Article Illustrations

Article Illustrations — Grav Hand-Drawn Style

Core Positioning

Design and generate 16:9 landscape illustrations for articles. The goal is NOT to make commercial illustrations, PPT infographics, or cute cartoons. The goal is to take a key judgment, process, structure, state, or metaphor from the article and turn it into a clean, absurd, creative, readable hand-drawn explanation sketch.

The default visual IP is Grav: a small, round, always-slightly-floating figure with dot eyes and a single thin antenna. Grav hovers just above surfaces — never quite touching the ground — like a quiet observer who defies gravity while earnestly doing mundane system work. Grav must participate in the core action of every illustration — never just floating as decoration.

What This Skill Produces

• 16:9 landscape article illustrations
• A shot list of 4–8 illustrations per article
• For each illustration: theme, core meaning, structure type, Grav's action, and annotation suggestions
• Final images generated via the generate_image tool

What This Skill Does NOT Produce

• PPTX / PDF / Keynote slides
• SVG / HTML / Canvas editable graphics
• Commercial posters or cover art
• Dense text-heavy infographics
• Cute mascot stickers or emoji-style art

Visual Style DNA

One-Line Summary

Pure white, minimal, hand-drawn, generous whitespace, restrained, absurd, product-sketch feel, handwritten annotations, structurally clear but NOT a manual.

Like a senior engineer who works on AI, product, and developer tools casually sketching an explanation on a whiteboard.

Mandatory Rules

• 16:9 landscape format for all illustrations.
• Pure white background: No cream, warm gray, paper texture, gradients, shadows, noise, or vintage paper effects.
• Black hand-drawn line art: Thin lines, slight wobble, not mechanical, not vector-perfect, not heavy outlines.
• Generous whitespace: Main subject occupies roughly 40%–60% of the canvas. At least 35% empty white space. Ideally one large quiet area.
• Sparse handwritten annotations: Maximum 5–8 labels per image, each 2–5 words.
• One core idea per image: Each illustration explains exactly one action, structure, state, or metaphor.
• No structural type labels: Don't write "Workflow" or "System Architecture" on the image itself.

Color Palette

Color Restrictions

• No green, purple, yellow, pink, or gradients.
• Red, orange, and blue are accent colors only — used sparingly.
• When in doubt, use black. Color should feel like someone grabbed 3 colored pens from a drawer.

Absolute Prohibitions

• ❌ Gradient backgrounds or colored backgrounds
• ❌ Realistic UI screenshots or tech-looking interfaces
• ❌ Commercial vector illustration style
• ❌ PPT / slide deck / infographic layout
• ❌ Cute cartoon / mascot poster / children's illustration
• ❌ Complex diagrams with 10+ nodes and arrows
• ❌ Large blocks of explanatory text in the image
• ❌ Drop shadows, glow effects, 3D elements
• ❌ Stock photo aesthetics or photorealistic elements

Grav Character IP

Character Definition

Grav is the fixed visual IP for all article illustrations.

Every illustration must include Grav by default. Grav is NOT a mascot, NOT a sticker, NOT cute decoration — Grav is an absurd, gravity-defying worker earnestly participating in the system being illustrated.

Appearance

• Small, round body — like a smooth pebble or potato shape
• Dot eyes (two small black dots, slightly asymmetric)
• One thin antenna on top (slightly bent, with a tiny circle at the tip)
• No visible mouth — expression comes from posture and eye placement
• Thin stick legs that dangle below without touching surfaces
• Occasionally thin stick arms when needed for actions
• Always hovering slightly off the ground — a tiny gap between Grav and any surface
• Slightly irregular silhouette with hand-drawn wobble
• Expression: calm, focused, deadpan — conveyed through tilt and eye position

Personality

• Quietly competent but operating in absurd circumstances
• Like a systems engineer who happens to float — treats it as completely normal
• Dry humor through contrast: mundane tasks performed while defying physics
• Observant and methodical, never frantic
• The floating isn't the joke — Grav takes the work seriously while the situation around them is strange

Common Roles

Grav should perform the core action:

• Floating between system stages, carrying materials
• Hovering over a funnel, dropping inputs in
• Dangling from a lever, using body weight (despite floating) to pull it
• Drifting through a pipeline, inspecting each stage
• Suspended inside a machine as a working component
• Balancing on a scale that shouldn't work
• Threading connections between disconnected modules
• Guarding a gate or checkpoint while hovering at eye level
• Operating controls from slightly above — feet never touching the console
• Acting as the signal in a flow — being passed through the system itself
• Sitting on nothing (hovering) while taking notes on a clipboard
• Bridging two disconnected systems by stretching between them

Character Prohibitions

• ❌ Grav touching the ground or standing on surfaces (always a gap)
• ❌ Grav smiling, winking, or showing exaggerated emotion
• ❌ Grav as a cute sticker or emoji
• ❌ Grav floating idle as decoration while something happens elsewhere
• ❌ Grav wearing costumes or accessories (keep it minimal — just antenna)
• ❌ Multiple Grav characters unless the concept requires distinct roles

Composition Patterns

Choose ONE structure type per illustration. Don't mix too many.

