About Prompt
- Prompt Type – Dynamic
- Prompt Platform – ChatGPT, Grok, Deepseek, Gemini, Copilot, Midjourney, Meta AI and more
- Niche – Urban Warfare
- Language – English
- Category – Environmental FX
- Prompt Title – Destroyed City Aftermath VFX Prompt
Prompt Details
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### **Optimized Dynamic AI Prompt for Destroyed City Aftermath (Environmental FX)**
This template is designed to be a modular and comprehensive tool. Fill in the bracketed `[variables]` with your specific details. The more descriptive and specific you are, the more detailed and accurate the AI’s output will be.
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#### **Part 1: The Core Structure**
This is the main body of your prompt. Combine the elements into a single paragraph, separating concepts with commas.
**(Core Scene Description), (Destruction Details), (Environmental FX), (Atmosphere & Lighting), (Composition & Camera), (Style & Fidelity)**
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#### **Part 2: The Dynamic Template – Variable Breakdown**
Use the following sections to build the components of your core prompt.
**[1. Core Concept & Subject]**
* **Objective:** Define the primary subject and the overarching story of the scene. What happened here?
* **Template:** A cinematic environmental shot of `[Scene Type]` in a `[City Adjective]` city, `[Timeframe After Conflict]`. The scene focuses on `[Primary Focal Point]`.
* **Examples:**
* `[Scene Type]`: a desolate main street, a shattered city square, the skeletal remains of a financial district, a ruined residential neighborhood.
* `[City Adjective]`: modern metropolis, historical European, brutalist Soviet-era, dense Middle Eastern.
* `[Timeframe After Conflict]`: moments after an artillery barrage, days after a fierce street-to-street battle, weeks after the final evacuation.
* `[Primary Focal Point]`: a collapsed bridge over a dry riverbed, the smoldering husk of a government building, a street littered with abandoned military vehicles.
**[2. Destruction Specifics & Details]**
* **Objective:** Populate the scene with specific, tangible details of destruction. This is crucial for realism.
* **Template:** The environment is characterized by `[Detail 1]`, `[Detail 2]`, `[Detail 3]`, and `[Detail 4]`.
* **Examples (mix and match):**
* `[Detail 1]`: skeletal husks of skyscrapers with exposed rebar and shattered glass facades.
* `[Detail 2]`: piles of concrete rubble, brick dust, and twisted metal covering the streets.
* `[Detail 3]`: massive impact craters from aerial bombardment, some filled with murky water.
* `[Detail 4]`: overturned and burnt-out civilian cars, tanks, and armored personnel carriers.
* `[Detail 5]`: downed power lines sparking intermittently, collapsed highway overpasses, facades of buildings pockmarked by shrapnel and bullet holes.
* `[Detail 6]`: fluttering propaganda leaflets or newspapers scattered by the wind.
**[3. Key Environmental FX (VFX)]**
* **Objective:** This is the core of the “Environmental FX” purpose. Describe the active, moving, or atmospheric elements.
* **Template:** Prominent visual effects include `[VFX Element 1]`, `[VFX Element 2]`, and `[VFX Element 3]`.
* **Examples:**
* `[VFX Element 1]`: thick, acrid black smoke billowing from distant fires, drifting slowly across the skyline.
* `[VFX Element 2]`: a dense haze of dust and particulates hanging in the air, catching the light.
* `[VFX Element 3]`: glowing embers and sparks carried on the wind from smoldering ruins.
* `[VFX Element 4]`: a light, somber rain falling, creating reflections on wet asphalt and debris.
* `[VFX Element 5]`: particle effects of falling ash, like a morbid snowfall.
**[4. Atmosphere, Lighting, & Color Palette]**
* **Objective:** Define the mood and visual tone through light and color.
* **Template:** The lighting is `[Lighting Description]`, creating `[Light Effect]` and a `[Mood]`. The color palette is dominated by `[Primary Colors]` with accents of `[Accent Colors]`.
* **Examples:**
* `[Lighting Description]`: bleak, overcast midday light; the harsh, low angle of a post-apocalyptic sunset; the eerie glow of fires and emergency lights at night.
