About Prompt
- Prompt Type – Dynamic
- Prompt Platform – ChatGPT, Grok, Deepseek, Gemini, Copilot, Midjourney, Meta AI and more
- Niche – Superhero Movies
- Language – English
- Category – Weather & Energy Effects
- Prompt Title – Realistic Lightning Strike VFX Prompt
Prompt Details
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### **Optimized Dynamic AI Prompt for Superhero Lightning VFX**
This template is designed to be a modular and highly-detailed tool for generating specific and dramatic weather and energy effects. It guides the AI by breaking down the visual request into logical components, mimicking a professional VFX shot brief.
**How to Use This Dynamic Prompt:**
Fill in the `[bracketed placeholders]` with your specific choices. The options provided under each section are suggestions to inspire you. The more detail you provide, the more precise the AI’s output will be.
***
#### **[SECTION 1: CORE SCENE & SUBJECT]**
**Primary Subject:** A `[Shot Type]` of a `[Lightning Power Level]` and `[Lightning Character]` lightning strike.
* **Shot Type Options:** dynamic wide shot, epic ultra-wide shot, intense close-up, dramatic medium shot, high-angle establishing shot, low-angle hero shot, aerial drone shot.
* **Lightning Power Level Options:** cataclysmic, world-shattering, focused and precise, uncontrolled burst, ethereal and subtle, raw and primal, god-tier.
* **Lightning Character Options:** naturalistic, arcane/magical, cosmic, divine, technological/cybernetic, chaotic, sentient-like.
#### **[SECTION 2: ORIGIN & TARGET]**
**Action:** The lightning originates from `[Source of Lightning]` and violently impacts `[Target of Impact]`, demonstrating immense power.
* **Source of Lightning Options:** the clenched fist of a superhero, the superhero’s outstretched hands, a swirling vortex in the storm-choked clouds, a magical weapon (e.g., hammer, spear, sword), the eyes of a cosmic being, a high-tech energy cannon.
* **Target of Impact Options:** the asphalt of a city street, an enemy combatant, an armored vehicle, a skyscraper’s spire, a desolate mountain peak, a rival superhero’s energy shield, the ground directly in front of the hero.
#### **[SECTION 3: VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LIGHTNING]**
**Lightning Form & Shape:** The bolt itself is `[Shape & Form Description]`. It is composed of `[Number of Main Bolts]` main bolt(s) and surrounded by `[Secondary Tendril Description]`.
* **Shape & Form Description Options:** a single, thick, jagged spear of energy; a chaotic web of interconnected forks; a smooth, focused beam of plasma; ribbon-like and fluid; sharp, angular, and geometric; like veins spreading across the sky.
* **Number of Main Bolts Options:** one singular, dominant; two or three intertwined; a dozen smaller.
* **Secondary Tendril Description Options:** countless spiderweb-like secondary tendrils; sharp, crackling fractal branches; soft, ethereal energy wisps; no secondary tendrils, just a pure beam.
**Color, Luminosity & Texture:** The lightning’s primary color is `[Primary Color]`, with an intensely bright core of `[Core Color]`. The light it casts is `[Light Quality]` and flickers rapidly. The texture of the energy appears `[Energy Texture]`.
* **Primary Color Options:** electric cyan-blue, royal purple, fiery orange-yellow, pure ethereal white, sickly green, blood-red, shimmering gold.
* **Core Color Options:** searing, overexposed white-hot; blindingly bright yellow; a deep, pulsating black (negative energy).
* **Light Quality Options:** harsh and stark, creating deep shadows; soft and diffused; pulsating and strobe-like.
* **Energy Texture Options:** glassy and smooth, liquid-like, gaseous and hazy, crystalline and fractured, glitchy and digital.
**Secondary Energy Effects:** The main bolt is surrounded by `[Aura & Particle Effects]`. As it travels, it leaves behind `[Trail & After-Image Effects]`.
* **Aura & Particle Effects Options:** a shimmering ozone haze, crackling static embers, floating motes of pure energy, a lens-distorting heat shimmer, small, localized temporal anomalies.
* **Trail & After-Image Effects Options:** a lingering, smoking after-image in the air; a temporary vacuum trail that refracts light; glowing particle trails that fade slowly.
#### **[SECTION 4: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT & INTERACTION]**
**Location & Atmosphere:** The scene is set in/on a `[Location]` during a `[Time of Day / Weather Condition]`. The atmosphere is `[Atmospheric Descriptors]`, filled with `[Atmospheric Particles]`.
* **Location Options:** rain-slicked dystopian city street, ancient alien ruin, floating celestial platform, barren desert under a stormy sky, futuristic corporate plaza.
* **Time of Day / Weather Condition Options:** the dead of night during a torrential downpour; a dust storm at dusk; a bright, clear day (making the strike more shocking); an otherworldly perpetual twilight.
* **Atmospheric Descriptors Options:** oppressive and heavy, charged with static electricity, cold and biting, thick and humid.
* **Atmospheric Particles Options:** heavy rain droplets, swirling dust and debris, dense fog, falling snow, floating ash and embers.
