mellow-pop

What this skill does

# /mellow-pop — locked chill editorial poster style

This style produces serene, scene-driven flat-vector editorial posters. The *mood* is mellow (closed-eye smile, soft posture, contemplative scene). The *format* is pop (one saturated solid color filling the canvas + a signature leaf-green accent). The same recurring character anchors every piece so a series reads as one collection.

Each invocation swaps a small set of dials — the locked frame (character, line quality, surface, background-as-block, green-pop signature) never moves.

## Prompt interpretation

The user will usually give a short brief — sometimes just a metaphor ("a giant lightbulb"), sometimes a metaphor plus a palette ("watering a green tulip, lavender"), sometimes a full mini-scene ("late-night planning, indigo, L3 with sticky notes and a crescent moon"). Translate that into a full poster brief without stopping to ask:

1. **Pick a scene metaphor** that visualizes the brief's concept. If the user gave only a feeling-word, choose the most evocative everyday-but-oversized object or vignette for that feeling.
2. **Pick one saturated background hue** that supports the scene's mood. One color, no gradient.
3. **Pick a complexity level (L1 / L2 / L3)** appropriate to the request — L1 for a single hero prop, L2 for prop + 1–2 supporting elements, L3 for a multi-element mini-scene with horizon, path, or ambient depth.
4. **Choose a character pose** that fits the scene (sitting cross-legged, walking, kneeling, reaching, leaning, holding).
5. **Pick an outfit accent** — cream sweater (calmer, default) or coral-pink sweater (warmer, energetic). Pants and shoes are locked.
6. **Honor the locked frame** — character anatomy, line quality, flat fills, saturated background, leaf-green pop signature — those never move.

Bias toward scenes where an everyday object is gently oversized (a giant book, a giant lightbulb, a giant flower) or where a quiet moment is staged with ambient props (sticky notes drifting, butterflies, soundwave arcs). Avoid hard action, conflict, or surprise — the character is always contemplative.

## Locked style axes (NEVER vary)

### Character (the recurring protagonist)

- **Tall slender proportions, small head** — elongated silhouette in a modern editorial way
- **Smooth tan skin** — flat fill, no rendering
- **Short dark bobbed hair with straight bangs** — chin-length, slightly tucked, solid black fill
- **Three-quarter face view** — slightly turned toward camera, never full profile, never full front
- **Closed-eye smile** drawn as two short curved lines (eyes never open)
- **A tiny visible nose bump** on the silhouette — small short curve between eye and mouth (do not omit)
- **Soft smile mouth** — single short curved line, never showing teeth
- **Wardrobe**: long-sleeve sweater (cream OR coral-pink) + warm-gray loose pants + simple white shoes — never deviate from this base
- **Mood is always mellow** — chill, contemplative, soft posture, slight forward tilt of the head; never excited, surprised, or strained

### Line quality

- **Thin clean uniform black outlines** around every shape — medium weight, decisive, never sketchy, never chunky
- No double-stroke, no varying line-width within a single shape's perimeter, no hand-drawn wobble
- Line weight is consistent across the whole canvas

### Surface

- **Flat solid color fills only** — no gradients, no airbrush, no shading, no halftone, no riso grain, no paper texture
- Cel-shading is acceptable as a single flat shadow tone on the character or hero prop, but is *optional* — most pieces are pure flat
- The canvas is plastic-clean — no organic texture anywhere

### Background

- **One fully saturated single hue filling the entire canvas** — no gradient, no vignette, no second color band, no horizon strip
- No white margins, no border, no frame, no clipping mask
- Hue is one from the palette dial below

### Green-pop signature

- **A pop of bright leaf-green must appear in every piece** — never a different green, never desaturated, never minty unless mint is the background and the pop is rendered as a darker leaf-green
- The green appears as: the oversized hero prop · accent plants/leaves · ambient motifs (sticky notes, soundwaves, butterflies) · or the character's sweater (rare)
- Darker-green internal details (vein lines, screen frame, page lines, spiral ridges) read against the bright leaf-green fill

### Optional accents

- **Tiny red dot accents** — wax seal on an envelope, music note, notification badge, bookmark ribbon, sparkle dot. One or two per piece, never more.
- **Small white companion props** — coffee mug with a single steam curl, watering can, open notebook/journal. These give the scene lived-in detail without crowding it.

### Composition

- Portrait canvas, 1024×1536 (2:3) recommended
- Character occupies the lower-center to mid-frame; the hero prop or supporting elements anchor the upper half (L1) or wrap around the character (L2/L3)
- Clean negative space between elements — never crowded
- No text, no logos, no captions, no headlines

## Variable axes (the five dials)

These are the only things that should change between pieces.

| # | Axis | What it controls | Example values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Palette** | The single saturated background hue | warm coral-pink · buttery yellow · soft mint-green · periwinkle blue · soft lavender · deep indigo-blue · warm peach |
| 2 | **Scene metaphor** | The concept the scene visualizes | giant envelope (message) · giant lightbulb (idea) · giant open book (learning) · giant phone (social) · tulip + watering can (growth) · sticky notes + moon (planning) · garden + butterflies (cultivation) · giant spiral shell + soundwaves (listening) · lily-pad stepping stones + distant figure (journey) |
| 3 | **Complexity** | How rich the scene is | **L1** — character + one oversized green prop, clean negative space · **L2** — prop + 1–2 supporting elements (coffee cup, journal, bookmark, butterflies) · **L3** — multi-element mini-scene with ambient depth (horizon, path, distant figure, 4+ floating props) |
| 4 | **Pose** | Character body language | sitting cross-legged · standing · walking in mid-stride · kneeling on one knee · leaning casually · reaching upward · holding the prop · sitting on top of the prop |
| 5 | **Outfit accent** | The sweater color (other wardrobe items locked) | cream (calmer, default) · coral-pink (warmer, energetic) |

## Brief template

When generating, expand the user's input into this internal brief before describing the image to the model:

```
Scene metaphor: <one phrase — what the scene depicts and what it stands for>
Palette: <single saturated background hue>
Complexity: L1 / L2 / L3
Pose: <verb + posture>
Outfit accent: cream / coral-pink
Green-pop role: <hero prop / supporting plants / motifs / character sweater>
Ambient props (L2/L3 only): <coffee mug · journal · butterflies · sticky notes · soundwave arcs · stars · moon · clouds · stepping stones · distant figure>
Optional red accent: <wax seal · music note · notification dot · bookmark · sparkle>
```

## Worked examples

Nine reference pieces below — each holds the locked frame and varies the five dials.

### Example 1 — coral · giant green leaf hug · L1 (anchor piece)

![coral · giant green leaf hug](./ref-coral-leaf-hug.png)

- Palette: warm coral-pink
- Scene: character calmly hugging an oversized leaf-green leaf taller than she is, in three-quarter view
- Complexity: L1 (one hero prop + a tiny red wax-seal accent + a small white coffee cup at her feet)
- Pose: standing, both arms wrapping the giant leaf
- Outfit accent: cream sweater
- Green-pop role: the giant leaf (with darker-green vein lines)

### Example 2 — buttery yellow · giant green lightbulb · L1 (idea / inspiration)

![yellow · giant green lightbulb](./ref-yellow-lightbulb-l1.png)

- Palette: buttery yellow
- Scene: character looking up and reaching toward a giant bright leaf-green lightbulb floating beside her head; small