Creating images with Cedros AI

Create an image from a written description, refine the result, and use it from your media library. This guide covers the Create Image screen in Site → Media.

A successful generation saves a new library asset automatically. It does not place the image on a page or publish a page for you.

Before you begin

You need permission to create media, working media storage, and an image-capable AI provider configured for your site. Generation availability, supported options, and usage charges depend on your provider and model.

Open Site → Media, choose Create media, then Create Image. If you see Connect an intelligence provider, use Open Providers, or ask your site administrator to configure image generation under Settings → Providers. A connected text model alone does not guarantee image generation is available.

If the screen says Image generation unavailable, read the accompanying reason before trying again. For missing controls or permission errors, see Why can’t I see or edit a feature?.

Use images and reference material you are entitled to use. Prompts and selected references are sent to the configured AI service, so include only information appropriate for that service.

Describe the image you need

In Describe your image, explain the subject, setting, composition, and intended use. A useful prompt tells the model what should be visible and what space the design needs.

Include:

• Subject: what the image should show, including important objects or people.
• Setting and mood: background, lighting, season, or atmosphere.
• Composition: where the subject belongs and where you need clear space.
• Visual direction: photographic, illustrated, simple, textured, or another recognizable treatment.
• Exclusions: unwanted text, logos, clutter, or other specific elements.

For a service business's page hero:

An editorial photograph of a bright, welcoming pottery studio in soft morning light. A single workbench and handmade bowls sit on the right. Keep the left third uncluttered and light enough for a dark headline. Warm neutral colors, natural materials, no people, no lettering or logos.

Choose Page hero under Where it goes and Editorial photography under Look.

For a small illustration beside a paragraph:

A simple illustration of two hands planting a small seedling in a terracotta pot. Center the subject on a pale cream background. Use muted green and warm brown, with a clear silhouette that remains readable at a small size. No text or decorative border.

Choose Spot illustration and Illustration or Flat & minimal.

When the prompt is empty, Editorial hero, Product spotlight, and Social campaign offer starting points. Selecting one fills the prompt and sets a matching use and look. Replace its example details with your own before generating.

Keep essential headlines, prices, contact details, and calls to action in your page's text blocks. That makes them readable, accessible, and easy to update. If the image itself contains lettering, inspect every word before using it.

Choose the layout and look

Where it goes adds composition guidance and supplies the default image shape:

• Anywhere: no specific layout target; the model chooses the ratio.
• Page hero: a wide banner with room for a page headline.
• Blog cover: a wide composition that remains recognizable as a thumbnail.
• Product shot: a square image with one product as the focus.
• Avatar or icon: a square, centered subject suited to a small crop.
• Background or texture: a wide, quiet composition behind other content.
• Social share: a wide image with the important content kept away from the edges.
• Story or poster: a tall composition.
• Spot illustration: a square drawing for use beside text.

These choices guide generation; they do not connect the result to a particular page, post, product, or social account.

Look adds a visual treatment. Options include Default style, Photorealistic, Editorial photography, Illustration, Flat & minimal, 3D render, Watercolor, Cinematic, and Sketch. Choose one that supports your prompt rather than asking for conflicting styles. An illustration or flat look does not mean the result is an editable vector file.

Open Advanced to adjust:

• Aspect ratio: leave Match where it goes selected to follow the chosen use, or choose Square, Landscape, or Portrait yourself. An explicit shape stays selected when you change Where it goes; choose Match where it goes again to restore the automatic choice.
• Quality: start with Standard while exploring. Choose HD when you want a higher-detail generation and are comfortable with the provider's usage cost. HD applies to your next generation; it does not upscale the image already shown.

The model determines which requested settings it supports and the final output dimensions. Check the saved asset's actual dimensions before using it in a large placement.

Add a reference or brand guidance

Use a reference image

A reference can help communicate a subject, composition, or visual style.

1. Open Advanced and choose Choose image under Reference image.
2. Select an image from the library. Search by filename or alt text if needed.
3. If it is not in your library, use Upload now, upload it, and wait for completion.
4. Confirm the selected reference's thumbnail and name.
5. In your prompt, explain what to retain and what to change.

For example:

Use the reference for the bowl's shape and blue glaze. Show it alone on a light stone surface, viewed slightly from above, with soft daylight and an uncluttered background. Do not add text.

Use Replace to choose a different reference or Remove to generate without it. Remove clears the selection; it does not delete the source asset. A reference uploaded through this picker is also saved in your library.

A reference guides a new image. It does not guarantee an exact copy of product details, logos, faces, or lettering. For a product listing, compare the result carefully with the real item. Use the original photograph when exact appearance matters. For a precise crop, resize, or color adjustment, use the image editor instead.

