Smart Article Illustration Skill

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

Usage

# 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

Output Directory

Each session creates an independent directory named by content slug:

illustrations/{topic-slug}/
├── source-{slug}.{ext}    # Source files (text, images, etc.)
├── outline.md
├── outline-{style}.md     # Style variant outlines
├── prompts/
│   ├── illustration-concept-a.md
│   ├── illustration-concept-b.md
│   └── ...
├── illustration-concept-a.png
├── illustration-concept-b.png
└── ...

Slug Generation:

Extract main topic from content (2-4 words, kebab-case)
Example: "The Future of AI" → future-of-ai

Conflict Resolution

If illustrations/{topic-slug}/ already exists:

Append timestamp: {topic-slug}-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS
Example: ai-future exists → ai-future-20260118-143052

Source Files

Copy all sources with naming source-{slug}.{ext}:

source-article.md (main text content)
source-photo.jpg (image from conversation)
source-reference.pdf (additional file)

Multiple sources supported: text, images, files from conversation.

Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Content & Select Style

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

Step 2: Identify Illustration Positions

Three Purposes of Illustrations:

Information Supplement: Help understand abstract concepts
Concept Visualization: Transform abstract ideas into concrete visuals
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

# 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.

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)
Determine which questions to ask:

Question When to Ask

Style variant Always (required)

Language Only if source_language ≠ user_language
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
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
Proceed only after explicit user confirmation

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

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:

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:

Check available image generation skills
If multiple skills available, ask user to choose

Generation Flow:

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

Step 7: Update Article

Insert generated images at corresponding positions:

![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:

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

Add New Illustration

Add a new illustration to the article:

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

Delete Illustration

Remove an illustration from the article:

Identify illustration to delete (e.g., illustration-concept-overview.png)
Remove image file and prompt file
Remove image reference from article
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):

.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md (project)
~/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md (user)

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

baoyu-article-illustrator