ormus-illustrator

name	ormus-illustrator
description	Generate AI illustrations and videos. Triggers when user wants images, videos, or animations created. Supports image-to-video and text-to-video generation.
triggers	["illustrat","generate image","create image","make an image","draw","visual","picture of","artwork","graphic","render","midjourney","pixel art","animation","sprite","animate","video","generate video","image to video","text to video","animate image"]
version	4.1.0

Ormus Illustrator

Multi-provider AI illustration engine with an LLM-first philosophy.

"LLMs are the chill, reliable grown-up in the room."

---

The Core Philosophy

Image generators wake up each morning with a new personality. Even the best ones struggle with consistent personal style. Midjourney has taste, but also a temper.

The solution: Use Claude as a thinking partner before touching any image tool.

Role	Responsibility
Claude	Structure, consistency, prompt refinement
Image Tool	Aesthetics, visual execution
You	Taste, curation, direction

This creates stability in an inherently chaotic process.

---

Phase 0: Think Before You Generate

Before jumping into any provider, have a conversation with Claude about:

1. Context Building

Ask yourself (or let Claude help you articulate):

• What am I creating? (illustration, icon, character, scene?)
• Who is it for? (children, developers, myself?)
• Tone — playful, serious, ethereal, scientific?
• Colors — specific palette or mood-driven?
• References — what existing work feels "right"?

2. Personal Design Scaffold (Optional but Powerful)

Write down how you think when designing:

• What do you look at first?
• How do you choose a direction?
• What do you avoid?
• How do you explore ideas?

Once Claude knows your logic, prompts feel surprisingly aligned.

3. Example Conversation Opener

I'm creating illustrations for [project].
Target audience: [who]
Feeling I want: [adjectives]
Colors I'm drawn to: [colors]
Things I want to avoid: [anti-patterns]
References that feel right: [links or descriptions]

Help me think through this before we generate anything.

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The Positive Loop

This is where the magic happens:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                                      │
│   Claude      →     Prompt     →    Image Tool      │
│     ↑                                    │          │
│     │                                    ↓          │
│   Tell Claude    ←   Mood Board   ←   Output       │
│   "we evolved"                                      │
│                                                      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

1. Chat with Claude about what you're making
2. Share references from your mood board
3. Let Claude build prompts that match your logic
4. Run them in the appropriate provider
5. Take good results → add to mood board
6. Tell Claude "Look, we just evolved the style!"

After a few rounds, your style becomes surprisingly stable.

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Mood Board Workflow

Your mood board is your visual anchor.

Collect things you love:

• Colors and gradients
• Textures and patterns
• Photography/illustration styles
• Small visual cues that feel "right"

Keep it clean. A cluttered board = unclear direction.

Storage suggestion: ~/projects/[project]/mood-board/

Evolve it. As you generate good outputs, add them back. The board grows with your style.

---

When This Skill Activates

• User says "illustrate", "draw", "create an image", "generate a picture"
• User requests visual content for any project
• User needs graphics, artwork, or rendered images
• User mentions "midjourney" for artistic/hand-drawn styles
• User wants "pixel art", "animation", "sprite", or "animate"

---

Available Providers

Provider	Best For	Personality	Speed	Cost
Gemini	Botanical, scientific	Precise, literal	Fast	Free (quota)
Replicate	Icons, vectors, video	Versatile, predictable	Medium	~$0.003-0.07
Midjourney	Artistic, hand-drawn, childlike	Has taste, has temper	Slow	Subscription
PixelLab	Pixel art, game animations	Consistent, game-focused	Fast	Credits-based

---

Provider 1: Gemini (Default)

cd ~/.claude/plugins/ormus-illustrator && python3 generate.py "PROMPT" --style STYLE --name FILENAME

Style presets: botanical, scientific, alchemical, minimal, none

Auth: ~/google-cloud-sdk/bin/gcloud auth application-default login

---

Provider 2: Replicate (Images & Video)

cd ~/.claude/plugins/ormus-illustrator/providers && python3 replicate.py "PROMPT" --model MODEL --name FILENAME

Image Models

Model	Best For
flux-schnell	Fast drafts (~$0.003)
flux-pro	High quality
recraft-v3	Icons, text, logos
recraft-svg	Clean SVG vectors
ideogram-v2	Perfect text in images

List image models: python3 replicate.py --list-models

Video Models (NEW)

Model	Type	Best For
svd	Image→Video	Animate a still image (~$0.07)
animate-diff	Image→Video	Motion with prompt control
i2vgen-xl	Image→Video	High quality animation
minimax	Text→Video	Generate video from description
hunyuan	Text→Video	High quality text-to-video
ltx-video	Text→Video	Fast text-to-video
liveportrait	Animation	Animate faces/talking heads

List video models: python3 replicate.py --list-video-models

Video Generation Examples

Image-to-Video (animate a still image):

python3 replicate.py --video --model svd --image my-character.png --name character-animated

Text-to-Video (generate from description):

python3 replicate.py "a robot walking through a forest" --video --model minimax --name robot-walk

Animate with motion prompt:

python3 replicate.py "gentle breathing motion" --video --model animate-diff --image portrait.png --name breathing

---

Provider 3: Midjourney (Discord Automation)

Best for: childlike, hand-drawn, artistic, crayon-style illustrations.