Match your brand

When your site's theme provides brand guidance, Match my brand adds its available summary, voice, audience, and visual direction to the generation. Leave it on for imagery intended to fit the site, or turn it off when exploring a different direction.

Brand matching is written guidance. It does not automatically place your logo in the image or guarantee exact colors, typography, or layouts.

If the switch is unavailable, you can still generate images. Include the needed direction in your prompt, or ask the person managing your theme to check its brand guidance. Changing the site's logo alone does not supply a complete brand brief. See Creating or importing a custom theme for theme creation and handoff.

Generate and review the saved image

1. Review your prompt, Where it goes, Look, and any Advanced settings.
2. Select Generate image. You can also press Command+Enter on a Mac or Ctrl+Enter on Windows or Linux while writing the prompt.
3. Stay on the screen while Generating your image… is shown.
4. If Finishing up… appears, allow the saved asset's processing to complete. Edit image is unavailable while processing.
5. Wait for the result to load and confirm Saved to your library as followed by its filename.
6. Choose Open details to inspect the asset, its dimensions, and its description.

There is no separate Keep or Save step for a successful generation. You can return to Site → Media to find it later.

Before using the result, check the subject, anatomy, object shapes, lettering, product accuracy, and background. Preview it at its intended display size and with any text that will sit over it. Check a mobile crop as well as the full image: a wide composition may lose important details in a narrow block.

Make another version

Adjust the prompt or settings, then select Generate again. This creates a new asset and shows the new result. Earlier successful generations remain in the library; generating again does not replace or delete them.

Each request is another generation and may incur usage charges. Change one or two things at a time so you can judge what improved.

If you want to refine the image currently shown, explicitly select that saved image as the Reference image. The previewed result is not automatically used as a reference for the next request.

Discard an unwanted result

Discard deletes the current result from the media library. It is not just a way to clear the preview. Select it only when you no longer need the asset, then read Discard this image? before confirming Discard image.

Deletion cannot be undone through the library. If you have already placed the image in content or copied its URL, first follow the usage checks in Replacing or deleting a media asset. Cancel the dialog if you only wanted to try another version.

Prepare the image for customers

Open the saved image's details before adding it to content.

• Review Alt text. The starting description comes from your prompt, which can contain instructions such as “leave space on the left.” Replace that with a concise description of what the finished image communicates.
• Check access and delivery. Do not assume an image is private because you have not placed it on a published page. Review its Access settings and test the intended visitor experience.
• Edit only when needed. Use Edit image for crop, rotation, resize, or other supported adjustments. Saving an edit changes the shared asset; retain a separate copy first if you need both versions.

See Uploading and organizing media for descriptions, library organization, and file links.

To place the image on a page, open that page's media block and select the saved asset from the library. Review the block's alt text, caption, fit, and focal point, then preview desktop and mobile and use that page's save/publish workflow. Follow Adding images, videos, and downloads to a page for the exact placement steps.

Finally, open the public page as the intended visitor and confirm the correct image loads, the crop works, and any overlaid text is readable.

Fix common generation problems

“Describe the image you want.” Enter a prompt in Describe your image. Choosing a look or reference without a written request is not enough.

Provider setup appears, or generation reports a provider/model error. Ask your administrator to check the connection, an image-capable model, and available provider usage or credits. The presence of a connected AI provider does not prove that its image requests are configured successfully.

Generation fails but the prompt remains. Read the error before retrying. Correct the reported issue, such as provider access, an unsupported option, or a reference the model cannot use. If the error concerns the reference, try a supported ready image or remove it and make a text-only request.

You canceled, left the screen, or the request timed out. Check the library for a newly saved result before generating again. Cancel stops waiting in the screen; do not assume it guarantees cancellation of work already received by the provider or reverses a usage charge.

The model returned output, but no media asset was saved. Ask your administrator to check media storage and the reported save error. Treat the generation as incomplete until a usable asset is visible in the library.

“Finishing up…” persists, or “This image could not be loaded.” appears. Open the asset details and check processing and delivery. Refresh the library after processing has had time to finish. If the failure persists, report the asset rather than repeatedly generating replacements.

The image is the wrong shape or ignores part of the prompt. Check Advanced for an explicit aspect-ratio override, simplify conflicting instructions, and confirm the model supports the requested options. Review the saved dimensions. Use page framing or the image editor for an exact crop.

The image is saved, but the website still shows the old one. Select the new asset in the intended content, review and save/publish that change, then check the live page. Creating a library asset alone does not update an existing placement.

For help, contact support with the action you attempted, exact error, approximate time, relevant settings, and the asset-detail link if one exists. Include a non-sensitive prompt example when useful; never include provider API keys or private reference files in a public report.