# Animal

> Pick one of 126 animals, from pets and wildlife to dinosaurs and dragons, and Nodaro adds the animal and a short description of its look to your prompt.

Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/animal

The **Animal** picker adds an animal to an image or a video. You choose one animal from its catalog, such as a golden retriever, a tiger, an eagle, a dinosaur or a dragon. Nodaro adds the animal and a short description of its look to the prompt of every node you connect it to. The picker never calls a model, so it costs no credits.

- Found in: Creative Controls › Subject
- Output: text
- API type: `animal`

## When to use it
- Wildlife and nature scenes.
- Pet photography, and product campaigns that feature a pet.
- Fantasy and storyboard work with dragons, griffins or dinosaurs.
- Unexpected pairings, for example a peacock in a corporate boardroom.

## How to use it
### Add the picker

Open the node picker and choose **Creative Controls › Subject › Animal**.

### Choose an animal

Select the node and choose an animal in the settings panel. Each tile shows a photo of the animal, and the node card shows the same photo. The photos come with the app, so they appear on Nodaro Cloud and on self-hosted installs. The few animals without a photo show an emoji of a similar animal.

### Connect it

Drag from the picker's output to the **Elements** input of a [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image) or [Generate Video](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/video/generate-video) node. You can also connect it to a [Text](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/text) or [Prompt](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/prompt) node to include the wording in a longer text.

### Run the image or video node

The animal's wording is added to the end of the prompt when the connected node runs.

Workflow: An Animal picker feeds the Elements input of Generate Image, and a Setting picker feeds its Look input.

- Text → Generate Image (prompt)
- Animal → Generate Image (elements)
- Setting → Generate Image (look)

## Settings
| Setting | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Animal** | The animal to add. The default is **Golden Retriever**. |
| **Custom text (before)** | Your own words, added before the animal's wording. |
| **Custom text (after)** | Your own words, added after the animal's wording. |
| **Prompt hint** | **Full** adds the animal and a description of its look. **Compact** adds only the short name. See [Creative Controls](https://nodaro.ai/docs/guides/creative-controls). |

To see the exact words the picker will add, switch the node to the **Prompt** or **Both** display mode. The settings panel shows the same text under **Will inject into prompt**.

## What it adds to the prompt

In **Full** mode, the picker writes "featuring a", the animal's name and one sentence about its coat, shape and features. For **Golden Retriever** it adds:

```text
featuring a golden retriever, Medium-large dog with a luxurious wavy golden coat, feathered tail and a warm friendly face
```

In **Compact** mode, it adds only `golden retriever`. Use **Compact** when your prompt already describes the animal, or when many pickers feed one node.

## Every animal

The catalog has 12 groups: Cats, Dogs, Transport & Working, Farm, Wild, Birds, Sea Life, Small Pets, Reptiles, Insects, Dinosaurs and Mythical. Search it or filter it by group. The words under each name are the term the picker adds in **Compact** mode.

**Cats**

- Persian Cat
- Siamese Cat
- Maine Coon
- Bengal Cat
- Sphynx Cat
- Ragdoll Cat
- British Shorthair
- Scottish Fold
- Tabby Cat
- Black Cat

**Dogs**

- Labrador Retriever
- Golden Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Bulldog
- Poodle
- Siberian Husky
- Beagle
- Dachshund
- Chihuahua
- Corgi
- Pug
- Border Collie
- Rottweiler
- Shiba Inu

**Transport & Working**

- Horse
- Camel
- Donkey
- Mule
- Ox

**Farm**

- Cow
- Pig
- Sheep
- Goat
- Chicken
- Rooster
- Duck
- Rabbit
- Turkey

**Wild**

- Lion
- Tiger
- Bear
- Polar Bear
- Wolf
- Fox
- Elephant
- Zebra
- Giraffe
- Giant Panda
- Leopard
- Cheetah
- Monkey
- Gorilla
- Kangaroo
- Koala
- Deer
- Raccoon
- Capybara
- Sloth
- Red Panda
- Pangolin
- Okapi
- Quokka
- Meerkat

**Birds**

- Eagle
- Owl
- Parrot
- Peacock
- Flamingo
- Penguin
- Swan
- Sparrow
- Crow
- Hummingbird
- Raven
- Emu

**Sea Life**

- Dolphin
- Whale
- Shark
- Octopus
- Sea Turtle
- Jellyfish
- Crab
- Seahorse
- Axolotl

**Small Pets**

- Hamster
- Guinea Pig
- Ferret
- Parakeet
- Gerbil

**Reptiles**

- Snake
- Lizard
- Turtle
- Crocodile
- Chameleon
- Gecko

**Insects**

- Butterfly
- Bee
- Ant
- Spider
- Ladybug
- Dragonfly
- Beetle
- Grasshopper
- Praying Mantis
- Mosquito
- Scorpion
- Caterpillar
- Tarantula

**Dinosaurs**

- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Velociraptor
- Triceratops
- Brachiosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Pterodactyl
- Spinosaurus
- Diplodocus
- Ankylosaurus
- Brontosaurus
- Parasaurolophus
- Allosaurus

**Mythical**

- Dragon
- Unicorn
- Phoenix
- Griffin
- Pegasus
- Kraken

## Animal or Animal/Creature Asset

The Animal picker describes a kind of animal in words. Each run draws a new animal that matches the description, so your dog looks different in every shot. To show the same animal again and again, use an [Animal/Creature Asset](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/assets/creature). The asset keeps an approved picture of the animal and sends it with every run. Read [Creatures](https://nodaro.ai/docs/guides/creatures) for the full method.

## Tips
- **Put the animal somewhere.** Pair the picker with [Setting](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/setting) for a real place, or with [Backdrop](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/backdrop) for a studio shot.
- **Describe what the animal does.** Use **Custom text (after)**, for example `with fur catching the light`, or **Custom text (before)**, for example `mid-leap`.
- **Try a surprising pairing.** Wire a [Person](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/person) and an Animal picker into the same node, for example a knight with a peacock.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does the Animal picker do?

It adds an animal and a one-sentence description of its look to the prompt of every image or video node it is connected to. It never runs a model and costs no credits.

### Does the Animal picker cost credits?

No. Pickers only change the prompt. You pay only for the generation node that uses it.

### Does the Animal picker keep the same animal in every image?

No. It describes a kind of animal, such as a golden retriever, so each run draws a new one. To show the same animal in every shot, use an Animal/Creature Asset, which keeps approved pictures of it.

### Can I add a mythical creature or a dinosaur?

Yes. The Mythical group has Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix, Griffin, Pegasus and Kraken, and the Dinosaurs group has 12 species, from Tyrannosaurus Rex to Allosaurus.

### What is the difference between Full and Compact hint mode?

Full adds the animal's name and a one-sentence description of its coat, shape and features. Compact adds only the short name, such as golden retriever.