{
"version": "1.0",
"subject": {
"reference_image": "",
"preserve_identity": true,
"preserve_face": true,
"keep_hair": true,
"keep_skin_tone": false,
"expression": "a thoughtful, intense gaze, a striking expression"
},
"style": {
"name": "artistic charcoal sketch",
"technique": "a drawing in charcoal and graphite stick, cross-hatching for volume, areas smudged with the finger creating grey gradients, highlights lifted out with an eraser, vigorous gestural contour strokes",
"palette": "monochrome in shades of grey, the deep black of charcoal and white chalk for the highlights",
"texture": "visible kraft or brown textured paper, the grain of the charcoal, soft smudges beside hard strokes",
"background": "the kraft paper itself with a few hatched shadows around, leaving the edges of the sketch unfinished"
},
"composition": "head and shoulders portrait in 3:4 format, focus on the gaze, the edges of the drawing deliberately loose",
"quality": "a fine-art studio charcoal drawing, high quality, visibly made by hand",
"negative_prompt": "colour, photography, 3D, smooth digital, styles of famous studios and artists, known characters, real franchises, logos, text, watermark, distorted face, deformed hands, extra limbs"
}
How to use
Turning your photo into a charcoal sketch gives it the classical air of a fine-art studio, with cross-hatching, finger smudges and the paper showing through the strokes. This prompt recreates that drawing while preserving your face, and it works in Gemini, NanoBanana and ChatGPT.
1. Choose a sharp photo of yourself, with your eyes clearly visible and good light.
2. Send the image in the same message where you are going to paste the prompt.
3. Paste the whole JSON prompt right below your photo.
4. Ask it to keep your features completely, converting everything to charcoal in shades of grey.
5. Generate a few variations until the line work is expressive and the face is recognisable.
6. Download it in high resolution to print on heavy paper and frame.
Tip: in the texture field you can swap the support between white paper and brown paper, which changes the mood of the drawing a great deal.
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