Documentation

Tutorials

Tutorials

Step-by-step guides to master ARKIA through concrete projects.

About costs: the credit amounts below use the Explorer rate, the free plan's rate too. They are lower on Creator and Studio. The app shows the exact cost before each run. See What a generation costs.

Tutorial index

TutorialLevelDurationGoal
1. Your first templateBeginner5 minTurn a daytime view into golden hour
2. Virtual home stagingBeginner10 minFurnish an empty room
3. A 4K image on a budget, in NodesIntermediate15 minGenerate at 1K, upscale to 4K
4. Renovation options for an existing buildingIntermediate20 minShow a client several options, before and after
5. A full listing campaignAdvanced30 minTen listing visuals from five photos

Tutorial 1: Your first template

Level: Beginner Duration: 5 minutes Cost: about 15 credits

Goal

Turn a daytime photo or render into a golden hour image, with warm, low light, to present a project or a property.

You need

  • An ARKIA account (the free plan's credits are enough).
  • An exterior daytime image: a facade, a house, a building.

Steps

1. Prepare the image

  • PNG or JPEG, 1024 px or more on the short side.
  • Natural daylight, facade clearly visible.
  • Avoid strong backlight and blown-out areas.

2. Open the template

  1. In Canvas, open Templates in the prompt bar.
  2. Pick Lighting Change (Architecture). Its form replaces the text field.

3. Add your image

Drop your image on the image slot, paste it, or choose it from your gallery.

4. Set the time of day

Move the sun slider to Golden hour. The slider has 9 states, from Dawn to Deep night.

5. Generate

  1. Lighting Change runs on Nano Banana Flash at 2K: the cost is shown on Generate (about 15 credits on Explorer).
  2. Click Generate, or press Ctrl + Enter (⌘ + Enter on a Mac).
  3. The result appears in a few seconds to a minute.

6. View and download

  1. The image lands in your gallery, in the project and scene you have open.
  2. Click it to open it in the viewer.
  3. Download it from the viewer.

Expected result

  • Warm, low golden light.
  • Long shadows.
  • A warm sky.
  • Your building unchanged: only the light moves.

Go further

  • Try Twilight, Blue hour or Deep night.
  • If the sky is dull, run Sky Replacement on the result.
  • Use Vary to get another take with the same settings.

Tutorial 2: Virtual home staging

Level: Beginner Duration: 10 minutes Cost: about 50 to 130 credits

Goal

Furnish an empty room for a sale or rental listing.

You need

  • A photo of the room (living room, bedroom…), well lit, shot wide.

Steps

1. Empty the room (if needed)

If there is still furniture to remove:

  1. Templates → Empty the Room (Interior Design).
  2. Add the room photo and generate (about 26 credits at 2K).
  3. You get the same room, empty.

2. Open Virtual Home Staging

  1. Templates → Virtual Home Staging.
  2. Add the empty room photo, or the result of step 1.

3. Pick a decor style

Choose a style in the list: Scandinavian, Japandi, Mid-Century, Modern, Industrial, Mediterranean and more.

Or pick My Style, then describe your own style in the text field, or add a reference image of a room you like.

Match the style to the property and its buyers: a city studio in Modern or Minimalist, a family house in Scandinavian or Rustic Farmhouse.

4. Generate a few options

  1. Set the number of images to 2 to 4 if you want to compare (each image costs about 26 credits at 2K).
  2. Generate.
  3. Open each result in the viewer and keep the best: consistent furniture, correct perspective, windows and doors intact.

5. Fix one element (optional)

If one piece of furniture is wrong (say, the sofa):

  1. Open the image in the viewer and pick Select.
  2. Paint over the sofa.
  3. Describe the change: "grey linen sofa, minimalist design".
  4. Send. Only the selected area changes.

Expected result

  • A furnished room with one consistent style.
  • Architecture kept: windows, doors, walls.
  • A photo ready for the listing.

Tips

  • Don't overfill the room: buyers want to see the space.
  • Keep the light: if windows are visible, the furniture should be lit by them.
  • One style per property: use the same decor style in every room.

Tutorial 3: A 4K image on a budget, in Nodes

Level: Intermediate Duration: 15 minutes Cost: about 16 credits with Quick (a direct 4K Pro image costs about 51)

Goal

Build a small graph that generates an image at 1K, then upscales it to 4K.

The idea:

  1. Generate at 1K with Nano Banana Flash (about 12 credits).
  2. Upscale it to 4K with Quick (4 credits on Explorer).
  3. Get a 4K image for a fraction of the cost.

