# Ally Generation Guide

## 1. Production workflow

### Step 1 — Obtain consent and preferences

Confirm that the Source wants a likeness-based Ally and understands where it will appear. Ask for preferences that cannot safely be inferred: presentation, hairstyle to preserve, glasses or mobility aids, signature adornments, features to emphasize or soften, and anything to avoid.

### Step 2 — Collect reference material

Use two to four clear, recent photographs supplied or approved by the Source:

- one frontal portrait
- one three-quarter portrait
- one natural smiling or conversational expression
- optionally, one image showing signature hair, clothing, glasses, or adornment

Use even light and avoid beauty filters, dramatic lens distortion, or other people in frame. Label every input as an identity reference. Do not use unrelated style references as identity inputs.

### Step 3 — Generate one canonical Ally master

Create **OPEN** first. It is the canonical identity master and should feel like the Source on a good, ordinary day—not a costume or fantasy role.

Generate a small number of candidates, review them with the Source, and refine only the chosen candidate. Do not generate production states until the Source approves the face, age, skin tone, hair, adornments, and general degree of caricature.

### Step 4 — Freeze the identity contract

Record a short identity sheet:

- face shape and key proportions
- skin tone
- apparent age
- hairstyle and facial hair
- distinctive approved features
- signature adornments
- clothing silhouette and palette
- canonical master asset and revision

This identity sheet plus the approved OPEN image becomes the reference for every subsequent state.

### Step 5 — Derive states from the approved master

Generate ENGAGED, FOCUSED, and DREAMING as identity-preserving variations of the approved OPEN master. Do not independently regenerate each state from the raw Source photos; that invites identity drift.

### Step 6 — Review consistency

Place all four states in a row at 128 px and 40 px. Ask:

- Is this unmistakably the same person in every state?
- Are both eyes visible and emotionally accessible?
- Does only the permitted state layer change?
- Does every state remain within the Kiduna palette?
- Can the state be distinguished without reading a label?
- Does the Source approve the result?

### Step 7 — Export and register

Export the approved square assets, update the Ally manifest, and retain the canonical generation prompt and revision metadata.

## 2. Base generation prompt

Replace bracketed fields with Source-approved information. Use the approved OPEN image as the sole visual reference when deriving later states.

```text
Use case: identity-preserve
Asset type: a persistent profile avatar identity for Kiduna

Primary request:
Create a premium Celestial Enamel Ally for the real person represented by the supplied Source reference images. Preserve their recognizable identity while translating them into warm, dignified editorial caricature. The result must invite eye contact and remain recognizable at 40 px.

Input images:
[For the first OPEN master: Source-approved photographs, each labeled identity reference.]
[For later states: the single approved OPEN master, labeled authoritative identity reference.]

Identity contract:
Preserve [face shape and proportions], [skin tone], [apparent age], [hair shape, texture, and color], [facial hair], [glasses or aids], and [approved signature features]. Preserve the approved clothing silhouette and adornments. Do not replace, merge, age-shift, gender-shift, idealize, or culturally recast the person.

Style:
Premium celestial cloisonne enamel portrait medallion combined with warm modern editorial caricature. Deep-umber outlines, tactile flat enamel fills, thin gold rim, elegant graphic-novel facial drawing, subtle material variation. Human and inviting, never toy-like.

Composition:
Square asset containing one circular head-and-shoulders medallion. Face fills the medallion. Frontal or gentle three-quarter view. Both eyes visible whenever practical. Clear silhouette and high contrast at thumbnail size. No text inside the asset.

Kiduna palette:
Deep umber #120C07 and #1C140D, surface brown #271B11, sky #03CCD9, sun gold #EAAA00, moon cream #FFF6D5, camel #C19A6B, optional aubergine #2A1A2B, and very rare mint #8FE6C6. Do not introduce another dominant color.

State:
[Insert exactly one state block from below.]

Constraints:
Recognition before decoration. Warm, respectful caricature. Preserve identity across all states. No logo, label, watermark, crown, uniform, weapon, status symbol, or unapproved cultural motif.

Avoid:
Detached full profile, closed or hidden eyes, generic NFT tropes, generic corporate vector style, anime, chibi, childish mascot, plastic 3D, photorealism, random neon gradient, excessive costume, beauty-filter idealization, and identity drift.
```

