Article Illustrator Skill

Article Illustrator

Analyze articles, identify illustration positions, generate images with Type × Style consistency.

Two Dimensions

| Dimension | Controls | Examples | |-----------|----------|----------| | Type | Information structure | infographic, scene, flowchart, comparison, framework, timeline | | Style | Visual aesthetics | notion, warm, minimal, blueprint, watercolor, elegant |

Combine freely: --type infographic --style blueprint

Or use presets: --preset tech-explainer → type + style in one flag. See Style Presets.

Types

| Type | Best For | |------|----------| | infographic | Data, metrics, technical | | scene | Narratives, emotional | | flowchart | Processes, workflows | | comparison | Side-by-side, options | | framework | Models, architecture | | timeline | History, evolution |

Styles

See references/styles.md for Core Styles, full gallery, and Type × Style compatibility.

Workflow

- [ ] Step 1: Pre-check (EXTEND.md, references, config)
- [ ] Step 2: Analyze content
- [ ] Step 3: Confirm settings (AskUserQuestion)
- [ ] Step 4: Generate outline
- [ ] Step 5: Generate images
- [ ] Step 6: Finalize

Step 1: Pre-check

1.5 Load Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING

# macOS, Linux, WSL, Git Bash
test -f .baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md && echo "project"
test -f "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md" && echo "xdg"
test -f "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

# PowerShell (Windows)
if (Test-Path .baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md) { "project" }
$xdg = if ($env:XDG_CONFIG_HOME) { $env:XDG_CONFIG_HOME } else { "$HOME/.config" }
if (Test-Path "$xdg/baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md") { "xdg" }
if (Test-Path "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-article-illustrator/EXTEND.md") { "user" }

| Result | Action | |--------|--------| | Found | Read, parse, display summary | | Not found | ⛔ Run first-time-setup |

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 2: Analyze

| Analysis | Output | |----------|--------| | Content type | Technical / Tutorial / Methodology / Narrative | | Purpose | information / visualization / imagination | | Core arguments | 2-5 main points | | Positions | Where illustrations add value |

CRITICAL: Metaphors → visualize underlying concept, NOT literal image.

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 3: Confirm Settings ⚠️

ONE AskUserQuestion, max 4 Qs. Q1-Q2 REQUIRED. Q3 required unless preset chosen.

| Q | Options | |---|---------| | Q1: Preset or Type | [Recommended preset], [alt preset], or manual: infographic, scene, flowchart, comparison, framework, timeline, mixed | | Q2: Density | minimal (1-2), balanced (3-5), per-section (Recommended), rich (6+) | | Q3: Style | [Recommended], minimal-flat, sci-fi, hand-drawn, editorial, scene, poster, Other — skip if preset chosen | | Q4: Language | When article language ≠ EXTEND.md setting |

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 4: Generate Outline

Save outline.md with frontmatter (type, density, style, image_count) and entries:

## Illustration 1
**Position**: [section/paragraph]
**Purpose**: [why]
**Visual Content**: [what]
**Filename**: 01-infographic-concept-name.png

Full template: references/workflow.md

Step 5: Generate Images

⛔ BLOCKING: Prompt files MUST be saved before ANY image generation.

Execution strategy: When multiple illustrations have saved prompt files and the task is now plain generation, prefer baoyu-image-gen batch mode (build-batch.ts → --batchfile) over spawning subagents. Use subagents only when each image still needs separate prompt iteration or creative exploration.

For each illustration, create a prompt file per references/prompt-construction.md
Save to prompts/NN-{type}-{slug}.md with YAML frontmatter
Prompts MUST use type-specific templates with structured sections (ZONES / LABELS / COLORS / STYLE / ASPECT)
LABELS MUST include article-specific data: actual numbers, terms, metrics, quotes
DO NOT pass ad-hoc inline prompts to --prompt without saving prompt files first
Select generation skill, process references (direct/style/palette)
Apply watermark if EXTEND.md enabled
Generate from saved prompt files; retry once on failure

Full procedures: references/workflow.md

Step 6: Finalize

Insert ![description]({relative-path}/NN-{type}-{slug}.png) after paragraphs. Path computed relative to article file based on output directory setting.

Article Illustration Complete!
Article: [path] | Type: [type] | Density: [level] | Style: [style]
Images: X/N generated

Output Directory

Output directory is determined by default_output_dir in EXTEND.md (set during first-time setup):

| default_output_dir | Output Path | Markdown Insert Path | |----------------------|-------------|----------------------| | imgs-subdir (default) | {article-dir}/imgs/ | imgs/NN-{type}-{slug}.png | | same-dir | {article-dir}/ | NN-{type}-{slug}.png | | illustrations-subdir | {article-dir}/illustrations/ | illustrations/NN-{type}-{slug}.png | | independent | illustrations/{topic-slug}/ | illustrations/{topic-slug}/NN-{type}-{slug}.png (relative to cwd) |

All auxiliary files (outline, prompts) are saved inside the output directory:

{output-dir}/
├── outline.md
├── prompts/
│   └── NN-{type}-{slug}.md
└── NN-{type}-{slug}.png

When input is pasted content (no file path), always uses illustrations/{topic-slug}/ with source-{slug}.{ext} saved alongside.

Slug: 2-4 words, kebab-case. Conflict: append -YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.

Modification

| Action | Steps | |--------|-------| | Edit | Update prompt → Regenerate → Update reference | | Add | Position → Prompt → Generate → Update outline → Insert | | Delete | Delete files → Remove reference → Update outline |

References

| File | Content | |------|---------| | references/workflow.md | Detailed procedures | | references/usage.md | Command syntax | | references/styles.md | Style gallery | | references/style-presets.md | Preset shortcuts (type + style) | | references/prompt-construction.md | Prompt templates | | references/config/first-time-setup.md | First-time setup |

Agent Skills: Article Illustrator

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files