High-freedom art direction skill for x-auto thumbnails. Use when a post image feels generic, repetitive, over-constrained, or needs a stronger visual identity. Optimized for Manus-first generation plus local compositing, cropping, and finish work.
Use this skill when the user wants a stronger thumbnail, especially if they ask for:
Use it together with x-auto-post-guard when:
Shared policy lives in docs/agents/x-auto-contract.md.
This skill should stay focused on the image-specific delta.
Produce the best final image for the x-auto row, not the purest prompt.
This skill is not advisory-only. When an x-auto request includes thumbnail creation, replacement, quality uplift, or complaints about repetition, use a Manus-first generation path for x-auto rather than defaulting to ad-hoc local redraws.
The image may come from:
Default to high freedom.
Do not overfit to a fixed house format unless the user explicitly asks for consistency.
For x-auto conceptual thumbnails, default to a kawaii systems design philosophy unless the post clearly calls for another visual language.
kawaii here does not mean mascots or childish decoration. It means:
Use it to create variety, not sameness.
Good signals:
Bad signals:
scripts/local/integrations/xauto-thumbnail-gen.js or an equivalent Manus-backed x-auto flow.When overlay text is present:
Reject thumbnails that feel like:
Prefer thumbnails with:
If the user explicitly asks for a brand cue such as Claude:
If the user did not explicitly ask for a brand cue:
This skill owns visual quality. x-auto-post-guard owns publication integrity.
This skill does not decide:
draft or move to approvedThose decisions stay with x-auto-post-guard and the x-auto runtime rules.
After choosing the final image:
scripts/local/integrations/xauto-sync-approved-thumbnail.pyWhen the user says thumbnails feel repetitive, generic, low quality, or wants more variation: