6B parameter image generation model excelling at rendering multilingual text directly in generated images
Settled by community votes across 13 shared challenges, with an AI judge weighing in on each.
LongCat-Image
#62 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Recraft V4.1
#53 of 62 in Text-to-Image
Where the votes landed
LongCat-Image
0%
win rate
Ties
0%
Recraft V4.1
0%
win rate
Challenge by challenge
The strongest take from each model on every shared challenge, with the AI judge's read.
Geometric Composition
Text-to-Image“A glass cube on a wooden table. Inside the cube is a small blue sphere. On top of the cube sits a red book. A green plant is behind the cube, partially visible through the glass. Soft window light from the left.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent adherence to lighting instructions with a clear left-side window light source.
- + Realistic depiction of glass thickness and internal reflections.
- + Natural plant placement that creates depth.
- − The glass cube has an open top rather than being a solid cube, though the book rests on the edges.
Recraft V4.1
- + Features a solid glass cube as requested.
- + Very high texture quality on the wooden table and book cover.
- − The blue sphere appears to be floating unnaturally in the center of the cube.
- − The sphere has a strange horizontal line through it, making it look like it's half-filled with liquid.
Verdict: Both models followed the complex spatial instructions well. LongCat-Image is the winner because the scene feels more grounded and photorealistic, whereas Recraft V4.1 features a floating sphere that defies physics in a way not specified by the prompt, as well as an odd artifact inside the sphere.
Candid Street Photography
Text-to-Image“A candid street photo of an elderly Japanese man repairing a red bicycle in light rain, reflections on wet pavement, shallow depth of field, 50mm lens, natural skin texture, imperfect framing, motion blur from passing cars, cinematic but realistic, no stylization.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent handling of environment lighting and wet pavement reflections
- + Includes detailed background elements like Japanese shopfronts and traffic
- + Maintains clear focus on the subject in a wider scene
- − The bicycle structure is physically impossible with overlapping wheels/frames
- − Rain effect looks slightly artificial and uniform
- − Hand interaction with the bicycle lacks precision
Recraft V4.1
- + Successfully captures the requested 'imperfect framing' and cinematic feel
- + Realistic skin texture and garment dampness from the rain
- + Conveys a stronger sense of motion in the background vehicles
- − The composition is very tight, crop cuts off a significant portion of the subject and bike
- − Visual clarity is slightly lower due to heavy grain and rain effects
- − The red of the bicycle is less prominent than requested
Verdict: LongCat-Image provides a more complete and vibrant scene with better environmental storytelling, but it suffers from severe anatomical issues with the bicycle's geometry. Recraft V4.1 delivers a more convincing 'candid street photo' aesthetic with superior skin textures and realistic rain effects, though its tight framing hides much of the subject. Recraft V4.1 is the likely winner for better adhering to the 'cinematic but realistic' and 'natural skin texture' requirements without the glaring structural errors found in the first image.
Fantasy Warrior
Text-to-Image“Close portrait of a battle-worn paladin in ornate engraved plate armor, hair braided with small beads, faint scars and dirt on the skin, warm torchlight reflecting off metal, shallow depth of field, bokeh sparks, lifelike eyes, highly detailed texture on leather straps and cloth underlayer.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent engraving details on the chest plate
- + Vibrant warm lighting and high contrast
- + Clear inclusion of beads in the braids
- − Facial scars look more like fresh wounds or paint
- − Composition is very static and centered
Recraft V4.1
- + Naturalistic and lifelike eyes with intricate iris detail
- + Superb texture on the skin and realistic scarring
- + Dynamic close portrait composition that feels more intimate
- − The beads in the hair are less distinct than requested
- − Armor engraving is slightly more muted compared to the other model
Verdict: While LongCat-Image provides impressive armor engravings and clear prompt adherence for the beads, Recraft V4.1 is the superior image due to its incredible photographic realism in the eyes, skin texture, and lighting. Recraft V4.1 better captures the 'battle-worn' essence with a more convincing and atmospheric composition.
Modern Clean Menu
Text-to-Image“Modern minimalist restaurant menu design, white background with colorful food photos in grid, sections for appetizers/pizza/mains, bold sans-serif fonts, vibrant accents, clean professional layout for casual dining.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Successfully integrates images into a grid-like layout.
- + Captures the vibrant, high-energy aesthetic requested.
- − Text consists of illegible gibberish characters.
- − Visual artifacts appear around the text and borders.
Recraft V4.1
- + Excellent text rendering with clear, legible English.
