Best Stable Diffusion Pose Prompts with ControlNet Tips

Updated on May 23, 2025

Are you struggling to find the best Stable Diffusion pose prompts to make your character stand out?

If you search AI images using pose keywords on Civitai or other AI communities, you may find that some well-crafted images don't contain some "magic" pose keywords at all. The secret is, besides incorporating posing descriptions in the prompts, you may need ControlNet and other tricks to nail down everything.

That is what I will be covering below, let's go!

Table of Contents

Part 1. How to Find the Best Stable Diffusion Pose Prompts
Part 2. Use ControlNet for Any Desired Pose
Part 3. Tips and Tricks

Part 1. How to Find the Best Stable Diffusion Pose Prompts

Option 1. Use pose keywords in prompts.

For simple poses, you can describe them in the prompts. If the generated image doesn't fulfill your requirement, you can add weight to the words regarding the pose. For instance, (leg crossed) will increase the weight of "leg crossed" by a factor of 1.1, while ((leg crossed)) means 1.21 (= 1.1 * 1.1).

Option 2. Use ControlNet.

Sometimes, we can't solemnly rely on the prompts.

If the generated image still won't work - as some dramatic poses are hard to describe - then the best way is to use the ControlNet extension in Stable Diffusion WebUI A1111. It allows you to better manipulate the poses and gestures (see detailed tutorial in Part 2 below).

Must-have Tool:

Since Stable Diffusion is computing intensive and can throw CUDA out of memory error at high resolution, it is recommended to set base resolution around 512px, 768px, or no larger than 1K.

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Below is a demonstration of an image upscaled by Aiarty Image Enhancer vs the base 512px base resolution.

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Part 2. Use ControlNet for Any Desired Pose

Method 1. Use OpenPose in ControlNet

Step 1. Install the ControlNet extensions:

Extensions > Install from URL: https://github.com/Mikubill/sd-webui-controlnet.git

Hit the Install button

Go to the Installed tab and make sure ControlNet is enabled. Plus, you can regularly hit "check for updates" option for these extensions and make sure they are the latest version.

Step 2. Download the ControlNet models.

Download models from Huggingface: https://huggingface.co/lllyasviel/ControlNet-v1-1/tree/main

Put models in: stable-diffusion-webui/extensions/sd-webui-controlnet/models

Or in: stable-diffusion-webui/models/ControlNet

Step 3. Install the OpenPose editor.

Inside Stable Diffusion A1111, go to Extensions>Install from URL: https://github.com/fkunn1326/openpose-editor

You can find it here: stable-diffusion-webui\extensions\sd-webui-openpose-editor

Now you can enable ControlNet, add the image with the pose, and use the OpenPose editor to adjust the poses as you want.

Stable Diffusion Controlnet Open Pose Editor

Method 2. DesignDoll+Photoshop+A1111

Sometimes, it's hard to describe an impactful and dynamic pose of the character merely with language. That's when we need images for pose reference. We can import the image with the desired pose into ControlNet in Stable Diffusion A1111 WebUI.

But firstly, we need to prepare the image with poses. One method is to use 3D modeling tools. I found a handy tool named DesignDoll, developed by Terawell Inc. You can also use other tools that you are familiar with.

Step 1. Free download DesignDoll from its official site: https://terawell.net/

Step 2. Pose your character easily.

Inside the DesignDoll software, you can flexibly manipulate the sketch doll's body, adjust the pose of the character, and reproduce any perspectives with intuitive operations.

You can also visit the post library (https://doll-a.net/), find a desired pose, and copy its DA number. Then inside the DesignDoll software, paste the DA number on the menu bar (next to the camera icon).

Step 3. Export the image with a transparent background in PNG.

Note: Even if you select the transparent background option in the exporting window, but you forget to select PNG, leave it as BMP or another format, you may end up with an image with solid background colors.

Step 4. Edit the image in Photoshop or other image editing software.

Taking Photoshop as an example, I roughly cover the character with cloth and boots, with something above her hand as the would-be crystal ball, and some stokes in the background for lighting and abstract swirling purple stuff.

Step 5. Use Stable Diffusion A1111 WebUI to generate an image with the desired pose.

Prompt:

1 girl jumping in the air with a dynamic pose, long curly hair, silver hair, shiny hair, cleavage, makeup, eyeliner, sheer silver blue robe, full body shot, holding a crystal ball on left hand, athletic legs, narraow_waist, wearing an elegant purple dress adorned with silver patterns, gorgeous costume:1.2, boots, surrounded by swirling purple and blue smoke, thunder lightning in background, burning sky, flames around, vibrant colors, masterpiece, cinematic angle, cinematic lighting, photorealistic, fire magic:1.1,

Negative Prompt:

Nsfw, nude, naked, low quality, normal quality, worst quality, lowres, bad_pictures, badhand, muscular, monochrome, blurry, watermark, signature, artist name, Twitter username

Resolution: 448 640

Sampling steps: 20; CFG scale:7; Sampling Method: DMP++2M

You can change the parameters to your preferences.

Below is the generated image without using ControlNet.

If we import the pose reference image into ControlNet, the output will be as follows. The generated image has the identical pose as the reference image. Let's see how to configure the ControlNet in Step 6.

Step 6. Use ControlNet in Stable Diffusion A1111 WebUI.

Assuming you have already installed ControlNet extension for Stable Diffusion, follow the steps below.

Part 1: Enable ControlNet Unit 0

Import the pose reference image we prepared with Photoshop.
Tick "Pixel Perfect".
Control Type: Tile.
Control Mode: My prompt is more important.

