Illustration prompts and review state

These prompts were passed verbatim through the Codex imagegen tool on 2026-07-13. The generator is recorded truthfully as codex; model metadata was unavailable and is not inferred. The resulting plates are original allegorical illustrations, not documentary images for real entities.

The project owner approved the four category plates and the replacement Cartographer on 2026-07-13. Their immutable WebP derivatives and approval manifest live under apps/web/public/illustrations/. Production serves those reviewed files directly: it performs no AI calls and needs no AI provider credentials.

Cartographer v1 — rejected

The first Cartographer was rejected during human review because the upright, outward-facing map made its orientation and the character's interaction with it spatially ambiguous. It is retained here only as provenance for the superseded attempt and is not shipped.

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: Webwoven game guide character plate, 3:4 portrait
Primary request: Create an original fictional Cartographer mascot who invites players to trace surprising connections through knowledge. The character is an anonymous, non-identifiable field cartographer in practical work clothes, holding an unfolded abstract map whose routes curl into a few hand-drawn nodes and threads; no recognizable person, place, flag, monument, or historical figure.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper field with faint deckled fibers and a few restrained registration marks, no written labels.
Style/medium: restrained editorial atlas illustration, hand-inked contours with opaque gouache blocks, visible dry-brush edges, slight print misregistration, natural handmade imperfections; sophisticated independent-publishing character rather than children’s cartoon.
Composition/framing: 3:4 portrait; full figure slightly off-axis; asymmetrical print composition; generous breathing room around the silhouette; strong, readable shape at small size.
Lighting/mood: quiet curiosity, grounded and welcoming; flat print light, no digital glow.
Color palette: paper #F3EBDD, ink #16211D, signal vermilion #C84A32, moss #3F6B54, ochre #B68532, cartographic blue #2D6574; use few colors per area and leave much paper visible.
Materials/textures: physical paper tooth, ink feathering, matte gouache, subtle halftone only where useful.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; coherent editorial atlas style; no fake text, letters, numerals, symbols resembling logos, signature, or watermark; no purple; no gradients; no glossy 3D; no neon; no surreal AI motifs; no UI screenshot; no brand marks; no documentary depiction of a real person or entity.

Cartographer replacement — approved

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: replacement Webwoven game-guide character plate, 3:4 portrait
Input images: Image 1 is a style, palette, medium, and character-role reference only. Create an entirely new composition; do not preserve the map-holding pose.
Primary request: Create a new original fictional Cartographer whose interaction with the map is spatially unambiguous. Place a large unfolded route map flat on a waist-high, slightly tilted field drafting table. The Cartographer stands beside and leans gently over the table, clearly looking down at the same inner map surface that the viewer can see from a three-quarter overhead viewpoint. Both gloved hands rest naturally on separate table or map edges to keep the sheet flat. The map must not be held upright or face outward like a shield.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper field with faint deckled fibers and a few restrained registration marks; no written labels.
Subject: anonymous, non-identifiable field cartographer in practical work clothes, shoulder satchel, boots, and broad hat; grounded and welcoming rather than mysterious or threatening.
Style/medium: match Image 1's restrained editorial atlas language—hand-inked contours, opaque matte gouache blocks, visible dry-brush edges, subtle print misregistration, tactile physical-paper texture, sophisticated independent-publishing character.
Composition/framing: 3:4 portrait, full figure and complete drafting table visible, asymmetrical print composition, generous breathing room, strong readable silhouette. View the table from high three-quarter angle so the character's gaze, hands, tabletop, paper folds, and visible route surface all agree in perspective.
Lighting/mood: quiet curiosity, lucid and inviting, flat print light with no digital glow.
Color palette: Paper #F3EBDD and Ink #16211D dominant; restrained Signal Vermilion #C84A32, Moss #3F6B54, Ochre #B68532, and Cartographic Blue #2D6574. No purple.
Map design: only abstract hand-drawn nodes and connecting routes, visually subtle and correctly printed on the upward-facing inside surface; no geography, names, letters, numerals, compass labels, or fake writing.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; anatomically plausible hands and arms; physically plausible paper folds and table perspective; no map held toward the viewer; no marks appearing on the back of the paper; no extra fingers or limbs; no recognizable person, place, flag, monument, logo, signature, watermark, documentary subject, glossy 3D, neon, gradient, surreal AI motif, or UI screenshot.

