Smart Illustrator
AI-powered article illustrations with intelligent position detection and cover learning system. Claude Code Skill.
Install
git clone https://github.com/axtonliu/smart-illustratorInstall command taken from the project's README or registry entry. Always review code before running it.
README excerpt
Read full README on GitHub →Smart Illustrator
🆕 v1.4.0 — Tri-Engine System (Feb 2026)
New Excalidraw engine for hand-drawn concept diagrams. Three-tier priority: Gemini → Excalidraw → Mermaid. All diagram engines now output PNG by default. Details →
Intelligent article illustration Skill for Claude Code with tri-engine system: automatically selects Gemini (for creative visuals), Excalidraw (for hand-drawn diagrams), or Mermaid (for structured diagrams) based on content type.
Status
Status: Experimental
- This is a public prototype that works for my demos, but does not yet cover all input scales and edge cases.
- Output quality varies based on model version and input structure; results may fluctuate.
- My primary focus is demonstrating how tools and systems work together, not maintaining this codebase.
- If you encounter issues, please submit a reproducible case (input + output file + steps to reproduce).
Why Smart Illustrator?
Creating illustrations for articles is time-consuming: manual design takes hours, stock photos lack context, and generic AI tools don't understand article structure. Smart Illustrator combines intelligent position detection, tri-engine system (Gemini + Excalidraw + Mermaid), and cover learning to generate contextual illustrations in minutes.
Who it's for: Newsletter writers, YouTube creators, technical bloggers, course instructors.
When to use: When you need high-quality illustrations for articles, YouTube thumbnails with best practices, or consistent visual style across content series.
Background: the Make workflow version (auto-illustrate + WeChat publish)
Before packaging this into a Skill, I had already built an end-to-end Make workflow: search → write → auto-illustrate → format/publish (WeChat Official Account).
Full walkthrough (workflow logic & design trade-offs): https://youtu.be/TbyJ3imLuXQ
Features
- Tri-Engine System: Auto-selects Gemini, Excalidraw, or Mermaid based on content type
- Smart Position Detection: Analyzes article structure to identify optimal illustration points
- 10+ Illustration Types: flowchart, sequence, mindmap, concept, comparison, scene, metaphor...
- Extensible Style System: Light, Dark, Minimal, Cover, and custom styles
- Cover Mode: Generate high-CTR YouTube thumbnails with best practices built-in
- Multi-Platform Sizes: YouTube, WeChat, Twitter, Xiaohongshu presets
- Resume Generation: Skip already-generated images, regenerate specific ones
- Brand Customizable: Modify
styles/to apply your brand style - Multiple Backends: Gemini API for creative visuals (2K resolution), Excalidraw for hand-drawn diagrams, Mermaid CLI for structured diagrams — all output PNG by default
What Are Skills?
Skills are prompt-based extensions for Claude Code that give Claude specialized capabilities. Unlike MCP servers that require complex setup, skills are simple markdown files that Claude loads on demand.
Installation
Prerequisites
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