PROMPT GUIDE

Chibi and Super Deformed Style Guide for AI Art

Round, roly-poly chibi characters are so fun to make. But just specifying the proportions tends to break them. Today let's look at the tricks for making them cute without falling apart.

Last updated: 2026-07-11 approx. 2 min read

日本語版

Chibi characters are soothing just to look at, right? A big head, a tiny body, squishy little arms and legs. But when you actually generate one, the face breaks, or the proportions creep up... Rinka failed a lot at first too. In this article I'll walk through how to build a prompt (or "spell," as they're sometimes called in Japan) that keeps the deformed style stable, step by step.

What is chibi (super deformed) style in the first place?

Deformed style emphasizes cuteness by making the head big and the body small. The usual target is about 2 to 3 heads tall, and in English it's called chibi or super deformed (SD). Because the lines are simpler, even small glitches stand out.

That's exactly why it's important to clearly specify the proportions, face shape and expression. Let's start by learning the basic tags.

Basic chibi and deformed tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`chibi`	Chibi / deformed character	The basic tag to add first. Makes the head big and the body small
`super deformed`	SD / strong deformation	More extreme than chibi. For when you want closer to 2 heads tall
`mini character`	Tiny character	A helper for a palm-sized feel
`chibi only`	Everyone in chibi style	Useful when you want even background characters to be chibi
`2koma`	Closer to 2 heads tall	A rough cue word for keeping proportions low
`mascot`	Mascot style	Strengthens a round, simple character feel
`deformed`	Deformation in general	Use with chibi to push the deformation further

How do you keep chibi proportions and face shape stable?

The biggest reason chibi characters break is that the AI gets torn between "adult proportions" and "chibi." Adding words that clearly indicate the proportions makes it much more stable. Specifying a round face shape helps too.

Big head: add words like head or big head, sparingly
Face shape: use round face or rounded for roundness
Arms and legs: keep them short with short arms, short legs
Too strong and it breaks, so keep the weight around 1.1-1.2

Tags for proportions and face shape

Tag	Meaning	Note
`big head`	Big head	Key for lowering head-to-body ratio. Use sparingly, as too strong breaks it
`round face`	Round face	Creates the puffy face typical of chibi
`short arms`	Short arms	Shrinks the limbs to balance things out
`short legs`	Short legs	Gives a stubby 2-3 heads tall feel
`small body`	Small body	Emphasizes the contrast with the head
`stubby limbs`	Stubby limbs	For round, mascot-like arms and legs
`simple hands`	Simplified hands	For when you want to prevent broken fingers

Boost the cuteness with expressions and poses

Expressions matter a lot for chibi characters. Just making the eyes big and the mouth simple makes them dramatically cuter. Poses look good when they're almost exaggerated, too.

Expression and pose tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`big eyes`	Big eyes	The heart of chibi cuteness. Makes the expression lively
`blush`	Blush	Round pink cheeks. Adds charm Details
`open mouth`	Open mouth	Gives a cheerful, bright impression Details
`arms up`	Both arms raised	A hooray pose full of energy Details
`standing`	Standing pose	Makes it easy to show full-body chibi proportions Details
`waving`	Waving	Friendly, mascot-like approachability Details
`outstretched arms`	Arms spread wide	Big, exaggerated motion suits chibi

Copy-paste chibi prompt examples

Here are examples that put together the tags so far. Paste them as-is, then tweak them bit by bit to your taste.

masterpiece, best quality, very aesthetic, chibi, 1girl, big head, round face, big eyes, short arms, short legs, blush, open mouth, arms up, standing, simple background, pastel colors

masterpiece, best quality, super deformed, mascot, 1girl, big head, small body, stubby limbs, round face, big eyes, waving, cheerful, white background, soft lighting

One last trick to prevent breakage

Keeping the background simple and limiting the number of colors: these two things make chibi characters look much tighter. Here's a short tips box to finish. Come back here whenever you get stuck.

Rinka's tips

Don't mix chibi and normal proportions in the same image. When they mix, proportions waver and things break easily
If the face breaks, lower the weight of big head and move round face closer to the front for stability

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

My chibi character keeps coming out too tall. What do I do?

With chibi alone, the AI easily gets confused. Add big head, short arms and short legs together to clearly indicate the proportions, and it settles at 2-3 heads tall. If it's still too tall, try adding super deformed.

What should I do when the face or hands break?

Because deformed style uses simple lines, glitches stand out. The trick is adding round face and simple hands, and keeping big head emphasis at around 1.1. Setting the background to simple background focuses detail on the face and stabilizes it.

Can I draw chibi and normal-proportion characters in one image?

It's not impossible, but the AI gets confused about proportions and both tend to break. I recommend sticking to one. If you really want to mix them, make the chibi character the main one and put the other toward the background, e.g. with out of focus, so it's less likely to fall apart.