cd ~/.claude/plugins/ormus-illustrator/providers && python3 midjourney.py "PROMPT" --name FILENAME

Single image:

python3 midjourney.py "childlike crayon drawing of a happy sun, wobbly lines, bright colors --v 6.1 --s 200" --name happy-sun

Batch generation (JSON file):

python3 midjourney.py --batch prompts.json --output ~/project/assets/

Batch JSON format:

[
  {"name": "sun", "prompt": "childlike crayon sun --v 6.1"},
  {"name": "heart", "prompt": "hand-drawn heart, marker style --v 6.1"}
]

Midjourney parameters:

• --v 6.1 - Latest version (default)
• --niji 6 - Anime style
• --style raw - Less stylization
• --s 0-1000 - Stylization amount (lower = more literal)
• --ar 1:1 - Aspect ratio

First-time setup:

1. Run the script - browser window opens
2. Log into Discord manually
3. Session is saved for future use

---

Quick Decision Guide

Images

Want	Use
Fast draft	Replicate (flux-schnell)
SVG/vectors	Replicate (recraft-svg)
Text in image	Replicate (ideogram-v2)
Childlike/hand-drawn	Midjourney
Botanical/scientific	Gemini
Artistic/ethereal	Midjourney

Video & Animation

Want	Use
Animate still image	Replicate (svd, animate-diff)
Text to video	Replicate (minimax, ltx-video)
Talking head / face	Replicate (liveportrait)
Pixel art animations	PixelLab
Walk cycles/sprites	PixelLab
Retro game art	PixelLab

---

Output Locations

• Default: ~/.claude/plugins/ormus-illustrator/output/
• Per-project: Use --output "PATH" flag

---

Troubleshooting

Error	Provider	Solution
401 Unauthorized	Gemini	gcloud auth application-default login
429 Rate Limited	Any	Wait 1-2 minutes
Discord login needed	Midjourney	Log in manually in browser window
Browser not found	Midjourney	playwright install chromium

---

Example: La Gran Obra Childlike Style

For hand-drawn, crayon-like, blob-shape illustrations:

# Midjourney prompt for childlike style
python3 midjourney.py "childlike crayon drawing, wobbly organic blob shape, bright yellow color, hand-drawn imperfect lines, no background, simple joyful character, marker texture --v 6.1 --s 150 --ar 1:1" --name yellow-blob --output ~/projects/01-ACTIVE/la-gran-obra/public/assets/shapes/

Style keywords for childlike aesthetic:

• "childlike crayon drawing"
• "hand-drawn imperfect lines"
• "wobbly organic shapes"
• "marker texture"
• "finger-paint style"
• "simple joyful"
• "no background" or "transparent background"

---

Provider 4: PixelLab (Pixel Art & Animations)

Best for: pixel art animations, sprite sheets, walk cycles, idle animations, retro-style game art.

cd ~/.claude/plugins/ormus-illustrator/providers && python3 pixellab.py "ACTION" --image REFERENCE.png --name OUTPUT

Generate animation from reference:

python3 pixellab.py "walking" --image turpi.png --name turpi-walk --size 64 --frames 4

Generate idle animation:

python3 pixellab.py "breathing idle" --image turpi.png --name turpi-idle --frames 8

Generate waving animation:

python3 pixellab.py "waving hello" --image turpi.png --name turpi-wave --size 32

Parameters:

Flag	Description	Default
--image/-i	Reference image (required)	-
--name/-n	Output name prefix	animation
--size/-s	Output size (32, 64, 128)	64
--direction/-d	Character direction (north, south, east, west, etc.)	south
--frames/-f	Number of frames (2-20)	4
--seed	Random seed for reproducibility	-
--keep-bg	Keep background (don't remove)	-
--output/-o	Output directory	default

Estimate skeleton from image:

python3 pixellab.py --skeleton turpi.png

List animation templates:

python3 pixellab.py --list-templates

Available templates: backflip, breathing-idle, cross-punch, die-and-revive, falling, hook-punch, idle-to-crouch, idle, jump-kick, jump, run, slash, slide, smash-with-sword, spin-kick, walk, wave, wings-flap

API Key: Stored in script or set PIXELLAB_API_KEY environment variable.

MCP Integration: PixelLab MCP server available at https://api.pixellab.ai/mcp (configured in project)

---

Gentle Iteration (No Need to Grind)

Early results might feel rough — totally normal.

But as the loop continues:

• Your prompts become sharper
• The tool begins to "understand" your vibe
• Your mood board gains personality
• A unique style emerges

You'll notice something special:

• Claude handles structure
• The image tool handles aesthetics
• You handle taste

---

The Anti-Patterns

Don't	Why
Jump straight to generation	You lose the thinking phase
Overload mood boards	Cluttered board = unclear direction
Expect instant perfection	Style emerges through iteration
Ignore good "accidents"	Sometimes the tool surprises you — save those
Fight the tool's personality	Work with its strengths, not against them

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Final Wisdom

This workflow is not about being technical. It's about:

• Reducing guesswork in an inherently chaotic process
• Building a stable creative backbone with Claude as the consistent partner
• Letting AI understand your taste through conversation
• Growing your style slowly, naturally, one prompt at a time

It's simple, really. Just a conversation between you and your tools.

No pressure. No heavy theory. Just a path that helps your visual voice grow.

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v4.0.0 | Philosophy integrated from LLM-first image generation workflow