PROMPT GUIDE

Kemonomimi and Animal Motif Tags Encyclopedia

Kemonomimi (animal ears) might be the motif Rinka gets the most requests for. It's a do-anything genre where just adding ears and a tail makes a character way cuter, but there's also a famous pitfall: both human ears and animal ears showing up. In this article I'll cover everything from the standard tags to fixing that problem.

Last updated: 2026-07-10 approx. 3 min read

日本語版

The basic kemonomimi prompt is a three-piece set: "ear tag + tail tag + one detail." cat ears alone works, but adding cat tail and animal ear fluff gives you a much more polished animal-eared character. Let's start by choosing the type of ears.

Start here: the standard animal ear tags

Each animal has its own dedicated ear tag. If you also add a "...girl" tag like cat girl, the whole mood of the character, not just the ears, leans toward that animal.

Standard animal ear tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`animal ears`	Animal ears in general	Ear tag with the type left to the model. Can also reinforce a specific ear tag
`cat ears`	Cat ears	The king of kemonomimi. Gives perky triangular ears
`dog ears`	Dog ears	Soft, slightly droopy ears. Emphasize the droop with floppy ears
`fox ears`	Fox ears	Large, sharp ears. A classic combo with a Japanese shrine maiden outfit
`rabbit ears`	Bunny ears	Known for their length. Both upright and lop ears appear
`wolf ears`	Wolf ears	A wilder look than cat ears. Stable when paired with wolf girl
`cat girl`	Cat girl	Makes the ears and the whole vibe cat-like. Recommended together with cat ears
`fox girl`	Fox girl	With fox ears and fox tail as a three-piece set, your fox girl is complete

Use only one type of ear tag (listing cat ears and fox ears together makes them blend)
A same-animal three-piece set, "X ears + X tail + X girl," is the most stable
Hair and ear colors tend to match, so for a fox, choosing a fitting hair color like blonde hair looks natural
For a Japanese look, fox ears + japanese clothes is the go-to combo

Tail, fluff and gesture detail tags

Once the ears are set, fine-tune how animal-like she is with the tail and small details. animal ear fluff in particular is a great supporting tag that draws the fluffy fur inside the ears, and Rinka includes it almost every time. Gesture tags like paw pose and fang bring the expression to life with just one added.

Tail and detail tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`cat tail`	Cat tail	A slim, supple tail. Always pair with cat ears
`fox tail`	Fox tail	A big, bushy tail. Use multiple tails for a nine-tailed fox look
`dog tail`	Dog tail	Add tail wagging to show it wagging happily
`rabbit tail`	Bunny tail	A small, round tail. Shines in compositions from behind
`animal ear fluff`	Fluffy fur in the ears	A hugely important tag that draws the fur inside the ears. Far fluffier results
`paw pose`	Paw pose	Hands lightly curled like cat paws. A classic cute-on-purpose pose
`fang`	Fang / snaggletooth	A tiny fang peeking from a big smile. Great with open mouth
`slit pupils`	Slit pupils	Gives cat-like eyes. Makes a cat girl more convincing

masterpiece, best quality, 1girl, solo, cat girl, cat ears, cat tail, animal ear fluff, black hair, short hair, yellow eyes, slit pupils, paw pose, fang, open mouth, smile, hoodie, indoors, looking at viewer, upper body

Rinka's tips

Rinka's tip 1: If it's not fluffy enough, before trying (animal ear fluff:1.2), add the single word fluffy to soften the fur overall
Rinka's tip 2: Using both paw pose and fang goes full cute-on-purpose, so for a demure character, pick just one for a more elegant look
Rinka's tip 3: Tails tend to get cut off, so on days you want to show the tail, leave room in the frame with cowboy shot or full body

With real animals: heartwarming companion tags

Placing a real animal next to an animal-eared character creates a story in the image. A cat-eared girl gazing at a real cat is irresistible, right? Animal tags can be written independently from the character's tags.

Animal companion tags

Tag	Meaning	Note
`cat`	Cat	Specify fur color too with white cat or black cat
`dog`	Dog	Use puppy for a puppy. To have it sit, write it independently rather than next to sitting
`bird`	Bird	bird on hand gives the popular little-bird-perched-on-hand composition
`butterfly`	Butterfly	butterfly on hand puts a butterfly on her fingertip. Also great for fantasy moods
`rabbit`	Rabbit	Sitting neatly on her lap or at her feet. A companion for bunny-eared characters
`fish`	Fish	An accent for aquarium or waterside scenes

masterpiece, best quality, 1girl, solo, fox girl, fox ears, fox tail, animal ear fluff, blonde hair, long hair, orange eyes, japanese clothes, miko, smile, sitting, white cat, torii, autumn, falling leaves, full body, looking at viewer

Fixing double ears (the human ears problem)

The biggest kemonomimi headache is when both animal ears and human ears get drawn. From its training, the model assumes a human head has human ears, so if you're not careful you get a character with four ears. Early on, Rinka mass-produced plenty of four-eared girls too... Try the following fixes from the top down.

Put extra ears in the negative prompt (the easiest fix for rejecting images with both)
Use a hairstyle where long or side hair covers the ears, removing the space where human ears would be drawn
Strengthen the ear tag slightly, like (cat ears:1.2), so "ears" means cat ears to the model
A slightly angled or pulled-back composition causes fewer ear glitches than a straight-on close-up
If they still appear, generating several images and picking one is the fastest route. The ear problem is partly a game of chance

Summary: a three-piece set + one fix keeps the fluff stable

For kemonomimi, use the "same-animal ears, tail and girl tag" three-piece set, add animal ear fluff, and put extra ears in the negative prompt. Remember this template and you'll get a cute animal-eared character at a pretty high rate. Once you're used to it, explore your own favorite situations with animal companions or paw pose.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

I get both cat ears and human ears. What should I do?

Putting extra ears in the negative prompt is the easiest fix. Combined with a hairstyle where hair covers where the human ears would be, human ears become much less likely to be drawn in the first place.

The ears come out as a different animal than I specified...

Check that you only have one type of ear tag. A generic + specific pair like cat ears and animal ears is fine, but listing cat ears and fox ears together causes blending. Adding a ...girl tag like fox girl also helps.

The tail doesn't render well. Any tips?

An upper-body close-up has no room to draw the tail. Switch to cowboy shot or full body and leave space for the tail, and it'll appear more easily. A from behind back-view composition is also a classic way to show off the tail.