Build Generation — Detail

Reference for Step 4 (builds) and the build-insertion portion of Step 5 (apply to deck). The illustration-rules Build Process section is auto-loaded — this file covers the script contract and deck insertion.

When to Use Builds

• Complex diagrams revealed one element at a time.
• Checklists that accumulate items across the talk.
• Step-by-step processes shown progressively.
• Any visual that benefits from gradual reveal (NOT PowerPoint animations — these are separate slides with separate images).

Backwards-Chaining Workflow

1. Start from the full slide image (illustrations/slide-NN.ext).
2. Use image editing to remove the last element → that's build step N-1.
3. Use the N-1 output as input, remove the next element → that's N-2.
4. Continue until build-00 (empty frame with title/borders only).
5. The final build step is a copy of the full slide image.

This backwards approach produces better results than building up from empty, because the model preserves the existing composition and style at each step.

Run

python3 skills/illustrations/scripts/generate-illustrations.py presentation-outline.md --build 5     # one slide
python3 skills/illustrations/scripts/generate-illustrations.py presentation-outline.md --build all   # all builds

Output: illustrations/builds/slide-NN-build-MM.jpg.

Edit-Prompt Authoring

• Each step description must explicitly say what to KEEP: "keep the road", "keep the soldiers", etc.
• Always include: "no parchment patch", "no new frames", "solid lines not dashed".
• The edit safety suffixes (DO NOT add any new elements, let background continue naturally) are auto-appended by the script.

For near-perfect results, use --fix for targeted corrections rather than regenerating the entire chain.

Deck Insertion

Build slides are inserted as separate slides in the deck (not PowerPoint animations). Each step is a full-bleed image:

Insertion rules:

• Insert in order: build-00, build-01, ..., build-N.
• All build slides use the BLANK layout with manage_image full-bleed positioning at 16:9 slide dimensions (left=0, top=0, width=13.333", height=7.5").
• Speaker notes go ONLY on the final build step. Earlier steps get empty notes — the speaker advances through them silently or with ad-lib narration.
• Build slides count toward the slide budget — factor them in during presentation-creator's Phase 4 guardrails.
• The final build step (build-N) is visually identical to the parent slide. In the deck, the parent slide is replaced by its build sequence — not duplicated after it.