How to make card art for a card game with AI
To make card art for a card game with AI, generate the illustration on its own in an aspect ratio that matches your card's art window, leave space where the frame, name and rules text will sit, and add that text and frame afterward in your engine or layout tool. Keep a set consistent by generating every new card from one finished illustration used as a style reference. In Ludo.ai's Image Generator that means the card art type, which keeps its full background, with an aspect ratio such as Portrait 3:4. Card art is also one of the image types the Sprite Generator can animate from a short motion description.
Last updated September 2026
What you need
- Your card template, or at least the shape of the art window and where the frame and text go
- A short description of each card's subject
- Optional: one finished illustration in your set's style to use as a style reference
1Plan the card layout first
Before generating anything, decide how much of the card the art fills: a full-art card where the illustration runs behind the text, or a framed card with an art window above a rules box. Note the proportions of that window and which edges the frame, cost, name and text will cover, so you know where the subject must not go.
2Choose the card art type
Open the Image Generator and choose the card art type (
card-art). Card art keeps its background, so the illustration fills the whole image edge to edge instead of being cut out like a sprite.3Set the aspect ratio and art style
Pick the Aspect Ratio closest to your art window: Portrait 3:4 for a tall window or a full-art card, Square or Landscape 4:3 for a shorter window in the top half of the card. Then pick the art style your set uses, such as Digital Painting, Comic Book or Anime/Manga.
4Describe the subject and composition
Write the subject, its action and the setting, for example "stone golem rising from a collapsed temple, dust in the air". Add where the subject should sit ("centered in the upper half, simple ground below") so the area your rules box covers stays quiet, and leave names, numbers and card text out of the prompt. Compare several variations and pick one to anchor the set.
5Build the set with Generate with Style
Switch the Generation Mode to Generate with Style, add the anchor illustration as the reference, and write a new prompt for each card. The art style picker is hidden in this mode because the style comes from the reference. After adding the reference, check that the image type is still card art and the aspect ratio is still your portrait ratio before you generate.
6Fix details without regenerating
Use Edit Image to change one thing with a text instruction ("make the dragon's scales blue"), or Edit with Mask to repaint only a selected area, such as a hand or a busy patch where the rules text will sit.
7Animate the card for a digital game (optional)
Open the Sprite Generator, go to Animate, add the illustration as the First Frame and choose the card art type. Describe ambient motion ("embers drift upward, the runes on the stone pulse, the golem breathes"). Set Animation Margin to No margin and Sprite Size to True Size so each frame keeps the size and alignment of your card image, and leave Loop Animation on. Animation presets are for humanoid characters only, so describe the motion in text, or use Transfer Motion with a reference video. If the loop point jumps, use Fix Loop on the result.
8Add the frame and text in your engine or layout tool
Download the still illustration, or take an animated card as a video, a sprite sheet, a GIF or individual frames. Place the art under your frame and render the name, cost and rules text on top, for example with Godot's TextureRect for the art, or Unity's Video Player for an animated card.
Specs
| Image type | card-art, one of 22 image types |
|---|---|
| Background | Card art keeps its background; it is not one of the types generated without one, and it skips background removal when uploaded for animation |
| Aspect ratios | Auto, Square, Landscape 4:3, 16:9 and 19:9, Portrait 3:4, 9:16 and 9:19 |
| Art styles | 32 plus Any style, including Digital Painting, Comic Book, Anime/Manga, Watercolor and the pixel styles |
| Style reference | Generate with Style generation mode; 1 to 4 variations per API request |
| Animation | card-art is one of the 12 image types the Sprite Generator can animate |
| Animation frames | 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49 or 64 per sheet, looping by default |
| Animation frame size | 32 to 384 px, Max, True Size (matches the input image's size and alignment) or Upscale 1.5x |
Tips
- Keep names, costs and rules text out of the art and add them in your engine or layout tool, so a balance change or a translation never needs a new illustration.
- Crop the generated image to your exact art window in your layout tool rather than hoping a ratio matches it; the portrait and landscape ratios are starting points, not card sizes.
- Use one anchor illustration per set or faction and generate every card in it from that same reference, instead of chaining each card off the previous one.
- For animated cards, choose small ambient motion (embers, glows, drifting clouds, breathing) that loops cleanly; large movements make the loop point obvious on a card that sits on screen.
- Re-running the same prompt gives different results, so save the variation you pick before generating the rest of the set.
FAQ
What aspect ratio should card art be?
Match the art window of your card template. Portrait 3:4 is the closest available ratio to a standard playing card and suits full-art cards; a framed card with the art in the top half usually fits Square or Landscape 4:3. Crop to the exact window in your layout tool.
Does Ludo.ai make the card frame and text?
It generates the illustration. Build the frame and render the text in your engine or layout tool. Decorative frame pieces can be generated separately with the UI asset type, which comes out without a background.
How do I keep a whole card set in one style?
Generate one illustration you like, then create every other card with Generate with Style using it as the reference. The subject changes with each prompt while the style follows the reference; see how to keep a consistent art style.
Can card art be animated?
Yes. Card art is one of the types the Sprite Generator animates: describe the motion in Animate and you get a looping sheet of 4 to 64 frames, which you can download as a video, sprite sheet, GIF or individual frames. Animation presets are for humanoid characters only; for other subjects describe the motion in text or use Transfer Motion with a reference video.
What resolution should card art be?
Size the art window in your template and scale the illustration to it. For animated cards, True Size keeps each frame the same size as the image you animate, or pick a fixed Sprite Size from 32 to 384 px.
Can I make pixel art cards?
Yes. Pick one of the pixel styles (8-Bit, 16-Bit, 32-Bit or Hi-Bit) when you generate the illustration; how to make and animate pixel art sprites covers keeping animated pixel art on the grid.
Related
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