You need

  • An architecture image.
  • For the Free mode instead of Quick: a browser with WebGPU (recent Chrome or Edge).

Steps

1. Open Nodes

  1. Switch to Nodes, in the project you want.
  2. Optional: create a scene for this view, so its graph stays separate.

2. Add an Image node

  1. Press I, or right-click the graph and pick Image.
  2. Drop your image in it, or paste it with Ctrl + V.
  3. The image gets an alias, for example @north_facade.

3. Add a Prompt node

  1. Press P.
  2. Write your prompt and cite the image:
Architectural photograph of @north_facade, golden hour light,
crisp details, realistic materials

4. Add a Generate node

  1. Press N (or pick Nano Banana in the add menu).
  2. Connect the Image node and the Prompt node to it: drag from each node's output port (right) to an input port (left) of the Generate node.

5. Set the Generate node

  • Model: Flash.
  • Resolution: 1K (this is where you save).
  • Aspect ratio: Auto, or a fixed ratio such as 16:9.

6. Add an Upscale node

  1. Right-click the graph (or press A) and pick Upscale.
  2. Connect the Generate node's output to it.
  3. Pick Quick. Scale sets itself to ×4 (1K × 4 ≈ 4K), and the node shows the cost.

Shortcut: once the Generate node has a result, its Upscale button adds this node already wired, in Quick mode.

The other mode, Free, runs ×2 or ×4 on your own graphics card, at no cost (see Upscale if it says WebGPU is not detected).

7. Add a Compare node (optional)

  1. Add a Compare node.
  2. Connect the Generate node's output and the Upscale node's output to it.
  3. Drag its slider to see the gain in detail.

8. Your graph

┌─────────┐
│  Image  │──┐
└─────────┘  │   ┌────────────┐   ┌──────────┐
             ├──▶│  Generate  │──▶│ Upscale  │
┌─────────┐  │   │ Flash · 1K │   │ Quick ×4 │
│ Prompt  │──┘   └────────────┘   └──────────┘
└─────────┘            │                │
                       │   ┌─────────┐  │
                       └──▶│ Compare │◀─┘
                           └─────────┘

9. Run it

  1. Select the Generate node and press Ctrl + Enter, or use its Run button. The 1K image appears in the node and in your gallery.
  2. Select the Upscale node and run it. Quick takes about 20 seconds; the result lands in the node and in your gallery.
  3. Download the 4K image.

Expected result

  • A 4K image (for example 4096 × 4096 px from a 1K square).
  • About 16 credits on Explorer (12 + 4), against about 51 for a direct 4K image with Pro.
  • With Free instead of Quick: 12 credits, if your graphics card supports WebGPU.

Tips

  • The graph saves itself: come back to it any time, it's attached to the scene.
  • Iterate: change the prompt and run the Generate node again.
  • Several images: add more Image nodes and cite them in the prompt.

Tutorial 4: Renovation options for an existing building

Level: Intermediate Duration: 20 minutes Cost: about 150 credits

Goal

Show a client several options for an existing building (facade restoration, greenery, step-free access), each with a before / after comparison.

You need

  • A current photo of the facade.
  • A photo of the entrance.

Steps

1. The base photos

  • Daytime, natural light.
  • Facing the facade, without extreme perspective.
  • High resolution, the whole facade in frame.

2. Organize the project

  1. Create a project for the building, for example "Rue Verte, renovation".
  2. Create one scene per view: Facade and Entrance. Each scene has its own graph.

3. Option 1: facade restoration

In the Facade scene, in Nodes:

  1. An Image node with the facade photo.
  2. A Template node with Facade Restoration. Connect the photo to its image slot. Add an old photo of the building as the period reference if you have one.
  3. Run it (about 26 credits at 2K).

4. Option 2: a living facade

  1. A second Template node with Living Facade, connected to the same photo.
  2. Choose the greening system (Planted balconies, Climbers on cables or Living wall) and the coverage.
  3. Run it.

5. Option 3: step-free access

In the Entrance scene:

  1. An Image node with the entrance photo.
  2. A Template node with Accessibility Upgrade.
  3. Choose Ramp or Exterior lift, and run it. Run it again with the other choice to show both.

6. Before / after

For each option, add a Compare node:

  • first input: the original photo;
  • second input: the option.