* `[Light Effect]`: dramatic god rays piercing through the thick smoke, long, deep shadows, volumetric lighting making the dust visible.
* `[Mood]`: somber and desolate, tense and chaotic, eerie and silent.
* `[Primary Colors]`: desaturated grays, muted browns, and charcoal blacks.
* `[Accent Colors]`: fiery oranges, sickly yellows from chemical fires, or the cold blue of twilight.
**[5. Composition, Camera, & Framing]**
* **Objective:** Direct the AI’s “virtual camera” to frame the scene effectively.
* **Template:** `[Shot Type]` from a `[Camera Angle]`, using a `[Lens Type]`. The composition follows the `[Compositional Rule]` to emphasize the `[Emphasis Subject]`.
* **Examples:**
* `[Shot Type]`: ultra-wide panoramic shot, establishing shot, street-level view, aerial drone shot.
* `[Camera Angle]`: low-angle shot making the ruins seem imposing, high-angle shot showing the scale of devastation.
* `[Lens Type]`: wide-angle lens to capture the expansive scene, telephoto lens to compress the background.
* `[Compositional Rule]`: rule of thirds, leading lines (using a ruined street), strong foreground element.
* `[Emphasis Subject]`: the sheer scale of the destruction, a single point of interest like a fallen statue.
**[6. Style, Fidelity, & Rendering Engine]**
* **Objective:** Specify the artistic style and the desired level of quality.
* **Template:** The desired style is `[Art Style]`, with `[Detail Level]`. Rendered as if from `[Rendering Engine/Artist Style]`.
* **Examples:**
* `[Art Style]`: hyperrealistic, photorealistic, cinematic matte painting, gritty concept art.
* `[Detail Level]`: 8K resolution, incredibly detailed, sharp focus, intricate textures, atmospheric depth.
* `[Rendering Engine/Artist Style]`: Unreal Engine 5, Octane Render, V-Ray, style of Neil Blomkamp, style of Denis Villeneuve.
**[7. Negative Prompts (Optional but Recommended)]**
* **Objective:** Tell the AI what to *avoid* to prevent common mistakes and unwanted elements.
* **Template:** –no `[Exclusion 1]`, `[Exclusion 2]`, `[Exclusion 3]`
* **Examples:**
* `[Exclusion 1]`: people, soldiers, civilians, characters.
* `[Exclusion 2]`: clean areas, undamaged buildings, pristine nature, lush green foliage.
* `[Exclusion 3]`: cartoon, anime, painting, watermark, text, signature.
***
### **Example Prompt in Practice**
Here is a complete, high-quality prompt generated using the dynamic template above.
**[PROMPT START]**
**A cinematic environmental shot of a desolate main street in a modern metropolis, hours after a fierce street-to-street battle. The scene focuses on a destroyed M1 Abrams tank, slewed at an angle in the middle of the road. The environment is characterized by skeletal husks of skyscrapers with exposed rebar, piles of concrete rubble and twisted metal covering the streets, and overturned, burnt-out civilian cars. Prominent visual effects include thick, acrid black smoke billowing from a distant office building, a dense haze of dust hanging in the air, and particle effects of falling ash like a morbid snowfall. The lighting is the harsh, low angle of a post-apocalyptic “golden hour” sunset, creating dramatic god rays that pierce through the thick smoke and cast long, deep shadows, creating a somber and desolate mood. The color palette is dominated by desaturated grays and charcoal blacks, with accents of fiery oranges and deep reds from the sunset and smoldering fires. An ultra-wide, street-level, low-angle shot, using a wide-angle lens to capture the expansive scene. The composition uses the ruined street as leading lines to emphasize the sheer scale of the destruction. The desired style is gritty photorealism, incredibly detailed with intricate textures and atmospheric depth, rendered as if from Unreal Engine 5.**
**–no people, soldiers, characters, clean areas, undamaged buildings, lush foliage, bright colors, cartoon, watermark, text**
**[PROMPT END]**