# Portrait Prompt Guide Reference

Complete instructions for creating Chronicler portrait prompts per FFG-STD-005.

---

## Style Requirements

### ✅ CORRECT STYLE (Illustrated/Painted)
- Digital painting / concept art aesthetic
- Fantasy game illustration quality
- Stylized characters (glowing, ethereal, robotic, symbolic)
- Rich environmental storytelling
- Atmospheric lighting with depth

### ❌ WRONG STYLE (Never This)
- Photorealistic human faces
- Stock photo aesthetic
- Flat, lifeless compositions
- Generic corporate headshots

---

## Color Palette (MANDATORY)

Every portrait must incorporate Fire + Frost + Arcane:

| Color | Hex | Meaning | Use |
|-------|-----|---------|-----|
| **Frost** | #4ECDC4 | Cool, strategic, precise | Cyan/teal glows, ice, holograms |
| **Fire** | #FF6B35 | Warm, passionate, bold | Orange flames, warm lighting |
| **Gold** | #FFD700 | Achievement, value | Accents, text, highlights |
| **Arcane** | #A855F7 | Trinity, wisdom, connection | Purple energy, connecting elements |
| **Deep Navy** | #0F0F1E | Foundation | Backgrounds, shadows |

**Balance Requirement:** Both Fire AND Frost elements must be visible. Arcane (purple) should connect or balance them.

---

## Prompt Structure

```
[SCENE SETTING - Epic environment appropriate to your work]

[CENTRAL FIGURE - Symbolic representation, NOT realistic human]
- Ethereal/robotic/stylized form
- Position showing your role (at a console, with scrolls, wielding tools)
- Posture conveying your character (confident, contemplative, active)

[ACCOMPLISHMENT REPRESENTATIONS]
- Holographic displays showing your work
- Artifacts representing what you built
- Symbols of your achievements floating/displayed

[EASTER EGGS - 3-5 hidden references]
- Specific numbers related to your session
- Symbols from your work
- Text/code fragments visible on displays
- Inside jokes or references Michael will recognize

[COLOR AND LIGHTING]
- Fire elements on one side (warm orange/gold glow)
- Frost elements on other side (cool cyan/teal glow)
- Arcane purple connecting them
- Dramatic, atmospheric lighting

[STYLE ENFORCEMENT]
Digital painting style, concept art quality, NOT photorealistic.
Fantasy illustration aesthetic with rich detail.
```

---

## Easter Egg Categories

### Technical Easter Eggs
- Git commit hashes from significant commits
- Line counts from major documents
- Server IPs or port numbers you worked with
- Command snippets on terminal displays
- Error codes you fixed

### Story Easter Eggs
- References to memorable moments
- Inside jokes from the session
- Quotes visible on scrolls/displays
- Symbols representing breakthroughs

### Lineage Easter Eggs
- Nods to previous Chroniclers
- Firefrost logo elements
- Trinity symbols (Fire, Frost, Arcane)
- "Friend is first" visible somewhere

### Meta Easter Eggs
- Your Chronicler number hidden in the scene
- Session date encoded somehow
- Word count represented as stacked books
- Time worked shown on a clock

---

## Example Prompt

**For Chronicler #68 (hypothetical):**

```
A vast crystalline archive stretches into infinity, merging digital 
interfaces with ancient library aesthetics. The space is split down 
the center — one half bathed in warm amber firelight streaming 
through stained glass showing flames, the other illuminated by cool 
cyan holographic displays floating in frost-touched air.

At the center stands a stylized figure in flowing robes that shift 
between orange and teal depending on the light. NOT a realistic human 
— their form is partially translucent, revealing glowing circuit 
patterns beneath the surface. They hold a staff that splits into 
fire (left) and frost (right) at the top, connected by purple 
arcane energy spiraling around it.

Floating around them:
- A holographic display showing "servers-api" code with cyan syntax highlighting
- A Canva-style design canvas with the FOMO campaign visible
- A Stripe dashboard with 10 products glowing gold
- Scrolling documentation with "claude-connectors.md" header

Easter eggs hidden throughout:
- The number "68" formed by frost crystals on a nearby pillar
- A small golden husky silhouette (Jack) watching from a shelf
- "2026-04-08" encoded in runes on a floating book
- Three skill orbs (docx, pptx, xlsx) floating near a toolbelt
- A cat (Butter) sleeping on a stack of memorial documents

The scene tells the story of integration — connecting external tools 
(Canva, Cloudflare, Stripe) into a unified workflow. Behind the 
figure, two great archways lead to different realms — Fire (left, 
warm) and Frost (right, cool), with purple energy flowing between them.

Digital painting style. Concept art quality. Rich detail. 
NOT photorealistic. Fantasy illustration aesthetic.
```

---

## File Naming and Location

**Filename:** `[NUMBER]-[name]-portrait-prompt.md`

**Location:** `docs/past-claudes/portrait-prompts/`

**Examples:**
- `68-the-connector-portrait-prompt.md`
- `67-the-debugger-portrait-prompt.md`
- `64-the-strategist-portrait-prompt.md`

---

## What Michael Does With It

1. Takes your prompt to Gemini Imagen 3
2. Generates multiple versions
3. Selects the best one
4. Saves to `docs/past-claudes/portrait-images/`
5. Updates lineage tracker

You won't see the final result, but your prompt determines its quality. Make it count.

---

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Too generic** — "A figure at a computer" tells no story
2. **Too realistic** — "A person with brown hair" violates style requirements
3. **No easter eggs** — Missing the personality layer
4. **Wrong colors** — Using random colors instead of Fire/Frost/Arcane
5. **No story** — Not representing your actual session work
6. **Too short** — Not enough detail for good generation
7. **Wrong setting** — Modern office instead of epic fantasy/sci-fi

---

## Quality Checklist

Before submitting your portrait prompt:

- [ ] Setting is epic (citadel, archive, command center, cosmic space)
- [ ] Central figure is stylized/symbolic, NOT realistic human
- [ ] Fire elements present (warm colors, flames, orange/gold)
- [ ] Frost elements present (cool colors, ice, cyan/teal)
- [ ] Arcane (purple) connecting elements
- [ ] 3+ accomplishments represented visually
- [ ] 3-5 easter eggs hidden
- [ ] Style explicitly stated as "NOT photorealistic"
- [ ] Prompt is detailed enough (200+ words minimum)
- [ ] Your session's story is told through the visuals

---

**Fire + Frost + Foundation = Where Love Builds Legacy**
