PROMPT GUIDE

AI Art Troubleshooting Chart (Trace the Cause from the Symptom)

Something is wrong with the picture, but you cannot tell what to fix. This chart lets you trace the cause from the symptom. Work down from the top and you will find what to try first.

Last updated: 2026-10-22 approx. 3 min read

日本語版

The short answer

When a picture goes wrong, first decide where the symptom appears: whole picture, face, hands, composition, color or settings. Then look up the cause and fix in that table. The basic rule is to change only one thing at a time and check the effect.

What should you check first when it does not work?

Decide which of six places the symptom is in (whole picture, face, hands, composition, color, settings) and look it up in that table.

When a picture looks wrong, deciding where the symptom is gets it fixed faster than rewriting the whole prompt. A blurry picture usually points to settings, and a broken face to how the face is specified, because the causes sit in different places. First find which row below is closest to your symptom.

Where the symptom is	Common symptoms	Table to read
Whole picture	Blurry, grainy, too strong, too faint	'Whole picture' below
Face	Eyes or mouth are distorted, a small face breaks	'Face' below
Hands and fingers	Too many or too few fingers, strange shapes	'Hands' below
Composition	The figure is cut off, too small, or turned the wrong way	'Composition' below
Color	Colors mix, look dull, or ignore your request	'Color' below
Settings	The same picture does not come back, it changes every time, or it is slow	'Settings' below

Anime girl holding a pencil over a sketchbook, sorting out symptoms of a failed AI illustration — 症状を書き出す

Anime girl in a coat thinking by a window with a hand on her chin, finding the cause — 症状を書き出す

Illustration usage rules

What if the whole picture is blurry or grainy?

Usually one of steps, CFG, size or the negative prompt is not suited to the picture.

Symptom	Likely cause	Try this first
Blurry	Too few steps or a small size	Raise the steps a little or raise the size
Grainy	CFG is too high	Lower CFG a little
Colors too strong	Quality tags or light words are too strong	Reduce the light and color words
Details are lost	The size is small	Use Hires.fix or upscaling
Letters or logos appear	The negative prompt is thin	Add watermark and text to the negative prompt

What if the face or hands break?

Small faces and complicated hand poses break easily, so changing the composition or pose works best.

Symptom	Likely cause	Try this first
Face is distorted	A full-body view makes the face small	Move to a closer composition or use a face-fixing feature
Eye shape is wrong	The expression words are too strong	Use a single expression and add an eye description
Too many or too few fingers	The hand shape is complicated	Hide the hands or use a simple pose
A hand overlaps the face	Too many pose instructions	Use one pose and state the hand position in words

What about composition, color and setting symptoms?

For composition, check the size and direction words. For color, use color + part. For settings, recheck the fixed seed and size.

Symptom	Likely cause	Try this first
The figure is cut off	The aspect ratio does not fit	Use a tall image and write full body
Facing the wrong way	The direction word is weak	Make the direction word clear and place it earlier
Colors mix	Too many color instructions	Use two or three colors, each paired with a part
Colors look dull	A difference in settings	Check the settings recommended for the model
The same picture does not come back	The seed changes every time	Fix the seed and change just one thing

How to run the diagnosis

Choose where the symptom is from the six: whole picture, face, hands, composition, color, settings
In that table, find the row closest to your symptom
Change only the 'try this first' item and generate again with the same seed
If it is not fixed, try the next candidate in the same table (do not change several at once)
Save the settings that worked in a note or a template

worst quality, low quality, blurry, bad anatomy, extra fingers, watermark, text

1girl, solo, upper body, hands down, looking at viewer, simple background, masterpiece, best quality

Rinka's tips

Changing several things at once makes it impossible to tell what worked
Comparing with the same seed shows only the effect of the part you changed
If it truly will not fix, it is also wise to give up that pose or composition and choose another idea

Why is it worth recording your settings after a diagnosis?

Because a recorded fix keeps you from repeating the same failure and can be reused in the next picture right away.

Settings that worked are easy to remember at the time but hard to recall a few days later. If you keep the symptom and the fix together, you grow a diagnosis chart of your own. A notebook or a notes app is fine, as long as you can keep using it.

What to record	Example	Role
Symptom	A hand came out with six fingers	A clue to remember what happened
The fix	Changed to a pose that hides the hands	A shortcut next time the same symptom appears
Seed and size	1234 / 832x1216	To bring the same picture back
Model used	Model name and version	Needed to reproduce the settings

For fixes by type of breakdown, see AI Art Troubleshooting Guide (Look Up Fixes by Symptom) →

If your tags are not taking effect, see Why your prompt is not working (tags ignored) and how to fix it →

For fixes aimed at broken hands, see How to Fix Bad Hands in AI Art: The Complete Guide →

To repair a broken face, see Why AI Art Faces Get Distorted and How to Fix Them (Full Body, Distant Shots, Inpaint) →

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should I look first when things go wrong?

First decide where the symptom appears: whole picture, face, hands, composition, color or settings. Looking up the cause in that table finds the place to fix quickly.

How many things can I change at once when fixing?

Only one. If you change several at once, you cannot tell which one worked.

Is it a failure when a different picture comes out every time?

No. It happens because the seed changes each time. To bring the same picture back, fix the seed.

What if hands will not get fixed?

The most reliable way is to change to a composition where the hand shape is not visible, such as hiding the hands, putting them in pockets or covering them with a held object.