Smart Illustrator
Turns articles into illustrated posts: Mermaid, Excalidraw and Gemini covers
Test report
- Verdict
- Tested · Works
- Score
- Tested
- Jul 16, 2026
- Environment
- Claude Code 2.x (agent harness)
- Upstream re-checked
- Aug 10, 2026 · b8ab445
Ran a real task: a 76-word article on a CI pipeline, diagram without skill and according to skill rules, both rendered to PNG by bundled script mermaid-export.ts. Baseline version — 12 identical gray blocks and uniform arrows; skill version applied a semantic palette from SKILL.md (6 classDef: green input, red forks, purple process, orange action, blue output) and three levels of arrows, so the happy path is readable at a glance. The script worked honestly: without global @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli, it crashes with clear instructions (dependency is in README, but not in SKILL.md). All 8 files referenced by SKILL.md (4 style files, excalidraw-guide, 3 scripts) actually exist. Two minuses: the `-w 2400` flag from SKILL.md does not provide the promised '高分辨率' (high resolution) — the actual PNG came out 419x1167, and the Gemini branch could not be checked, no GEMINI_API_KEY (Mermaid/Excalidraw work without a key). Documentation is only in Chinese, typographic rules (≤8 characters per node) are calibrated for CJK.
Scored on four weighted criteria — install, triggering, output vs. baseline, docs. How scoring works
- Installs cleanly 5/5
- Triggers reliably 5/5
- Output vs. baseline 8/10
- Docs & honesty 4/5
What Smart Illustrator does
Generates illustrations for articles, batch PPT/slide infographics and platform-sized cover images, routing each visual to one of three engines (Gemini for creative art, Excalidraw for concept sketches, Mermaid for complex flows). Triggers on requests to illustrate an article, build slide infographics, or make a cover/thumbnail for YouTube, WeChat, Twitter or Xiaohongshu.
How to install Smart Illustrator
git clone https://github.com/axtonliu/smart-illustrator.git
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r smart-illustrator ~/.claude/skills/smart-illustrator
Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/
(per-project). Restart Claude Code after installing.
Commands — how to trigger Smart Illustrator
-
/smart-illustratorTurns articles into illustrated posts: Mermaid, Excalidraw and Gemini covers
It also activates on plain-language prompts like these:
-
Illustrate this CI pipeline article with a flowchart, not a generic image -
Make a cover thumbnail for my YouTube video about this article -
Turn my WeChat post into a batch of slide infographics
Frequently asked questions
- Is the Smart Illustrator skill free?
- Yes. The skill itself is free from axtonliu/smart-illustrator. SkillProof publishes the install command and an independent test verdict at no cost.
- Does Smart Illustrator work with Claude Code?
- We tested it with Claude Code 2.x (agent harness) on Jul 16, 2026. Verdict: Tested · Works. Ran a real task: a 76-word article on a CI pipeline, diagram without skill and according to skill rules, both rendered to PNG by bundled script mermaid-export.ts. Baseline version — 12 identical gray blocks and uniform arrows; skill version applied a semantic palette from SKILL.md (6 classDef: green input, red forks, purple process, orange action, blue output) and three levels of arrows, so the happy path is readable at a glance. The script worked honestly: without global @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli, it crashes with clear instructions (dependency is in README, but not in SKILL.md). All 8 files referenced by SKILL.md (4 style files, excalidraw-guide, 3 scripts) actually exist. Two minuses: the `-w 2400` flag from SKILL.md does not provide the promised '高分辨率' (high resolution) — the actual PNG came out 419x1167, and the Gemini branch could not be checked, no GEMINI_API_KEY (Mermaid/Excalidraw work without a key). Documentation is only in Chinese, typographic rules (≤8 characters per node) are calibrated for CJK.
- What is the Smart Illustrator SkillProof Score?
- 8.8/10 — installs cleanly 5/5, triggers reliably 5/5, output vs. baseline 8/10, docs & honesty 4/5.
- How do I install Smart Illustrator?
- Copy the install command from this page, run it in your terminal, and restart Claude Code. Skills live in ~/.claude/skills/ (global) or .claude/skills/ inside a project.
- Can I use Smart Illustrator with Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Codex or other AI tools?
- The SKILL.md format is native to Claude (Claude Code, Desktop, claude.ai). The instructions inside adapt to other assistants: Cursor rules, GitHub Copilot instructions, Windsurf rules, Custom GPTs, AGENTS.md for OpenAI Codex, and GEMINI.md for Google Gemini CLI — our conversion guides cover each, and the free converter on the tools page does the wrapping for you.