Baoyu Comic

Knowledge Comic Creator

Create original knowledge comics with flexible art style × tone combinations.

Usage

/baoyu-comic posts/turing-story/source.md
/baoyu-comic article.md --art manga --tone warm
/baoyu-comic  # then paste content

Options

Visual Dimensions

Art Styles (画风)

Tones (基调)

Preset Shortcuts

Presets with special rules beyond art+tone:

Compatibility Matrix

Art Style × Tone × Layout can be freely combined. Incompatible combinations work but may produce unexpected results.

Auto Selection

Content signals determine default art + tone + layout (or preset):

When preset is recommended: Load references/presets/{preset}.md and apply all special rules.

Script Directory

Important: All scripts are located in the scripts/ subdirectory of this skill.

Agent Execution Instructions:

1. Determine this SKILL.md file's directory path as SKILL_DIR
2. Script path = ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/<script-name>.ts
3. Replace all ${SKILL_DIR} in this document with the actual path

Script Reference:

File Structure

Output directory: comic/{topic-slug}/

• Slug: 2-4 words kebab-case from topic (e.g., alan-turing-bio)
• Conflict: append timestamp (e.g., turing-story-20260118-143052)

Contents:

• source-{slug}.{ext} - Source files
• analysis.md - Content analysis
• storyboard.md - Storyboard with panel breakdown
• characters/characters.md - Character definitions
• characters/characters.png - Character reference sheet
• prompts/NN-{cover|page}-[slug].md - Generation prompts
• NN-{cover|page}-[slug].png - Generated images
• {topic-slug}.pdf - Final merged PDF

Workflow

Progress Checklist

Copy and track progress:

Comic Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Load preferences + Analyze content
- [ ] Step 2: Confirmation 1 - Style & options ⚠️ REQUIRED
- [ ] Step 3: Generate storyboard + characters
- [ ] Step 4: Confirmation 2 - Review outline (if requested)
- [ ] Step 5: Generate images (sequential)
- [ ] Step 6: Merge to PDF
- [ ] Step 7: Completion report

Flow

Input → Preferences → Analyze → [Confirm 1: Style + Skip?] → Storyboard → [Confirm 2: if needed] → Generate → PDF → Complete

Step 1: Setup & Analyze

1.1 Load Preferences (EXTEND.md)

Use Bash to check EXTEND.md existence (priority order):

# Check project-level first
test -f .baoyu-skills/baoyu-comic/EXTEND.md && echo "project"

# Then user-level (cross-platform: $HOME works on macOS/Linux/WSL)
test -f "$HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-comic/EXTEND.md" && echo "user"

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────┐ │ Path │ Location │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┤ │ .baoyu-skills/baoyu-comic/EXTEND.md │ Project directory │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────┤ │ $HOME/.baoyu-skills/baoyu-comic/EXTEND.md │ User home │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┴───────────────────┘

When EXTEND.md Found → Read, parse, output summary to user:

📋 Loaded preferences from [full path]
├─ Watermark: [enabled/disabled] [content if enabled]
├─ Art Style: [style name or "auto-select"]
├─ Tone: [tone name or "auto-select"]
├─ Layout: [layout or "auto-select"]
├─ Language: [language or "auto-detect"]
└─ Character presets: [count] defined

MUST output this summary so user knows their current configuration. Do not skip or silently load.

When EXTEND.md Not Found → First-time setup:

1. Inform user: "No preferences found. Let's set up your defaults."
2. Use AskUserQuestion to collect preferences (see references/config/first-time-setup.md)
3. Create EXTEND.md at user-chosen location
4. Confirm: "✓ Preferences saved to [path]"

EXTEND.md Supports: Watermark | Preferred art/tone/layout | Custom style definitions | Character presets | Language preference

Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md

Important: Once EXTEND.md exists, watermark, language, and style defaults are NOT asked again in Confirmation 1 or 2. These are session-persistent settings.

1.2 Analyze Content → analysis.md

Read source content, save it if needed, and perform deep analysis.

Actions:

1. Save source content (if not already a file):
   • If user provides a file path: use as-is
   • If user pastes content: save to source.md in target directory
2. Read source content
3. Deep analysis following references/analysis-framework.md:
   • Target audience identification
   • Value proposition for readers
   • Core themes and narrative potential
   • Key figures and their story arcs
4. Detect source language
5. Determine language:
   • If EXTEND.md has language → use it
   • Else if --lang option provided → use it
   • Else → use detected source language
6. Determine recommended page count:
   • Short story: 5-8 pages
   • Medium complexity: 9-15 pages
   • Full biography: 16-25 pages
7. Analyze content signals for art/tone/layout recommendations
8. Save to analysis.md

analysis.md Format: YAML front matter (title, topic, time_span, source_language, user_language, aspect_ratio, recommended_page_count, recommended_art, recommended_tone) + sections for Target Audience, Value Proposition, Core Themes, Key Figures & Story Arcs, Content Signals, Recommended Approaches. See references/analysis-framework.md for full template.

