Knowledge Comic Creator
Create original knowledge comics with flexible art style × tone combinations.
Usage
/canghe-comic posts/turing-story/source.md
/canghe-comic article.md --art manga --tone warm
/canghe-comic
Options
Visual Dimensions
| Option |
Values |
Description |
--art |
ligne-claire (default), manga, realistic, ink-brush, chalk |
Art style / rendering technique |
--tone |
neutral (default), warm, dramatic, romantic, energetic, vintage, action |
Mood / atmosphere |
--layout |
standard (default), cinematic, dense, splash, mixed, webtoon |
Panel arrangement |
--aspect |
3:4 (default, portrait), 4:3 (landscape), 16:9 (widescreen) |
Page aspect ratio |
--lang |
auto (default), zh, en, ja, etc. |
Output language |
Partial Workflow Options
| Option |
Description |
--storyboard-only |
Generate storyboard only, skip prompts and images |
--prompts-only |
Generate storyboard + prompts, skip images |
--images-only |
Generate images from existing prompts directory |
--regenerate N |
Regenerate specific page(s) only (e.g., 3 or 2,5,8) |
Details: references/partial-workflows.md
Art Styles (画风)
| Style |
中文 |
Description |
ligne-claire |
清线 |
Uniform lines, flat colors, European comic tradition (Tintin, Logicomix) |
manga |
日漫 |
Large eyes, manga conventions, expressive emotions |
realistic |
写实 |
Digital painting, realistic proportions, sophisticated |
ink-brush |
水墨 |
Chinese brush strokes, ink wash effects |
chalk |
粉笔 |
Chalkboard aesthetic, hand-drawn warmth |
Tones (基调)
| Tone |
中文 |
Description |
neutral |
中性 |
Balanced, rational, educational |
warm |
温馨 |
Nostalgic, personal, comforting |
dramatic |
戏剧 |
High contrast, intense, powerful |
romantic |
浪漫 |
Soft, beautiful, decorative elements |
energetic |
活力 |
Bright, dynamic, exciting |
vintage |
复古 |
Historical, aged, period authenticity |
action |
动作 |
Speed lines, impact effects, combat |
Preset Shortcuts
Presets with special rules beyond art+tone:
| Preset |
Equivalent |
Special Rules |
--style ohmsha |
--art manga --tone neutral |
Visual metaphors, NO talking heads, gadget reveals |
--style wuxia |
--art ink-brush --tone action |
Qi effects, combat visuals, atmospheric elements |
--style shoujo |
--art manga --tone romantic |
Decorative elements, eye details, romantic beats |
Compatibility Matrix
| Art Style |
✓✓ Best |
✓ Works |
✗ Avoid |
| ligne-claire |
neutral, warm |
dramatic, vintage, energetic |
romantic, action |
| manga |
neutral, romantic, energetic, action |
warm, dramatic |
vintage |
| realistic |
neutral, warm, dramatic, vintage |
action |
romantic, energetic |
| ink-brush |
neutral, dramatic, action, vintage |
warm |
romantic, energetic |
| chalk |
neutral, warm, energetic |
vintage |
dramatic, action, romantic |
Details: references/auto-selection.md
Auto Selection
Content signals determine default art + tone + layout (or preset):
| Content Signals |
Recommended |
| Tutorial, how-to, programming, educational |
ohmsha preset |
| Pre-1950, classical, ancient |
realistic + vintage |
| Personal story, mentor |
ligne-claire + warm |
| Martial arts, wuxia |
wuxia preset |
| Romance, school life |
shoujo preset |
| Biography, balanced |
ligne-claire + neutral |
When preset is recommended: Load references/presets/{preset}.md and apply all special rules.
Details: references/auto-selection.md
Script Directory
Important: All scripts are located in the scripts/ subdirectory of this skill.
Agent Execution Instructions:
- Determine this SKILL.md file's directory path as
SKILL_DIR
- Script path =
${SKILL_DIR}/scripts/<script-name>.ts
- Replace all
${SKILL_DIR} in this document with the actual path
Script Reference:
| Script |
Purpose |
scripts/merge-to-pdf.ts |
Merge comic pages into PDF |
File Structure
Output directory: comic/{topic-slug}/
- Slug: 2-4 words kebab-case from topic (e.g.,
alan-turing-bio)
- Conflict: append timestamp (e.g.,
turing-story-20260118-143052)
Contents:
| File |
Description |
source-{slug}.{ext} |
Source files |
analysis.md |
Content analysis |
storyboard.md |
Storyboard with panel breakdown |
characters/characters.md |
Character definitions |
characters/characters.png |
Character reference sheet |
prompts/NN-{cover|page}-[slug].md |
Generation prompts |
NN-{cover|page}-[slug].png |
Generated images |
{topic-slug}.pdf |
Final merged PDF |
Language Handling
Detection Priority:
--lang flag (explicit)
- EXTEND.md
language setting
- User's conversation language
- Source content language
Rule: Use user's input language or saved language preference for ALL interactions:
- Storyboard outlines and scene descriptions
- Image generation prompts
- User selection options and confirmations
- Progress updates, questions, errors, summaries
Technical terms remain in English.