1. Workflow / Pipeline

Best for: Input → Processing → Output, content production, AI workflows, automation chains.

How to draw: Input on left, Grav or a strange machine processing in the middle, output on right. Orange arrows show the main flow direction.

2. System Closeup

Best for: Information sources, filters, databases, renderers, agent system internals.

How to draw: Only 3–5 core modules. Grav participates in one key action within the system.

3. Before / After Contrast

Best for: Chaos vs. order, manual vs. automated, scattered vs. consolidated, anxious vs. stable.

How to draw: Left side chaotic, right side stable, orange arrow in the middle. Characters can be more exaggerated.

4. Role States

Best for: User pain points, creator states, tool overload, information anxiety, stuck → running.

How to draw: 2–4 small states, each with a short annotation label.

5. Conceptual Metaphor

Best for: Content factory, information warehouse, black box in the brain, workflow machine, automated daily report.

How to draw: One big strange object or machine, sparse inputs, one output. Must be memorable.

6. Layered Method

Best for: Methodology frameworks, system layers, capability stacks, content system tiers.

How to draw: Stacked boxes (NOT a formal pyramid). Grav on the side building, hauling, or assembling.

7. Map / Route

Best for: Idea to launch, user journey, content handoff path, learning roadmap.

How to draw: One winding path, sparse nodes, Grav floating along the thread or pulling it taut.

8. Mini Comic Panels

Best for: Failure to success, real process, complaints, before/after usage change.

How to draw: 2–4 small scenes, each panel expressing only one action.

Original Metaphor Generation

Every illustration must invent a NEW metaphor from the current article. Never reuse compositions across articles.

Three Steps

1. Translate the abstract concept into a physical action: Stuck, leaking, getting heavier, sorting, settling, fermenting, opening a door, folding, unpacking, flowing back, floating away, losing gravity, tethering.

2. Translate the system structure into a low-tech object: Broken machine, cardboard box, drawer, water pipe, mailbox, weird gauge, scale, well, ladder, strange workstation, pulley system, balloon, anchor, diving bell.

3. Make Grav perform the action: Not floating nearby — Grav is suspended inside the machine, dangling from the lever, hovering through the pipeline, acting as the counterweight, drifting between stages carrying things, threading the wire while floating above.

Object Pool (pick 1–2 max, don't overload)

Cardboard box, drawer, old machine, funnel, scale, mailbox, door, well, ladder, water pipe, yarn ball, floodgate, turntable, black box, hole puncher, pasta press, clothesline, strange workstation, conveyor belt, stamp pad, telescope, lever, bucket, sieve, pulley, balloon, anchor, tether line.

Grav Action Pool

Float through, carry, drop in, dangle from, drift between, thread, hover over, inspect, balance, tether, anchor, pull, push (while floating), catch, release, weigh, crank, pour, bridge, stretch across, suspend from.

Anti-Repetition Rules

Never reuse the same metaphor across illustrations, even for similar themes. When given a similar concept, invent a new physical analogy:

• "Handoff path" could be Grav stretching a tether between two doors, or floating a paper airplane through checkpoints
• "One input, many outputs" could be Grav hovering over a prism that splits a beam, or dropping one ball into a Rube Goldberg splitter
• "Validation pipeline" could be Grav drifting through a series of increasingly narrow hoops, or operating a strange weighing station from above

Workflow

Phase 1: Digest the Article

Read the user's article content (text, links, markdown files, or screenshots). Extract:

• What is the core argument?
• Which paragraphs carry cognitive turning points?
• Which concepts benefit from visual explanation?
• Which parts are text-only and don't need illustrations?

Don't distribute illustrations evenly. Prioritize "cognitive anchor points":

• Core judgments or key decisions
• Critical breakpoints or failure modes
• Input/output closed loops
• Branching or sorting logic
• Before/after contrasts
• One-input-many-outputs patterns
• Handoff paths
• Common pitfalls
• Role state changes

Phase 2: Output Shot List

If the user asks to "analyze" or "plan" illustrations, output a shot list first. For each illustration, specify:

Wait for user approval before generating images.

Phase 3: Generate Images

For each approved illustration, use the generate_image tool with a prompt built from the Prompt Template below.

• Generate each image separately — never combine multiple illustrations into one.
• Give each image a descriptive ImageName like validation_pipeline, before_after_chaos, handoff_bridge.

Phase 4: QA Check

After generating each image, run it against the QA Checklist below. If it fails, regenerate or request an edit.