7. Notes for the meeting

Add a Note node next to each option, with your estimates:

Option 1 - Facade restoration
Estimated budget: $18,000
Duration: 2 weeks

Option 2 - Living facade
Estimated budget: $55,000
Duration: 1 month

Option 3 - Exterior lift
Estimated budget: $90,000
Duration: 2 months

(Replace these with your actual quotes.)

8. Export

Download each image from the gallery or the viewer, then lay them out in your presentation tool (Keynote, PowerPoint, Google Slides, PDF):

  1. Title: "Renovation options"
  2. The current photos
  3. One page per option: before / after, budget, duration
  4. A summary table

Expected result

  • Three options your client can compare at a glance.
  • Before / after views that make the decision easier.

Tutorial 5: A full listing campaign

Level: Advanced Duration: 30 minutes Cost: about 300 to 400 credits on Explorer

Goal

Produce 10 listing visuals of a property (interiors and exteriors) from five ordinary photos.

You need

  • 5 photos of the property: 3 interiors, 2 exteriors.
  • Some practice with Nodes (see Tutorial 3).

The whole workflow

Source photos (5)
  ↓
Photo Enhance (correction)
  ↓
Interiors                      Exteriors
  ↓                              ↓
Empty the Room (if needed)     Virtual Twilight / Season Change
  ↓                              ↓
Virtual Home Staging           Sky Replacement (if needed)
  ↓                              ↓
Upscale Quick                  Upscale Quick
  ↓                              ↓
         Gallery (10 visuals)

Steps

Phase 1: Correct every photo

  1. One Image node per photo.
  2. A Template node with Photo Enhance after each one: brightness, perspective and white balance in one pass.

Tip: put the interiors and the exteriors in two scenes to keep the graphs readable.

Phase 2A: Interiors

For each interior:

Image → Photo Enhance → Empty the Room (if needed) → Virtual Home Staging → Upscale
  • Virtual Home Staging: the same decor style in every room (Scandinavian, for example).
  • Upscale in Quick: 2K → 4K, 4 credits on Explorer.

Phase 2B: Exteriors

  • Exterior 1, twilight: 
    Image → Photo Enhance → Virtual Twilight → Upscale
  • Exterior 2, best season: 
    Image → Photo Enhance → Season Change → Upscale
    Run Season Change in Summer and Spring, and keep the one that sells the garden best. Add Sky Replacement if the sky is dull.

Phase 3: Organize

  • Note nodes to label each output: "Living room, Scandinavian", "Exterior, twilight"…
  • Compare nodes, original vs final, to show the seller the transformation.

Phase 4: Export

  1. In the gallery, show only this project.
  2. Download the 10 best images.

Naming convention:

[Address]_[Room]_[Style]_[Resolution].jpg

Examples:
12_Oak_Street_LivingRoom_Scandinavian_4K.jpg
12_Oak_Street_Exterior_Twilight_4K.jpg

Phase 5: Publish

  • Listing site: the 10 photos.
  • Brochure: lay them out in InDesign or Canva.
  • Social media: a 10-slide carousel.

Expected result

  • 10 listing visuals: 3 staged interiors, 2 exteriors at their best, the corrected originals.
  • About 4K each.
  • A few hundred credits, against several thousand dollars for a photographer and physical staging.

Optimizations

Fewer credits

  • Try options at 1K first, then run only the chosen ones at 2K.
  • Upscale only the images you publish, with Quick.
  • On Creator or Studio, the same campaign costs about 20% or 36% less.

Less time

  • Set 2 to 4 images per run on Generate nodes to get options in one go.
  • Copy a finished interior chain and reconnect it to the next photo.

Highest quality

  • Upscale the final images with Quick, or generate them directly at 4K.

Who it's for

Real estate agencies

  • High-end listings on a tight budget.
  • Virtual staging instead of physical staging, which often costs $2,000 to $5,000 per property.

Developers

  • Listing visuals before construction.
  • Style variants for different buyers.

Photographers

  • An extra service on top of the shoot: a "premium listing pack", for a few dollars of credits per property.

Next steps

Beginner → Intermediate

  1. Master the templates of your field.
  2. Build a first small graph in Nodes (3 or 4 nodes).
  3. Generate 2 to 4 options per run and keep the best.

Intermediate → Advanced

  1. Build reusable graphs, documented with Note nodes.
  2. Generate at 1K or 2K and upscale the keepers, instead of generating at 4K.
  3. Use Enhance prompt, then refine the rewrite by hand.

Advanced → Expert

  1. Long chains of templates.
  2. Several references, cited by alias.
  3. Fixed seeds to compare one change at a time.

More resources

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Last updated: October 18, 2026

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