Workflow
Progress Checklist
Comic Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Setup & Analyze
- [ ] 1.1 Preferences (EXTEND.md) ⛔ BLOCKING
- [ ] Found → load preferences → continue
- [ ] Not found → run first-time setup → MUST complete before other steps
- [ ] 1.2 Analyze, 1.3 Check existing
- [ ] Step 2: Confirmation - Style & options ⚠️ REQUIRED
- [ ] Step 3: Generate storyboard + characters
- [ ] Step 4: Review outline (conditional)
- [ ] Step 5: Generate prompts
- [ ] Step 6: Review prompts (conditional)
- [ ] Step 7: Generate images ⚠️ CHARACTER REF REQUIRED
- [ ] 7.1 Generate character sheet FIRST → characters/characters.png
- [ ] 7.2 Generate pages WITH --ref characters/characters.png
- [ ] Step 8: Merge to PDF
- [ ] Step 9: Completion report
Flow
Input → [Preferences] ─┬─ Found → Continue
│
└─ Not found → First-Time Setup ⛔ BLOCKING
│
└─ Complete setup → Save EXTEND.md → Continue
│
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
Analyze → [Check Existing?] → [Confirm: Style + Reviews] → Storyboard → [Review?] → Prompts → [Review?] → Images → PDF → Complete
Step Summary
| Step |
Action |
Key Output |
| 1.1 |
Load EXTEND.md preferences ⛔ BLOCKING if not found |
Config loaded |
| 1.2 |
Analyze content |
analysis.md |
| 1.3 |
Check existing directory |
Handle conflicts |
| 2 |
Confirm style, focus, audience, reviews |
User preferences |
| 3 |
Generate storyboard + characters |
storyboard.md, characters/ |
| 4 |
Review outline (if requested) |
User approval |
| 5 |
Generate prompts |
prompts/*.md |
| 6 |
Review prompts (if requested) |
User approval |
| 7.1 |
Generate character sheet FIRST |
characters/characters.png |
| 7.2 |
Generate pages with character ref |
*.png files |
| 8 |
Merge to PDF |
{slug}.pdf |
| 9 |
Completion report |
Summary |
Step 7: Image Generation ⚠️ CRITICAL
Character reference is MANDATORY for visual consistency.
7.1 Generate character sheet first:
- Backup rule: If
characters/characters.png exists, rename to characters/characters-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png
npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/../canghe-image-gen/scripts/main.ts \
--promptfiles characters/characters.md \
--image characters/characters.png --ar 4:3
Compress character sheet (recommended):
Compress to reduce token usage when used as reference image:
- Use available image compression skill (if any)
- Or system tools:
pngquant, optipng, sips (macOS)
- Keep PNG format, lossless compression preferred
7.2 Generate each page WITH character reference:
| Skill Capability |
Strategy |
Supports --ref |
Pass characters/characters.png with EVERY page |
No --ref support |
Prepend character descriptions to EVERY prompt file |
Backup rules for page generation:
- If prompt file exists: rename to
prompts/NN-{cover|page}-[slug]-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md
- If image file exists: rename to
NN-{cover|page}-[slug]-backup-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png
npx -y bun ${SKILL_DIR}/../canghe-image-gen/scripts/main.ts \
--promptfiles prompts/01-page-xxx.md \
--image 01-page-xxx.png --ar 3:4 \
--ref characters/characters.png
Full workflow details: references/workflow.md
EXTEND.md Paths ⛔ BLOCKING
CRITICAL: If EXTEND.md not found, MUST complete first-time setup before ANY other questions or steps. Do NOT proceed to content analysis, do NOT ask about art style, do NOT ask about tone — ONLY complete the preferences setup first.
| Path |
Location |
.canghe-skills/canghe-comic/EXTEND.md |
Project directory |
$HOME/.canghe-skills/canghe-comic/EXTEND.md |
User home |
| Result |
Action |
| Found |
Read, parse, display summary → Continue |
| Not found |
⛔ BLOCKING: Run first-time setup ONLY (references/config/first-time-setup.md) → Complete and save EXTEND.md → Then continue |
EXTEND.md Supports: Watermark | Preferred art/tone/layout | Custom style definitions | Character presets | Language preference
Schema: references/config/preferences-schema.md
References
Core Templates:
Style Definitions:
references/art-styles/ - Art styles (ligne-claire, manga, realistic, ink-brush, chalk)
references/tones/ - Tones (neutral, warm, dramatic, romantic, energetic, vintage, action)
references/presets/ - Presets with special rules (ohmsha, wuxia, shoujo)
references/layouts/ - Layouts (standard, cinematic, dense, splash, mixed, webtoon)
Workflow:
Config:
Page Modification
| Action |
Steps |
| Edit |
Update prompt file FIRST → --regenerate N → Regenerate PDF |
| Add |
Create prompt at position → Generate with character ref → Renumber subsequent → Update storyboard → Regenerate PDF |
| Delete |
Remove files → Renumber subsequent → Update storyboard → Regenerate PDF |
IMPORTANT: When updating pages, ALWAYS update the prompt file (prompts/NN-{cover|page}-[slug].md) FIRST before regenerating. This ensures changes are documented and reproducible.
Notes
- Image generation: 10-30 seconds per page
- Auto-retry once on generation failure
- Use stylized alternatives for sensitive public figures
- Maintain style consistency via session ID
- Step 2 confirmation required - do not skip
- Steps 4/6 conditional - only if user requested in Step 2
- Step 7.1 character sheet MUST be generated before pages - ensures consistency
- Step 7.2 EVERY page MUST reference characters - use
--ref or embed descriptions
- Watermark/language configured once in EXTEND.md