PROMPT GUIDE

Daily Life Action Prompts: Reading, Cooking, Sleeping and Drinking

If a pose is the shape of the body, an action is what the character is doing. Reading is reading, cooking is cooking, sleeping is sleeping, drinking is drinking. Most daily actions are a single tag, and pairing them with a place and an item gives a picture that tells a story.

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

日本語版

The short answer

Daily action prompts are written as one "-ing" tag, such as reading, cooking or sleeping. The action tag alone may not bring in the item, so add one item or place, such as a book or a kitchen. For sleeping or reading, leave out looking at viewer.

What is an action prompt? (what the character is doing, in one tag)

Action prompts are written as one "-ing" tag: reading, cooking, sleeping. The action tag alone may not bring in the item, so write the thing or place used for the action together with it, such as book for reading or kitchen for cooking, and the picture comes together.

Indoor action tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`reading`	Reading	With book or open book
`cooking`	Cooking	With kitchen, apron and frying pan
`sleeping`	Sleeping	With closed eyes, bed and pillow. For sleeping faces
`drinking`	Drinking	With a drink such as cup, mug or straw
`eating`	Eating	With a food name. Hands break easily, so choose large food
`studying`	Studying	With desk, notebook and pencil
`writing`	Writing	pen and paper. Avoid hand close-ups
`looking at phone`	Looking at a phone	With holding phone
`brushing teeth`	Brushing teeth	With toothbrush and bathroom
`laundry`	Laundry	With clothesline

Anime girl reading a book in a library — 読書

Illustration usage rules

What are the prompts for outdoor actions such as walking and running?

Outdoor actions are single tags too: walking for walking, running for running, shopping for shopping.

Outdoor action tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`walking`	Walking	With street or park Details
`running`	Running	Add motion blur for speed Details
`shopping`	Shopping	With shopping bag and store
`sweeping`	Sweeping with a broom	Pair with broom
`gardening`	Gardening	With watering can
`stretching`	Stretching	For mornings and breaks Details

How do I make the action actually appear? (steps)

The basic flow is to choose one action, one item and one place.

Choose only one action (reading, etc.)
Add one item used for that action (book). When the character holds it, write it as one tag like holding book
Add a place (library, bedroom, kitchen). The better the place matches the action, the more natural it looks
Match the expression (calm for reading, smile for cooking, closed eyes for sleeping)
Choose the framing. For actions with a lot of hand work (cooking, writing), widen to about upper body so hands break less

Scene combinations

Scene	Combination	Notes
Reading in the library	reading, open book, library, sitting, window	Window light gives a quiet mood
Morning kitchen	cooking, kitchen, apron, smile, morning	An apron makes it read as cooking
Afternoon nap	sleeping, closed eyes, bed, pillow, sunlight	For sleeping faces
A break at a cafe	drinking, cup, cafe, sitting, window	Holding the cup with both hands looks natural
Exam study	studying, desk, notebook, pencil, lamp, night	Use lamp for studying at night
Morning stretch	stretching, arms up, bedroom, morning	A just-woke-up mood

What if the character does not do the action?

The main causes are a clash with pose tags, or no item or place written.

Problem	Cause	Fix
Not doing the action (just standing)	The action tag is weak or clashes with a pose	Remove poses such as standing and add the item and place for the action
The item does not appear	Only the action tag is written	Add the item or place: book for reading, kitchen for cooking
Hands break	The hand work is shown in close-up	Widen to about upper body and use a larger item
Eyes are open while sleeping	looking at viewer is in the prompt	Remove looking at viewer and add closed eyes
Two actions mix	Two or more actions are in the prompt	Keep one action. Do the other in a separate picture

Rinka's tips

One action, one item, one place: this covers almost every daily life picture
For actions where the eyes look away, such as sleeping or reading, do not add looking at viewer
Body shapes such as sitting or lying down are decided in the pose and sitting guides

For standing, sitting and dynamic body poses: Add Movement with Pose Tags →

For how to hold items: Holding Prompts: Holding Objects, Both Hands and Hugging Items →

For room, kitchen and cafe backgrounds: Interior and Room Tags for a Lived-In Indoor Background →

For library backgrounds for reading: Library, School Library, and Classroom Background Prompts →

Copy-paste prompt templates

Just replace the parts in brackets. The first is reading, the second is cooking, and the third is an afternoon nap.

1girl, solo, [hairstyle], [outfit], reading, holding book, open book, sitting, library, window, sunlight, upper body, masterpiece, best quality

1girl, solo, [hairstyle], [outfit], apron, cooking, kitchen, smile, morning, upper body, masterpiece, best quality

1girl, solo, [hairstyle], pajamas, sleeping, closed eyes, lying, bed, pillow, sunlight, masterpiece, best quality

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between action prompts and pose prompts?

Poses such as standing or sitting describe the body shape, while actions such as reading or cooking describe what the character is doing. When adding an action, removing pose tags that clash with it makes it appear more easily.

What is the prompt for a reading scene?

Add reading and holding book (or open book), plus a place such as library or bedroom. The eyes go to the book, so leave out looking at viewer.

I want a sleeping face but the eyes are open.

Remove looking at viewer and add sleeping and closed eyes. Writing a place such as bed and pillow also helps.

Hands break in cooking scenes.

Close-ups of hand work break easily, so widen to about upper body. Large tools such as a frying pan or pot are more stable than thin ones like knives.