacks, incorrect perspective, lens distortion, bad reflections, artifacts, motion jitter on the shoe, soft focus on shoe
Suggested parameters:
- Model: SDXL (recommended) or SD 1.5
- Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras
- Steps: 30–40
- CFG: 6.5–7.5
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 (hero banner) or 9:16 (story/reel)
- Seed: set a fixed seed for reproducibility; explore ±50 around the base seed
- Hires pass: 1.5–2x, denoise 0.30–0.40, Latent or 4x-UltraSharp upscaler
SD prompt set B — Lifestyle momentum shot (runner in scene, dynamic and emotive)
Positive prompt:
night run through neon-lit city, low-angle tracking shot of a runner wearing lightweight running shoes, mid-stride sprint, wet pavement mirror reflections, cyan-magenta neon signage glows, long shutter drag trails behind limbs, sharp shoe silhouette with crisp rim light, breath vapor, rain mist catching light, raindrops splashing at footstrike, moody cinematic fog, selective focus with depth map, rich contrast, dynamic composition, leading lines, 35mm lens, sense of speed and determination, copy space above and to the right, no logo, no text
Negative prompt:
text, logo, watermark, brand mark, extra limbs, deformed feet, duplicated shoes, motion blur on shoe, plastic skin, waxy, low-res, flat, overprocessed, bad anatomy, incorrect pose, distorted perspective, cluttered background
Suggested parameters:
- Model: SDXL or SD 1.5 + ControlNet OpenPose (for precise stride pose)
- Sampler: DPM++ SDE Karras
- Steps: 28–36
- CFG: 6–7
- Aspect ratio: 21:9 (cinematic) or 4:5 (poster)
- ControlNet: OpenPose for runner posture; Depth or Canny to lock street perspective
SD prompt set C — Abstract CGI speed concept (campaign support visual)
Positive prompt:
featherlight running shoe dissolving into ribbons of neon cyan and magenta, speed vectors, aerodynamic airflow lines, translucent mesh surfaces, microfibers lifting like feathers, energy arcs, particle trails, glossy black void with subtle fog, hero shoe centered, studio-grade product lighting, hard rim and soft fill, reflective base plane, pristine edges, futuristic minimalism, high-polish CGI, 50mm lens look, negative space for headline, no logo, no text
Negative prompt:
text, logo, watermark, clutter, low-res, jagged edges, noisy particles, plastic look, muddy reflections, messy composition, off-center crop
Suggested parameters:
- Model: SDXL or a photoreal/CGI-focused checkpoint
- Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras
- Steps: 32–44
- CFG: 6.5–8
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square KV) or 3:2 (print)
- Optional: ControlNet Canny from a clean shoe silhouette to preserve geometry
Color and lighting palette (add as needed)
- Colors: electric cyan, hot magenta, graphite black, wet asphalt gray, hints of sodium-vapor amber
- Lighting: key rim light from behind, soft fill from front, practical neon sources left/right, volumetric haze at ground level, specular kicks on water droplets
- Optional tokens: volumetric lighting, chromatic bloom, high microcontrast, cinematic tonemap, wet look
Composition controls
- Place shoe on the upper-right intersection of the rule-of-thirds grid; leave negative space for headline and CTA.
- Emphasize long exposure in the background only: “sharp subject, motion-blurred background, long-exposure light trails.”
- Use “copy space, clean background, uncluttered” to avoid text-like artifacts.
- If SD drifts into signage text, reinforce “no text, no letters, no words.”
ControlNet and reference tips
- OpenPose: feed a dynamic running pose reference to nail the stride.
- Canny/Lineart: from a shoe side-profile to maintain silhouette accuracy.
- Depth: lock the street plane and shoe hover height for consistent parallax.
- IP-Adapter (if available): guide overall shoe shape while remaining brand-agnostic.
Post-processing workflow
- Hires Fix pass to regain crisp laces, mesh weave, and outsole grooves.
- Inpaint small artifacts on edges and water droplets at 0.25–0.35 denoise.
- Grade: cool cyan shadows, magenta highlights; keep skin tones neutral if a runner is visible.
- Reserve clean areas for headline, subcopy, and CTA; add branding in design tools, not in the model prompt.
Troubleshooting nudges
- If the model creates logos or signage: add “blank signage, no words, smooth panels.”
- If the shoe warps: increase ControlNet Canny weight or raise CFG slightly; reduce denoise on hires pass.
- If the scene is too dark: add “high dynamic range, bright speculars, reflective puddles, lifted shadows.”
One-line campaign hook (optional for layout, not in prompt)
Run the night. Wear the weight of nothing.
