Introduction
Surrealism is all about breaking the boundaries of reality, creating art that challenges conventional perspectives, and pushing the imagination into uncharted territories. With DALL-E, OpenAI’s AI image generator, you can bring those bizarre, dreamlike visions to life with just a few carefully crafted prompts.
In this post, we’ve compiled a list of surreal prompts to help you explore the depths of your imagination. Whether you want to create something strange, whimsical, or thought-provoking, these Top DALL-E Prompts for Surreal Art will help you craft visuals that are truly out of this world.
Top Surreal Prompts for DALL-E
Here are some unique and imaginative prompts that tap into the essence of surrealism. Use these prompts to inspire your next project or explore a different realm of creativity. Don’t be afraid to adjust and experiment—the stranger, the better!
1. A city floating on a giant hourglass, with sand slowly spilling out into a sea below, and each building glowing with different colored lights

2. A tree made of books, with pages fluttering in place of leaves, and the roots dipping into an ocean made of spilled ink

3. A giant human eye peering through a cracked moon, with tiny stars being pulled into the eye like a vacuum.

4. A carousel in the middle of an ocean, with seahorses as rideable figures and jellyfish glowing underneath.

5. A chessboard made of clouds, with the chess pieces formed from human shadows, set against a fiery orange sunset.

6. A man with a birdcage for a head, and the birds inside singing with musical notes flowing out as rivers, transforming into flowing water as they leave the cage.

7. A library under a glass dome, with each book floating mid-air, connected by glowing lines like constellations, as a giant telescope peers inside

8. A horse made entirely of shimmering mirrors galloping across a cracked desert floor, reflecting a sky full of swirling auroras.

9. A giant snail carrying a miniature village on its shell, with tiny glowing lanterns hanging from the edges of its spiral, slowly making its way through a rainstorm.

10. An old-fashioned typewriter with flowers growing out of its keys, each letter pressed causing petals to burst into colorful ink splashes.

11. A clock tower made of candy, with liquid chocolate dripping down its sides, surrounded by a garden of lollipops, under a night sky filled with sugary stars.

12. A giant goldfish swimming in the sky, trailing a rainbow of colored bubbles, with hot air balloons shaped like fruits floating nearby.

13. A landscape of rolling hills where every hill is actually an upturned teacup, with tea spilling down into tiny porcelain lakes at the bottom.

14. A human hand rising from the sea, with flowers blooming along its fingers, as waves gently lap at its wrist under a cloudy sky.

15. An orchestra of animals dressed in Victorian clothes, playing instruments made of ice, while sitting on floating icebergs in the middle of a shimmering ocean.

Conclusion
Surrealism is all about the unexpected, combining elements that wouldn’t normally coexist to provoke curiosity, wonder, and sometimes confusion. With these Top Surreal Prompts for DALL-E, you’re ready to dive deep into a world that transcends logic and embraces the power of imagination.
Take your time exploring these prompts, and don’t hesitate to tweak them to fit your personal vision. DALL-E can turn even the most outlandish ideas into fascinating artwork, so keep experimenting and pushing the limits. For more creative prompts and tutorials, check out our other DALL-E guides and get inspired!