- + Strict adherence to all structural requirements including specific sections.
- − The layout is slightly sparse with significant white space on the right.
- − Image alignment within the vertical grid is somewhat inconsistent.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the superior choice because it produces a fully functional menu with legible text and exact adherence to the requested categories. LongCat-Image creates a more colorful composition but fails significantly on text legibility and professional execution.
Magic Burger Explosion: Fiery Photorealism Challenge
Text-to-Image“Ad for 'Magic Burger'. Dynamic, exploded burger with all components (bun, patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sauce) suspended in mid-air. Emphasize photorealistic detail and a sense of motion. Dark, fiery background with glowing embers. Integrate text: 'MAGIC BURGER' as a prominent title, 'LIMITED TIME ONLY' as a secondary message, and '€6.99' in a starburst, all rendered with a fiery, glowing effect.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent typography with a professional glowing neon/fiery effect.
- + Clean, commercial-grade photorealistic textures on the food components.
- + Dynamic composition with embers and a strong sense of a fiery grill environment.
- − Failed to provide an 'exploded' burger, showing an assembled burger instead.
- − The starburst element looks a bit like a generic sticker compared to the rest of the high-quality art.
Recraft V4.1
- + Successfully followed the instruction for an 'exploded' view with suspended components.
- + High-quality flaming text effect for the main title that integrates well with the theme.
- + Great sense of motion and smoke, enhancing the 'magic' aspect of the prompt.
- − The starburst price tag is very basic and lacks the requested 'fiery, glowing effect'.
- − The composition feels a bit bottom-heavy with most ingredients drifting downward/left.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 followed the complex structural instruction of the 'exploded' burger much better than LongCat-Image, which provided a standard assembled burger. While LongCat-Image has slightly more appetizing food textures and better integrated secondary text, Recraft V4.1 is the overall winner for capturing the conceptual 'suspended in mid-air' layout and the fiery atmosphere more accurately.
Chalkboard Menu
Text-to-Image“Handwritten-style chalkboard menu in a cozy café, all text rendered in the exact same realistic chalk handwriting style with natural variations in letter size, slight slant, and chalk texture — no printed or digital fonts anywhere on the board. Title at the top in elegant cursive chalk handwriting: ‘TODAY’S SPECIALS – APRIL 30, 2026’. Below it, three menu items also in the same handwritten chalk style: ‘Truffle Mushroom Risotto – $24’, ‘Grilled Octopus with Lemon & Herbs – $28’, ‘Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies – $9’. At the very bottom, smaller text in the identical handwritten chalk style (slightly smaller but still clearly legible with the same handwriting characteristics): ‘All items made fresh daily • Ask about our gluten-free options’. Warm ambient café lighting, visible chalk dust and smudges, realistic handwriting imperfections, no clean printed text anywhere.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Captures a nice café background with a realistic chalkboard frame and eraser dust.
- + The handwriting has a strong chalk-like texture.
- − Text consists and almost entirely of gibberish and misspellings like 'ToAYS GtAYS'.
- − Fails to follow the specific menu items listed in the prompt.
- − The layout is cluttered and the cursive requirement for the header is not met.
Recraft V4.1
- + Excellent prompt adherence with nearly perfect spelling of all complex menu items.
- + Realistic chalk texture with natural variations in letter size and authentic strokes.
- + Completed the truncated prompt intelligently by finishing the final item as 'Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies'.
- − The frame of the chalkboard is cut off at the top and edges.
- − The header is in print rather than the requested elegant cursive style.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the clear winner due to its superior text rendering capabilities, successfully spelling out the specific menu items requested while maintaining a highly realistic chalk texture. LongCat-Image failed significantly on the text-to-image challenge, producing unreadable gibberish that only vaguely resembles the intended words.
The Reversed Rodeo
Text-to-Image“Horse riding astronaut in space — horse on top, not vice versa. Surreal, highly detailed, cinematic.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Strong composition with a clear focal point
- + Technically clean image with high resolution and minimal artifacts
- + Good variety of space-themed elements like planets and lunar modules
- − Failed the negative constraint: the astronaut is riding the horse instead of the horse being on top
- − The horse having five legs is a significant biological artifact
Recraft V4.1
- + Atmospheric lighting and cinematic nebular effects
- + Dynamic pose for both the horse and the astronaut
- + Rich texture on the asteroids and space suit
- − Failed the negative constraint: the astronaut is riding the horse instead of the horse being on top
- − The horse's legs and hooves are muddled and lack clear structure
Verdict: Both LongCat-Image and Recraft V4.1 failed the core challenge of the prompt, which specifically requested the horse to be on top of the astronaut. While both models produced generic 'astronaut riding a horse' images, LongCat-Image is slightly better due to its sharper clarity, even though it suffered from a blatant anatomical error (an extra leg).
