Cover Image Skill

Generate editorial cover images using Gemini's image generation. Distill article content into a visual metaphor rendered as a hand-drawn sketch.

Workflow

1. Understand the Article

Read the article/context provided by the user. Identify the core concept, tension, or insight that could become a visual metaphor.

2. Craft the Prompt

Build a prompt using this structure:

code

Black and white hand-drawn sketch, loose ink strokes, technical architectural drawing style.
[visual metaphor distilled from article context]. High contrast, minimalist, white background,
editorial tech illustration. --ar 16:9

Visual metaphor guidelines:

•Translate abstract concepts into concrete imagery (e.g., "microservices" -> "separate buildings connected by bridges")
•Prefer architectural/technical metaphors over literal depictions
•Keep the scene simple — one strong central image, not a collage
•Avoid text, labels, or UI elements in the image

3. Show Prompt for Approval

Present the crafted prompt to the user. Wait for confirmation before generating.

4. Generate

bash

uv run ~/.claude/skills/_generate_image.py "<approved prompt>" --ar 16:9 -o cover.png

5. Report

Report the saved file path and suggest reviewing the image.

Example

Article about: "Why we migrated from monolith to microservices"

Prompt:

code

Black and white hand-drawn sketch, loose ink strokes, technical architectural drawing style.
A massive ancient stone building cracking apart, its fragments floating and reorganizing into
a constellation of small interconnected structures, linked by thin precise lines.
High contrast, minimalist, white background, editorial tech illustration. --ar 16:9

Notes

•Requires GEMINI_API_KEY or GOOGLE_API_KEY in environment
•Default output: cover.png in current directory
•Default aspect ratio: 16:9 (landscape, editorial)
•Uses shared script: ~/.claude/skills/_generate_image.py