The Surreal Sgraffito Vision prompt, shared by @LudovicCreator on X on October 9, 2026, is a fill-in template for etched-texture art: you name a subject and two colors, and the fixed wording asks for dreamlike shapes scratched out of layered surfaces. The author’s examples run in Midjourney.
On this page
The prompt, as shared on X
The post, shared by @LudovicCreator on X under the heading “Surreal Sgraffito Vision”, gives the template in full:
[SUBJECT] into a Surreal Sgraffito Vision, where dreamlike elements emerge from unexpected layers of etched texture. The experimental combination of [COLOR1] and [COLOR2] deepens the enigmatic narrative
The post ends with “Check ALTS” and carries four example images. Three of them have the filled-in prompt as alt text, each ending in --ar 3:2 --v 8.2:
| Subject in the author’s alt text | Color pair |
|---|---|
| A floating human figure dissolving into birds | ochre and deep teal |
| A staircase spiraling into clouds | charcoal and amber |
| An eye opening within a flower | deep green and crimson |
Open the post to see the images; we link the original rather than copy them. The results described here are the author’s; we have not run the prompt.
Why two colors fit the technique
Sgraffito is a real craft technique, not an invented style word. Wikipedia’s entry describes it as scratching through a coating on a hard surface “to reveal parts of an underlying layer contrasted in colour”, done with tinted plaster on walls or with layers of slip or glaze on pottery. The name comes from the Italian graffiare, “to scratch”.
That is why the two color slots matter more than they look. One color reads as the top coat and the other as the layer that shows through the scratches, so a high-contrast pair gives the etched lines something to reveal. The author’s pairs all follow that pattern: a dark or earthy tone set against a brighter one.
The Midjourney endings
The parameters on the author’s alt texts are Midjourney syntax:
--ar 3:2sets the aspect ratio. Midjourney’s aspect ratio docs say images start square (1:1 by default) and that the ratio takes whole numbers only.--v 8.2picks the model version, as described on Midjourney’s Version page.
Our Midjourney parameters cheat sheet lists the defaults and ranges for both.
How to adapt it
- Write the subject as a scene. The author’s subjects are short scenes with an action (“a staircase spiraling into clouds”), not single nouns, and the template’s “into a” reads naturally after them.
- Pick contrasting colors. Name a dark base and a bright reveal, such as “charcoal and amber”, rather than two similar shades.
- Change the frame. Swap
--ar 3:2for--ar 2:3for a tall poster or--ar 16:9for a banner; the first number is the width. - Outside Midjourney, drop the parameters. In a chat-based image tool, delete the
--arand--vendings and ask for the shape in plain words. - Keep it to objects, places and figures you invent. Our hard rules apply to every template on this site: no real, identifiable people.
The same slot idea, a fixed style sentence with a subject and two colors left open, runs through our café flatlay prompt; the image prompts guide covers how to write the subject part well.