Part 2: Enable ControlNet Unit 1

Again, drag and drop the pose reference image.
Tick "Pixel Perfect"
Control Type: Lineart; Preprocessor: lineart_realistic
Lowering the Control Weight and Ending Control Step (e.g. at 0.5 each).

Step 7. Start to generate the image.

You can experiment and finetune other parameters, and generate in batch until you find a favorite seed. Then you can freeze the seed, use LoRA Add Detail to improve the face, etc.

Part 3. Tips and Tricks

1. Find Stable Diffusion Poses library for reference.

OpenPoses website has a collection of poses for Stable Diffusion and ControlNet OpenPose. You can click the tabs to filter among poses such as standing, T-pose, crossed arms, laying, jumping, etc.

Another good resources is a Stable Diffusion prompts lists curated by CDcruz. Besides poses, you can also find useful categories such as facial characteristics, expressions, hairstyles, clothing, and more on that site.

2. Use Stable Diffusion extension to help find popular prompts.

My recommendation is using Tagcomplete extension, which has 2.5k stars on Github. It suggests anime-style tags from Danbooru and other similar "image boorus", including poses.

You can type the __ (double underscore) to trigger this extension. Please note that NSFW tags are included in this extension, you may want to use them with caution.

Find more information and install from here: https://github.com/DominikDoom/a1111-sd-webui-tagcomplete

Part 4. List of Poses for Stable Diffusion Body Position Prompts

Categories	Poses
Sitting, Kneeling, Lying Down	sitting sitting on floor sitting on chair (add wooden chair, throne, stool, etc.) sitting on ground crossed legs sitting (or Indian style sitting) lotus position (yoga meditative pose) butterfly sitting (soles of feet together, knees out) figure four sitting (ankle of one leg on the knee of the other) seiza (formal Japanese kneeling-sitting) wariza (Japanese sitting, legs tucked to one side, more relaxed than seiza) hugging own knees while sitting (or knees to chest sitting) reclining (leaning back, can be on elbow or fully supported) side-saddle sitting sitting with legs outstretched sitting on heels kneeling on one knee (proposing, resting, looking up) kneeling on both knees child's pose (yoga, kneeling forward, head down) lying down lying on back (or supine position) lying on stomach (or prone position) lying on side fetal position reclining on side (propped on elbow) sprawled out (lying relaxed, limbs spread) starfish pose (lying on back, arms and legs spread)
Dynamic Movement and Actions	standing standing still at attention (formal, upright) relaxed stance legs apart stance (or standing with feet shoulder-width apart) standing on one leg balancing on one leg contrapposto (weight shifted to one leg, shoulders and hips counter-balancing) crossed legs while standing leaning against wall (or leaning against tree, leaning on railing) looking over shoulder while standing heroic stance (legs apart, chest out) Captain Morgan pose (one foot resting on a raised object) power stance (legs wide, hands on hips or arms crossed) walking walk cycle (for suggesting a frame from an animation) striding running jogging sprinting crawling sneaking / tiptoeing lunging dodging stumbling crouching squatting jumping hopping leaping pouncing mid-air (general term for being off the ground) falling floating flying (e.g., superhero flying pose) diving (into water or through air) wallwalking / running on wall
Arm and Hand Gestures	arms at sides (neutral) arms crossed over chest arm behind back / arms behind back arm behind head / arms behind head arm raised / arms raised (specify direction: arm raised forward, arms raised overhead) arms outstretched sideways (or airplane arms) T-pose (arms straight out to sides) pose (arms slightly down from T-pose) V-pose (arms up in a V, often for victory/celebration, same as \o/) W-pose (elbows bent, hands up, forming a W) \o/ (celebratory arms up) spread arms (welcoming, expansive) flexing biceps Praise the Sun pose (arms raised and angled out, palms forward) reaching (specify: reaching forward, reaching up, reaching for object) shrugging hands on hips one hand on hip shielding eyes (hand above eyes, blocking sun) waving hello / waving goodbye beckoning (finger or hand gesture to call someone over) hands clasped together fingers interlocked hands together in prayer pointing (e.g., pointing forward, pointing at self) thumbs up / thumbs down peace sign fist clenched / clenched hands open palm / palms up star hands (fingers spread wide) cupped hands hand on chin (thoughtful) facepalm blowing a kiss
Leg Gestures	leg up (one leg lifted, can specify direction leg lifted forward, leg lifted to side) legs up (both legs lifted, e.g., lying with legs up the wall) knees to chest (can be sitting, lying, or even standing if bent over) leg lift (exercise motion) outstretched leg split (specify front split or side split/straddle split) standing split pigeon pose (yoga) tree pose (yoga, standing balance) warrior I pose / warrior II pose / warrior III pose (yoga) downward-facing dog (yoga) upward-facing dog (yoga) high kick knee bent (general modifier) crossed ankles (can be sitting, lying, or standing) kicking
Interactive or Expressive Poses	piggyback ride princess carry fireman's carry carrying over shoulder (like a sack) carrying under arm (like a bundle) child carry (e.g., carrying child on hip) sitting on shoulders standing on shoulders (acrobatic) dancing with partner hugging (specify front hug, side hug, hug from behind) holding hands shoulder to shoulder back to back supporting an injured person leading by the hand idle animation (for a character looking relaxed, not actively doing anything specific) looking at viewer looking away looking up / looking down / looking sideways head tilt thoughtful pose determined stance shy pose confident pose dramatic pose

You can copy and save these poses into a txt file, and use it for Stable Diffusion dynamic prompts to experiment and batch generate images.

Upscale 512px Stable Diffusion Images Bigger with Details