I spent an entire month creating and reviewing AI text to image generators. You can read the 15 part series here (link is to Part 1 of the 15) where I look at 12 different AI’s and see how they do generating the same prompts. I have done this multiple times using the same prompts over the years and the current versions were just updated for 2026 ! I learned which sites I liked the most and after playing around I learned how to write better prompts. While sites cannot actually make solvable mazes (yet), they can make wonderful looking scenes and objects with maze and labyrinth themes. Today I am going to share with you the 15 different prompts that I created using StarryAI in 2023 and then again in 2026. In Part 2 I will use other AI text to image generators to do the same.
For all images I include the prompt that I used. These prompts are shown in order and you can see how I got better with my asks as I went along !
StarryAI - A 3D hedge maze shown from above in the garden
2023: The hedges were a bit too perfect in 2023. Imagine a gardener being that good and nature cooperating with perfect consistent green throughout the plants. I like the building in the background. Notice the maze is not actually a passable maze.
2026: This is excellent. The shadows are great, the maze is cool and the estate in the background makes sense.
StarryAI - Hedge maze in the style of MC Escher
2023: I find that even if a prompt is not followed well it can still produce interesting outputs. This is an example of that. Not really hedge or MC Escher IMO. I like the mazelike structure moving off into the distance.
2026: Not sure what I would expect from this prompt, but this is in the realm of possibility. Much improved.
StarryAI - MC Escher Fantasy Labyrinth
2023: I find that long and detailed prompts work well, but sometimes so do short ones where the AI fills in it’s own blanks and uses it’s own creativity. This looks much more like MC Escher than the prompt above!
2026: I like the water portions of the new version and the colorations.
StarryAI - Labyrinth, Concept Art
2023: And here I went ultra-simple prompt and got 4 interesting outputs. These are not places I would want to go into without a map and a guide.
2026: Sometimes you get lucky with simple prompts. This is one of those times. Love it !
StarryAI - Comic Book maze
2023: What this looks like to me, despite the prompt given is a maze of cubicles on the floor of an endless office building. For those of you who sit an a cubicle this is some clown level horror. No thanks.
2026: I have my own section of comic book mazes. I like the comic book cover idea.
StarryAI - Office Cubicles make a maze
2023: And 2 minutes later I wanted to see what would happen if I put that prompt in…not perfect but so terrifying.
2026: This looks like a horror film. If the image has places to walk this would be excellent. I could have adjusted this prompt to improve it. How do people get to their desks ? Where are the workers ?
StarryAI - A Labyrinth in the City of Metropolis
2023: Again, not really what I asked for, but cool looking anyway. If you are flexible with what is generated you get some really interesting images like this one !
2026: Looks like a labyrinth road in the sky of a futuristic city. Very cool concept.
StarryAI - A Labyrinth in the City of Gotham
2023: You can see how my mind works base on the prompts. I was looking for a dark moody feel using Gotham. I had to include all 4 because i liked them so much !
2026: No way I am going into that building. I think the darkness fits the mood of Gotham.
StarryAI - A Labyrinth, Dan Mumford style
2023: I went simple here and did not note anything particular. Once again less was more with 4 nice images generated !
2026: This is more Dan Mumford style. The pathways elevated with no railways reminds me of the Hallraiser 2 movie that features a maze. Cool image.
StarryAI - A battle between evil demons in hell taking place in a maze, Fantasy Art, Hyper detailed.
2023: Just what I was looking for. Not a place you want to be.
2026: StarryAI declined to make this. Rules must have changed.
StarryAI - A Medieval Labyrinth, Johan Grenier style
2023: The second image in the gallery is what I expected, but the first, the circular one shown from above it very interesting. Let’s say you are in a movie and you come upon this hole in the forest with labyrinth pathways leading down into the darkness. I think we have the start of a fantasy/adventure quest or maybe a horror movie on our hands.
2026: Cool. I see dragons.
StarryAI - A Labyrinth in ancient Japan, Victo Ngai style
2023: Perfect styling a colors IMO.
2026: I prefer this version even though the original has the Ngai style down better.
StarryAI - A Labyrinth constructed from natural materials
2023: 3 of the 4 generations were interesting to me.
2026: So close to being awesome, but the maze looks like a chip dip bowl. Imagine it as an actual circular maze with the exit taking you to faraway lands. This has a story that could be built around it.
StarryAI - MC Escher Labyrinth in 3D on another planet
2023: I went back to MCE to see what I could finagle from the AI. And this one the one I like the best. It makes me want to make a maze based on this concept
2026: If this were part of a movie, I would watch the movie. Very cool. I see 3 moons.
StarryAI - Fantasy Labyrinth, hyper detailed, digital painting
2023: I absolutely love these !
2026: Only an advanced type of sorcery would allow that castle in the sky to be architecturally sound. Is it a wizard, a witch, a demon, a god that is keeping it upright ? Huge fan of this image.
I hope you enjoyed this exploration of using StarryAI to create maze and labyrinth images. I think the improvement from 2023 to 2026 is apparent. So many nice images created.
Come back for Part 2 where I use other AI’s to generate cool images !