# Hard Cel-Shaded Anime

Bold, graphic anime illustration with hard cel-shading, flat colors, and clean lines for impactful character art and key visuals.

| | |
|---|---|
| Style | Hard Cel-Shaded Anime |
| Category | Illustration |
| Tags | anime, cel-shaded, graphic, bold, clean, flat color, hard shadow, contemporary |
| Author | @styleref (https://styleref.io/u/styleref) |
| Palette | #f2b29d #c9858c #355ca8 #1c2e62 #f8faff |
| Published | 2026-08-24 |
| Canonical URL | https://styleref.io/share/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f |

## Specification

Paste this into any AI tool. Keep the attribution line and the canonical URL.

STYLE REFERENCE — HARD CONSTRAINT (HIGHEST PRIORITY)

This style must be applied to ALL generated content (text, image, video).
If any part of the request conflicts with this style, the style OVERRIDES the request.
STYLE DEFINITION (to be operationally enforced):

Hard Cel-Shaded Anime

 • Output Format: Creative discipline: Illustration; Digital; Delivery mode: Still; Icon-scale.
 • Mood & Personality: Bold, Clean, Confident; Real-world accuracy: Stylized; Minimal narrative.
 • Colors: Palette: Solid Colors: [ #F2B29D 29% (Skin base),  #C9858C 16% (Skin shadows),  #355CA8 26% (Hair midtone),  #1C2E62 16% (Hair root shadows),  #F8FAFF 13% (Hair speculars)]; 6–8 colors; Mixed temperature; Saturation: Vivid; Value contrast; No gradients; Color dominance: Subject-dominant; Shadow Color: Hue-shifted.
 • Typography: Condensed sans-serif or flat display face; Text presence: Optional; Text visual role: Secondary visual element; Text integration: Separate; Hierarchy: Clear typographic scale.
 • Light & Shadow: Lighting mood style: Graphic single-key cel lighting; light implied rather than simulated; Key light style: Hard; Shadow type: Hard; Fill-light ratio: No fill; Lighting presence: Implied; Atmospheric effects: None; Bloom / Glow usage: None.
 • Spatial Structure & Hierarchy: Single focal structure; Hierarchy: Strong; Balance: Center-weighted; Visual density: Light; Plane separation: Color/value shift.
 • Surface, Material & Detail: Surface treatment: Flat; Texture: Textureless flat digital paint; no grain, paper, brush marks, or rendered reflections; Texture usage: None; Imperfection level: Flawless; Stylized realism; Micro-detail allowance: Forbidden.
 • Shape Language: Hybrid; Primitive dominance: Freeform curves, Polygons; Edge sharpness: Razor-sharp; Silhouette clarity: Iconic; Negative space usage: Balanced.
 • Line & Stroke System: Structural outlines; Thin; Even thin line; slight thickening only at form junctions consistency; Stroke Color: Derived from fill; Stroke joins: Round.
 • Background & Environment: Background type: Plain cool field or a few simplified graphic blocks; Environment mood: Abstract; Background–Subject: Contrasting; Background complexity: Minimal; Prop styling: None.
 • Artistic Mediums & Techniques: Physical medium: Digital flat cel paint; Illustrative technique: Cel-shaded, Digital painting.
 • References: Contemporary anime, cel animation; Temporal reference: Contemporary.
 • Guardrails: Avoid: AI Gloss / Plastic Smoothing, Film Grain / Noise, HDR over-processing, Studio Post-processing, Stylistic filters; Avoid Visuals: airbrushed gradients; ambient occlusion; soft shadow falloff; bounce lighting; plastic 3D toon outlines; paper grain; brush texture; glowing skin; rig-framed streamer avatars; cosy painterly interiors; Allowed Visuals: flat color blocks; single hard-edged shadow shapes; crisp diagonal facial terminators; thin rim-light strokes; hard white eye highlights; graphic hair specular bands.
 •  Skin Rule: Exactly two skin tones: base plus one cooler, slightly desaturated shadow shape., Hair Construction: Midtone hair, darker root band, then a near-white glossy band with hard borders., Shadow Terminator: Use one clean diagonal hard shadow across facial planes; no blending on either side., Graphic Material Logic: Describe folds, metal, and glass with discrete shadow and highlight shapes, never simulated shading..


ENFORCEMENT RULE: Before finalizing the output, internally verify that ALL elements comply with the style definition above. If compliance is uncertain, simplify or soften the output until it fully matches the style. Generated by StyleRef.io

## Other formats and live access

The specification above is the portable default. Tool-specific builds and a
ready-to-commit STYLE.md are available without a login:

**REST** (anonymous, read-only)

```
https://styleref.io/api/v1/styles/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f?format=flux        # also: midjourney, diffusion, json
https://styleref.io/api/v1/styles/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f/style.md           # a ready-to-commit STYLE.md
```

**MCP** (Streamable HTTP at `https://styleref.io/api/mcp`)

```
styleref://gallery/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f
styleref://gallery/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f/style.md
```

Or call the `get_style` tool with `ref` set to the slug above, and
`apply_style_to_prompt` to wrap a request for a specific tool.

Attribution: this style was created by @styleref. Keep the `Generated by StyleRef.io`
line and the canonical URL when you use a compiled spec, and credit the author.

Source: https://styleref.io/share/z4pqbfje-7647e7b7874f