The Capybara Taxi Driver
Text-to-Image“Photorealistic scene inside a yellow New York taxi at night. A capybara is driving, wearing a yellow taxi driver cap and a dark jacket. It has a calm, professional expression and both front paws on the steering wheel. In the back seat sits a human businesswoman in a coat, looking at her phone with a completely normal, bored expression (as if this is just another normal ride). Through the windows you can see the streets of Manhattan at night with blurred lights. Realistic taxi interior, photorealistic, detailed fur and fabric, 35mm lens, night lighting with reflections, shallow depth of field.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent fur texture and sharp character details
- + Strong colors that suggest the vibrant night atmosphere of NYC
- + Good adherence to the requested clothing like the dark jacket and white shirt
- − The passenger's hand holding the phone has anatomical issues
- − The capybara's hand/paw on the steering wheel looks like a human-animal hybrid with long nails
- − Includes two passengers instead of one
Recraft V4.1
- + Perfect adherence to the single passenger request with a bored expression
- + The capybara's paws look more like natural paws resting on the wheel
- + The yellow cap and interior lighting look very authentic and cinematic
- − Missing the dark jacket on the capybara, it appears to be shirtless/fur-only
- − The lighting on the passenger is a bit flat compared to the driver
- − Lower overall sharpness in the background compared to Model A
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the winner as it captures the specific 'bored' atmosphere and composition of a single passenger much better than LongCat-Image. While LongCat-Image has sharper textures, its anatomical errors with the hands and failure to limit the scene to one passenger make it less effective at telling the requested story.
The Halloween Invitation
Text-to-Image“Vintage gothic Halloween party invitation. Dark parchment poster, spooky border with webs and thorns, central glowing jack-o-lantern, bats, twisted trees, moody night sky. Add elegant gothic title text saying "Halloween Party Invitation", a small scroll banner saying "You are invited to a night of frights", and event details at the bottom: Date: 30.10.2026 Time: 7pm Location: The Arches, NYC Spooky but polished, cinematic lighting, square format.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Successfully included almost all requested text elements.
- + Clean and legible layout for an invitation.
- + Bright, cinematic lighting on the central jack-o-lantern.
- − The location text is misspelled as 'The Armiees'.
- − The composition feels a bit like a digital collage rather than a weathered vintage poster.
- − Includes redundant and nonsensical text strings like '3uulie' and '7um:'.
Recraft V4.1
- + Excellent atmospheric quality and moody, vintage gothic aesthetic.
- + Perfect text accuracy for all details, including the specific location.
- + Superior artistic composition with more detailed twisted trees and a seamless border.
- − The elegant gothic title text is slightly harder to read due to its extreme stylization.
- − The scroll banner is somewhat small relative to the other elements.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the clear winner as it perfectly followed all text instructions without spelling errors and delivered a much more cohesive 'Vintage Gothic' aesthetic. While LongCat-Image produced a bright and clear layout, it failed significantly on text accuracy and had a less sophisticated visual style.
Isometric Miniature Diorama Scenes
Text-to-Image“Create a clear, 45° top-down isometric miniature 3D cartoon scene of Japan's signature dish: sushi, with soft refined textures, realistic PBR materials, gentle lighting, on a small raised diorama base with minimal garnish and plate. Solid light blue background. At top-center: 'JAPAN' in large bold text, 'SUSHI' below it, small flag icon. Perfectly centered, ultra-clean, high-clarity, square format.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Excellent 3D miniature aesthetic with soft, clay-like textures.
- + Perfect text layout and font choice that feels integrated into the design.
- + Excellent use of the 45-degree isometric perspective.
- − The rice texture is slightly stylized and chunky rather than realistic PBR.
Recraft V4.1
- + High-quality PBR materials, especially on the fish and diorama base.
- + Clean, professional composition with realistic shadows.
- + Accurate sushi anatomy, including the shrimp tail.
- − The text is placed at the very top edge, feeling a bit cramped compared to Model A.
- − The miniature 'cartoon' feel is less pronounced than in Model A.
