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Graticule

Illustration: Contour drawing, Watercolor washing, Granulation

Graticule example 1
Graticule model comparison 2
Graticule model comparison 3
Graticule model comparison 4

The prompt

{subject}, drawn as a hand-kept naturalist field-survey plate: a confident fine-nib ink contour line defines the form, then a web of thin concentric topographic contour lines is laid over it so the lines wrap and follow the form's planes like an elevation map, and diluted earth-pigment watercolor washes settle into the shape with visible mineral granulation and soft tide-line edges pooling in the low areas. Fine cross-hatching and stipple deepen the shadows; a faint graphite under-sketch shows through. {palette}. Warm rag-paper ground, matte and tactile, atmospheric layered dilution, full frame edge to edge

Materials
Ink, Earth-pigment watercolor, Graphite, Rag paper
Techniques
Contour drawing, Watercolor washing, Granulation, Cross-hatching, Stippling

contour line, topographic, earth pigment wash, ink linework, naturalist plate

Slot recipes

How the prompt changes for each kind of picture.

  • Hero: {subject} composed across the full frame as a wide survey plate, flowing concentric topographic contour lines mapping the whole scene, diluted earth-pigment washes spanning edge to edge with soft tide-line pooling, a single warm accent marking key points, generous calmer wash passages toward one side for overlay legibility
  • Feature: {subject} as a focused survey vignette, confident ink contour line over the form, concentric contour lines wrapping its planes, one dominant diluted earth wash with granulation concentrated near the subject, full-frame fill
  • Avatar: {subject} as a tight head-and-shoulders or single-object survey study, ink contour line with topographic lines following the silhouette, soft earth-pigment wash bloom behind, warm rag-paper ground, fills the square frame
  • Empty state: a small quiet {subject} motif in pale diluted earth pigment with a few faint contour lines and lots of breathing rag-paper, minimal stipple, gentle and unhurried, full-frame
  • Illustration: {subject} as a richly layered survey plate, multiple dilution layers of earth pigment, dense concentric topographic contour lines mapping the relief, granulation and tide-line pooling, graphite under-drawing peeking through, atmospheric and hand-kept, full-frame edge to edge

Guidance

Do

  • Lead with a confident fine-nib ink contour line, then lay concentric topographic contour lines over the form so they wrap its planes like an elevation map
  • Let diluted earth-pigment washes settle and granulate, pooling soft tide-line edges in the low areas
  • Deepen shadow with fine cross-hatching and stipple; leave a faint graphite under-sketch showing through
  • Reserve one warm accent for the few points that matter, against muted sage-and-sienna washes
  • Keep the ground a warm rag-paper tone and fill the frame edge to edge with the treated subject

Don’t

  • Do not render flat vector fills, hard clean digital edges, or posterized cel shading
  • Do not saturate into neon or add synthetic gloss or photographic realism
  • Do not draw map legends, numbers, or any lettering, and no deckle border or white margin
  • Do not let the technique become the subject — it must dress a face, a city, or a teapot equally, never depict survey tools, brushes, or the paper apparatus itself
  • Do not let the contour lines turn into a flat grid — they must wrap and follow the form's relief

In the lineage of

  • Botanical and natural-history field illustration, tradition. The confident single ink contour line tracing a form, as in engraved 18th-19th century specimen plates.
  • Watercolor wash painting, medium. Granulating diluted-pigment washes that settle, bloom, and pool tide-line edges — the core rendering of the technique.
  • Topographic survey cartography, tradition. The concentric contour-line elevation mapping, here borrowed to wrap any form's relief rather than terrain alone.

A generated style is an aggregate of many influences. Credit goes to the artists and traditions it draws on; it is not a claim of authorship.

Images by gpt-image-2

Remix with this style

Apply Graticule to any UI language and swap the palette: the preview takes this style's hero image.