/gif-creator

name: gif-creator
description: Create animated GIF and static PNG infographics for LinkedIn posts following Ben AI's exact brand guidelines. Use this skill whenever the user wants to visualize a process, workflow, or step-by-step concept for LinkedIn — including phrases like "make a visual", "create a GIF", "infographic for LinkedIn", "visualize this workflow", "diagram for LinkedIn", "animated post", "process visual", or any request to turn a LinkedIn post or concept into a visual format. Always use this skill in combination with linkedin-post when the user wants both a written post and a visual.
disable-model-invocation: true

LinkedIn Visual Animation

Create polished, on-brand animated GIF and static PNG infographics for LinkedIn posts. These visuals follow Ben AI's exact brand guidelines and are designed for maximum engagement on LinkedIn.

Two-Step Process

This skill follows a strict two-step interactive process. Never skip to creating the visual without Step 1 approval.

Step 1: Suggest Visualization Approaches

Before creating anything, propose 2-3 different ways to visualize the content. Consider:

• **Vertical process flow**: Steps stacked top-to-bottom with arrows (best for sequential workflows, 4-10 steps)
• **Comparison grid**: Side-by-side cards comparing approaches (best for before/after, tool comparisons)
• **Hub and spoke**: Central concept with radiating connections (best for ecosystems, tool stacks)
• **Timeline**: Horizontal or vertical timeline with milestones (best for journeys, evolution)
• **Numbered list cards**: Clean cards with numbers (best for tips, tools lists, rankings)

For each suggestion, briefly explain: 1. The layout type 2. What content goes in each card/node 3. Why it fits this particular content

Wait for user to confirm which approach before proceeding.

Step 2: Create the GIF and PNG

Once the approach is confirmed, build the visual using PIL/Pillow following the exact brand guidelines below. Always output both:

• An animated GIF (nodes appearing one by one)
• A static PNG (final frame, for fallback)

Save both to the outputs folder.

Brand Guidelines

These are non-negotiable. Every visual must follow these exactly.

Canvas Size

• **Final output**: 800 x 998 pixels (portrait, ~4:5 ratio — optimal for LinkedIn)
• **Render at 3x**: 2400 x 2994 pixels, then downscale with LANCZOS for crisp text
• Never change these dimensions

Colors

| Role | Color | Hex | |------|-------|-----| | Background | Light yellow | #FAF3E3 `(250, 243, 227)` | | Card background | White | #FFFFFF `(255, 255, 255)` | | Border / shadow / text | Near-black | #020309 `(2, 3, 9)` | | Title accent | Green | `(72, 160, 120)` | | Gray text (descriptions) | Gray | `(100, 100, 100)` | | Divider lines | Warm gray | `(210, 205, 190)` |

Phase Colors (for category tags on cards)

| Phase | Color | Hex | |-------|-------|-----| | INPUT | Dark yellow | #FDEEC4 `(253, 238, 196)` | | PLAN | Light blue | #E5F5F9 `(229, 245, 249)` | | ENGINE | Light blue | #E5F5F9 `(229, 245, 249)` | | EXEC | Green | #D2ECD0 `(210, 236, 208)` | | DEBUG | Red/pink | #F3C1C0 `(243, 193, 192)` |

Phase tags are optional — use them when the content has clear phases/categories.

Typography

• **Title**: Poppins Bold, 108pt at 3x (36pt final)
• **Subtitle**: Poppins Medium, 42pt at 3x (14pt final)
• **Card label**: Poppins Bold, 51pt at 3x (17pt final)
• **Card description**: Poppins Medium, 36pt at 3x (12pt final)
• **Step numbers**: Poppins Bold, 39pt at 3x (13pt final)
• **Footer**: Poppins Medium, 36pt at 3x (12pt final)
• **Phase tags**: Poppins Bold, 30pt at 3x (10pt final)

Font paths: `/usr/share/fonts/truetype/google-fonts/Poppins-Bold.ttf` and `Poppins-Medium.ttf`

Card Style

• **Solid shadow**: offset 15px at 3x (5px final), color #020309
• **Solid border**: 6px at 3x (2px final), color #020309
• **Rounded corners**: 30px at 3x (10px final)
• **Card dimensions** (for vertical flow): 1560 x 195 at 3x
• **Gap between cards**: 84px at 3x
• White background with color accent strip on the left edge
• Text (label + description) vertically centered within card

Layout Structure (Vertical Process Flow)

• Title area: ~390px at 3x (top)
• Footer: ~150px at 3x (bottom)
• Cards centered horizontally and vertically in remaining space
• Downward arrows between cards (5px line, triangular arrowhead)

Footer

Always include: `"Ben Van Sprundel | Founder @ BenAI"`

Icons and Logos

Add relevant icons/logos to cards where they make sense. Draw them programmatically with PIL (do not rely on external image files). Available logo drawing patterns:

• **Claude logo**: Orange starburst with rays radiating from center circle. Color: `(224, 125, 79)`
• **n8n logo**: Pink connected nodes (3 circles with connecting lines). Color: `(234, 72, 108)`
• **Google Meet logo**: Colored camera icon with quadrants (blue, green, red, yellow)
• **Document icon**: Gray rounded rectangle with horizontal text lines inside

For other tools/concepts, draw simple representative icons using PIL primitives (ellipses, rectangles, polygons). Keep icons small (45px radius at 3x) and positioned on the left side of each card.

See `references/template-code.py` for complete logo drawing implementations.

Animation Pattern

The GIF animation reveals content progressively:

1. **Title hold**: Show title + subtitle + footer for ~12 frames (1.2s at 100ms/frame) 2. **Node reveal**: Add one card at a time, each holding for ~7 frames (0.7s). Arrows appear as connecting cards are revealed. 3. **Final hold**: Complete visual holds for ~30 frames (4.5s at 150ms/frame) so viewers see the full picture.

Frame timing: 100ms per frame for reveal, 150ms for final hold. Aim for under 300KB total.

Rendering Technique

This is critical for sharp text:

SCALE = 3
WIDTH = 800 * SCALE   # 2400
HEIGHT = 998 * SCALE   # 2994

# ... draw everything at 3x size ...

# Downscale for crisp final output
final = i