Smart Article Illustration Skill

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 artic

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

Usage

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

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

# Combine with other options
/michi-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

10. michi

Cute calico cat in Japanese manga style - cozy, friendly mascot

• Colors: Cream white, soft orange, warm brown, blush pink accents

• Elements: Cute calico cat (三毛猫) interacting with concepts, speech bubbles, paw prints

• Animation Feel: Studio Ghibli warmth, Chi's Sweet Home vibes

• Best for: Tutorials, learning content, blogs needing consistent mascot branding

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
Tutorial, learning, cozy, mascot, cat, friendly	michi

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

# 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:

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:

![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

michi

Colors: Cream white (#FFFEF2), soft orange (#FFD8A8), warm brown (#D4A574), charcoal (#4A4A4A)
Background: Warm cream (#FFF8E7), soft paper texture
Accents: Blush pink (#FFB6C1), gentle coral (#FF7F7F), soft sky blue (#87CEEB)
Elements: Cute calico cat (三毛猫) mascot interacting with concepts, manga-style expressions, speech bubbles, paw prints
Animation Feel: Studio Ghibli warmth, Chi's Sweet Home vibes, Japanese kawaii aesthetic
Typography: Clean Japanese-inspired hand lettering, rounded friendly fonts

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