Methodology
How a follow list becomes a portrait.
Constellate reads a person's public X following list as one document, then compresses it into a single image. It is closer to a Polaroid than a verdict — fast, lossy, and recognizably of its subject.
1 · Capture
We read the most recent ~200 accounts a subject follows on X (public API · no private data). Each followed account is fingerprinted by its bio, anchor company (if any), declared role, and inferred cultural cluster. We do not store the subject's tweets, DMs, likes, or private network.
2 · Tag · 13 dimensions
Each followed account contributes a vote across 13 dimensions: AI/ML, Builder/Indie, Crypto, Engineer, Exec, Researcher, Writer/Media, plus six cultural axes (CJK / EN / LATAM / EU / SEA / MENA). The dominant tag determines the subject's primary archetype, but the second-place tag and the cultural bridge often matter more — that's where individual signal lives.
3 · Archetype · 11 visual languages
The tag distribution and cultural motifs map to one of 11 visual archetypes. Each has its own vocabulary of composition, palette, and figure pose:
- · nyt_editorial
- · bloomberg_exec
- · guocháo_ink
- · ukiyo_ai
- · terminal_phosphor
- · wabi_indigo
- · solarpunk_field
- · bauhaus_grid
- · risograph_atelier
- · cyberpunk_neon
- · wireframe_blueprint
An exec-leaning AI subject with CJK motifs lands on bloomberg_exec. A builder/indie subject with Japanese cultural signal lands on ukiyo_ai. The mapping is deterministic — same input, same archetype.
4 · Reify · the bio gets read
Beyond statistics, the subject's own X bio is parsed for concrete objects, hobbies, animals, jobs. A bio that mentions cooking earns a chef's hat. A bio that mentions sheep gets a sheep in the scene. This is the difference between a generic archetype and a recognizable individual — and it's the part that most generic AI portrait products skip.
5 · Render
The composed prompt — archetype + composition + bio reify + anchor companies as orbital satellites — is rendered as a single 2048×1152 image. Generation is offline; nothing about generation happens in your browser.
What we don't promise
- It is not a verdict. A captured snapshot of one moment's following set is not a ranking, a personality test, or a permanent identity.
- It is not exhaustive. The 200-account window is a sample. A subject who follows 10,000 accounts is summarized by the most recent 200; the older 9,800 may tell a different story.
- It is not self-serve. Constellate is hand-curated by the author. There is no upload form and no "make mine" button. Subjects enter the collection because the author already followed them or because they wrote in.
- It is not anonymous data harvesting. Every portrait uses only public information already visible on x.com. Subjects can opt out at any time; the portrait and its analysis JSON are removed within 24 hours.
Why it exists
Most AI image products take a photo of you and stylize it. Constellate starts from who you follow — the people who shape what you read, who you argue with, who you envy. That is a stranger, more honest input, and the resulting image looks less like a flattering filter and more like a small piece of evidence.
It is also a slow product. One portrait per subject takes minutes, not seconds; the archetype catalog is curated, not generated; the author reads every output before it lands here. The point is not scale.