gif-creator

name

gif-creator

description

Create animated GIF and static PNG infographics for LinkedIn posts following Ben AI's exact brand guidelines. Use this skill whenever the user wants to visualize a process, workflow, or step-by-step concept for LinkedIn — including phrases like "make a visual", "create a GIF", "infographic for LinkedIn", "visualize this workflow", "diagram for LinkedIn", "animated post", "process visual", or any request to turn a LinkedIn post or concept into a visual format. Always use this skill in combination with linkedin-post when the user wants both a written post and a visual.

LinkedIn Visual Animation

Create polished, on-brand animated GIF and static PNG infographics for LinkedIn posts. These visuals follow Ben AI's exact brand guidelines and are designed for maximum engagement on LinkedIn.

Two-Step Process

This skill follows a strict two-step interactive process. Never skip to creating the visual without Step 1 approval.

Step 1: Suggest Visualization Approaches

Before creating anything, propose 2-3 different ways to visualize the content. Consider:

• Vertical process flow: Steps stacked top-to-bottom with arrows (best for sequential workflows, 4-10 steps)
• Comparison grid: Side-by-side cards comparing approaches (best for before/after, tool comparisons)
• Hub and spoke: Central concept with radiating connections (best for ecosystems, tool stacks)
• Timeline: Horizontal or vertical timeline with milestones (best for journeys, evolution)
• Numbered list cards: Clean cards with numbers (best for tips, tools lists, rankings)

For each suggestion, briefly explain:

1. The layout type
2. What content goes in each card/node
3. Why it fits this particular content

Wait for user to confirm which approach before proceeding.

Step 2: Create the GIF and PNG

Once the approach is confirmed, build the visual using PIL/Pillow following the exact brand guidelines below. Always output both:

• An animated GIF (nodes appearing one by one)
• A static PNG (final frame, for fallback)

Save both to the outputs folder.

Brand Guidelines

These are non-negotiable. Every visual must follow these exactly.

Canvas Size

• Final output: 800 x 998 pixels (portrait, ~4:5 ratio — optimal for LinkedIn)
• Render at 3x: 2400 x 2994 pixels, then downscale with LANCZOS for crisp text
• Never change these dimensions

Colors

Role	Color	Hex
Background	Light yellow	#FAF3E3 (250, 243, 227)
Card background	White	#FFFFFF (255, 255, 255)
Border / shadow / text	Near-black	#020309 (2, 3, 9)
Title accent	Green	(72, 160, 120)
Gray text (descriptions)	Gray	(100, 100, 100)
Divider lines	Warm gray	(210, 205, 190)

Phase Colors (for category tags on cards)

Phase	Color	Hex
INPUT	Dark yellow	#FDEEC4 (253, 238, 196)
PLAN	Light blue	#E5F5F9 (229, 245, 249)
ENGINE	Light blue	#E5F5F9 (229, 245, 249)
EXEC	Green	#D2ECD0 (210, 236, 208)
DEBUG	Red/pink	#F3C1C0 (243, 193, 192)

Phase tags are optional — use them when the content has clear phases/categories.

Typography

• Title: Poppins Bold, 108pt at 3x (36pt final)
• Subtitle: Poppins Medium, 42pt at 3x (14pt final)
• Card label: Poppins Bold, 51pt at 3x (17pt final)
• Card description: Poppins Medium, 36pt at 3x (12pt final)
• Step numbers: Poppins Bold, 39pt at 3x (13pt final)
• Footer: Poppins Medium, 36pt at 3x (12pt final)
• Phase tags: Poppins Bold, 30pt at 3x (10pt final)

Font paths: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/google-fonts/Poppins-Bold.ttf and Poppins-Medium.ttf

Card Style

• Solid shadow: offset 15px at 3x (5px final), color #020309
• Solid border: 6px at 3x (2px final), color #020309
• Rounded corners: 30px at 3x (10px final)
• Card dimensions (for vertical flow): 1560 x 195 at 3x
• Gap between cards: 84px at 3x
• White background with color accent strip on the left edge
• Text (label + description) vertically centered within card

