shadow-pop

What this skill does

# /shadow-pop — locked bright flat-vector editorial style

This skill produces bright flat-vector editorial illustrations in the shadow-pop house style: each colored shape carries an offset black silhouette behind it (the signature depth trick that replaces outlines), with white hand-drawn dashed stitching, palette-colored sparkle confetti scattered around, and a fully transparent PNG background so the piece drops cleanly into any surface — blog covers, marketing cards, in-app spot illustrations, empty states, dashboard tiles.

Each invocation swaps only a handful of dials — every other style axis stays locked.

## Prompt interpretation

The user will usually give a short brief — sometimes just a subject ("piggy bank"), sometimes subject + palette ("coffee cup, citrus-cobalt"), sometimes a use case ("empty state for no messages"). Your job is to turn that into a full illustration brief without stopping to ask:

1. **Pick a hero subject** that embodies the metaphor — never paste a generic label on a non-thematic object. Theme-native props win (mailbox + envelope for messaging, vinyl + sleeve for music, parcel + ink stamp for shipping, watering can + plant for growth).
2. **Choose a palette** from the four locked presets. If the user gave a vibe, pick the palette whose mood fits (warm/upbeat → default or berry-pop; fresh/optimistic → tropical; energetic/marketing → citrus-cobalt).
3. **Choose a complexity level** (L1 / L2 / L3) — match it to the use case. In-app spot illustrations and empty states tend toward L1; blog covers and marketing cards toward L2; campaign visuals toward L3.
4. **Choose confetti density** — minimal for quiet/empty-state energy, medium for editorial default, lively for celebration/marketing.
5. **Hold the locked frame** — transparent background, per-shape offset black shadow, no outlines on fills, dashed white stitching, sparkle confetti, bright saturated palette only.

Bias toward warm, friendly, slightly hand-drawn subjects. Avoid muted / pastel / dusty / earth-toned palettes — they are off-spec for this style. Avoid letterforms inside the canvas; no slogans or labels.

## Locked style axes (NEVER vary)

### Composition

- **Single hero subject or compact mini-scene**, centered on a square or near-square canvas (default 1024×1024; portrait 1024×1536 or landscape 1536×1024 only when the layout demands it).
- **Generous breathing room** around the subject — never bleed off the edges.
- **No backgrounds, no scenery, no horizon, no ground line** — the subject sits on a fully transparent canvas.

### Depth treatment — the signature

- Every colored shape sits in front of an **offset black silhouette of itself**, shifted **down-right ~6–10 px**.
- The offset shadow **replaces outlines entirely**. Never trace a black perimeter around a fill — the offset shadow does ALL the depth work.
- Shadows are flat, hard-edged, solid black — never soft, never grayscale, never gradient.

### Line + surface

- **Flat saturated color fills** with no gradient, no airbrush, no internal texture.
- **Slight hand-drawn wobble on edges** — curves aren't perfectly geometric, mimicking a vector illustration traced from a hand sketch.
- **White hand-drawn dashed stitching** on at least one prop seam.
- **A small dashed-rectangle "label panel"** detail on at least one prop (mimics a sewn-on tag — appears in nearly every piece).
- **Brushy white flicks** for shine or highlight, sparingly.

### Background

- **Fully transparent PNG (alpha channel).** No fill color. No polka dots. No ground.
- The piece must drop cleanly onto a white modal, a colored card, a marketing hero, or a dark dashboard surface without recomposing.

### Sparkle confetti

- **Tiny 4-point stars + small filled circles + small open dots** scattered around the subject.
- Confetti colors come from the chosen palette only — never gray, never desaturated.
- Confetti density follows the dial (minimal / medium / lively).

## Variable axes (the five dials)

These are the only things that should change between pieces.

| # | Axis | What it controls | Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Palette** | The hue family | `default` (coral / butter / royal blue / teal) · `berry-pop` (hot pink / tangerine / cobalt / lime) · `tropical` (turquoise / lime / tangerine / hot pink) · `citrus-cobalt` (tangerine / golden butter / lime / cobalt) |
| 2 | **Scene metaphor** | What the centerpiece IS | shipping (parcel + ink stamp) · music (vinyl + sleeve) · finance (piggy bank + coins) · messaging (mailbox + envelope) · growth (watering can + plant) · lifestyle (coffee + croissant + newspaper) · e-commerce (shopping bag + gift) · productivity (laptop + paper airplane) · travel (suitcase + passport) — any theme-native pairing |
| 3 | **Complexity** | How many elements compose the piece | **L1** single hero subject · **L2** object + interacting prop · **L3** small scene with 3+ elements arranged on a base |
| 4 | **Confetti density** | How many sparkle marks float around | `minimal` (3–4 marks — empty-state energy) · `medium` (6–10 marks — editorial default) · `lively` (12+ marks — marketing / celebration) |
| 5 | **Subject domain** | Optional thematic tilt | finance · e-commerce · productivity · lifestyle · music · communication · plant care · travel · etc. Not locked to commerce; coins / price tags / barcodes are optional flavor only. |

### Palette hex values

- `default` — coral red `#FF4D5A` · butter yellow `#FFD24D` · royal blue `#2E5BFF` · teal green `#1FB58F`
- `berry-pop` — hot pink `#FF3D8A` · tangerine `#FF8533` · cobalt `#2E5BFF` · lime `#9BE54A`
- `tropical` — turquoise `#1ED4C7` · lime `#A8E55A` · tangerine `#FF8533` · hot pink `#FF4D8A`
- `citrus-cobalt` — tangerine `#FF8533` · golden butter `#FFC83D` · lime `#9BE54A` · cobalt `#2E5BFF`

Black + white are universal across all palettes (offset shadow + dashed stitching).

## Brief template

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

```
Hero subject / scene: <one specific named subject or compact scene>
Complexity: <L1 / L2 / L3 — with one-line description of how many elements and how they're arranged>
Palette: <one of the four named presets, with hex list>
Confetti density: <minimal / medium / lively>
Subject domain: <optional thematic tilt>
```

## Full prompt template

Substitute the bracketed values and feed this to the image model:

```
Flat-vector editorial illustration on a TRANSPARENT background (PNG alpha — no fill, no polka dots, no ground color whatsoever).
Scene metaphor: {SCENE_DESCRIPTION} — {COMPLEXITY_DESCRIPTION}.
Palette: {PALETTE_NAME} — {PALETTE_HEX_LIST}.
Every colored shape sits in front of an offset black silhouette of itself (offset down-right ~8px), creating the signature shadow-pop depth effect.
NO black outlines on the colored fills — the offset shadow does ALL the depth work, never trace a black perimeter.
White hand-drawn dashed stitching on at least one prop seam and a small dashed-rectangle label panel detail.
Bright sparkle confetti of tiny 4-point stars and small dots in palette colors scattered around the subject — {CONFETTI_DENSITY} density.
Colors must be BRIGHT, CLEAN, SATURATED — never muted, never pastel, never dusty.
Slight hand-drawn wobble on edges. Square 1:1 canvas. No text. Background MUST be fully transparent.
```

## Output requirements

- **Format:** PNG with alpha channel — the background must be transparent, not white, not cream, not gray.
- **Canvas:** 1024×1024 by default; 1024×1536 (portrait) or 1536×1024 (landscape) only when the layout requires.
- **Color depth:** RGBA, 8-bit per channel.
- **Compression:** lossless PNG; no JPEG for this style (alpha needed).

If the chosen execution environment does not support transparent PNG output natively, document the constraint in the output and have the operator post-process the result to remove the background — do not silently substitute a white or colored ground.

## Worked examples

Five refe