Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Catnip Inside. Fearfully Fun Outside | LitLabs Concept Exploration

Funny Catnip Joints for Cats with Dried and Organic High Potency Catnip

This project was created using a combination of AI-powered creative tools and Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.

I would love to share every step of the creative process behind each image, but I don't want to overwhelm you with lengthy prompt breakdowns. Instead, I'm sharing the primary prompt to provide a clear understanding of the overall creative structure, workflow, and the type of results it produces.

Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop were used to complement the AI workflow by refining compositions, improving precision, maintaining visual consistency, and reducing the need to repeatedly generate new images. Rather than relying solely on AI, this project demonstrates a hybrid creative workflow where multiple tools work together to achieve higher-quality results while saving significant production time.

This post showcases the Fear version. The project was developed around two complementary creative territories: Fear and Love. In my next post, I'll share the complete set of visuals created for the Love version, along with the creative thinking behind that execution.


Credits:
Brand: LitLabs
Product: Funny Catnip Joints for Cats with Dried and Organic High Potency Catnip
Project: Infographic Design. Communicating Key Product Features
Editions: Fear Edition & Love Edition
Media Channel: Amazon Listing
Art Director: Mark Zuniga
AI Prompt Designer: Mark Zuniga
Generative AI Tool: Magnific AI, Flora AI, Chat GPT
Design Tools: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Category: Pet Toys
Project Completion Date: 2026


For a deeper look into the complete creative process, please visit the following link click here

Below, you'll find the images created throughout this project, along with a brief explanation of the tools used at each stage of the creative process. My goal is to provide insight into the workflow and demonstrate how combining multiple AI and creative tools can help you achieve results that align with your creative vision and project objectives. I hope this breakdown inspires you to build your own efficient workflow and produce visuals that meet and even exceed your expectations.

This image was created using Magnific AI, a platform specializing in high-end image upscaling, AI-powered image generation and reimagining, video creation, and intelligent visual workflows.


This image was expanded using Adobe Photoshop's Crop Tool, followed by the Generative Expand feature without using a text prompt.


This image was generated once again using Magnific AI. To further strengthen the Love concept, a new prompt was carefully crafted with additional background details designed to amplify the emotional narrative and create an intentionally exaggerated atmosphere of love, warmth, and affection. The prompt used for this iteration is shared at the end of this case study.


Finally, Adobe Illustrator was used to adapt the artwork to the required banner dimensions, ensuring that the conceptual image maintained its visual impact at the final size. The composition was refined to balance the key visual, the creative tagline "Catnip Inside. Fearfully Fun Outside" and the product packaging, resulting in a clean, engaging, and production-ready layout suitable



After describing the creative vision I had in mind in as much detail as possible, I asked ChatGPT to organize, refine, and optimize my prompt while preserving my creative direction and objectives. The result was a more structured, detailed, and production-ready prompt that accurately translated my ideas into a format better suited for AI image generation. Below, I share the final prompt that guided this creative process.

PROMPT

Tight cinematic FEAR-themed scene in 1:1 format, set in a living room at night. Dark atmosphere, low-key lighting, deep blue-black shadows, cold tones, psychological tension, elegant horror mood.



The scene is centered on one plush FEAR character @reference1 standing on a living room rug, holding an X-ray film in both hands and looking at it in shock. The X-ray must clearly show the inside of the character’s body, revealing that there are no bones at all inside. Instead of bones, the interior is visibly filled only with catnip. The X-ray should feel readable and believable, with the silhouette of the plush body visible and the inside densely packed with catnip texture rather than any skeleton structure.



The FEAR character @reference1 must have a terrified embroidered expression, wide pink eyes, tense posture, and a fearful body reaction while staring at the X-ray as if realizing its own dangerous vulnerability.

In the background, at a distance inside the living room, a cat is watching the character. The cat should feel like a threatening presence from afar, quietly observing. The cat must not dominate the composition. It should appear secondary in scale, placed farther back in the room, partially framed by shadows, but still clearly readable as a cat watching the scene.



The environment is a living room with a rug visible beneath the character. Scattered around the rug are other cat toys, subtly visible and naturally integrated into the scene, helping reinforce the setting without distracting from the main action. These can include small plush toys, string toys, crinkle toys, or soft toy objects placed around the floor.



The action of the scene is the horrifying realization that the FEAR character @reference1 is filled entirely with catnip, while the cat watches from a distance.



Composition and scale:

The FEAR character must visually dominate the frame
- the character should occupy around 60% to 75% of the frame height
- the X-ray must be clearly visible and readable in the character’s hands
- the cat must remain secondary in scale and placed farther back
- maintain believable close proportions
- avoid tiny character scale
- avoid giant-cat perspective
- the scene should feel intimate and cinematic, with the character as the main storytelling focus



Important character design constraints:


Preserve the handcrafted plush toy aesthetic
- body must remain a soft off-white plush cylindrical shape
- the top section must remain a dark crimson red plush cap with mottled texture
- the head/body silhouette must be one single soft plush form with a medium-rounded top
- preserve embroidered facial features
- both arms must be black
- both legs must be black
- the arms must be thin black rope-like limbs
- the legs must also be thin black rope-like limbs
- hands must be simple rounded knot shapes in black
- feet must be simple rounded knot shapes in black
- no visible fingers
- no realistic hands - do not add text, labels, arrows, or infographic elements
- keep the scene realistic and cinematic
- the character must remain the main focus
- the cat must stay secondary and distant
- the X-ray must clearly reveal catnip only, with no bones
- emotional fear and product-feature storytelling are the core of the image



X-ray detail:


The X-ray film must be held physically in the character’s hands
- it must show the character’s interior silhouette
- no bones, no skeleton, no internal body structure
- only catnip filling the inside
- the catnip inside the X-ray should be visually evident and distinct
- the X-ray should feel slightly illuminated or readable against the dark room



Visual focus should prioritize:


The FEAR character’s terrified reaction
- the X-ray in the hands
- the reveal that the body is filled only with catnip
- the distant cat watching
- the living room rug and scattered cat toys
- emotional tension and vulnerability



Lighting:


Low-key dark blue-black environment, soft cold moonlight, dramatic shadows, subtle practical interior ambience, deep blacks, and soft highlights on the plush texture, the X-ray film, and the cat’s silhouette in the distance.



Add a very subtle cyan-blue backlight using color #5BBCFF positioned behind the scene to softly illuminate part of the background and create a delicate rim light on the character silhouette, the X-ray edges, and selected contours of the distant cat. The glow must remain minimal and cinematic, preserving the dark atmosphere while adding depth separation and a premium branded visual tone.



Lens and camera:


Medium cinematic shot, 50mm lens, eye-level camera angle aligned with the character, shallow depth of field, sharp focus on the character and the X-ray, softer focus on the distant cat and the surrounding toys, realistic proportions, premium texture fidelity, luxury visual finish.

@reference1




Infographic proposals:




Creative rationale:


Amazon A+ Content | Initial Creative Proposal


Amazon Listing:


Credits:
Brand: LitLabs
Product: Funny Catnip Joints for Cats with Dried and Organic High Potency Catnip
Project: Infographic Design. Communicating Key Product Features
Editions: Fear Edition & Love Edition
Media Channel: Amazon Listing
Art Director: Mark Zuniga
AI Prompt Designer: Mark Zuniga
Generative AI Tool: Magnific AI, Flora AI, Chat GPT
Design Tools: Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
Category: Pet Toys
Project Completion Date: 2026




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