Cyanotype Fern Print

Stable Diffusion

By Varun Sharma Tested with Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0 Jul 28, 2026

Cyanotype Fern Print is an SDXL 1.0 prompt for a botanical photogram at 2:3. Nothing in a contact print is sharp, so feathered edges and an overlap that reads as a mid-tone are what make it look exposed rather than filtered.

Last tested: July 2026 with Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0

Part of the Stable Diffusion prompt library · see more botanical prompts .

Remix in builder

Cyanotype photogram of three pale fern fronds against a deep Prussian blue washed ground — Cyanotype Fern Print — Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0, Aspect ratio 2:3

Commercial use included

Prompt

A cyanotype photogram of three clearly separate fern fronds arranged at three different angles across the sheet, one lying alone with clear blue space all around it and the other two crossing over each other near their tips, the fronds appearing as pale cream silhouettes where they blocked the light against a deep Prussian blue ground, the small region where the two fronds overlap rendered a distinctly deeper cream tone than either frond alone because two layers blocked more light, soft feathered edges where the fronds lifted slightly off the paper, the blue washing unevenly toward the sheet edges with visible brush-coated borders, fine paper fibre texture throughout, no sharp digital edges, no text

Negative prompt

blurry, low quality, photorealistic green fern, sharp vector edges, uniform flat blue, digital gradient, text, watermark, colours other than blue and cream, drop shadow, printed halftone

Settings

Model: Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0
Aspect ratio: 2:3
Steps: 30
CFG scale: 6.5
Sampler: DPM++ 2M Karras

How to use this prompt

A cyanotype is a contact print, which means every edge is a function of how closely the plant lay against the paper. "Soft feathered edges where the fronds lifted slightly off the paper" encodes that physics, and it is the difference between a real photogram and a blue filter dropped over a fern photograph. The overlap detail is the second tell: two fronds stacked block more light than one, so that region should sit between cream and blue rather than going pure white. Brush-coated borders are what mark the sheet as hand-sensitised.

Variations to try

Swap the ferns for seaweed and add a faint tide-line wash across the lower third of the sheet
Toned version: tannin-shifted from Prussian blue to warm sepia-violet with the same silhouettes

botanical vintage wall art pinterest pins

Explore collections

Vintage Wall Art Prompts Vintage Stable Diffusion Prompts Botanical Wall Art Prompts Botanical Stable Diffusion Prompts

What to do next

Adapt it →

Open this prompt in the Stable Diffusion builder, pre-filled, and change one layer at a time.

Explore more →

Browse the full Stable Diffusion prompt library — every entry tested with its settings.

Share: X / Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Facebook

For developers — copy this prompt as JSON

{
  "title": "Cyanotype Fern Print",
  "prompt": "A cyanotype photogram of three clearly separate fern fronds arranged at three different angles across the sheet, one lying alone with clear blue space all around it and the other two crossing over each other near their tips, the fronds appearing as pale cream silhouettes where they blocked the light against a deep Prussian blue ground, the small region where the two fronds overlap rendered a distinctly deeper cream tone than either frond alone because two layers blocked more light, soft feathered edges where the fronds lifted slightly off the paper, the blue washing unevenly toward the sheet edges with visible brush-coated borders, fine paper fibre texture throughout, no sharp digital edges, no text",
  "negative_prompt": "blurry, low quality, photorealistic green fern, sharp vector edges, uniform flat blue, digital gradient, text, watermark, colours other than blue and cream, drop shadow, printed halftone",
  "model": "Stable Diffusion",
  "model_version": "SDXL 1.0",
  "settings": {
    "aspect_ratio": "2:3",
    "steps": 30,
    "cfg": 6.5,
    "sampler": "DPM++ 2M Karras"
  },
  "style_tags": [
    "botanical",
    "vintage"
  ],
  "use_case_tags": [
    "wall-art",
    "pinterest-pins"
  ],
  "source_url": "https://promptkoi.com/prompts/stable-diffusion/cyanotype-fern-print/"
}

The whole library is available as an open JSON dataset · developer docs.