Recraft: The Essentials

Covers the full Recraft family: V4.1, V4 Styles, and legacy V4

Covers Recraft V4.1, V4.1 SVG, V4.1 Pro, V4.1 Pro SVG, V4.1 Utility, V4.1 Utility Pro, V4 Styles, V4 Styles Pro, V4 Styles SVG, V4 Styles Pro SVG, and the legacy Recraft v4.

Recraft is Scenario's design-focused image family: built for posters, packaging, logos, icons, UI, infographics, and advertising rather than generic pictures. The current flagship, Recraft V4.1, splits into raster and true vector (SVG) output across three tiers, with in-image text rendering as its standout trait. Alongside it, Recraft V4 Styles locks a visual style from your own reference images (or a reusable style ID) so every new subject matches that exact look, ideal for consistent campaigns and brand worlds. The original Recraft v4 remains available for existing workflows but is superseded by V4.1.

Hero: Recraft V4.1, portrait_16_9, fashion editorial portrait.

Which Model Should I Use?

Recraft V4.1 is the current flagship: six models for everyday design work, split by output (raster or vector) and tier (standard, Pro, or Utility). Recraft V4 Styles is newer and solves a different problem: locking one visual style across many generations. Reach for V4.1 when Recraft's own design sense should drive the look; reach for V4 Styles when a specific look, yours or a client's, has to repeat exactly across a whole set.

Quick decision rule: need a file you can scale and edit? Pick an SVG model. Need a locked, repeatable look across many assets? Add "Styles" to that pick. Otherwise choose the tier: Utility for fast volume, V4.1 or V4 Styles for the default, and a Pro tier when fidelity and text accuracy have to be flawless. Still on the older Recraft v4? See Legacy: Recraft v4 below.

How the Models Work

Each model takes a single text prompt and returns one image at the size you choose. There is no image input and no separate style selector on Scenario: the look comes entirely from how you describe it in the prompt, with the palette and background color as optional steering. Write the prompt the way you would brief a designer: name the subject, the style, the composition, the mood, and the exact text.

V4.1 often returns a strong result from a brief phrase. Two examples below: a seven-word prompt and the same model with more direction.

"Rain on a city window at night." V4.1, portrait_4_3

Neon alley with cinematic color. V4.1, square

Text Rendering in Images

This is the family's biggest strength. Across testing, headlines, brand names, labels, promo codes, and even full multi-column menus rendered with correct spelling and clean layout. Put the exact words you want in quotes, and keep the count of distinct small text elements low. One or a few high-value strings come out crisp; a dozen tiny low-priority strings is where the occasional wrong letter slips in.

"BLUE NOTE NIGHTS" / "SEPT 14" jazz poster. V4.1, portrait_16_9	"TRATTORIA SOLE" multi-column menu. V4.1, landscape_16_9
"THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER" film key art. V4.1, portrait_4_3	"PORT AZURE" labeled map. Pro, landscape_16_9

Raster vs Vector

The standard, Pro, and Utility models return raster images (pixels), ideal for photoreal work, illustration, and anything with rich texture. The two SVG models return true vector files: flat, clean shapes that scale to any size and can be opened and edited in vector tools. Use SVG for logos, icons, badges, mascots, and pictograms that need to live in a design system. Vector output stays flat and gradient-free by design, so do not expect photoreal results from the SVG models.

Raster (V4.1): expressive texture

Vector (V4.1 SVG): one-line mark, white background set

Controlling Color

Two optional controls steer color. Set colors with up to ten R, G, B values to bias the whole image toward a brand palette; in testing the model mapped those hues into the actual elements, not just a tint. Set backgroundColorR/G/B to force a specific solid background, which is the reliable way to get a clean white, cream, or brand-colored ground behind a logo, icon, sticker, or product.

