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Vintage Paper Sketch Portrait With Watercolor Details

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✦ Gemini / ChatGPT Tested

SMALL CENTERED SUBJECT + STRONG FACE IDENTITY LOCK + EXACT POSE

INFORMATION TO REQUEST BEFORE GENERATION

Ask only:

“Please upload one clear, high-quality photo of your face. Front-facing or slightly angled, with the full face clearly visible.”

Then STOP and wait for the upload.

Do not generate the image until the face photo is provided.

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AFTER THE USER UPLOADS THEIR PHOTO

Create a premium minimalist hand-drawn paper-cover portrait illustration using the uploaded person's photo as the absolute identity reference.

Use the supplied pose-reference image ONLY for pose, body positioning, framing, clothing direction, arm placement, and overall composition.

The final artwork must clearly look like the same person from the uploaded identity photo, not the person in the pose reference.

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HIGHEST PRIORITY — FACE IDENTITY LOCK

Preserve the uploaded person's real facial identity as accurately as possible.

Match:

- face shape
- forehead proportions
- natural hairline
- hairstyle
- hair texture
- eyebrow shape
- eye shape
- eyelids
- eye spacing
- nose structure
- nostril shape
- lips
- mouth width
- cheek structure
- jawline
- chin shape
- ears where visible
- beard and moustache pattern
- skin tone
- natural age
- facial asymmetry
- distinctive facial features

The final result must remain immediately recognizable as the uploaded person.

Do not:

- beautify the face
- replace it with a generic AI face
- alter skin tone
- redesign facial proportions
- smooth away natural details
- make the subject look like a different model

Even though the final result is illustrated, identity accuracy must remain stronger than stylization.

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EXACT POSE LOCK

Reproduce the same sleeve-adjusting pose from the pose reference.

Maintain:

- torso facing mostly toward camera
- slight body rotation
- relaxed shoulders
- upright head
- chin subtly raised
- confident posture
- one arm extending diagonally downward
- opposite arm crossing the torso
- crossing hand gripping/adjusting the opposite sleeve near the forearm
- extended hand hanging naturally with relaxed fingers

Preserve the correct overlapping order:

torso → crossed arm → gripping hand → extended forearm → extended hand

Do not:

- reverse the arms
- fold both arms
- put hands in pockets
- leave both arms down
- change the sleeve-adjusting gesture
- create awkward wrists or fingers

Hands must remain anatomically correct.

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SUBJECT SIZE & POSITION — VERY IMPORTANT

Keep the main subject relatively small in the overall canvas.

The person should occupy approximately:

35–45% of the total image height

and should NOT fill the frame.

Position the subject:

- exactly or almost exactly centered
- balanced horizontally
- around the visual center of the canvas
- with generous empty space above the head
- with generous empty space on both sides
- with generous breathing room around the entire figure

The overall image must feel like a minimalist paper-cover artwork, not a close-up portrait.

Negative-space rule

At least 55–65% of the overall canvas should remain mostly clean background / negative space.

Do not zoom in.

Do not crop tightly around the body.

Do not enlarge the subject to dominate the page.

The small centered figure with large surrounding blank paper space is a mandatory composition feature.

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FRAMING

Use a vertical portrait composition.

Show approximately:

upper thighs to slightly above the head

while still keeping the overall person visually small within the full page.

The figure should be completely readable without awkward cropping.

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CLOTHING

Use the same premium casual outfit direction:

- dark charcoal or black button-up shirt
- shirt slightly open around upper chest
- sleeves rolled or pushed toward the forearms
- dark blue denim jeans
- brown leather belt

Maintain realistic clothing folds generated by the arm pose.

Do not add:

- logos
- typography
- graphics
- jackets
- bright colors
- unrelated accessories

Minor jewelry from the identity photo may be preserved subtly.

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SUNGLASSES

Add classic dark aviator-style sunglasses.

They must:

- fit naturally on the uploaded person's real face
- align correctly with the nose bridge
- follow facial perspective
- use realistic dark lenses
- include subtle natural reflections
- not distort the facial structure

The sunglasses must never be used to hide inaccurate identity.

