§8 TOOL REFERENCE & WIND TABLE

8.1 WIND DIRECTION MASTER TABLE

Wind only blows horizontally. Use canvas rotation for vertical effects. Now uses dedicated tool: apply_wind

"left" = FROM the left = pushes pixels RIGHT. "right" = FROM the right = pushes pixels LEFT.

Wind method comparison:

• •"wind" = controlled thin streaks — USE THIS for drip/fire effects
• •"blast" = thick aggressive splatter — TOO MUCH for most effects
• •"stagger" = randomized jagged streaks — good for lightning/electricity

8.2 FILTER PARAMETER RANGES

§9 DESIGN PRINCIPLES

9.1 COLOR RULES

60-30-10 Rule: 60% dominant, 30% secondary, 10% accent

9.2 TYPOGRAPHY RULES

• •Max 2 fonts per design (3 absolute max)
• •Title: 2-3x body size minimum
• •ALL CAPS: add tracking +50 to +200
• •Never use Thin/Light below 24pt

9.3 COMPOSITION

• •Rule of Thirds: focal point at grid intersections
• •Z-Pattern: Logo top-left → headline top → image bottom-left → CTA bottom-right

9.4 CONTRAST & READABILITY

• •Body text: minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio
• •Text on images: 50-70% black overlay, or blur background
• •Dark bg: off-white (224,225,221) not pure white

9.5 DIMENSIONS

§10 WORKFLOW TEMPLATES

10.1 POSTER CREATION

1. Create canvas (correct dimensions + DPI)
2. Place background image
3. Color grade: curves + color_balance + vibrance
4. Cut out subject: select_subject → mask OR remove_background
5. Add main text → apply text effects (§5)
6. Add secondary text (subtitle, credits)
7. Final color harmony: unified color overlay SOFT_LIGHT 10-20%
8. Verify with get_document_image
9. Export: save_document_as

10.2 PHOTO EDIT

1. Open → duplicate background
2. auto_tone / auto_color OR manual curves+levels
3. Skin retouch: apply_spot_healing_brush or frequency separation (§6.12)
4. Color grade (§7)
5. Local adjustments: apply_dodge_tool / apply_burn_tool
6. Sharpen: apply_high_pass OVERLAY (§11.1)
7. Vignette (§6.8)
8. Optional apply_noise 2-3% OVERLAY
9. Export

10.3 COMPOSITE

1. Background plate
2. Subject (select_subject or remove_background)
3. Match lighting: harmonize_layer OR manual curves
4. Cast shadow: duplicate → flip vertical → blur → MULTIPLY 30-40%
5. Color unification: photo_filter or solid fill SOFT_LIGHT 10-15%
6. Final adjustments

§11 ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

11.1 HIGH-PASS SHARPENING

stamp_visible → apply_high_pass(radius=2-5) → set_layer_properties(blend_mode="OVERLAY") → opacity 50-80%

11.2 DODGE & BURN (non-destructive)

create_pixel_layer(fill_neutral=true, blend_mode="OVERLAY") → paint WHITE to dodge, BLACK to burn, opacity 10-15% per stroke

11.3 ORTON EFFECT (dreamy glow)

stamp_visible → apply_gaussian_blur(radius=20-40) → SCREEN 40-60%

11.4 BLEND-IF COMPOSITING

set_layer_blend_if for seamless tone-based blending:

• •Remove dark bg: this_layer_black=20, black_feather=50
• •Show in bright areas: underlying_white=180, white_feather=220

11.5 LUMINOSITY MASKING

Load RGB as selection via batchplay → save as Highlights channel → invert for Shadows

11.6 STAMP VISIBLE

stamp_visible = flattened copy of all visible layers as new layer on top. Use BEFORE destructive effects.

§12 CRITICAL TOOL GOTCHAS — 17 VERIFIED

These are verified bugs/behaviors that WILL cause failures if ignored:

1. •select_layer CAN DELETE LAYERS — Use set_layer_properties or execute_batchplay to target layers instead
2. •set_layer_properties RESETS clipping mask — Always pass is_clipping_mask=false (or true if clipped) to preserve state
3. •place_image always throws error — But the layer IS created. Ignore the error and continue.
4. •VIVID_LIGHT blend mode is rejected — MCP tool doesn't support it. Use batchplay.
5. •scale_layer fails silently on Smart Objects — Use free_transform instead
6. •generate_image/generative_fill return success but produce nothing — Adobe Firefly AI tools unreliable in MCP
7. •Canvas rotation affects ALL layers — Every layer rotates. Plan accordingly.
8. •apply_wind only blows HORIZONTALLY — Use canvas rotation for vertical effects (see §8.1)
9. •Filters require rasterized layers — Text, shape, Smart Object layers will fail. Always rasterize first.
10. •translate_layer Y axis — Positive Y moves DOWN (standard screen coords)
11. •SCREEN blend requires BLACK background — White on transparent + SCREEN = invisible.
12. •Wind "blast" method is TOO aggressive — Use "wind" method for controlled streaks.
13. •Global Light is shared — Bevel and Drop Shadow share angle by default.
14. •File tokens required for file paths — batchPlay won't trust raw file paths in some contexts.
15. •All modifying batchPlay in UXP needs executeAsModal — Direct execution without modal wrapper will fail silently.
16. •Blur Gallery may force dialog — Field/Iris/Tilt-Shift/Spin/Path blur may open dialog despite suppression.
17. •Camera Raw Filter NOT scriptable headless — Always requires dialog. Use Curves + Levels + Color Balance instead.

§13 FAILED ATTEMPTS LOG — DO NOT REPEAT

§14 OUTER GLOW PARAMETER REFERENCE

§15 QUALITY CHECKLIST

Before finalizing ANY design:

• • Text is readable at target viewing distance
• • Color palette has max 3-5 colors (60-30-10 rule)
• • Visual hierarchy is clear (title → image → details)
• • White space is sufficient
• • All effects look intentional (not overdone)
• • No artifacts from filter operations
• • Layer order is logical (bg → subject → text → effects → adjustments)
• • Canvas dimensions match target platform
• • Verified with get_document_image or get_layer_image