Origami crane logo on coral backgroundColor. V4.1

"NIGHT BREW" vector with palette steering. V4.1 SVG

Choosing a Tier

V4.1 (standard) is the expressive all-rounder: it brings its own read on light, mood, and composition, and often returns something strong from just a few words. Pro raises fidelity for the most demanding photoreal and text-dense pieces, with a quieter, more realistic look. Utility is the opposite of dramatic: clean, simple, and predictable, with flat even lighting and front-facing composition, made for product shots, mockups, and straightforward everyday graphics. Utility Pro is that same clean, predictable look at premium fidelity. Match the tier to the job: expressive for concepting, Pro for hero fidelity, Utility for dependable volume.

V4.1: expressive street scene	Pro: photoreal film poster
Utility: clean promo graphic	Pro SVG: "MAISON FLEUR" identity sheet

Recraft V4 Styles: Locked Style Consistency

Four models joined the Recraft lineup after V4.1, and they solve a different problem than the presets above. Instead of picking a named aesthetic, you lock a style from your own reference images, or a reusable style ID, and the model holds that exact look across every new subject you describe. Attach one to ten reference images once (styleReferenceImages), and the generation returns a styleId you can pass directly into later requests, no need to keep re-uploading references. Choose precise matching (styleMatch) to follow the reference closely, or flexible when the new subject differs a lot in shape from the reference.

Recraft V4 Styles and Styles Pro (Raster)

1K raster output (2K and up on Pro) that follows a locked style, from single product shots to complex, multi-figure scenes with people. Style match held up cleanly through a three-person film noir interrogation scene in testing.

Recraft V4 Styles: three-person interrogation scene, style held across figures · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles: retro graphic poster in the same locked style · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles Pro: silhouetted surfers at golden hour · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles Pro: bedtime story scene, same locked style · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles SVG and Pro SVG (Vector)

True editable SVG output in that same locked style, for icon systems, mascot logos, and human character illustrations that all need to match. Every icon in a set inherits the same line weight, palette, and shape language from one locked style.

Recraft V4 Styles SVG: rocket launch badge · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles SVG: key and rope badge, same locked style · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles Pro SVG: elephant head emblem · Open on Scenario

Recraft V4 Styles Pro SVG: guitarist badge, same locked style · Open on Scenario

Use the base V4.1 models above when Recraft's own design taste and named presets should drive the look. Reach for V4 Styles when a visual identity already exists, whether from past work or a moodboard, and every new asset needs to match it exactly.

Legacy: Recraft v4

The original Recraft v4 remains available on Scenario for workflows already built around it, but it is superseded by Recraft V4.1: start new work with V4.1 above. The older model takes the same kind of prompt but with a different parameter set: aspectRatio or a fixed size instead of imageSize, and no backgroundColorR/G/B or colors palette steering.

Recraft v4: abandoned low-poly house, isometric game-ready style · Open on Scenario

Parameters

All six models share the exact same inputs, so you can switch between them without changing your request.

prompt

Required, up to 10000 characters. What to create, including any text you want to appear in the image. Put exact wording in quotes. See the Text Rendering examples above for headline and menu prompts that rendered correctly.

imageSize

Default square_hd. One of square_hd, square (1:1 — logos, icons, social tiles), portrait_4_3 (3:4 — posters, packaging), portrait_16_9 (9:16 — stories, mobile ads; used in the hero above), landscape_4_3 (4:3 — editorial, slides), landscape_16_9 (16:9 — banners, billboards).

backgroundColorR / G / B

Optional, 0 to 255 each. Sets a solid background color; all three values define one color. The origami crane example in Controlling Color used explicit RGB for a coral ground.

colors

Optional, up to 10 colors as R, G, B tuples. Steers the palette toward your chosen hues. Treated as preferences, not exact requirements. The "NIGHT BREW" vector in Controlling Color shows palette steering in practice.

