article-illustrator

# Smart Article Illustration Skill

Analyze article structure and content, identify positions requiring visual aids, and generate illustrations with flexible style options.

## Usage

```bash
# Auto-select style based on content
/article-illustrator path/to/article.md

# Specify a style
/article-illustrator path/to/article.md --style tech
/article-illustrator path/to/article.md --style warm
/article-illustrator path/to/article.md --style minimal

# Combine with other options
/article-illustrator path/to/article.md --style playful
```

## Options

| Option | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `--style <name>` | Specify illustration style (see Style Gallery below) |

## Style Gallery

### 1. `elegant`
Refined, sophisticated, professional
- **Colors**: Soft coral, muted teal, dusty rose, cream background
- **Elements**: Delicate line work, subtle icons, balanced composition
- **Best for**: Professional articles, thought leadership, business topics

### 2. `tech`
Modern, futuristic, digital
- **Colors**: Deep blue, electric cyan, purple, dark backgrounds
- **Elements**: Geometric shapes, circuit patterns, data visualizations, tech icons
- **Best for**: AI, programming, technology, digital transformation articles

### 3. `warm`
Friendly, approachable, human-centered
- **Colors**: Warm orange, golden yellow, terracotta, cream
- **Elements**: Rounded shapes, friendly characters, sun/light motifs, hearts
- **Best for**: Personal growth, lifestyle, education, human interest stories

### 4. `bold`
High contrast, impactful, energetic
- **Colors**: Vibrant red/orange, deep black, bright yellow accents
- **Elements**: Strong shapes, dramatic contrast, dynamic compositions
- **Best for**: Opinion pieces, important warnings, call-to-action content

### 5. `minimal`
Ultra-clean, zen-like, focused
- **Colors**: Black, white, single accent color
- **Elements**: Maximum whitespace, single focal element, simple lines
- **Best for**: Philosophy, minimalism, focused explanations

### 6. `playful`
Fun, creative, whimsical
- **Colors**: Pastel rainbow, bright pops, light backgrounds
- **Elements**: Doodles, quirky characters, speech bubbles, emoji-style icons
- **Best for**: Tutorials, beginner guides, casual content, fun topics

### 7. `nature`
Organic, calm, earthy
- **Colors**: Forest green, earth brown, sky blue, sand beige
- **Elements**: Plant motifs, natural textures, flowing lines, organic shapes
- **Best for**: Sustainability, wellness, outdoor topics, slow living

### 8. `sketch`
Raw, authentic, notebook-style
- **Colors**: Pencil gray, paper white, occasional color highlights
- **Elements**: Rough lines, sketch marks, handwritten notes, arrows
- **Best for**: Ideas in progress, brainstorming, thought processes

### 9. `notion` (Default)
Minimalist hand-drawn line art, intellectual
- **Colors**: Black outlines, white background, 1-2 pastel accents
- **Elements**: Simple line doodles, geometric shapes, hand-drawn wobble, maximum whitespace
- **Best for**: Knowledge sharing, concept explanations, SaaS content, productivity articles

## Auto Style Selection

When no `--style` is specified, analyze content to select the best style:

| Content Signals | Selected Style |
|----------------|----------------|
| AI, coding, tech, digital, algorithm, data | `tech` |
| Personal story, emotion, growth, life, feeling | `warm` |
| Warning, urgent, must-read, critical, important | `bold` |
| Simple, zen, focus, essential, core | `minimal` |
| Fun, easy, beginner, tutorial, guide, how-to | `playful` |
| Nature, eco, wellness, health, organic, green | `nature` |
| Idea, thought, concept, draft, brainstorm | `sketch` |
| Business, professional, strategy, analysis | `elegant` |
| Knowledge, concept, productivity, SaaS, notion | `notion` |

## File Management

Save illustrations to `imgs/` subdirectory in the same folder as the article:

```
path/to/
├── article.md
└── imgs/
    ├── outline.md
    ├── prompts/
    │   ├── illustration-concept-a.md
    │   ├── illustration-concept-b.md
    │   └── ...
    ├── illustration-concept-a.png
    ├── illustration-concept-b.png
    └── ...
```

## Workflow

### Step 1: Analyze Content & Select Style

1. Read article content
2. If `--style` specified, use that style
3. Otherwise, scan for style signals and auto-select
4. Extract key information:
   - Main topic and themes
   - Core messages per section
   - Abstract concepts needing visualization

### Step 2: Identify Illustration Positions

**Three Purposes of Illustrations**:
1. **Information Supplement**: Help understand abstract concepts
2. **Concept Visualization**: Transform abstract ideas into concrete visuals
3. **Imagination Guidance**: Create atmosphere, enhance reading experience

**Content Suitable for Illustrations**:
- Abstract concepts needing visualization
- Processes/steps needing diagrams
- Comparisons needing visual representation
- Core arguments needing reinforcement
- Scenarios needing imagination guidance

**Illustration Count**:
- Consider at least 1 image per major section
- Prioritize core arguments and abstract concepts
- **Principle: More is better than fewer**

### Step 3: Generate Illustration Plan

```markdown
# Illustration Plan

**Article**: [article path]
**Style**: [selected style]
**Illustration Count**: N images

---

## Illustration 1

**Insert Position**: [section name] / [paragraph description]
**Purpose**: [why illustration needed here]
**Visual Content**: [what the image should show]
**Filename**: illustration-[slug].png

---

## Illustration 2
...
```

### Step 4: Create Prompt Files

Save prompts to `prompts/` directory with style-specific details.