**Impact & Consequence:** Upon impact, the lightning causes `[Primary Impact Effect]`. The immediate aftermath includes `[Secondary Impact Effects]`. The sound design implied is a `[Sound Description]`.
* **Primary Impact Effect Options:** a violent explosion of molten metal and shattered concrete; a perfectly circular crater of super-heated, vitrified glass; the target being vaporized instantly; an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that shorts out nearby electronics.
* **Secondary Impact Effects Options:** a shockwave that ripples through puddles and shatters windows for blocks; an expanding dome of static energy; the ground being scorched black in a fractal pattern (a Lichtenberg figure); arcs of residual electricity jumping between nearby metallic objects.
* **Sound Description Options:** deafening crack of thunder followed by a high-frequency electrical hum; a reality-tearing sonic boom; a low, guttural roar of raw power.
#### **[SECTION 5: CINEMATIC & ARTISTIC STYLE]**
**Cinematography & Mood:** The shot is composed with a `[Camera Angle & Lens]`. The overall mood is `[Mood],` evoking a sense of `[Feeling]`.
* **Camera Angle & Lens Options:** dramatic low-angle shot making the hero/strike look powerful, high-angle crane shot showing the scale of destruction, dynamic tracking shot following the bolt, wide anamorphic lens with cinematic lens flare, macro lens focusing on the impact detail.
* **Mood Options:** awe-inspiring, terrifying, triumphant, desperate, grim and gritty, epic and operatic.
* **Feeling Options:** raw, untamed power; surgical precision; divine judgment; technological superiority.
**Artistic Influences & Quality:** Stylistically, the image should be `[Artistic Style]` and resemble the cinematic VFX of `[Film/Director Reference]`. The final render quality should be `[Render Quality]`.
* **Artistic Style Options:** hyperrealistic, photorealistic, slightly stylized with high contrast, dark and desaturated, vibrantly saturated.
* **Film/Director Reference Options:** Zack Snyder’s dramatic slow-motion aesthetic, the MCU’s clean and powerful energy effects, the gritty realism of ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, the epic scale of ‘Man of Steel’.
* **Render Quality Options:** 8K UHD, photorealistic, cinematic lighting, physically-based rendering (PBR), octane render, Unreal Engine 5 cinematic.
#### **[SECTION 6: NEGATIVE PROMPTS (WHAT TO AVOID)]**
**AVOID:** `[List of Elements to Exclude]`.
* **Elements to Exclude Options:** cartoonish sparks, soft glows, unrealistic physics, blurry motion, lens flare artifacts, 2D-looking effects, flat lighting, generic stock-photo lightning.
***
### **Example Prompt in Practice**
Here is a concrete example using the dynamic template above to generate a specific VFX shot.
**(Filled-Out Prompt)**
**Primary Subject:** A **dramatic medium shot** of a **god-tier** and **divine** lightning strike.
**Action:** The lightning originates from **the clenched fist of a superhero hovering mid-air** and violently impacts **an alien war machine on the street below**, demonstrating immense power.
**Lightning Form & Shape:** The bolt itself is **a single, thick, jagged spear of energy**. It is composed of **one singular, dominant** main bolt and surrounded by **countless spiderweb-like secondary tendrils** that crawl over the target’s chassis.
**Color, Luminosity & Texture:** The lightning’s primary color is **shimmering gold**, with an intensely bright core of **searing, overexposed white-hot**. The light it casts is **harsh and stark, creating deep shadows** on the surrounding buildings. The texture of the energy appears **crystalline and fractured**.
**Secondary Energy Effects:** The main bolt is surrounded by **floating motes of pure energy**. As it travels, it leaves behind **a lingering, smoking after-image in the air**.
**Location & Atmosphere:** The scene is set in a **rain-slicked dystopian city street** during **the dead of night during a torrential downpour**. The atmosphere is **oppressive and heavy, charged with static electricity**, filled with **heavy rain droplets that are momentarily vaporized by the bolt’s heat**.
**Impact & Consequence:** Upon impact, the lightning causes **a violent explosion of molten alien metal and shattered asphalt**. The immediate aftermath includes **a shockwave that ripples through puddles and shatters the windows of nearby skyscrapers**, and **arcs of residual golden electricity jumping between nearby lampposts**. The sound design implied is a **deafening crack of thunder followed by a high-frequency electrical hum**.
**Cinematography & Mood:** The shot is composed with a **dramatic low-angle shot looking up at the hero**, captured with a **wide anamorphic lens with cinematic lens flare**. The overall mood is **triumphant,** evoking a sense of **divine judgment**.
**Artistic Influences & Quality:** Stylistically, the image should be **hyperrealistic** and resemble the cinematic VFX of **the MCU’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ combined with the epic scale of ‘Man of Steel’**. The final render quality should be **8K UHD, photorealistic, with cinematic lighting and physically-based rendering (PBR)**.
**AVOID:** **cartoonish sparks, soft glows, 2D-looking effects, flat lighting, generic stock-photo lightning.**