illo
Creates original editorial illustrations where a recurring mascot character performs the idea — one caught scene by default, a hand-built explainer diagram (a flow, fan-out, timeline, loop, or stack) when the structure itself is the point, or a transparent character cutout (pose-only compositing asset, no scene or text) — in one of seventeen bundled looks (sixteen print, plus a photoreal toy-brick set). Also handles "surprise me" / "random" (optionally scoped to a focus or character): rolls provenance, builds three saying candidates, picks via interactive choice or auto-pick-best (`--autopick`
npx skills add tmchow/illo-skill --skill illo --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Illo Make original, distinctive editorial illustrations for written content. One image explains one idea: a key judgment, a flow, a before/after, a trap, a loop. A **recurring mascot** is the one performing the idea in every scene — the subject, never decoration. When one idea advances through stages, it can be a **mini-comic**: 2–4 panels inside a single image. And when the idea is itself a traceable structure — a pipeline, a fan-out, a timeline, a loop — it can be an **explainer**: the same mascot and look drawing the structure as a hand-built sketch-diagram with arrows and callouts (`references/composition.md`, "Two registers"; editorial scene is always the default). Or a **character cutout**: the mascot alone on a transparent PNG for downstream overlay — pose and contact continuity only, no idea, no text, no environment (`references/cutout.md`). This is a configurable house style, not a generic image generator. The **methodology is the constant**; the **character pack and palette are the parameters** — and a character pack carries its **style** with it: one look per pack, chosen from the bundled look library (riso — grainy halftone, ink-layer offset, paper grain, one bold sof
- Use cases — route the request
- Prerequisites
- Setup is the user's job (never enter the key yourself)
- Hermes Agent only: binary asset repair preflight
- Read these references as needed
- Workflow
- 0. Preflight
- 1. Read the input — and clarify a thin concept (briefly)
- 2. Resolve the character
- 3. Plan (shot list) — when asked to plan, or for anything multi-image
- 4. Resolve the palette (the style is the character's)
- 5. Generate — reference-locked, one metaphor per image
- 5b. Batches & comparison (only when it helps)
- 6. QA and iterate
bash ${HERMES_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/repair-hermes-assets.sh
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" doctor
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" generate --prompt-file /tmp/shot-01.txt --ref "$REF" --aspect 16:9 --out "assets/<slug>-illustrations/01-topic.png"
printf '%s' "<the verbatim request>" > "$RUN/request.txt"
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file p.txt --ref <ref> --count 4 --label "draft→ship" --out "$RUN/v.png"
for m in <model-id-1> <model-id-2>; do
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file p.txt --ref <ref> --model "$m" --label "$m" --out "$RUN/$(basename $m).png"; done
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file staging-A.txt --ref <ref> --label "as a funnel" --out "$RUN/a.png"
python3 .../illo.py generate --prompt-file staging-B.txt --ref <ref> --label "as a crossing" --out "$RUN/b.png"
python3 "$SKILL_DIR/scripts/illo.py" gallery "$RUN" --title "<the piece or request>" --openWhat does the illo skill do?
Creates original editorial illustrations where a recurring mascot character performs the idea — one caught scene by default, a hand-built explainer diagram (a flow, fan-out, timeline, loop, or stack) when the structure itself is the point, or a transparent character cutout (pose-only compositing asset, no scene or text) — in one of seventeen bundled looks (sixteen print, plus a photoreal toy-brick set). Also handles "surprise me" / "random" (optionally scoped to a focus or character): rolls provenance, builds three saying candidates, picks via interactive choice or auto-pick-best (`--autopick`
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add tmchow/illo-skill --skill illo --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From tmchow/illo-skill, a repository with 310 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.