Turn my photo into a graphite pencil portrait
Your photo redrawn as a realistic hand-drawn graphite portrait on textured paper. Upload a clear photo, paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini or Grok, change the parts in brackets to suit you, and generate.
- Written for
- ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok
- You'll need
- A clear photo to upload
- Status
- Tested 28 Sep 2026 in Gemini app (web), Flash mode with built-in image generation
- Test settings
- Reference photo: an AI-generated picture of a fictional woman (not a real person), made in Gemini for this test. Uploaded with the default copy text unchanged in a new Gemini chat. First result used; only converted to WebP.
- Variability
- Faces, poses and small details vary between runs; always compare the result with your own photo. Gemini adds a small sparkle watermark in the corner.
Prompt
Use the uploaded photo as the reference for the person. Preserve their recognisable face, natural skin tone, hairline and body proportions as closely as the model permits; check the result against the reference. Keep eye shape, nose, smile and hair parting exact. Subject: head-and-shoulders from the uploaded photo, same expression. Technique: graphite pencils from 2H to 8B, fine hatching and cross-hatching, smudged soft shadows, crisp highlights lifted with an eraser, individual hair strands in the fringe. Background: plain paper with a light vignette of shading. Paper: off-white cold-press drawing paper with visible tooth, a few loose construction lines left at the edges. Style: realistic academic portrait drawing, highly finished face with looser sketchy clothing. Format: vertical 3:4 Avoid: colour, digital smoothness, changed facial features, plastic skin, extra ears or fingers, signatures, text, watermarks.
Customise
For example: plain paper with a light vignette of shading.
For example: highly finished face with looser sketchy clothing.
Fields start with illustrative values; replace them with your own facts. The prompt updates as you type. Copy prompt copies your version.
How to use it
- Open an external image tool listed above. The tested model, if any, is named in Status.
- Upload a clear reference photo of the subject. If it includes identifiable people, get their consent and check each face.
- Customise the fields, copy your version, paste it with the photo and generate.
- Compare the result with the reference. If a face, pose or detail changes, ask for one correction or try again; an exact match is not guaranteed.
How to use this prompt
- This prompt changes your own photo. Choose a clear reference photo, and get permission from people who can be identified.
- Upload the photo in the external AI app you chose. Fill Customise, press Copy prompt and paste the prompt with the photo.
- Compare the new picture with the original. Face, hands, clothes and pose can change. An exact likeness is not guaranteed.
Good to know
- Likeness may soften in the eyes and mouth; regenerate or crop the photo closer to the face for better detail.
- Use reference photos you have the right to use; get consent from identifiable people.
