Style transfer with the Muse Style library: one portrait, four looks

One good portrait can become a dozen different pictures. This guide shows how to take a single rainy café portrait and restyle it with the Muse Style library — Claymation, Japanese flat illustration and Hollywood black-and-white — without losing the person, the pose or the composition. Open Create AI Image in another tab and follow along.

Before you start

• You need a free Agentics account. New accounts get 3 free images; after that each image costs $0.10 and failed generations are never charged.
• Muse is an uncensored image generator and editor for adults (18+). Only upload photos you have the right to use.
• The Style library has 1,300+ styles. You can browse it from the create page and apply any style to a new prompt or to an existing image.

Step 1: Generate a strong base portrait

Style transfer works best when the source image is clear. Describe the subject, setting, light and camera, for example:

A woman in her late 20s sitting by a café window on a rainy evening, holding a cup of coffee, warm interior light, raindrops on the glass, city lights blurred outside, 50 mm lens, shallow depth of field, photo.

Generate a few versions and keep the one with the cleanest face, hands and composition. That image is your base.

Step 2: Open the Style library

On Create AI Image, add your base image, then open the Style library. Search by name ("clay", "flat", "noir") or browse categories. Pick one style at a time so you can compare results fairly.

Step 3: Claymation

Choose a Claymation / stop-motion style. Keep your prompt short — the style does the heavy lifting. Adding "keep the same pose and composition" helps the edit stay faithful.

Look for soft fingerprint-like texture, rounded shapes and miniature-set lighting.

Step 4: Japanese flat illustration

Switch to a Japanese flat-color illustration style. This turns the rain and city lights into clean shapes and limited color, great for covers, stickers or social posts.

Step 5: Hollywood black-and-white

Pick a classic Hollywood B&W style for high-contrast, film-noir light. Rain on glass looks especially good here.

Tips

• Always restyle from the same base image, not from a previous edit, so quality doesn't drift.
• If the face changes too much, add "keep the same face and expression" to the prompt.
• Try 2–3 styles from the same category before switching — small differences matter.
• Post the original next to the styled versions; a set of four tells the story best.

Wrap-up

One portrait, four looks, a few minutes of work. Try it yourself on Muse — start from Create AI Image and explore the 1,300+ styles in the Style library.