## 3. State prompt blocks

### OPEN

```text
State name: OPEN
Meaning: welcoming, available, and present; the canonical default.
Pose and gaze: frontal or gentle three-quarter; direct eye contact; relaxed shoulders.
Expression: warm eyes and a subtle expression natural to this person.
Cheek sigil: one small open ring or radiant four-point spark in sky or moon cream.
Medallion field: sunrise disc, generous cream space, restrained sky arc, sparse gold rays.
Change only the permitted state layer. Preserve the identity contract exactly.
```

### ENGAGED

```text
State name: ENGAGED
Meaning: actively conversing, collaborating, or responding.
Pose and gaze: lively gentle three-quarter view; active direct eye contact; never facing away.
Expression: lifted brows and conversational warmth appropriate to this person.
Cheek sigil: a small linked-node pair or compact relational constellation in sky and gold.
Medallion field: paired nodes, orbit lines, and connected constellations on crisp umber or aubergine.
Change only pose, gaze, expression, cheek sigil, and medallion field. Preserve the identity contract exactly.
```

### FOCUSED

```text
State name: FOCUSED
Meaning: deliberately working, reviewing, or making.
Pose and gaze: near-frontal or restrained three-quarter; eyes fully visible but glancing slightly toward an implied task beside the viewer.
Expression: composed, attentive, and serious without severity.
Cheek sigil: a small precise diamond compass or four-axis mark in sky and gold.
Medallion field: concentric rings, compass points, disciplined radial lines, and compact constellations.
Change only pose, gaze, expression, cheek sigil, and medallion field. Preserve the identity contract exactly.
```

### DREAMING

```text
State name: DREAMING
Meaning: imagining, incubating, reflecting, or exploring possibility.
Pose and gaze: near-frontal or gentle three-quarter; eyes visible and drifting slightly upward.
Expression: softened brows and faint private warmth.
Cheek sigil: a small crescent cradling one star or seed-light in cream and sky.
Medallion field: open constellations, cream crescent, floating nodes, soft teal halo, and at most one rare mint spark.
Change only pose, gaze, expression, cheek sigil, and medallion field. Preserve the identity contract exactly.
```

## 4. Prompt for a six-Ally presentation card

Use this only for documentation or reviews, not for production avatar delivery.

```text
Create a landscape Kiduna presentation card with an exact 3-by-2 grid of six equal circular Celestial Enamel Ally medallions on a deep-umber ground. Preserve the same six identities in the same positions across every state card. Apply the requested state block consistently to all six while retaining each person’s individual expression. Reserve a narrow strip above the grid for the exact one-word state title. No other text, no logos, and no watermark.
```

## 5. Iteration rules

- Change one thing per revision whenever possible.
- For identity drift, say exactly which fixed feature changed and request restoration from the approved master.
- If the state is unclear, strengthen the cheek sigil and field grammar before exaggerating the face.
- If the portrait feels distant, reduce head angle and restore direct or accessible eye contact.
- If it feels generic, strengthen one Source-approved identifying feature rather than adding accessories.
- If it feels like fantasy costuming, simplify clothing and restore the ordinary canonical silhouette.
- Never “improve” resemblance by changing protected or identity-defining traits.

## 6. Example-card prompt set used in this package

The four included cards were generated through the built-in image workflow using one Celestial Enamel six-person card as the authoritative identity reference. The prompt identity-locked the cast and grid positions, then applied the OPEN, ENGAGED, FOCUSED, and DREAMING blocks above. Only pose, gaze, expression, cheek sigil, background geometry, and local palette balance were allowed to change.