Verdict: Both models followed the prompt exceptionally well. LongCat-Image (Model A) wins on graphic design and the 'cartoon miniature' aesthetic, featuring superior text integration and a very charming toy-like style. Recraft V4.1 (Model B) offers more realistic PBR textures and lighting, but its layout feels slightly more generic and the text is not as well-centered.
Adorable Baby Animals in Sunny Meadow
Text-to-Image“Hyper-photorealistic scene of fluffy baby animals—a golden retriever puppy, tabby kitten, baby bunny, and red fox kit—with big expressive eyes and ultra-detailed soft fur, playfully chasing butterflies and tumbling together in a lush wildflower meadow, warm golden sunrise light with god rays and dew sparkles, joyful wholesome vibe, 8K masterpiece.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Strong lighting effects with prominent god rays
- + Vibrant colors and clear, large butterflies
- − Anatomical failure where the kitten has long rabbit ears
- − Missed a subject entirely, featuring only three animals instead of four
- − Floating bubble-like artifacts look unnatural
Recraft V4.1
- + Successfully included all four requested animals (dog, cat, bunny, fox)
- + Excellent dynamic posing that captures the 'tumbling' and 'chasing' aspects of the prompt
- + More realistic fur textures and higher overall photorealism
- − The fox kit's proportions are slightly awkward relative to its paws
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the clear winner as it followed all prompt instructions, including the full list of animals, whereas LongCat-Image failed by merging the kitten and bunny into one creature with rabbit ears. Recraft V4.1 also delivered a much more realistic and dynamic composition that truly feels like a 'masterpiece' scene of animals playing.
Vintage Cafe Logo
Text-to-Image“Vintage minimalist restaurant logo for "Caffè Florian", retro cloche dome with steam and "Est. 1720" banner, classic typography, warm brown and cream tones, subtle texture on light background, vector emblem style.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Successfully captured the requested banner element for the establishment date.
- + Effective use of warm brown tones and vintage texture in the background.
- + Strong illustrative style that feels hand-drawn and retro.
- − The text is cluttered and repetitive, including 'Caffè' multiple times at the top.
- − The cloche is overwhelmed by the typography rather than acting as a clean icon.
Recraft V4.1
- + Excellent minimalist vector execution that looks like a professional logo.
- + Perfect typography and layout with a clear, readable design.
- + High fidelity with no artifacts or repetitive text errors.
- − The banner for 'Est. 1720' is very small and lacks the 'vintage banner' character of the other model.
- − The background is very clean, missing the 'subtle texture' requested in the prompt.
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the clear winner for its professional logo execution, adhering to the minimalist and vector emblem requirements significantly better than the other model. While LongCat-Image handled the background texture and the banner style well, it failed at basic logo composition by repeating the text and creating a cluttered, unpractical design.
Apollo 11: Journey to Tranquility
Text-to-Image“Create a clean, modern vector infographic poster about the Apollo 11 mission. NASA-inspired palette (navy, white, muted red, light gray). Flat-vector style, crisp lines, consistent iconography, subtle gradients only. Steps (stop at landing): 1. Launch (Saturn Vicon) 2. Earth Orbit (Earth + orbit ring icon) 3. Translunar (trajectory arc icon) 4. Lunar Orbit (Moon + orbit ring icon) 5. Descent (lunar module descending icon) 6. Landing (lunar module on the surface icon) Small supporting elements (minimal text): • Crew strip: three silhouette icons with only last names: Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins. • Landing site marker: Moon pin labeled "Tranquility" only. Layout constraints: generous margins, large readable labels, clean background with subtle stars. Vector-only, print-poster look, high resolution.”
AI Judge Analysis
LongCat-Image
- + Strong composition for a physical poster layout
- + Illustrative style is consistent across the two panels
- − Failed to follow the requested 6-step sequence
- − Text is largely gibberish and unreadable
- − Icons look more like generic clip-art than a modern flat-vector infographic
Recraft V4.1
- + Excellent adherence to the 6-step sequence and specific icons requested
- + High-quality text rendering and clear, modern typography
- + Perfectly followed the flat-vector style and NASA-inspired color palette
- − Duplicate numbering labels (two number 04s) on the bottom row
- − The lunar landing icon is identical to the descent icon rather than showing it on the surface
Verdict: Recraft V4.1 is the clear winner as it followed all complex instruction steps, including the specific sequence of events and the intended aesthetic style. LongCat-Image failed to produce legible text and ignored the step-by-step numbering requested in the prompt.
Explore each model
Recraft's V4.1 standard tier text-to-image model — refines V4's photorealism with more natural lighting, softer gradients, and sharper illustration styles for everyday creative work