Generate Image

The Generate Image node turns a text prompt into an image. It is the main text-to-image node in Nodaro. You write what you want to see and choose one of the image models. The node returns a picture you can send to any other node, for example to animate it with Generate Video.

When to use it

• You need a still image from a description: a storyboard frame, a product shot, a thumbnail, a character portrait.
• You want the first frame of a video. Wire the result into the start frame of Generate Video.
• You want the same character, location or product in many images. Wire the asset nodes into the Assets input.
• You want to change one part of a result. Paint a mask and run the node again, without adding another node.

Quick start

Example: a prompt and two pickers

This run wires three nodes into Generate Image: a Text node with the prompt, a Mood picker set to Serene, and a Lighting picker set to Golden Hour with the Back / Rim direction. The model is GPT Image 2 at 1K in 16:9.

The model received the typed prompt first, then the words of each picker in Full mode:

Mood describes a face and a posture, so it suits pictures of people more than landscapes. For the feel of a place, such as mist or rain, use Atmosphere instead. The same image became the start frame of the clips in Generate Video.

Inputs

Generate Image has six inputs on its left edge. Each input accepts only the kinds of nodes listed, and the editor rejects a connection that does not fit. Click an input to see what is connected to it, jump to a connected node, disconnect it, or add a new compatible node.

The output, image, is the URL of the generated picture. It can feed any number of nodes at once.

Settings

Models

Generate Image can run every image model below. Click a model for its settings, credit prices and prompt tips.

Which model to choose

• Nano Banana Pro — the default. Strong detail, complex compositions and readable text in the image.
• GPT Image 2.5 Flare — fast and high quality. Use it to iterate and for high-volume work such as social posts and ad variants.
• GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst — slower and more precise. Use it for the final render of brand-sensitive work: packaging, diagrams, product retouching.
• Nano Banana 2 Lite and Z-Image — the cheapest. Use them for drafts and storyboards.
• Seedream 5 Pro — strong instruction following at a low price.

If you are unsure, draft on GPT Image 2.5 Flare and finish on GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst. For a comparison of every model, read Choosing a model.

Use variables in the prompt

You can put the value of another node in the prompt by writing its label in curly braces. {Mood} becomes whatever the Mood picker is set to, and {Maya} becomes the text of a node labeled Maya.

• A default value. {person || man} uses the connected Person picker when there is one, and the word "man" when there is not.
• Highlighting. In the prompt editor, a variable is cyan when a matching node exists and amber when nothing provides it yet. Amber is only a warning: a variable with a default still works.
• A missing node stops the run. If a variable names a node that does not exist anywhere in the workflow, the run is refused before any credits are spent, so a typo never produces a wrong image.

Read more in Prompt variables.

Edit a result in place

Once the node has a result, you can change it without adding another node.

Change one area with a mask

1. Open the settings panel and scroll to the Inpainting Mask painter. Click Edit Mask.
2. Paint over the area to change. White means "change this", black means "keep this".
3. Write a prompt that describes the change, and run the node again.

Only the painted area is regenerated. Everything outside the mask stays pixel-identical, on every model.

Refine the whole image

Click Refine from this result to use the current result as the starting point for a new run over the whole frame. Use it for changes such as "warmer colors" or "more cinematic". On models that support it, Strength controls how far the new image moves away from the current one.

Edit regions with Grok Imagine 2

With the Grok Imagine 2 model, the settings panel adds Refine Regions:

1. Click Detect regions. This is free. The node finds named regions, such as sky or person, and outlines each one on the result when you point at it.
2. Tick the regions to change, write what should change, and click Apply. Leave every region unticked to edit the whole image.
3. The edit appears as a new version in the result strip, and you can detect and edit its regions again.

A masked edit, a refine and a region edit each cost the same as a new generation on that model. Detecting regions is free.

Keep a character consistent

Wire a Character Asset node into the Assets input, or mention the character in the prompt with @ and its number, for example @maya:1 walks through the market. Nodaro sends the character's approved pictures and description with the prompt, on every model that accepts references.

You can also name an Upload Image node and mention it: a node labeled "Town" becomes @town:1, and @town:1:background says what to take from it. Read Reference roles for every role you can use, and Consistent characters for the full method.

When a model blocks the prompt

A model's safety filter sometimes blocks a harmless prompt.

• Your credits come back. A blocked generation is always refunded.
• Some models retry once. GPT Image 2, GPT Image 2.5 Flare and GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst are retried once automatically, at no extra cost.
• A one-click alternative. When the model has a recommended fallback, the node shows the block in amber with a button such as Try on Nano Banana Pro. Nodaro never switches models on its own.
• Copyright and likeness blocks are final. A match against protected characters or a real person's face is not retried.

Tips

• Draft cheap, finish sharp. Iterate at 1K on a draft model, then switch the model or the resolution for the final image.
• Put the look in pickers, not in the prompt. Pickers such as Lighting and Lens add tested wording, and you can change them without rewriting the prompt.
• Choose a model for text. For a sign, a label or a poster with words, use Nano Banana Pro or GPT Image 2.

From the API

Every setting above is also available to code and to AI assistants. POST /v1/generate-image accepts a direction object of picker ids — for example { "shotSize": "wide-shot", "timeOfDay": "golden-hour" } — and Nodaro writes the matching wording into the prompt. See Run a single node and the MCP tools.