Mariner's Astrolabe Vintage Instrument
Stable DiffusionAn SDXL prompt for a vintage scientific illustration of a mariner's astrolabe in fine-line ink with a sepia brass wash, blank degree numerals, and the four star-shaped spokes of a period nautical instrument.
Last tested: August 2026 with Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0
Part of the Stable Diffusion prompt library · see more line art prompts .
Prompt
A vintage scientific illustration of a mariner's astrolabe in three-quarter view, the brass disc with a graduated outer ring, a central alidade sight vane, four star-shaped spokes connecting to a heavy outer rim, engraved tick marks around the rim, a suspended ring at the top for hanging, thin even black ink linework on aged cream paper with a faint sepia wash on the brass, fine hatching for the metal's patina, blank areas where engraved degree numerals would be, no text, no letters, no numerals
Negative prompt
color, photorealistic, 3d, modern, glossy, text, watermark, numerals, modern font, bright lighting
Settings
- Model
- Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0
- Aspect ratio
- 1:1
- Steps
- 32
- CFG scale
- 7
- Sampler
- DPM++ 2M Karras
How to use this prompt
Three-quarter view is the angle that shows both the graduated rim and the alidade sight vane — straight-on flattens the instrument into a clock face and loses the depth that makes an astrolabe read as a real tool. The four star-shaped spokes are the visual signature of a mariner's (not astronomer's) astrolabe; without them the model defaults to a solid decorative disc. The faint sepia wash on the brass is the only colour allowed — it signals "aged metal" without competing with the line. Blank degree numerals are deliberate — the model will engrave pseudo-Arabic numerals if you don't ban them, and they always render as noise. Hatching for patina, not for shading.
Variations to try
- Add a second astrolabe in exploded view beside the assembled one, showing the separate plates
- Swap the mariner's astrolabe for a nocturnal — a pointer and a central hole on a slotted disc
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": "Mariner's Astrolabe Vintage Instrument",
"prompt": "A vintage scientific illustration of a mariner's astrolabe in three-quarter view, the brass disc with a graduated outer ring, a central alidade sight vane, four star-shaped spokes connecting to a heavy outer rim, engraved tick marks around the rim, a suspended ring at the top for hanging, thin even black ink linework on aged cream paper with a faint sepia wash on the brass, fine hatching for the metal's patina, blank areas where engraved degree numerals would be, no text, no letters, no numerals",
"negative_prompt": "color, photorealistic, 3d, modern, glossy, text, watermark, numerals, modern font, bright lighting",
"model": "Stable Diffusion",
"model_version": "SDXL 1.0",
"settings": {
"aspect_ratio": "1:1",
"steps": 32,
"cfg": 7,
"sampler": "DPM++ 2M Karras"
},
"style_tags": [
"line-art",
"vintage"
],
"use_case_tags": [
"wall-art",
"illustration"
],
"source_url": "https://promptkoi.com/prompts/stable-diffusion/mariners-astrolabe-vintage-instrument/"
}The whole library is available as an open JSON dataset · developer docs.