Step 2: Confirmation 1 - Style & Options ⚠️

Purpose: Select visual style + decide whether to review outline before generation. Do NOT skip.

Note: Watermark and language already configured in EXTEND.md (Step 1).

Display summary:

• Content type + topic identified
• Key figures extracted
• Time span detected
• Recommended page count
• Language: [from EXTEND.md or detected]
• Recommended style: [art] + [tone] (based on content signals)

Use AskUserQuestion for:

Question 1: Visual Style

If a preset is recommended (see Auto Selection), show it first:

header: "Style"
question: "Which visual style for this comic?"
options:
  - label: "[preset name] preset (Recommended)"       # If preset recommended
    description: "[preset description] - includes special rules"
  - label: "[recommended art] + [recommended tone] (Recommended)"  # If no preset
    description: "Best match for your content based on analysis"
  - label: "ligne-claire + neutral"
    description: "Classic educational, Logicomix style"
  - label: "ohmsha preset"
    description: "Educational manga with visual metaphors, gadgets, NO talking heads"
  - label: "Custom"
    description: "Specify your own art + tone or preset"

Preset vs Art+Tone: Presets include special rules beyond art+tone. ohmsha = manga + neutral + visual metaphor rules + character roles + NO talking heads. Plain manga + neutral does NOT include these rules.

Question 2: Narrative Focus (multiSelect: true)

header: "Focus"
question: "What should the comic emphasize? (Select all that apply)"
options:
  - label: "Biography/life story"
    description: "Follow a person's journey through key life events"
  - label: "Concept explanation"
    description: "Break down complex ideas visually"
  - label: "Historical event"
    description: "Dramatize important historical moments"
  - label: "Tutorial/how-to"
    description: "Step-by-step educational guide"

Question 3: Target Audience

header: "Audience"
question: "Who is the primary reader?"
options:
  - label: "General readers"
    description: "Broad appeal, accessible content"
  - label: "Students/learners"
    description: "Educational focus, clear explanations"
  - label: "Industry professionals"
    description: "Technical depth, domain knowledge"
  - label: "Children/young readers"
    description: "Simplified language, engaging visuals"

Question 4: Outline Review

header: "Review"
question: "Do you want to review the outline before image generation?"
options:
  - label: "Yes, let me review (Recommended)"
    description: "Review storyboard and characters before generating images"
  - label: "No, generate directly"
    description: "Skip outline review, start generating immediately"

After response:

1. Update analysis.md with user preferences
2. Store skip_outline_review flag based on Question 4 response
3. → Step 3

Step 3: Generate Storyboard + Characters

Create storyboard and character definitions using the confirmed style from Step 2.

Loading Style References:

• Art style: references/art-styles/{art}.md
• Tone: references/tones/{tone}.md
• If preset (ohmsha/wuxia/shoujo): also load references/presets/{preset}.md

Generate:

1. Storyboard (storyboard.md):

   • YAML front matter with art_style, tone, layout, aspect_ratio
   • Cover design
   • Each page: layout, panel breakdown, visual prompts
   • Written in user's preferred language (from Step 1)
   • Reference: references/storyboard-template.md
   • If using preset: Load and apply preset rules from references/presets/

2. Character definitions (characters/characters.md):

   • Visual specs matching the art style (in user's preferred language)
   • Include Reference Sheet Prompt for later image generation
   • Reference: references/character-template.md

After generation:

• If skip_outline_review is true → Skip Step 4, go directly to Step 5
• If skip_outline_review is false → Continue to Step 4

Step 4: Confirmation 2 - Review Outline (Conditional)

Skip this step if user selected "No, generate directly" in Step 2.

Purpose: User reviews and confirms storyboard + characters before generation.

