baoyu-skills/skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/SKILL.md

---
name: baoyu-article-illustrator
description: Smart article illustration skill. Analyzes article content and generates illustrations at positions requiring visual aids with multiple style options. Use when user asks to "add illustrations to article", "generate images for article", or "illustrate article".
---

# 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
/baoyu-article-illustrator path/to/article.md

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

# Combine with other options
/baoyu-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

### With Article Path

Save illustrations to `[source-name-no-ext]/illustrations/` subdirectory in the same folder as the article:

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

Example: `/posts/ai-future.md` → `/posts/ai-future/illustrations/`

### Without Article Path (Pasted Content)

Save to `./illustrations/[topic-slug]/`:

```
illustrations/
└── ai-future/
    ├── source.md
    ├── outline.md
    ├── prompts/
    └── *.png
```

### Directory Backup

If target directory exists, rename existing to `<dirname>-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS`

## 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. **Language detection**:
   - Detect **source language** from article content
   - Detect **user language** from conversation context
   - Note if source_language ≠ user_language (will ask in Step 4)
5. 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: Review & Confirm

**Purpose**: Let user confirm all options in a single step before image generation.

**IMPORTANT**: Present ALL options in a single confirmation step using AskUserQuestion. Do NOT interrupt workflow with multiple separate confirmations.

1. **Generate 3 style variants**:
   - Analyze content to select 3 most suitable styles
   - Generate complete illustration plan for each style variant
   - Save as `outline-{style}.md` (e.g., `outline-notion.md`, `outline-tech.md`, `outline-warm.md`)

2. **Determine which questions to ask**:

   | Question | When to Ask |
   |----------|-------------|
   | Style variant | Always (required) |
   | Language | Only if `source_language ≠ user_language` |

3. **Present options** (use AskUserQuestion with all applicable questions):

   **Question 1 (Style)** - always:
   - Style A (recommended): [style name] - [brief description]
   - Style B: [style name] - [brief description]
   - Style C: [style name] - [brief description]
   - Custom: Provide custom style reference

   **Question 2 (Language)** - only if source ≠ user language:
   - [Source language] (matches article language)
   - [User language] (your preference)

   **Language handling**:
   - If source language = user language: Just inform user (e.g., "Prompts will be in Chinese")
   - If different: Ask which language to use for prompts

4. **Apply selection**:
   - Copy selected `outline-{style}.md` to `outline.md`
   - If custom style provided, generate new plan with that style
   - If different language selected, regenerate outline in that language
   - User may edit `outline.md` directly for fine-tuning
   - If modified, reload plan before proceeding

5. **Proceed only after explicit user confirmation**

### Step 5: Create Prompt Files

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

**All prompts are written in the user's confirmed language preference.**

**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 6: Generate Images

**Image Generation Skill Selection**:
1. Check available image generation skills
2. If multiple skills available, ask user to choose

**Generation Flow**:
1. Call selected image generation skill with prompt file and output path
2. Generate images sequentially
3. After each image, output progress: "Generated X/N"
4. On failure, auto-retry once
5. If retry fails, log reason, continue to next

### Step 7: Update Article

Insert generated images at corresponding positions:

```markdown
![illustration description]([article-name]/illustrations/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 8: 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]
```

## Illustration Modification

Support for modifying individual illustrations after initial generation.

### Edit Single Illustration

Regenerate a specific illustration with modified prompt:

1. Identify illustration to edit (e.g., `illustration-concept-overview.png`)
2. Update prompt in `prompts/illustration-concept-overview.md` if needed
3. If content changes significantly, update slug in filename
4. Regenerate image
5. Update article if image reference changed

### Add New Illustration

Add a new illustration to the article:

1. Identify insertion position in article
2. Create new prompt with appropriate slug (e.g., `illustration-new-concept.md`)
3. Generate new illustration image
4. Update `outline.md` with new illustration entry
5. Insert image reference in article at the specified position

### Delete Illustration

Remove an illustration from the article:

1. Identify illustration to delete (e.g., `illustration-concept-overview.png`)
2. Remove image file and prompt file
3. Remove image reference from article
4. Update `outline.md` to remove illustration entry

### File Naming Convention

Files use meaningful slugs for better readability:
```
illustration-[slug].png
illustration-[slug].md (in prompts/)
```

Examples:
- `illustration-concept-overview.png`
- `illustration-workflow-diagram.png`
- `illustration-key-benefits.png`

**Slug rules**:
- Derived from illustration purpose/content (kebab-case)
- Must be unique within the article
- When content changes significantly, update slug accordingly

## 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
- Prompts written in user's confirmed language preference
- Illustration text (labels, captions) should match article language

## Extension Support

Custom styles and configurations via EXTEND.md.

**Check paths** (priority order):
1. `.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md` (project)
2. `~/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md` (user)

If found, load before Step 1. Extension content overrides defaults.