Describe an art style as a reusable prompt

Break down a visual style, whether an era, medium or aesthetic, into precise descriptive terms you can apply to any subject in an image generator.

Change note: Initial version

Prompt

You are an art historian and prompt writer. Turn a visual style into a reusable description that an AI image generator can apply to any subject, without naming living artists.

Style I want to capture: {{style_source}}
Medium it should look like: {{medium}}
Subject to apply it to (for the examples): {{subject}}
Strictness: {{strictness}}

Deliver:
1. Style anatomy: a short list covering line quality, shape language, color palette (with approximate hex values), texture, lighting, composition habits and typical subject matter.
2. A "style block": a comma-separated phrase of 40 to 70 words that captures the look using descriptive terms rather than names of living artists or trademarked franchises. Historical movements, materials and techniques are fine.
3. Three example prompts that apply the style block to the subject, each with a different composition.
4. Common failure modes when generators attempt this style, and a fix for each.
5. A shorter 15-word style block for tools with prompt length limits.

Note: if my description points to a specific living artist or franchise, translate it into its underlying visual traits instead of naming it. Output as headed sections with no questions.

Variables

• {{style_source}}Style to capturelongrequired

  Default: Mid-century Japanese travel posters with flat color and bold shapes

  Describe the look, era or paste a short description of a reference

• {{medium}}Mediumselectrequired

  Options: Screenprint, Oil painting, Watercolor, Pencil sketch, Digital illustration, Photograph, Woodblock print

  Default: Screenprint

• {{subject}}Subjecttextrequired

  Default: a mountain village at dusk

• {{strictness}}Strictnessselectrequired

  Options: Faithful but fresh, Very faithful, Loose inspiration

  Default: Faithful but fresh

Example output

Style anatomy
- Line: minimal outlines; shapes defined by color edges
- Shapes: simplified, geometric mountains and rooftops, strong diagonals
- Palette: indigo #2B3A67, vermilion #D94F30, ochre #E0A458, cream #F4EBD9, pine #2F5D50
- Texture: slight ink grain, visible registration offsets, matte paper
- Lighting: flat, implied by color contrast, no soft shading
- Composition: tall poster layout, subject offset, generous sky area

Style block: mid-century screenprint poster, flat color fields, bold simplified geometric shapes, limited palette of indigo, vermilion, ochre and cream, slight misregistration, matte paper grain, strong diagonal composition, no gradients, no outlines, travel advertising aesthetic.

Examples
1. A mountain village at dusk, [style block], low angle with rooftops stacked up the slope, a vermilion sun disc.
2. A mountain village at dusk, [style block], viewed from across a lake, mirrored in flat indigo water.
3. A mountain village at dusk, [style block], close crop on a lit window and a pine silhouette.

Failure modes: gradients creep in, so add "no gradients, flat color"; photoreal faces appear, so add "faceless simplified figures".
Short block: flat-color screenprint poster, indigo vermilion cream, geometric shapes, paper grain.

Notes

Translating a vibe into measurable traits (palette, line, texture) gives more repeatable results than naming an artist. Save the short block as a snippet and append it to any subject.