Cyanotype Fern Print
Stable DiffusionCyanotype 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 .
Prompt
A cyanotype photogram of three fern fronds, the fronds appearing as pale cream silhouettes where they blocked the light against a deep Prussian blue ground, 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, one frond overlapping another so the overlap reads as a mid-tone rather than pure white, 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
Explore collections
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.
For developers — copy this prompt as JSON
{
"title": "Cyanotype Fern Print",
"prompt": "A cyanotype photogram of three fern fronds, the fronds appearing as pale cream silhouettes where they blocked the light against a deep Prussian blue ground, 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, one frond overlapping another so the overlap reads as a mid-tone rather than pure white, 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.
