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Make a start
One step at a time.
3 steps
Start with the synthetic worked example or other non-sensitive inputs. Run one prompt at a time in your chosen AI tool. Replace any bracketed placeholders with the requested material, check each reply, and supply the source or earlier outputs that step needs. Paste them again if the tool lacks that context.
Start with the synthetic example, then adapt each prompt to your task.
01
Open a text assistant and try the example
For a concrete starter route, open https://chatgpt.com and choose New chat. Sign in if that service requires it for your access. You can also use another text assistant you already have. Copy the entire prompt below (the instructions to paste), including the sample input, into its message box and send it. No upload or image generation is needed. Expect piece sizes, layout instructions and a five-step layering order. The wording may differ from the example; the constraints should not. If it only explains the task, ask it to produce the finished result using the supplied input.
Your starting prompt
Create a complete text plan for one flat paper collage. Use only the listed materials. Specify composition, which pieces to use, layering order and a dry-layout check before glue. “Dry layout” means arranging without attaching anything. Do not claim the collage has been made.
Use this complete made-up practice input:
Theme: A small house under a large evening sky.
Base: One A5 cream card, portrait orientation.
Scraps: One dark-blue rectangle 10 by 14 cm; one pale-yellow rectangle 4 by 5 cm; one rust rectangle 5 by 6 cm; one green strip 3 by 14 cm; one white scrap large enough for a 2 cm circle.
Tools: Scissors, pencil, glue stick. Adult hobby use. No blades, wet paint, frame or purchases.
Composition: Sky occupies upper two-thirds; house sits low and slightly left of center; white circle is a moon high on the right. Keep a cream border visible.
Limit: Use each color for one role only: blue sky, yellow house wall, rust roof, green ground, white moon.
Deliverable: A written making plan, not a printable template.
Return the finished result. Keep it fictional and do not add claims about real people, products or events.
02
Check, correct and save
Read the response beside the original input. Match each color to exactly one supplied role. Check every proposed piece fits inside its source scrap. Confirm the dry layout happens before glue and the cream border stays visible. If a check fails, paste the correction prompt below in the same conversation. Check the revised result yourself, then copy the version you want into your own notes or document.
Your starting prompt
Check your previous result against this original input:
Theme: A small house under a large evening sky.
Base: One A5 cream card, portrait orientation.
Scraps: One dark-blue rectangle 10 by 14 cm; one pale-yellow rectangle 4 by 5 cm; one rust rectangle 5 by 6 cm; one green strip 3 by 14 cm; one white scrap large enough for a 2 cm circle.
Tools: Scissors, pencil, glue stick. Adult hobby use. No blades, wet paint, frame or purchases.
Composition: Sky occupies upper two-thirds; house sits low and slightly left of center; white circle is a moon high on the right. Keep a cream border visible.
Limit: Use each color for one role only: blue sky, yellow house wall, rust roof, green ground, white moon.
Deliverable: A written making plan, not a printable template.
Check these requirements one by one:
- Match each color to exactly one supplied role.
- Check every proposed piece fits inside its source scrap.
- Confirm the dry layout happens before glue and the cream border stays visible.
Quote each problem, explain the smallest repair, and return a complete corrected version. If there is no problem, say which checks you applied. Do not claim that your own review proves quality or audience response.
03
Optional: use your own material
Open a new chat. Copy the prompt below and replace [PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE] with backing size, paper dimensions, allowed tools, design idea and exclusions. Use material you own or may use and leave out private details. The output limits written in this prompt stay in force; change a limit here too if you want a different one. Send the whole message. Expect the same kind of written result with your new material. Check it against this new input and these limits, not the sample’s names or numbers. If it differs, describe the exact mismatch and ask for a complete correction before saving.
Your starting prompt
Plan one flat paper collage using only my materials below. Specify composition, piece sizes, which pieces supply them, layering order and a dry layout before glue. Dry layout means arranging without attaching. Check that every planned piece fits its source material; flag any shortage. Do not claim the collage is made.
If an essential detail is missing or two requirements conflict, ask me before filling the gap.
MY INPUT
[PASTE YOUR INPUT HERE]
Optional: improve the result
Change balance without adding materials
Try a second arrangement while all pieces are still loose. Keep the first version so you can compare the change. This extension uses the worked example. Return to that example chat, or paste its input and your checked example answer into a new chat first. Do not apply its sample values unchanged to your own input.
Advanced prompt
Propose one alternate dry layout moving the house right and the moon left. Keep piece sizes, color roles and the cream border. Explain how to compare the empty sky space between the two layouts before gluing.
Use the original input and result in this conversation. If either is missing, ask me to paste it before continuing.
Show, then try
See the shape of the result.
This input is synthetic. The output is a written illustration of the intended result, not a verified AI-tool run.
01 / The starting point
Synthetic input
Made-up example for practice. All people, places and events are invented.
Theme: A small house under a large evening sky.
Base: One A5 cream card, portrait orientation.
Scraps: One dark-blue rectangle 10 by 14 cm; one pale-yellow rectangle 4 by 5 cm; one rust rectangle 5 by 6 cm; one green strip 3 by 14 cm; one white scrap large enough for a 2 cm circle.
Tools: Scissors, pencil, glue stick. Adult hobby use. No blades, wet paint, frame or purchases.
Composition: Sky occupies upper two-thirds; house sits low and slightly left of center; white circle is a moon high on the right. Keep a cream border visible.
Limit: Use each color for one role only: blue sky, yellow house wall, rust roof, green ground, white moon.
Deliverable: A written making plan, not a printable template.
Copies text only. For image or file tasks, use the source files named in the steps too.
Worked example written for this guide; it is not a recording of an AI run.
Composition:
Keep the A5 cream card upright. Place the blue rectangle in the upper area, leaving cream visible around it. Use the green strip across the lower part, trimmed to the same 10 cm width as the sky. The small yellow house sits low and slightly left of center, with a rust roof above it. Place a white moon high on the right.
Pieces:
- Blue: use the 10-by-14 cm rectangle as the sky.
- Green: trim the 3-by-14 cm strip to 3 by 10 cm for the ground.
- Yellow: cut a 3-by-4 cm wall from the 4-by-5 cm scrap.
- Rust: cut a triangular roof about 4 cm wide and 2 cm high from the 5-by-6 cm scrap.
- White: cut one circle about 2 cm across for the moon.
Save offcuts; no other shapes are required.
Dry layout:
Arrange everything without glue. Let the ground overlap the bottom of the sky slightly; place the wall partly over the ground and the roof over the wall's upper edge. Check the house remains smaller than the sky and the moon has open blue space around it. Adjust until the cream border remains visible on all sides.
Attach in order:
1. Blue sky.
2. Green ground.
3. Yellow wall.
4. Rust roof.
5. White moon.
Use the glue stick as its label directs and let the paper settle flat. Review the real result for lifted corners and unwanted gaps; this guide supplies only the plan.
These checks use the worked example and its particular facts. With your own material, check your actual names, numbers, sources and rules; do not reuse the sample’s values as the answer.
Unsaved checks stay in this tab and reset when you reload. If you choose Save guide, its current example checkmarks are kept in this browser when storage is available.
!
A few things to watch for.
Gluing the focal object first can make background placement awkward. Arrange all layers before attaching them.
Paper measurements do not guarantee a pleasing composition. Review the actual dry layout before committing.