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ART STYLE — LOCKED

Create a minimalist hand-drawn paper-cover illustration combining:

- fine ink sketch lines
- hand-drawn contour work
- subtle pencil-like detailing
- light watercolor washes
- dry-brush texture
- restrained pigment
- handcrafted imperfections
- premium editorial illustration quality

The rendering should feel like:

a realistic portrait carefully translated into a refined handmade sketch-and-watercolor illustration printed on textured paper.

Keep the face slightly more detailed than the rest of the body.

Avoid:

- cartoon style
- anime
- comic-book exaggeration
- thick oil paint
- glossy digital painting
- 3D rendering
- vector-flat appearance
- hyper-polished plastic skin
- excessive watercolor blur

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BACKGROUND — MINIMAL PAPER COVER

Use a warm vintage paper background.

Background qualities:

- ivory
- warm cream
- soft beige
- subtle handmade paper grain
- light natural fiber texture
- slight aged-paper appearance

Keep the background predominantly clean.

Behind the subject, add only a small restrained cluster of loose watercolor / dry-brush strokes.

Use:

- tan
- beige
- muted ochre
- very light brown
- subtle gray-brown accents

The brush strokes should stay close to the subject and must not cover the whole page.

Do not create a full environmental scene.

No:

- buildings
- furniture
- rooms
- landscapes
- objects
- decorative borders
- typography

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BRUSHWORK PLACEMENT

The background brushwork should function only as a subtle visual anchor behind the person.

Keep it:

- centered around the subject
- slightly larger than the person
- organic
- irregular
- understated
- softly faded at the edges

Add only minimal:

- paint splatter
- light drips
- broken dry-brush marks

Do not make the splashes too large or visually noisy.

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SUBJECT EDGE TREATMENT

Keep the face and upper torso relatively crisp.

Toward the:

- lower shirt
- jeans
- outer sleeves
- bottom of the figure

allow the drawing to softly transition into:

- unfinished pencil strokes
- light watercolor fading
- dry-brush edges
- broken pigment marks

Do not dissolve the face.

Do not blur facial features.

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HEAD & EXPRESSION

Keep:

- head nearly upright
- slight three-quarter orientation
- chin subtly raised
- composed expression
- confident presence
- relaxed or closed lips

Do not create an exaggerated smile.

The uploaded person's facial structure always takes priority.

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CAMERA / REALISM FOUNDATION

Build the portrait as if photographed using:

- 70–85 mm portrait perspective
- natural facial proportions
- minimal lens distortion
- realistic head-to-shoulder scale
- anatomically correct arms and hands

Then translate that photographic structure into a hand-drawn illustration.

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QUALITY PRIORITY

Prioritize in this exact order:

1. Uploaded person's facial identity
2. Small centered subject composition
3. Large clean negative space
4. Exact sleeve-adjusting pose
5. Correct arms, hands, and fingers
6. Minimalist hand-drawn paper-cover style
7. Premium editorial finish

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NEGATIVE CONSTRAINTS

Do not:

- enlarge the subject excessively
- make the person fill the frame
- place the person near the edge
- crop tightly
- reduce the negative space
- create a busy background
- copy the pose-reference person's face
- alter the uploaded person's identity
- generate a generic handsome face
- change skin tone
- significantly alter age
- alter facial proportions
- reverse the arm pose
- create extra fingers
- create missing fingers
- merge hands
- deform wrists
- shorten or stretch arms unnaturally
- create an oversized head
- create a tiny head
- hide the face in shadows
- cover too much of the face with sunglasses
- use cartoon/anime/3D/CGI style
- add text
- add logos
- add watermarks

FINAL VISUAL GOAL

The finished artwork should look like a premium minimalist illustrated paper cover featuring a small, centered, recognizable portrait of the uploaded person, surrounded by large areas of clean warm paper, with subtle hand-drawn lines and restrained watercolor brushwork behind the figure.

Mayank Kapoor portrait
Mayank Kapoor

Mayank Kapoor is the brain behind EditMK.com - an AI prompt engineer with a base in Bengaluru, India. A recent graduate from Reva University, Mayank has carved out a niche for himself in the field of AI image generation - specifically Zero-shot, Few-shot, and Chain-of-Thought prompting techniques. Every prompt we publish on EditMK? He puts those through their paces personally, verifying them one by one before we even put them live.

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