History and People

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: Webwoven category illustration, 4:3 landscape
Primary request: Create an original allegorical plate for “History & People”: three anonymous fictional profile silhouettes from different generations are linked across an abstract timeline by a threaded route, accompanied by a sealed letter, a worn handprint, a plain laurel sprig, and simple archival fragments; none depict a recognizable person, culture, nation, event, or artifact.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper with sparse ledger-like rules that contain no writing.
Style/medium: restrained editorial atlas illustration, hand-inked contours and opaque gouache, dry-brush edges, slight print misregistration, tactile handmade marks; intelligent museum-journal tone rather than fantasy art.
Composition/framing: 4:3 landscape; asymmetrical arrangement with silhouettes gathered off-center and a route crossing the spread; strong negative space for nearby interface copy; clear focal hierarchy.
Lighting/mood: reflective, human, quietly investigative; flat print light.
Color palette: paper #F3EBDD and ink #16211D dominant, signal vermilion #C84A32 for the active route, ochre #B68532 for discovered fragments, tiny cartographic blue #2D6574 notes; no purple.
Materials/textures: physical paper fiber, ink hatching, matte gouache, restrained halftone.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; no fake text, letters, numerals, flags, logos, signature, or watermark; no recognizable real person, place, historical event, or documentary imagery; no gradients; no glossy 3D; no neon; no surreal AI motifs; no UI screenshot; no stock-icon collage.

Nature and Science

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: Webwoven category illustration, 4:3 landscape
Primary request: Create an original knowledge-atlas plate for “Nature & Science”: a fern unfurls into a branching taxonomy-like path connecting a generic moth silhouette, spiral shell, mineral crystal, seed pod, and a spare orbital diagram made only of lines and dots; the relationships feel discovered through observation, not magical.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper field with faint specimen-pin marks and contour traces, no labels.
Style/medium: restrained natural-history editorial illustration, precise hand ink with opaque gouache blocks, dry-brush edges, slight print misregistration, physical paper texture; scientifically observant but not a textbook diagram.
Composition/framing: 4:3 landscape; asymmetric diagonal growth from lower edge to upper side; generous quiet space; a clear threaded route unifies the specimens.
Lighting/mood: alert, curious, calm; flat print light with no glow.
Color palette: paper #F3EBDD and ink #16211D dominant, moss #3F6B54 as category color, ochre #B68532 for discoveries, limited cartographic blue #2D6574 and tiny vermilion #C84A32 route accents; no purple.
Materials/textures: paper tooth, ink stipple and hatching, matte gouache, subtle imperfect screenprint texture.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; no labels, fake text, letters, numerals, logos, signature, or watermark; no named or documentary real entity; no gradients; no glossy 3D; no neon; no surreal AI motifs; no UI screenshot; no photorealism.

Arts and Culture

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: Webwoven category illustration, 4:3 landscape
Primary request: Create an original allegorical plate for “Arts & Culture”: a generic carved theatre mask, an open sketchbook with blank pages, a simple stringed instrument with no cultural or brand identifiers, a ceramic vessel, and a dancing ribbon of ink are connected by a hand-drawn route; the objects suggest making, performance, and transmission without quoting a real artwork or culture.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper with sparse crop marks and blank collage scraps, no written material.
Style/medium: restrained art-journal atlas illustration, expressive ink contours and matte gouache blocks, dry brush, cut-paper edges, slight print misregistration; sophisticated editorial printmaking rather than bohemian decoration.
Composition/framing: 4:3 landscape; asymmetric still life with the route looping through objects; strong negative space; clear readable silhouettes.
Lighting/mood: inventive, tactile, composed; flat print light.
Color palette: paper #F3EBDD and ink #16211D dominant, ochre #B68532 as the discovery color, signal vermilion #C84A32 for the active route, small moss #3F6B54 and cartographic blue #2D6574 balances; no purple.
Materials/textures: coarse paper fiber, ink pooling, matte gouache, restrained halftone and collage seams.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; no fake text, notation, letters, numerals, logos, signature, or watermark; no recognizable existing artwork, character, monument, brand, or documentary entity; no gradients; no glossy 3D; no neon; no surreal AI motifs; no UI screenshot.

Places

Use case: stylized-concept
Asset type: Webwoven category illustration, 4:3 landscape
Primary request: Create an original imaginary cartographic plate for “Places”: an invented coastline, river delta, mountain contour, small bridge, footpath, and compass-like orientation lines are joined by a route across an unnamed landscape; every geography and structure is fictional and non-identifiable.
Scene/backdrop: warm uncoated paper map field with tactile fibers, sparse contour lines, and no names or labels.
Style/medium: restrained cartographic editorial illustration, hand-inked topographic marks with opaque gouache fields, dry-brush edges, slight print misregistration, tactile handmade imperfections; contemporary independent-atlas aesthetic.
Composition/framing: 4:3 landscape; asymmetric bird’s-eye composition with landmass off-center, route entering and leaving the frame, generous negative space, strong visual hierarchy.
Lighting/mood: exploratory, grounded, lucid; flat print light with no atmosphere effects.
Color palette: paper #F3EBDD and ink #16211D dominant, cartographic blue #2D6574 for water and information, moss #3F6B54 for land, ochre #B68532 for discoveries, signal vermilion #C84A32 for the route; no purple.
Materials/textures: physical paper tooth, ink hatching, matte gouache, restrained imperfect screenprint grain.
Text: none.
Constraints: one finished original illustration only; no fake text, place names, letters, numerals, flags, logos, signature, or watermark; no recognizable real coastline, country, city, monument, or documentary entity; no gradients; no glossy 3D; no neon; no surreal AI motifs; no UI screenshot.