Creator Resources
Creator Prompt Guide
Last updated: 2/21/2026
1. How templates work
When a user picks your template, MDPoster feeds your prompt — combined with the user’s profile data — to an AI image model. The model generates a unique, personalised poster every time. Your prompt is the creative blueprint: the better it is, the better the result.
Think of your prompt as a detailed brief to an artist. You describe the scene, style, mood, lighting, composition, and how the subject should appear. The AI interprets your instructions and produces the image.
2. Template modes
Every template operates in one of two modes. Choose the one that best fits your creative idea.
Profile-based templates
The user selects a profile (a saved person or pet with a name, age, gender, and photos). MDPoster replaces placeholders in your prompt with the profile data and uses the profile photo as a face reference. This is the most common mode.
Best for: personalised portraits, sports posters, fantasy scenes, themed portraits.
Image-based templates
The user uploads a single image instead of choosing a profile. No profile placeholders are available. Use this when your design transforms or stylises an uploaded photo rather than placing a person into a scene.
Best for: artistic filters, photo-to-illustration conversions, abstract transformations.
3. Profile types
When creating a profile-based template, you choose which profile types it supports.
Human profiles
Profiles with a name, age, and gender. Face swap is available for
human profiles — the AI preserves the person’s identity.
Placeholders: {name},
{age},
{gender}.
Pet profiles
Profiles for dogs, cats, and other animals. No face swap is applied
for pet profiles. Placeholders: {name},
{animal_type}.
4. Writing great prompts
A good prompt produces consistent, high-quality results across different users and profiles. Here’s what makes a great prompt:
Structure your prompt
Start with the subject, then describe the scene, then the style and technical details:
Good prompt structure:
"A {age}-year-old {gender} as a [role/character] [doing what] in [where/setting]. [Describe clothing, expression, pose]. [Describe environment, lighting, atmosphere]. [Photography/art style reference]."
Be specific
- Describe exactly what the subject wears, their pose, and expression.
- Set the scene: time of day, weather, colours, environment details.
- Reference a photography or art style: "cinematic", "editorial", "fine-art sports photography", "anime-style illustration".
Avoid vague language
Avoid
"A person in a cool setting doing something awesome"
Better
"A {age}-year-old {gender} as a jazz pianist performing under a warm amber spotlight in a smoky underground club, fingers dancing across ivory keys"
5. Placeholders reference
Placeholders are replaced with the user’s actual profile data when the poster is generated. Use them to personalise your prompt.
| Placeholder | Replaced with | Available in |
|---|---|---|
{name} | User’s name (e.g., "Alex") | Human & Pet |
{age} | Age (e.g., "25") | Human |
{gender} | Gender (e.g., "male", "female") | Human |
{animal_type} | Animal type (e.g., "golden retriever") | Pet |
{profile_glasses_prompt} | Auto-injected instruction to preserve eyeglasses (if the profile has glasses) | Human |
Unfilled placeholders are automatically removed from the final prompt.
This means you can include optional placeholders without worrying about
leftover text.
6. Negative prompts
A negative prompt tells the AI what to avoid. It helps eliminate
common artefacts and unwanted elements.
Recommended defaults
Start with these and add template-specific terms as needed:
blurry, low quality, distorted face, extra limbs, deformed hands,
watermark, text overlay, bad anatomy, extra fingers
Common additions
- Period pieces: add "modern elements, anachronistic
objects"
- Sports action: add "unnatural pose, stiff posture,
missing limbs"
- Portraits: add "crossed eyes, unnatural skin"
- Food scenes: add "unappetizing food, unnatural colours"
7. Face swap best practices
When face swap is enabled for your template, MDPoster replaces the
generated face with the user’s actual face photo. For face swap to
work well, the face must be clearly visible in the generated image.
Important
If your template concept renders the subject as a silhouette, from
behind, with the face hidden, or in a highly abstract art style (pixel
art, geometric shapes, stencil art), you should disable face swap for that template. Face swap on an invisible or abstract face will produce
poor results.
Do
-
Describe the subject facing the camera or in three-quarter
view.
-
Include descriptive terms like "looking at the camera", "facing the
viewer", "confident expression".
-
Ensure good lighting on the face — "well-lit features", "soft
studio lighting on the face".
-
For action poses, make sure the face is still visible — not
blocked by arms, equipment, or motion blur.
Avoid (with face swap on)
- "Silhouette", "shadow figure", "back turned to camera"
- "Walking away", "not looking back"
- "Face obscured by mask/helmet/visor" (unless intentional)
- Extreme artistic abstraction of the face
When to disable face swap
Disable face swap in the template settings when:
- The template is a silhouette or double-exposure concept
-
The art style is pixel art, geometric, stencil, or heavy abstraction
- The subject is shown from behind as a core part of the concept
-
The template is image-based (transforms an uploaded photo rather than
placing someone into a scene)
8. Name rendering & typography
You can configure whether the user’s name appears on the poster and
how it’s rendered.
Name mode
- Optional — The user decides whether to include their
name. Good default for most templates.
- Required — The name is always shown. Use for templates
where the name is integral (sports jerseys, award certificates, magazine covers).
- Hidden — The name is never shown. Use for artistic
templates where text would be distracting.
Name rendering instructions
If your template shows the name, add a
name rendering instruction describing exactly how and where
the name should appear. Examples:
Sports jersey:
"Display the name across the back of the jersey in bold block letters
matching the team font"
Magazine cover:
"Show the name as the cover headline in elegant serif typography at
the bottom of the frame"
Trophy/award:
"Engrave the name on the trophy plaque in classic gold serif
lettering"
9. Custom fields & conditional blocks
Custom fields let you add extra user inputs beyond the standard profile
data. When you define a custom field, users see an input when generating a
poster.
Using custom fields
Define a custom field key (e.g., team_name) in your template settings, then use {team_name}
in your prompt. The user fills in the value when generating.
Conditional blocks
Wrap sections of your prompt in conditional tags to include them only when
a field has a value:
[IF_TEAM_NAME]Wearing a jersey with "{team_name}" printed on the
back.[/IF_TEAM_NAME]
If the user does not provide a team name, the entire block is removed from
the prompt.
10. Pro tips
- Test with different profiles. Try your template with male
and female profiles, different ages, and different photo styles to make sure
it works broadly.
- Add a great cover image. Your cover image is the first thing
users see. Generate a few versions and pick the best one for your template
thumbnail.
- Use photography references. Mentioning a specific photography
style (e.g., "editorial fashion photography", "sports photojournalism") gives
the AI a clear creative direction.
- Keep negatives focused. A long negative prompt can confuse
the model. Stick to the most important things to avoid.
- Consider the aspect ratio. Think about how your scene fills
a 3:4 poster frame. Vertical compositions generally work best.
- Read the
Creator Terms. Make sure your templates comply with content guidelines. Templates with
offensive, sensitive, or copyright-infringing content will be rejected.