Prompt Template

Use this template for each generate_image call. Replace the {variables} with content from the shot list.

Generate one standalone 16:9 horizontal article illustration.

Visual DNA:
Pure white background. Minimalist black hand-drawn line art. Slightly wobbly pen lines. Lots of empty white space. Sparse red/orange/blue handwritten English annotations. Clean absurd product-sketch feeling. No gradients, no shadows, no paper texture, no complex background, no commercial vector style, no PPT infographic look, no cute mascot poster, no children's illustration, no realistic UI.

Recurring IP character required:
Grav, a small round floating figure with dot eyes, a single thin bent antenna with a tiny circle tip, thin dangling stick legs that never touch surfaces, and a slightly uneven hand-drawn body shape. Grav always hovers slightly above any surface — there is always a visible gap between Grav and the ground. Grav must perform the core conceptual action, not decorate the scene. Make Grav calm, deadpan, focused, and slightly bizarre — not cute.

Theme:
{theme of this illustration}

Structure type:
{one of: Workflow / System Closeup / Before-After / Role States / Conceptual Metaphor / Layered Method / Map Route / Mini Comic}

Core idea:
{the one thing this image must convey}

Composition:
{specific scene: where is Grav, what is Grav doing, what are the main objects, how does information flow}

Suggested elements:
{element 1} / {element 2} / {element 3} / {element 4}

English handwritten labels:
{label 1} / {label 2} / {label 3} / {label 4} / {optional label 5}

Color use:
Black for main line art and Grav. Orange for main flow/path/arrows. Red only for key warnings/problems/results. Blue only for secondary notes or feedback/system state.

Constraints:
One image explains only one core structure. Keep the main subject around 40%-60% of the canvas. Preserve at least 35% white space. No title bar at the top. No border or frame. Maximum 5-8 annotation labels. Each label is 2-5 words. The style should feel like a senior engineer's casual whiteboard sketch — absurd, clean, memorable.

QA Checklist

Must-Pass Criteria

• Image is 16:9 landscape format
• Background is clean white
• Grav is present
• Grav is floating (gap between body and any surface)
• Grav performs the core action (not just decoration)
• Composition is an original metaphor for the current article
• Scene is absurd, creative, and memorable
• Clean and uncluttered — main subject doesn't exceed ~60% of canvas
• One core structure per image
• Annotations are sparse, short, and readable
• Orange used only for main paths or arrows
• Red used only for highlights, problems, warnings, or results
• Blue used only for supplementary notes, feedback, or system state

Failure Signals — Regenerate If:

• Top-left has a title like "Common Pitfalls / Workflow / System Architecture / Roadmap"
• Grav looks like a mascot, emoji, or cute cartoon
• Grav is standing on the ground (must always float)
• Layout resembles a PPT slide, course material, or formal flowchart
• Too many elements, arrows, or nodes (more than ~8)
• Text blocks instead of short labels
• Background has texture, shadows, gradients, cream/beige color, or noise
• Realistic UI screenshots or tech-looking interfaces appear
• Annotations are unreadable or contain errors
• Scene is too rigid — no absurd metaphor
• Composition is too similar to a previously generated illustration

Iteration Methods

• Too generic: Make Grav the action protagonist, not a bystander. Add one absurd low-tech object.
• Too cluttered: Remove 30% of elements. Increase whitespace. Cut labels to 3–4.
• Grav is decorative: Redesign so Grav IS the mechanism (e.g., Grav becomes the counterweight, Grav is suspended inside the machine, Grav dangles from the lever).
• Grav is grounded: Redraw with a visible gap — Grav always hovers.
• Too similar to previous: Replace the metaphor object entirely. Same concept, different physical analogy.
• Title bar present: Remove the title and any decorative framing. The illustration should stand alone without headers.

Example Prompts

Plan illustrations for an article

Analyze this article and create a shot list of 5-6 illustrations.
Don't generate images yet — just plan which cognitive anchor points
deserve illustrations and what each image should convey.

<paste article>

Generate illustrations for an article

Generate 4 Grav-style illustrations for this article.
Requirements: 16:9 landscape, pure white background, black hand-drawn
line art, sparse red/orange/blue English annotations.
Each image should capture one core structure. No PPT infographics, no cute cartoons.

<paste article>

Single concept illustration

Generate one 16:9 illustration for this concept:

"Trust isn't declared — it's built one piece of evidence at a time."

The scene should be absurd but clean. Grav must perform the core action.
Maximum 5 annotation labels, keep them short.

Regenerate with more character involvement

This illustration is on the right track, but Grav feels like decoration.
Keep the core meaning but regenerate: make Grav the one actually
driving the structure. Make the scene weirder but still clean and minimal.

Remove title from illustration

Edit this illustration: remove the title text at the top.
Keep everything else unchanged. Don't add any new text or objects.