Why did my image fail to generate?
What to do when an Artgen AI generation or conversion fails — sign-in, model, credits, exact error messages and credit-return limitations.
Go through these in order.
1. Are you signed in?
Both fixed effects and AI generation need sign-in. If the button asks you to sign in, do that first.
2. Is a compatible model selected?
AI tools need a published model that supports what you're doing. If you uploaded an image for AI reimagine, the model must support image to image. See choosing a model. If the model menu says “Loading models…” for a long time, refresh the page.
“No models are available for this creation mode.” means the catalog has no compatible model. “Could not load models. Please try again.” means the catalog request failed. Use Reload models or choose another mode. AI ASCII instead shows “No published AI models support this ASCII workflow yet.” when no compatible inline-output model is available.
3. Enough credits?
The studio shows the credit cost before you generate. If your balance is lower than that, the server rejects the request before calling the model provider. Plans and packs: Pricing. Fixed effects don't need credits.
4. Did the request break the content rules?
The Terms prohibit, among other things, unlawful content, harassment, sexual content involving minors, non-consensual intimate images and disclosure of private personal information. Requests may be restricted to enforce these rules or provider requirements. Make sure the prompt complies with these rules; if you think a restriction was a mistake, contact support for review.
The studio does not show a dedicated content-blocked or AI-timeout message. A general failure alone does not identify either cause.
5. The provider failed
Sometimes the model provider fails. Per the Terms, credits are deducted when an accepted generation request starts; if generation fails because the model service errors, the system tries to return them. A return can fail. If credits don't come back, contact support with the request identifier.
A successful generation that just doesn't look how you hoped is still charged — adjust the prompt and try again. This does not limit remedies under applicable law.
Messages you may see
These are the studio's current English messages, not separate guarantees about billing:
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Not enough credits for this artwork.” | Check your balance and Pricing. |
| “This model is temporarily unavailable. Choose another model or contact the site administrator.” | Choose another available model or contact support. |
| “Check your prompt, image and generation settings, then try again.” | Check the selected model, prompt limit, image and canvas settings. |
| “Generation failed. Any charged credits are refunded when the provider fails. Please try again.” | Despite this message's wording, the server only attempts the credit return. Check your balance and report a missing return with the request ID. |
| “The connection was interrupted. Check your balance before starting another generation.” | Check your balance before retrying; the message does not establish whether generation finished. |
| “Check your image and effect settings, then try again.” | Check the fixed-effect upload and settings. |
| “The image could not be converted. Try again or choose another image.” | Retry the fixed conversion or choose another image. |
| “Conversions are busy. Please try again shortly.” | Wait briefly before retrying. |
| “The connection was interrupted. Please try again.” | Retry the fixed conversion when your connection is stable. |
If a request loses its sign-in session, the studio shows its sign-in guidance and a sign-in link. Fixed effects show “Free with sign-in, no credits needed.” AI shows “You can explore styles first. Six fixed styles are free with sign-in; AI styles use credits.”
6. Retry sensibly
- Check your balance after an interrupted AI request before starting another generation.
- Wait a moment, then try again once.
- Shorten or simplify the prompt.
- Try a different model.
- For AI ASCII: once the source image exists, retrying the ASCII conversion is free — keep the page open. The message “Your AI image is ready, but ASCII conversion did not finish. Retry the conversion for free; no additional AI credits are needed.” refers to that conversion step, not to generating another AI image.
Fixed effect didn't run
Fixed effects run on Artgen's server. If one fails, check the upload (upload issues), refresh, and try again.