**Prompt Format**:

```markdown
Illustration theme: [concept in 2-3 words]
Style: [style name]

Visual composition:
- Main visual: [description matching style]
- Layout: [element positioning]
- Decorative elements: [style-appropriate decorations]

Color scheme:
- Primary: [style primary color]
- Background: [style background color]
- Accent: [style accent color]

Text content (if any):
- [Any labels or captions in content language]

Style notes: [specific style characteristics]
```

### Step 5: Generate Images

For each illustration, call:

```bash
/gemini-web --promptfiles [SKILL_ROOT]/skills/article-illustrator/prompts/system.md [ARTICLE_DIR]/imgs/prompts/illustration-[slug].md --image [ARTICLE_DIR]/imgs/illustration-[slug].png
```

Generation flow:
1. Generate images sequentially
2. After each image, output progress: "Generated X/N"
3. On failure, auto-retry once
4. If retry fails, log reason, continue to next

### Step 6: Update Article

Insert generated images at corresponding positions:

```markdown
![illustration description](imgs/illustration-[slug].png)
```

**Insertion Rules**:
- Insert image after corresponding paragraph
- Leave one blank line before and after image
- Alt text uses concise description in article's language

### Step 7: Output Summary

```
Article Illustration Complete!

Article: [article path]
Style: [style name]
Generated: X/N images successful

Illustration Positions:
- illustration-xxx.png → After section "Section Name"
- illustration-yyy.png → After section "Another Section"
...

[If any failures]
Failed:
- illustration-zzz.png: [failure reason]
```

## Style Reference Details

### elegant
```
Colors: Soft coral (#E8A598), muted teal (#5B8A8A), dusty rose (#D4A5A5)
Background: Warm cream (#F5F0E6), soft beige
Accents: Gold (#C9A962), copper
Elements: Delicate lines, refined icons, subtle gradients, balanced whitespace
```

### tech
```
Colors: Deep blue (#1A365D), electric cyan (#00D4FF), purple (#6B46C1)
Background: Dark gray (#1A202C), near-black (#0D1117)
Accents: Neon green (#00FF88), bright white
Elements: Circuit patterns, data nodes, geometric grids, glowing effects
```

### warm
```
Colors: Warm orange (#ED8936), golden yellow (#F6AD55), terracotta (#C05621)
Background: Cream (#FFFAF0), soft peach (#FED7AA)
Accents: Deep brown (#744210), soft red
Elements: Rounded shapes, smiling faces, sun rays, hearts, cozy lighting
```

### bold
```
Colors: Vibrant red (#E53E3E), bright orange (#DD6B20), electric yellow (#F6E05E)
Background: Deep black (#000000), dark charcoal
Accents: White, neon highlights
Elements: Strong shapes, exclamation marks, arrows, dramatic contrast
```

### minimal
```
Colors: Pure black (#000000), white (#FFFFFF)
Background: White or off-white (#FAFAFA)
Accents: Single color (content-derived)
Elements: Single focal point, maximum negative space, thin precise lines
```

### playful
```
Colors: Pastel pink (#FED7E2), mint (#C6F6D5), lavender (#E9D8FD), sky blue (#BEE3F8)
Background: Light cream (#FFFBEB), soft white
Accents: Bright pops - yellow, coral, turquoise
Elements: Doodles, stars, swirls, cute characters, speech bubbles
```

### nature
```
Colors: Forest green (#276749), sage (#9AE6B4), earth brown (#744210)
Background: Sand beige (#F5E6D3), sky blue (#E0F2FE)
Accents: Sunset orange, water blue
Elements: Leaves, trees, mountains, organic flowing lines, natural textures
```

### sketch
```
Colors: Pencil gray (#4A5568), paper white (#FAFAFA)
Background: Off-white paper texture (#F7FAFC)
Accents: Single highlight color (blue, red, or yellow)
Elements: Rough sketch lines, arrows, handwritten labels, crossed-out marks
```

### notion
```
Colors: Black (#1A1A1A), dark gray (#4A4A4A)
Background: Pure white (#FFFFFF), off-white (#FAFAFA)
Accents: Pastel blue (#A8D4F0), pastel yellow (#F9E79F), pastel pink (#FADBD8)
Elements: Simple line doodles, hand-drawn wobble effect, geometric shapes, stick figures, maximum whitespace
Typography: Clean hand-drawn lettering, simple sans-serif labels
```

## Notes

- Illustrations serve the content: supplement information, visualize concepts
- Maintain selected style consistency across all illustrations in one article
- Image generation typically takes 10-30 seconds per image
- Sensitive figures should use cartoon alternatives
- Prompt and illustration text language should match article language