The props master on a western
The shoot takes place in a rebuilt frontier town. The props master prints the poster in several sizes, ages it and nails it to the saloon front and the sheriff's door.
Make a western wanted poster with AI
Your actor's portrait as an engraving on a western WANTED poster, then as an old photo on a French 1900s notice. Same face, exact text. Workflow visible here, no account needed.
Real workflow: a portrait of a clean-shaven man in a navy jumper against a grey wall, then the same face engraved on a yellowed "WANTED" poster nailed to wood, and as a black and white photo on an "AVIS DE RECHERCHE" pasted on a stone wall.
At a glance
- You provide
- 1 photo · a text or a brief
- What the workflow produces
- 2 images in 3:4
- Canvas structure
- 6 nodes wired by 4 connections
- Models wired in
- Nano Banana 2.1
- Cost of one full run
- about 14 credits, roughly $0.17
- Account
- The demo is visible without an account; generating requires a free account, trial credits included
The wanted poster is a western staple, and it turns up again in period films, crime stories and comedies. It has to carry the actor's face, not a stranger's, and props teams often build it from a set photo that never quite sits on the paper. This workflow starts from a portrait of YOUR actor and gives you two posters: an engraved western WANTED and a French notice from the 1900s.
The hard part is keeping the face when the style changes completely, and spelling every line right. The prompt asks for the same face, sets the portrait style and quotes each line. Nano Banana 2.1 starts from the photo and keeps the features, for seven credits a poster.
To age the character before the poster, see face aging; for more posters from the same world, the fictional world poster. Both posters cost fourteen credits.
Actual renders from the demo
These are the files of the workflow above, exactly as the models produced them, unretouched. The starting point is shown when there is one.
Starting point
Render
Who it is for
Props masters, production designers, western and period film directors, AI filmmakers.
Which files to provide
A front-facing, well-lit portrait of the actor, the style you want and the poster lines in quotes, with an invented character name.
How it works
- 1
Upload the actor's portrait
Facing the camera, shoulders in frame, soft light, plain background. The sharper the face, the closer the engraving and the old photo stay to it.
- 2
Choose the portrait style
Black and white engraving for a western, a period photograph for a 1900s notice, charcoal drawing for a graphic novel feel.
- 3
Write the poster lines
The heading at the top, the character's name, the reward at the bottom. An invented name, a sum that fits the period, every line in quotes.
- 4
Check the face and the text
The actor should be recognisable at a glance, and every line exact. Rerun if either one has slipped.
Variations and use cases
The same canvas, tuned for different needs: each variation is two or three lines of prompt away.
The period short film
A director is shooting a crime story set in 1900s Brittany. The notice for "the Lighthouse" is pasted on the gendarmerie wall, and the camera finds it in a pan at the start of the scene.
The AI filmmaker
He keeps the same character from shot to shot and wants a poster on a wall. He starts from the character's reference portrait, then animates the poster flapping in the wind in a video node.
The production designer's background dressing
On a 1900s street, the designer wants several different notices on one wall. Three extras sit for a portrait, three posters come out and go up side by side, half torn.
The film's own poster
For a western short, the team turns the wanted poster into the promo poster. The hero keeps the actor's face, and the reward line becomes the screening date.
The wrap party gift
The production office gives each actor a wanted poster in their character's name. Same prompt, each actor's portrait, and a row of posters for the wrap party.
Common mistakes
A side view or blurry portrait
The model works from the face you give it. In profile, in shadow or out of focus, the engraving looks like someone else. Use a sharp, front-facing portrait.
Leaving out "the same face"
Without it, the model may draw a stock cowboy with beard and hat, and the poster no longer serves the film. Spell it out.
Too much text
Real posters of the time carried a full description. On screen, four lines are enough, and every extra line is a chance for a typo.
A real person without consent
Putting a colleague's or a public figure's face on a wanted notice risks harming them. Consenting actor, invented name.
Recommended models
Nano Banana 2.1
Flux Kontext
GPT Image 2.5 SunburstFrequently asked questions
Does the face stay the same?
In the demo, yes: the man is recognisable as an engraving and as an old photo. On the French notice the model changed his clothes and darkened his hair to suit the period.
Is the text spelled right?
Yes in the demo: "WANTED", "DEAD OR ALIVE", "JACK MARLOW", "$ 5 000 REWARD", then the three lines of the French notice, accent included.
Can I use a real person's face?
Only an actor's or a friend's who has agreed to it, for an invented character. A fake wanted poster with a real person's face and real name can do them real harm.
How much do the two posters cost?
Fourteen credits, seven per render on Nano Banana 2.1. A third poster from the same portrait, as a charcoal drawing for instance, costs seven more.
Why Nano Banana 2.1?
Because it reads the photo you give it and keeps the face while changing the style, and it spells the poster lines correctly. A model starting from a blank page would invent a different man.
Why "$ 5 000" with a space?
That's the text in the prompt, copied as is. For American style write "$5,000"; for an old western, "$500" is more typical than thousands.
What size for printing?
3:4 portrait, 896 x 1200 pixels. For an A3 poster on a set, run it through the Enhance node first; see upscaling for print.
Can I add a beard or scars?
Yes: run the portrait through the beard try-on first, or ask for "a scar on the left cheek" in the prompt, then make the poster.
Make a western wanted poster with AI
Use this workflowFree account, no card required. The workflow opens pre-filled in your canvas.