Display:

• Page count and structure
• Art style + Tone combination
• Page-by-page summary (Cover → P1 → P2...)
• Character list with brief descriptions

Use AskUserQuestion:

header: "Confirm"
question: "Ready to generate images with this outline?"
options:
  - label: "Yes, proceed (Recommended)"
    description: "Generate character sheet and comic pages"
  - label: "Edit storyboard first"
    description: "I'll modify storyboard.md before continuing"
  - label: "Edit characters first"
    description: "I'll modify characters/characters.md before continuing"
  - label: "Edit both"
    description: "I'll modify both files before continuing"

After response:

1. If user wants to edit → Wait for user to finish editing, then ask again
2. If user confirms → Continue to Step 5

Step 5: Generate Images

With confirmed storyboard + art style + tone + aspect ratio:

Style Reference Loading:

• Read references/art-styles/{art}.md for rendering guidelines
• Read references/tones/{tone}.md for mood/color adjustments
• If preset: Read references/presets/{preset}.md for special rules

5.1 Generate Character Reference Sheet (first):

1. Use Reference Sheet Prompt from characters/characters.md
2. Generate → characters/characters.png
3. This ensures visual consistency for all subsequent pages

5.2 Generate Comic Pages:

For each page (cover + pages):

1. Save prompt to prompts/NN-{cover|page}-[slug].md (in user's preferred language)
2. Generate image using confirmed art style and tone guidelines
3. Report progress after each generation

Watermark Application (if enabled in preferences): Add to each image generation prompt:

Include a subtle watermark "[content]" positioned at [position]
with approximately [opacity*100]% visibility. The watermark should
be legible but not distracting from the comic panels and storytelling.
Ensure watermark does not overlap speech bubbles or key action.

Reference: references/config/watermark-guide.md

Image Generation Skill Selection:

• Check available image generation skills
• If multiple skills available, ask user preference

Character Reference Handling (IMPORTANT for visual consistency):

1. Read the selected image generation skill's SKILL.md
2. Check if it supports reference image input (look for parameters like --ref, --reference, --image-ref, etc.)

Always verify the exact parameter name from the skill's documentation before calling.

Session Management: If image generation skill supports --sessionId:

1. Generate unique session ID: comic-{topic-slug}-{timestamp}
2. Use same session ID for all pages
3. Ensures visual consistency across generated images

Step 6: Merge to PDF

After all images generated:

npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/merge-to-pdf.ts <comic-dir>

Creates {topic-slug}.pdf with all pages as full-page images.

Step 7: Completion Report

Comic Complete!
Title: [title] | Art: [art] | Tone: [tone] | Pages: [count] | Aspect: [ratio] | Language: [lang]
Watermark: [enabled/disabled]
Location: [path]
✓ analysis.md
✓ characters.png
✓ 00-cover-[slug].png ... NN-page-[slug].png
✓ {topic-slug}.pdf

Page Modification

File naming: NN-{cover|page}-[slug].png (e.g., 03-page-enigma-machine.png)

• Slugs: kebab-case, unique, derived from content
• Renumbering: Update NN prefix only, slugs unchanged

Preset: Ohmsha

Default: Use Doraemon characters (大雄=learner, 哆啦A梦=mentor, 胖虎=challenge, 静香=support). Custom characters via --characters "Student:小明,Mentor:教授" or character presets in EXTEND.md.

Requirements: Visual metaphors, NO talking heads, narrative page titles.

See references/presets/ohmsha.md and references/ohmsha-guide.md for details.

References

Detailed templates and guidelines in references/ directory:

Core Templates:

• analysis-framework.md - Deep content analysis for comic adaptation
• character-template.md - Character definition format and examples
• storyboard-template.md - Storyboard structure and panel breakdown
• ohmsha-guide.md - Ohmsha manga style specifics

Style Definitions (new 3-dimension system):

• art-styles/ - Art style definitions (ligne-claire, manga, realistic, ink-brush, chalk)
• tones/ - Tone definitions (neutral, warm, dramatic, romantic, energetic, vintage, action)
• presets/ - Preset shortcuts with special rules (ohmsha, wuxia, shoujo)
• layouts/ - Layout definitions (standard, cinematic, dense, splash, mixed, webtoon)

Config:

• config/preferences-schema.md - EXTEND.md schema
• config/first-time-setup.md - First-time setup flow
• config/watermark-guide.md - Watermark configuration

Notes

• Auto-retry once on failure | Cartoon alternatives for sensitive figures
• Use confirmed language preference | Maintain style consistency
• Step 2 confirmation required - do not skip (style selection + outline review option)
• Step 4 conditional - only if user requested outline review in Step 2
• Watermark/language configured once in EXTEND.md, not asked in confirmations

Extension Support

Custom configurations via EXTEND.md. See Step 1.1 for paths and supported options.