How to Use Flux AI: Complete Guide

Learning how to use Flux AI opens access to one of the most powerful image generators available. Created by Black Forest Labs, Flux offers exceptional prompt following, readable text rendering, and photorealistic outputs. This complete guide walks you through every way to use Flux, from simple web interfaces to advanced local setups.

Understanding Flux Versions

Before using Flux, understand the three versions:

Flux Pro

• Highest quality output
• Commercial licensing
• API access only
• Best prompt adherence
• Premium pricing

Flux Dev

• Nearly identical to Pro quality
• Open weights (downloadable)
• Free for non-commercial use
• Local or cloud deployment
• Most popular version

Flux Schnell

• Speed-optimized (4-step generation)
• Good quality, faster output
• Open weights
• Best for iteration and testing
• Apache 2.0 license

Quick Comparison

Aspect	Flux Pro	Flux Dev	Flux Schnell
Quality	Excellent	Excellent	Very Good
Speed	Medium	Medium	Fast
Cost	API pricing	Free	Free
Commercial	Yes	No	Yes
Local Use	No	Yes	Yes
Best For	Production	Learning/Creating	Iteration

Platform Integration

Feature	Flux Alone	Multic
AI Images	Yes	Yes
AI Video	No	Yes
Comics/Webtoons	No	Yes
Visual Novels	No	Yes
Branching Stories	No	Yes
Real-time Collab	No	Yes
Publishing	No	Yes

Method 1: Web Interfaces (Easiest)

Replicate

1. Visit replicate.com
2. Search for “Flux”
3. Choose Flux Schnell (free) or Flux Dev/Pro (credits)
4. Enter your prompt
5. Adjust settings if desired
6. Click Run
7. Download your image

Pros: Instant use, no setup Cons: Credits for Pro/Dev, limited customization

Fal.ai

1. Visit fal.ai/models
2. Find Flux models
3. Use the playground interface
4. Enter prompts and generate

Pros: Clean interface, fair pricing Cons: Account required

Hugging Face Spaces

1. Visit huggingface.co/spaces
2. Search “Flux”
3. Use community-hosted interfaces
4. Generate images

Pros: Free, various implementations Cons: Queues during peak times

Method 2: ComfyUI (Most Flexible)

ComfyUI offers maximum control through node-based workflows.

Installation

1. Prerequisites:

   • Python 3.10 or 3.11
   • NVIDIA GPU with 12GB+ VRAM (or 16GB for best results)
   • Git

2. Install ComfyUI:

git clone https://github.com/comfyanonymous/ComfyUI
cd ComfyUI
pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Download Flux Model:

   • Get flux1-dev.safetensors from Hugging Face
   • Place in ComfyUI/models/checkpoints/

4. Download Required Files:

   • CLIP models (clip_l.safetensors, t5xxl_fp8.safetensors)
   • VAE (ae.safetensors)
   • Place in appropriate model folders

5. Start ComfyUI:

python main.py

6. Access Interface: Open localhost:8188 in browser

Basic Flux Workflow

Create a workflow with these nodes:

• Load Checkpoint (select Flux Dev)
• CLIP Text Encode (for your prompt)
• Empty Latent Image (set resolution)
• KSampler (sampling settings)
• VAE Decode (convert to image)
• Save Image

Recommended Settings

Resolution: 1024x1024 or similar megapixel count

Sampler: euler

Scheduler: normal

Steps: 20-30 for Dev, 4 for Schnell

CFG Scale: 3.5-4.5 (Flux uses lower CFG than SDXL)

Method 3: Automatic1111 / Forge

Popular Stable Diffusion interfaces now support Flux.

