Seedream 4.0

Overview

Seedream 4.0 is an image generation and editing model from ByteDance, built for reliable text-to-image creation and image-guided refinement. It aims to produce clean, well-composed outputs across a wide range of visual styles, with an emphasis on consistent structure and predictable results when iterating.

Seedream 4.0 is a solid fit for everyday creative workflows such as concept visuals, marketing-style imagery, illustration, and design exploration. It works best when prompts clearly describe the subject, composition, and style, and when edits are approached as small, targeted changes rather than sweeping transformations.

How it Works

Seedream 4.0 combines language understanding with image synthesis and image-to-image refinement to generate new visuals or modify existing ones.

Prompt Interpretation

The model parses prompts to understand subjects, environment, composition, and stylistic direction. Clear prompts that specify relationships (foreground/background, camera angle, placement) tend to produce more predictable results than short, abstract descriptions.

Image Generation

Seedream 4.0 generates images with stable composition and consistent visual structure. It can produce both stylised and more realistic images depending on prompt framing, and it generally responds well to prompts that define lighting, viewpoint, and material detail.

Image Editing & Refinement

With an input image, Seedream 4.0 can perform image-guided transformations, allowing you to restyle a scene, adjust elements, or iterate on a concept while keeping key aspects anchored to the original image.

Key Features

• Reliable Prompt-to-Image Output
  Produces clear images with predictable structure when prompts are explicit and well-scoped.

• Image-Guided Workflows
  Supports image-to-image refinement for controlled variations and restyling.

• Composition Stability
  Handles common composition and layout instructions well, particularly when they’re described directly.

• Broad Style Coverage
  Works across illustration, clean graphic styles, and more realistic looks depending on prompt guidance.

• Practical Iteration Loop
  Designed for repeated iterations where small prompt tweaks should lead to understandable changes.

Technical Specifications

• Model Name: Seedream 4.0
• Model Type: Image generation and image editing
• Input: Text prompt with optional input image
• Editing Capabilities: Image-to-image transformations and targeted refinements
• Provider: ByteDance

How to Use

1. Write a prompt describing the subject, scene, and style.
2. Optionally provide an input image to guide the output or to iterate on an existing visual.
3. Generate an initial result, then refine using small prompt updates rather than large changes.
4. If you’re doing edits, keep the prompt aligned with what’s already present in the input image.

Example prompt:
A clean editorial illustration of a modern kitchen with soft daylight coming from the left, neutral colours, minimal clutter, and a balanced composition. Slightly elevated camera angle, smooth shading, and clear material separation between wood, stone, and metal.

Tips for Better Results

• Describe composition, not just style: viewpoint, framing, and subject placement often matter more than aesthetic keywords.
• Start simple, then layer detail: lock in the subject and layout first, then add lighting, materials, and mood.
• Be explicit about what to avoid: use a negative prompt to reduce text, watermarks, logos, or unwanted artefacts.
• When using an input image, stay consistent: don’t describe a totally different scene than what’s in the reference, or the model will either drift or produce unstable results.
• Iterate in small steps: change one variable at a time (lighting, background, style) to keep control.

Notes & Limitations

• Very complex scenes with many distinct subjects may require iteration for best results.
• Extremely fine typography or dense text layouts can still be challenging.
• Image-to-image refinement is most predictable when the prompt aligns closely with the reference image.

Documentation

You can find full usage details, parameters, and examples here: https://runware.ai/docs/en/providers/bytedance