Art Director

Art Director

Claude can't generate images directly, but it can direct image generation models with expert-level prompts. This skill turns Claude into a creative director.

Supported Backends

The 5-Component Prompt Formula

Every image prompt follows this structure:

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[SUBJECT] + [STYLE] + [COMPOSITION] + [LIGHTING] + [TECHNICAL]

1. Subject (What)

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"A minimalist developer dashboard showing code metrics"
"An isometric illustration of microservices architecture"
"A cyberpunk cityscape representing a deployment pipeline"

2. Style (How it looks)

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Styles: flat design, isometric, pixel art, watercolor,
        technical diagram, infographic, comic book,
        photorealistic, low-poly 3D, line art, blueprint

3. Composition (Layout)

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"centered hero composition with negative space"
"rule of thirds with focal point bottom-left"
"symmetric grid layout with 4 quadrants"
"panoramic wide-angle view"

4. Lighting (Mood)

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"soft diffused lighting, professional studio"
"dramatic rim lighting, dark background"
"warm golden hour, natural outdoor"
"neon glow, cyberpunk atmosphere"
"flat even lighting, clean minimal"

5. Technical (Specs)

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"16:9 aspect ratio, 1920x1080, PNG"
"1:1 square, 1024x1024, social media optimized"
"4:3 presentation slide format"
"banner format 1200x630 for Open Graph"

Use Cases

1. GitHub Repository Banners

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Subject: "vibecosystem logo - interconnected nodes forming a brain,
          each node is a different color representing an agent type"
Style: "flat design, minimal, dark background (#0d1117)"
Composition: "centered, wide banner format"
Lighting: "subtle gradient glow on nodes"
Technical: "1280x640 PNG, GitHub social preview"

2. Architecture Diagrams

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Subject: "microservices architecture with 5 services connected by message queue"
Style: "clean technical diagram, rounded rectangles, thin connecting lines"
Composition: "left-to-right flow, clear hierarchy"
Lighting: "flat, no shadows, white background"
Technical: "SVG-compatible, high contrast"

3. Social Media Posts

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Subject: "before/after comparison of code quality metrics"
Style: "modern infographic, data visualization"
Composition: "split screen, left=before (red), right=after (green)"
Lighting: "clean, professional"
Technical: "1080x1080 Instagram square"

4. Presentation Slides

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Subject: "key takeaway slide showing 3 pillars of the system"
Style: "corporate minimal, sans-serif typography"
Composition: "three equal columns with icons"
Lighting: "flat, light background"
Technical: "16:9, 1920x1080"

5. Error/Status Illustrations

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Subject: "friendly 404 illustration - a confused robot looking at a map"
Style: "line art with single accent color (#3b82f6)"
Composition: "centered character with text space below"
Lighting: "flat"
Technical: "800x600 SVG"

Prompt Database (Templates)

Developer Themes

• dev-dark: Dark mode, neon accents, terminal aesthetic
• dev-clean: Light, minimal, Apple-inspired
• dev-retro: Pixel art, 8-bit, nostalgic
• dev-cyber: Cyberpunk, holographic, futuristic
• dev-nature: Organic, earthy, calm

Color Palettes

• github: #0d1117, #238636, #f78166, #3fb950
• vercel: #000000, #ffffff, #666666
• claude: #d4a574, #1a1a2e, #f5f5dc
• vibecosystem: #6366f1, #0f172a, #22d3ee, #f43f5e

Workflow

1. User describes what they need ("I need a banner for the repo")
2. Claude constructs a 5-component prompt
3. Prompt is sent to the chosen backend via MCP or API
4. Image is saved to project assets/
5. Path is returned for immediate use

Integration

• designer agent: Uses art-director skill for visual decisions
• frontend-dev: Generates placeholder images during prototyping
• copywriter: Creates social media visuals with copy
• doc-updater: Generates diagrams for documentation
• harvest: Creates competitive analysis visuals

Tips

• Always specify aspect ratio and dimensions
• Include "no text" if you don't want the model to attempt typography
• Use negative prompts: "no watermark, no stock photo look"
• For diagrams, prefer SVG-compatible styles over photorealistic
• Test with cheapest model first, upgrade only if quality insufficient