Setup

1. Install Automatic1111 or SD Forge
2. Download Flux model files
3. Install Flux extension if required
4. Place models in appropriate directories
5. Restart interface
6. Select Flux from model dropdown

Usage

1. Select Flux model
2. Enter prompt (detailed descriptions work well)
3. Set resolution (1024x1024 recommended)
4. Adjust sampling steps (20-30)
5. Lower CFG to 3.5-4.5
6. Generate

Method 4: API Integration

Replicate API

import replicate

output = replicate.run(
    "black-forest-labs/flux-dev",
    input={
        "prompt": "your prompt here",
        "num_outputs": 1,
        "aspect_ratio": "1:1",
        "output_format": "webp"
    }
)

Together AI API

import together

response = together.Image.create(
    prompt="your prompt here",
    model="black-forest-labs/FLUX.1-schnell",
    width=1024,
    height=1024
)

Fal.ai API

import fal_client

result = fal_client.submit(
    "fal-ai/flux/dev",
    arguments={
        "prompt": "your prompt here",
        "image_size": "square_hd"
    }
)

Flux Prompting Best Practices

Be Specific

Flux excels at following detailed prompts:

Good: “A professional photograph of a red 1965 Ford Mustang convertible parked on a coastal highway at sunset, dramatic clouds, golden hour lighting, shallow depth of field, shot on medium format camera”

Weak: “car at sunset”

Include Style Keywords

Guide the output style:

• “professional photograph”
• “digital illustration”
• “oil painting style”
• “anime art style”
• “concept art”

Specify Composition

Describe framing:

• “portrait orientation, subject centered”
• “wide landscape shot”
• “extreme close-up”
• “three-quarter view”

Request Text Properly

Flux renders text well. Be explicit:

• “a sign reading ‘OPEN’”
• “book cover with title ‘The Journey’”
• “poster with text ‘Welcome Home‘“

Use Natural Language

Flux understands conversational descriptions better than keyword spam:

Natural: “A cozy coffee shop interior with morning light streaming through windows, wooden tables, plants hanging from the ceiling, a barista preparing drinks behind the counter”

Keyword spam: “coffee shop, cozy, morning, light, wooden, plants, barista, 4k, highly detailed, trending”

Common Issues and Solutions

Out of Memory

• Lower resolution
• Use Schnell instead of Dev
• Enable model offloading
• Reduce batch size

Slow Generation

• Use Schnell for faster results
• Reduce steps (20 is often enough)
• Ensure GPU is being utilized
• Check for bottlenecks

Poor Results

• Write longer, more detailed prompts
• Lower CFG scale (try 3.5)
• Increase steps (25-30)
• Try different seeds

Text Not Rendering

• Put text in quotes in prompt
• Be explicit about placement
• Simplify text content
• Try multiple seeds

Why Multic is Better for Creators

Flux generates individual images. Creators building stories need integrated workflows.

Story-First Design: Multic integrates Flux-quality image generation with narrative structure. AI serves your story, not the other way around.

AI Video: Multic includes video generation—not available through Flux alone.

Character Consistency: Generate a character once, maintain their appearance throughout your story.

Collaboration: Work with other creators in real-time on the same project.

Publishing: Share completed comics, visual novels, and interactive stories directly.

Workflow Step	Flux Alone	Multic
Generate Images	Yes	Yes
Generate Video	No	Yes
Character Consistency	Manual	Automatic
Build Comics	Manual	Integrated
Create Visual Novels	Manual	Integrated
Interactive Stories	No	Yes
Collaborate	No	Yes
Publish	No	Yes

Advanced Flux Techniques

LoRA Training

Train custom LoRAs to add styles or characters:

1. Prepare training images (10-50 images)
2. Caption images accurately
3. Use training scripts (kohya_ss, ai-toolkit)
4. Train on Flux Dev base
5. Apply trained LoRA to generations

ControlNet with Flux

Control composition precisely:

1. Install Flux ControlNet models
2. Provide control image (pose, depth, canny edge)
3. Generate with controlled composition

Workflow Automation

Build ComfyUI workflows that:

• Batch process multiple prompts
• Upscale automatically
• Apply consistent post-processing
• Output to multiple formats

The Verdict

Flux represents the current pinnacle of open-source image generation. Learning to use it well opens creative possibilities that rival or exceed premium services like Midjourney.

For simple image generation, Flux is exceptional. For storytellers building comics, visual novels, or interactive narratives, consider whether generating images separately then assembling them manually serves your creative goals—or whether integrated platforms like Multic offer a more effective path from concept to published story.

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Ready to use AI images for storytelling? Start on Multic with integrated creative tools.

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Related: Flux vs Midjourney and Flux Pro vs Flux Dev