Most Recraft tutorials open with the model list. That is the wrong end. Recraft Studio is a canvas, and the decisions that change your output — how many images, which ratio, raster or vector — are controls on that canvas, not words you add to a prompt.
The five steps and what they skip
The official quick start has five steps: create an account, create a project, generate an image, make an edit, export. Account first, because generation consumes credits; project first, because nothing exists outside one.
The free tier is where other guides start inventing. The quick start promises free credits; the free plan page narrows that to limited credits, three uploads a day and up to two images per prompt. The daily allowance is not published by the vendor.
For the walkthrough without the reasoning, the Recraft basics guide is the shorter read.
The four work areas on the canvas
Recraft calls the canvas its primary work surface and describes it as infinite. Four areas cover almost everything you do.
| Area | Position | What the documentation assigns to it |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt panel | Left panel | The Create and Chat tabs, plus model, style, references, ratio, colors and generation count |
| Canvas | Centre | Creating, arranging and selecting objects, on a grid new generations land on |
| Context panel | Right panel | Modify, Reuse and Finalise actions for whatever is selected |
| Export | Context panel, or right-click image | Dimensions, format and resolution |
The context panel appears only when something is selected, and it does not read natural language — that is the prompt panel’s job. Settings do not carry across generation types, so a ratio chosen for an Image is not applied once you switch to Vector. And one click selects an image; a second click is what attaches it as a reference.
How to write a prompt
The prompt engineering guide opens by ruling something out: “Effective prompting is not about memorizing magic keywords. It is about understanding how models interpret language and how simple adjustments to clarity and structure can guide the results.”
Prompt content then splits in two: core principles (subject, composition, context) as the minimum every strong prompt needs, and artistic principles (medium, style, vibe, attributes) as optional.
[SUBJECT + ACTION], [COMPOSITION], [CONTEXT], [MEDIUM], [STYLE], [VIBE], [ATTRIBUTES: lighting, color, texture, technical details]Subject and composition
Start with the subject, which tells the model what a viewer should notice first. Composition covers angle, crop, pose and perspective.
Context, medium and style
Context supplies the setting: too little makes the result unpredictable, too much constrains it. Medium sets the visual language, style points at a tradition. The vector-art page adds the family rule — vector work leans on structure, not texture.
Vibe, attributes, detail
Vibe is the emotional register; attributes are the fine settings — lighting, colour, texture, typography. Detail level is the dial over all of it.
Generation type, model and style
Generation type sits at the top of the Create tab with five options: Image, Vector, Video, Mockup, Image set. Vector is a type of its own, which is why reference images are unavailable with it.
Style lives in the Style library: an Explore tab filtered by All, Photo, Illustration, Graphic design, Icon or Logo, plus My styles. Applying a style also means choosing how hard it binds — Precise follows the reference closely, Flexible matches the vibe.
Model choice decides the rest. V4.1 is current, V4 the best default, V4 Pro adds resolution, V3 keeps artistic levels, V2 keeps unique effects. Vector generation has published per-image credit prices: 4 credits for Recraft V4.1 Vector, 12 for V4.1 Pro Vector, 1 to vectorize a raster. Programmatic runs use a separate list, in the Recraft API guide.
Case: three runs from canvas to file
One run per canvas area; every input below is a prompt the vendor publishes.
Run one: a flat icon
Line art icon logo for pasta brand, simple outline of spaghetti wrapped around fork, consistent stroke width, monoline style, clean and minimal, works at small sizes, modern culinary app aestheticSet generation type to Vector before generating. The guide prints this prompt beside its own output, and it tests the medium rule: stroke width and geometry stated outright.
Run two: a vector landscape
Flat vector illustration of mountain landscape, simple geometric shapes, two-color palette (blue, green), clean lines, minimal designSame generation type, different subject; what it leaves out matters, with no lighting, texture or camera. Ratio is stored per generation type, so set it after switching to Vector.
Run three: a mark with a word
logo ancient Greek sculpture, clever negative spaceThe logo page publishes this prompt with one rule that outweighs the words: to include text, put it in quotation marks, so “Broccoli” becomes stylized text. Vector images export as SVG and PDF; the SVG export guide covers both routes.
What the documentation leaves open
The export dialog publishes dimensions, format and resolution. Several things people ask about are absent.
- The daily credit allowance on the Free plan; the page says limited credits and stops.
- The credit cost of a raster generation, described as the model price.
- The range and default of the Color Reduction slider.
- The named pixel presets in the export dialog, and the unit of the resolution field.
- Whether an exported SVG keeps named layers or groups.
Paid tiers publish monthly prices and allowances; the gap is the free tier. The Recraft pricing breakdown has the numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a paid plan to export SVG? No. “Vector generation and the Vector Editor are included on every plan, including Free.”
Why did my aspect ratio disappear when I switched to Vector? Settings do not carry across generation types; raster, vector and video each store their own.
How many images can one prompt produce? Between one and four. On the Free plan, up to two at a time.
Can I recover the prompt behind an image? Yes — click it to open the Selected object panel with the prompt, model and style.
Start from the canvas, not the prompt box. Tutorials that skip the four areas describe buttons that do not exist.