Boot Camp Week 6: AI for Creativity

Move beyond words and create an image with AI, then use iteration to chase a better creative idea once you can see the first result.

Week 6 of the AI, Eh? Summer Boot Camp is Creativity, and we are getting away from words entirely. Today we are making an image.

Quick reminder of the shape, same every week. A detailed prompt you copy and paste. An iteration showing you how to fix it. Something personal you apply it to. And a Prompt Card you save to your toolkit.

Grab your toolkit document. We are adding Card 6. Let’s go.

Six things every good prompt needs

Same checklist as every week, just applied to an image this time instead of words. Watch for all six in the prompt below.

1. Give it context. Who the image is for and what the occasion is, anything AI could not otherwise know.

2. Be specific about the task. Not “make me a card,” exactly what the image should show.

3. Set your real constraints. Style, colours, mood, whatever actually matters to how it looks.

4. Tell it the format you want back. Square, landscape, portrait, whatever fits where it is going. Do not let it guess.

5. Ask it to flag uncertainty. Anything that might be tricky to get exactly right, so you know what to double check.

6. Protect your privacy. Skip anything that could identify you personally, like your full name or address.

Step 1: Run this prompt exactly as written

This week’s tool is a little different. Open ChatGPT or Google Gemini, both handle image generation well, ChatGPT especially so right now. Paste the whole thing below in exactly as written, and hit enter.

“I want to create a fun, custom birthday card image for a friend who loves camping and the outdoors. Make it a warm, celebratory illustration, bright colours, birthday themed, with a small tent and a campfire in the background. Include the text ‘Happy Birthday!’ somewhere in the image, in a playful, hand-lettered style. Keep it colourful and cartoonish rather than realistic, since this is going on a fun card, not anything formal. Make it a square image so it works well shared on a phone. Let me know if there’s anything about this that might be hard to get exactly right, like the text or specific details.”

Step 2: Here is how you push it further once you see it

Image generation is a bit different from words. You genuinely cannot predict exactly what will come back, and sometimes iteration is not about fixing anything at all. Sometimes you just get a better idea once you see the first draft.

Say your image comes back exactly as asked, cartoonish, bright, the tent, the campfire, the birthday text, all there. It is a good image. But looking at it, you decide you would actually rather have a nighttime scene instead, campfire glowing in the dark, stars overhead. That is a real creative choice, not a correction, and it is one line, same conversation, no new prompt from scratch.

“Actually, let’s make this a nighttime scene instead. Campfire glowing, stars in the sky, everything lit by the fire. Keep the same cartoon style and the birthday text, just shift the whole scene to night.”

Notice what that one line does, it keeps what already worked, the style and the text, while completely shifting the setting and mood. That is the real skill here. Iteration is not only for fixing mistakes, it is for chasing a better idea once you can actually see the first one.

Step 3: Build your own, then save it as a Prompt Card

Now think of a real image you would actually like to make, a card for someone, an invitation, a fun avatar, whatever appeals to you. In your head, walk through it. What is actually going on, who it is for and why. What you actually want it to show. Your real constraints, style, colours, mood. How you want it formatted. What might be tricky to get exactly right. And keep it private, no real names or identifying details in the prompt itself.

Now say all of that out loud as one real paragraph, the way you would actually describe it to a friend. That is your prompt. Paste it in and run it.

Once you have a result, ask yourself two quick things. Did anything come back a little different than you pictured? If so, what one line did you send to adjust it?

Now open your toolkit document, add a heading called Prompt Card 6, and write out these four things yourself, based on what you just did.

What this is for. One line, plain language, describing your real situation.

The prompt. The real paragraph you wrote and ran.

The fix that got it there. The one line you sent to adjust it, if you needed one.

When to use it again. One line reminding future you when this applies.

That is Prompt Card 6, done. Six real, working prompts in your toolkit now, each one proven on your own life.

Coming up next week

Week 7 is Apps You Use, Word, Excel, and Google. Same four steps, pointed at tools already sitting on your computer. Bring your toolkit document, Prompt Card 7 is next.

AI assisted. Human led.

Whatever AI produces for you, always read it, verify it, and make it sound like you. AI is an incredible first draft machine. Your judgment, your voice, and your values are always the final layer.

Hit reply and tell me what your Prompt Card 6 turned out to be. I read every single one.