What to ask for. Agents can also read llms.txt; the full procedure lives in the skill's SKILL.md.
# a bare idea
/illo you are the bottleneck
# a whole post
/illo https://yourblog.com/shipping-discipline hero + 3 images
# invent one for me
/illo surprise me
# a flowchart / labeled stages
/illo using Blip, make a flowchart of how a newsletter issue ships
# install a character
/illo install mole character pack
Not installed yet? Install illo skill →
swipe the table →
| You want | Ask for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One image for an idea | Editorial scene (default) | /illo scope creep has a smell |
| Illustrate a whole article | Hero + inline set | /illo <url> hero + 3 images |
| Before→after, fail→fix | Mini-comic | /illo stuck → slice → shipped as a mini-comic |
| Named pipeline, flowchart, timeline | Explainer diagram | /illo using Blip, make a flowchart of how a newsletter issue ships |
| Mascot sticker / overlay | Character cutout | /illo pip cutout waving |
| Invent something for me | Surprise / random | /illo surprise me |
| X Article hero / banner | 1536 × 640 banner | /illo X Article banner for this post |
| Match your site or brand | Named or derived palette | /illo scope creep has a smell emerald green accent |
| Your own mascot | Character builder | /illo build a character |
the default
One caught moment: the mascot performing the idea — not decorating it. Use when you want the reader to feel the judgment, trap, or payoff.
Not for: traceable structures (use an explainer) or overlay stickers (use a cutout).
when the idea is a story beat
2–4 panels inside a single image. Same character and key object in every panel — fail→fix, before→after. Great for social posts. A named pipeline is labeled stages inside an explainer, not this register.
when the structure is the point
One register: labeled stages, flow, fan-out, timeline, loop, stack, or system slice — stations the reader can trace, with short callouts. Ask for an explainer diagram when the thesis is the path — e.g. /illo how a book gets published explainer diagram. A flowchart, labeled workflow, or “walk the stages” locks labeled stages inside this register, not a mini-comic. Arrow notes sit on the arrows: a verb on the main flow, a condition on the return.
Not for: emotional metaphors — those stay editorial scenes.
just the mascot
Transparent PNG — pose and contact continuity only. No scene, no text, no idea to explain. For slides, docs, or pasting onto something else downstream.
Not for: illustrating an article — reroute to a scene if the ask needs a metaphor.
invent-and-render
When you don't have a thesis yet — say /illo surprise me. The skill rolls provenance, offers three saying candidates, you pick one (or pass --autopick for schedulers), then renders one image plus a caption-ready line. Scope it with a focus or character: /illo surprise me with art quote using bray.
Not for: a concrete idea you already have — that stays the normal scene path.
Each character pack couples one mascot with one bundled print look — seventeen looks from riso and blueprint through bricks, bloom, and snes. You don't swap looks on an existing pack; build a style-variant sibling if you need the same character in a different look.