Layout Structure (Vertical Process Flow)

• Title area: ~390px at 3x (top)
• Footer: ~150px at 3x (bottom)
• Cards centered horizontally and vertically in remaining space
• Downward arrows between cards (5px line, triangular arrowhead)

Footer

Always include: "Ben Van Sprundel | Founder @ BenAI"

Icons and Logos

Add relevant icons/logos to cards where they make sense. Draw them programmatically with PIL (do not rely on external image files). Available logo drawing patterns:

• Claude logo: Orange starburst with rays radiating from center circle. Color: (224, 125, 79)
• n8n logo: Pink connected nodes (3 circles with connecting lines). Color: (234, 72, 108)
• Google Meet logo: Colored camera icon with quadrants (blue, green, red, yellow)
• Document icon: Gray rounded rectangle with horizontal text lines inside

For other tools/concepts, draw simple representative icons using PIL primitives (ellipses, rectangles, polygons). Keep icons small (45px radius at 3x) and positioned on the left side of each card.

See references/template-code.py for complete logo drawing implementations.

Animation Pattern

The GIF animation reveals content progressively:

1. Title hold: Show title + subtitle + footer for ~12 frames (1.2s at 100ms/frame)
2. Node reveal: Add one card at a time, each holding for ~7 frames (0.7s). Arrows appear as connecting cards are revealed.
3. Final hold: Complete visual holds for ~30 frames (4.5s at 150ms/frame) so viewers see the full picture.

Frame timing: 100ms per frame for reveal, 150ms for final hold. Aim for under 300KB total.

Rendering Technique

This is critical for sharp text:

SCALE = 3
WIDTH = 800 * SCALE   # 2400
HEIGHT = 998 * SCALE   # 2994

# ... draw everything at 3x size ...

# Downscale for crisp final output
final = img.resize((800, 998), Image.LANCZOS)

Always render at 3x and downscale. Text rendered at 1x or 2x will look blurry on LinkedIn.

Text Alignment in Cards

Vertically center the text block (label + gap + description) within each card:

label_bbox = draw.textbbox((0, 0), label, font=FONT_NODE_LABEL)
label_h = label_bbox[3] - label_bbox[1]
desc_bbox = draw.textbbox((0, 0), desc, font=FONT_NODE_DESC)
desc_h = desc_bbox[3] - desc_bbox[1]
text_gap = 12
total_text_h = label_h + text_gap + desc_h
text_top = card_y + (CARD_H - total_text_h) // 2

This prevents text from floating too high or low in cards.

Dependencies

pip install pillow --break-system-packages

PIL (Pillow) is the only required dependency.

Reference Code

For the complete working implementation (logo drawing functions, card rendering, animation frame generation), read:

references/template-code.py

This contains a fully tested template that produces a vertical process flow infographic. Adapt it for each new visual by changing the NODES data, title text, and logo assignments.

Adaptation Guide

When creating a new visual, adapt the template by:

1. Change NODES list: Update labels, descriptions, phase colors, phase tags, and logo types
2. Change title text: Update part1, part2 (accent colored), and subtitle
3. Adjust card count: Recalculate total_cards_h and start_y based on number of nodes
4. Add new logo types: If the content references tools not in the template, draw new icons using PIL primitives following the same pattern (RGBA overlay, paste with transparency)
5. Choose layout: For non-sequential content, adapt the positioning logic (grid, radial, etc.) while keeping all brand guidelines intact

Quality Checklist

Before delivering, verify:

• Canvas is exactly 800x998
• Rendered at 3x (2400x2994) and downscaled with LANCZOS
• Background is #FAF3E3
• Cards have solid black shadows, borders, and rounded corners
• Text is crisp (not blurry)
• Text is vertically centered in cards
• Footer includes "Ben Van Sprundel | Founder @ BenAI"
• Both GIF and static PNG are saved
• GIF file size is under 500KB
• Logos/icons are drawn programmatically (no external files)