# Inkwash — image & icon prompts

Reusable prompts for generating new **icons and imagery** that match the hand-painted
watercolor style of the system. Use with an image model (the project uses local **ComfyUI /
SDXL** and **ChatGPT image**). Keep outputs on a **plain white or transparent background** so
they crop cleanly (see *Post-processing* below).

## The house style (paste into any prompt)

> Hand-painted **watercolor illustration**, soft granulated washes, visible paper texture,
> gentle bleeding edges, loose confident brushwork, warm and cozy, storybook/naturalist feel.
> Muted earthy palette — warm golds (#E8A45C/#C4842E), deep forest blues/greens, cream paper.
> No hard vector lines, no flat design, no 3D render, no photograph. Centered subject,
> generous margin, plain #FFFCF5 (or transparent) background, even soft lighting.

## Recipes

### 1. App-style icon (rounded-square, like the theme + artsy icons)
> {house style}. A single **rounded-square app icon** of a **[SUBJECT]**, painted in watercolor
> on a soft-colored rounded-square tile, subtle drop shadow, iOS-app-icon composition, one clear
> focal object, centered, 1:1. Background outside the tile is plain white.
Examples of [SUBJECT]: crescent moon (dark theme), radiant sun (walk), rain cloud, campfire, paint palette, camera, pottery wheel, notebook.

### 2. Inline UI glyph (small, single-color-friendly)
> {house style}, minimal. A small **watercolor glyph** of a **[SUBJECT]** (home, search, heart,
> settings gear, chevron, bell), single warm-gold wash, thick soft strokes, high legibility at
> 24px, transparent background, lots of padding.

### 3. Foliage sprite (Growth Mode, per theme)
> {house style}. A single **[mushroom cluster / fern / oak-leaf sprig / wildflowers]** growing
> from a mossy base, painted in watercolor, glowing fireflies optional. **Theme variant:**
> *Walk* = warm autumn (amber/rust/sage); *Rain* = cool blue-green, wet; *Fire* = ember orange
> with embers; *Dark Forest* = deep navy-blue night with tiny golden glows. Transparent
> background, subject fills frame, flat front view.
Generate in a 3×3 or 4×4 grid to batch, then slice (that's how the current `flora/*.png` were made).

### 4. Section / hero background
> {house style}, atmospheric. A **[misty forest path / moonlit woodland / rainy grove / ember
> forest]** in watercolor, soft depth, fireflies/light motes, painterly, 16:9, room for text
> overlay in the center (keep the middle calmer/darker for contrast).

### 5. Avatar / persona
> {house style}. A friendly **watercolor portrait avatar** of a **[role]**, shoulders-up,
> circular crop friendly, soft palette, plain background.

## Post-processing (match the existing assets)
1. **Crop out the background** — flood-fill the near-white corners to transparent, autocrop to
   content, pad ~10px. (The repo's flora were made with a PIL grid-slice → floodfill → autocrop.)
2. **App icons** → 160×160, transparent outside the rounded square (see `assets/img/icons/`).
3. **Foliage** → keep the base tucked so it reads as *growing from behind* a tile.
4. Save PNG; drop into `assets/img/…`; reference from the component or `WC.grow` sprite sets.

## Consistency checklist
- Same warm palette + paper texture across a set.
- One light source, soft shadows.
- No hard outlines or flat/vector look.
- Test each new icon at its real size (24px glyph, 44px app icon) for legibility (WCAG 3:1 for glyphs).