Recraft V4 Styles Parameters

The four Styles models share the same six parameters above, plus three that control the locked style.

styleReferenceImages

One to ten PNG, JPG, or WEBP images that define a private style for this generation. Mutually exclusive with styleId. Creating a new style from references costs a little extra; reuse the returned style ID afterward to avoid paying that cost again.

styleId

A reusable Recraft style ID. When you generate from styleReferenceImages, the job output includes a style ID you can pass here on later requests instead of re-uploading references.

styleMatch

Default precise. precise follows the reference style closely; flexible matches its general mood, useful when the new subject differs a lot in shape from the reference. See Recraft V4 Styles above for examples of style consistency across very different subjects.

Legacy Recraft v4 Parameters

Recraft v4 predates the V4.1 parameter set: it takes prompt, plus either aspectRatio (a preset ratio from 1:2 to 2:1) or a fixed size in pixels (ignored when an aspect ratio is set). It has no background color or palette controls.

Use Cases

• Games: key art, splash screens, world maps, item and emblem sets, and e-sports logos (with correct titles baked in).

• Marketing and advertising: posters, hero banners, billboards, and campaign key visuals with legible headlines.

• Brand and design systems: logos, icon sets, badges, monograms, and multi-lockup brand sheets, in editable vector with the SVG models.

• E-commerce: product heroes, category tiles, packaging mockups, and promo graphics with on-brand palettes.

• Education: infographics, labeled diagrams, timelines, and classroom visuals where the labels have to be correct.

• Content and social: blog heroes, quote cards, recipe cards, thumbnails, and story ads at volume.

• Consistent brand and character worlds: use V4 Styles to keep a mascot, product, or campaign look identical across dozens of new scenes and poses.

Tips for Better Results

1. Put exact text in quotes. Wording inside quotation marks renders far more reliably than described text.

2. Try a few words first. V4.1 reads short prompts like a creative director and often returns something strong from a brief phrase. Start small, then add direction only where you need it.

3. Keep small text elements few. A few high-value strings come out clean; many tiny labels at once is where letters garble. For long body copy, ask for placeholder or greeking lines so it reads as a real layout.

4. Set the background color when you need a light ground. Both SVG models default unused negative space to black; pass backgroundColorR/G/B (for example 255, 255, 255) to get white or cream instead.

5. Force light backgrounds on the raster models too. Standard and Utility lean dark for prompts like "minimalist" or "bright"; state the background color explicitly to override.

6. Use the palette to stay on brand. The colors array maps your brand hues into the artwork; combine it with a named palette in the prompt for consistency across a set.

7. Pick the aspect ratio up front. Compose for the final placement by choosing the matching imageSize rather than cropping later.

8. For exact letterform logos, expect iteration. Abstract marks like "a crane that forms a P" render the object cleanly but only loosely imply the letter; refine across a few runs.

9. Build the style once, then reuse the ID. Generate from reference images the first time, save the returned styleId, and pass that instead of re-uploading references on every later request.

10. Start with precise style matching. Switch to flexible only if the new subject's shape is very different from the reference and precise mode is fighting the composition.

Known Limitations

• SVG models default negative space to black. Without a background color, unused space fills black. Set backgroundColorR/G/B for white, cream, or light grounds.

• Dense tiny text can garble. The model nails intended headlines and labels, but many low-priority micro-strings (or text it invents on its own, like a watch-dial brand mark) can come out as wrong letters. Keep high-stakes copy to a few strings.

• No style, seed, or negative-prompt controls on Scenario. The platform exposes prompt, image size, background color, and palette only. There is no style picker, seed, or negative prompt, so direct the look through the prompt text.

• Vector means flat. The SVG models will not produce photoreal or gradient-heavy results; use a raster model for that.

• Pro tiers cost more per image. Reserve Pro and Pro SVG for work that genuinely needs the extra fidelity; the standard and Utility models are strong and cheaper for most jobs.

• Establishing a new style costs a little extra. The first V4 Styles generation from reference images costs more than a normal generation; reusing the returned styleId afterward does not.

• Legacy Recraft v4 uses a different parameter set. It has no background color or palette controls and sizes by aspectRatio or a fixed size rather than imageSize; it is not a drop-in swap for V4.1 without adjusting the request.