Conciseness

The body is extremely lean and assumes Claude's competence (no concept explanations — 'A grid is not smoothness: pose spacing, timing, the loop seam and ground contact matter more'), but a few rules are stated multiple times: 'sheets are for FX, icons and props' appears in the Art source section, the Master still intro, and the Pipeline section, and the route ordering (API key first, then local, codeart2d fallback) is enumerated in Art source and restated in Master still steps 2 and the exit-3 handling. This matches anchor 4 ('efficient; minor instances that could be trimmed') rather than 5, since not quite every token earns its place.

Actionability

Fully executable commands throughout: 'python "<skill-dir>/scripts/master_still.py" generate --spec <json> --takes 3 --output-dir <new>' plus a complete spec flag list (--name, --subject, --facing left|right|front|back, --finish hd|pixel, --key default #FF00FF), a needs→command pipeline table with concrete flags ('scale_frames.py --frames <pngs> --root-lock torso-x --row-baseline --emit-clips'), defined exit codes (1 errors, 2 usage, 3 no-route) with prescribed responses, and '--help lists every flag' for the remainder. Copy-paste ready and covering the common cases — anchor 5, not 4, since no key detail is missing that a flag or reference doesn't supply.

Workflow Clarity

The Master still section is a numbered 6-step sequence (Spec → Generate → Choose → Fix by edit → Approve → Motion steps) and the Pipeline section fixes an exact order ('sheet_qc.py spill on the raw sheet, then generate2dsprite.py process, then sheet_qc.py frames, then scale_frames.py...'). Validation is explicit and gated ('--strict-qc / --strict publish nothing on failure', 'Report every WARN or FAIL check verbatim'), with error-recovery feedback loops ('Fix a near-miss by edit, never by re-roll', 'a key_ring_spill warning: add --despill-radius 1 or --key-quality soft', 'Exit 3 means no route: say so; codeart2d is the fallback') and an Acceptance checklist. This is anchor 5; batch operations here do have validation, so no cap applies.

Progressive Disclosure

The ~106-line body is a genuine overview: each decision point links its one-level-deep reference inline ('Wording: [prompt-rules.md]; commands, framing and master.json: [master-still.md]'), the pipeline table rows link their detail files ([processing.md], [modes.md], [frames-and-clips.md], [palette-and-pixels.md], [engine-export.md]), and a final References section indexes all of them with scope notes. All 12 referenced .md files, the referenced scripts, and references/schemas/sprite.schema.json exist in the bundle, and scripts defer their full API to --help. Clear overview, well-signaled one-level-deep references, easy navigation — anchor 5 rather than 4 because nothing that belongs in a reference file is inlined wholesale.

Specificity

The description enumerates a full pipeline of concrete actions — 'Plan size, motion and finish; generate the art...; approve one master still per character; then key, slice, register, scale, palette, QA and export frames for a game engine (Aseprite JSON, Godot SpriteFrames or Sprite3D)' — plus both finish modes ('HD finish by default, pixel finish on request') and the character-animation model ('one image-to-video clip per action from the master'). This is multiple specific concrete actions with comprehensive coverage, matching anchor 5 rather than 4, whose example lists only three to four actions with admitted gaps.

Completeness

It answers 'what' concretely (make game-ready 2D art as master stills, sheets or clips, through the plan→generate→approve→key→slice→scale→palette→QA→export pipeline) and 'when' with an explicit trigger clause — 'Use for sprites, masters, sheets, frame-by-frame animation and packaging frames from any source' — plus a 'Not for...' boundary clause. Both what and when are explicit with concrete trigger phrases, which is exactly the anchor-5 pattern and above anchor 4 ('when could be more explicit or specific').

Trigger Term Quality

Natural user phrasing is comprehensively covered: 'sprites', 'masters', 'sheets', 'frame-by-frame animation', 'packaging frames', '2D characters, creatures, props, icons and FX', 'sprite sheets', plus tool-ecosystem terms users actually say ('Aseprite', 'Godot SpriteFrames or Sprite3D', 'pixel finish'). The explicit 'Use for...' sentence names the trigger phrases directly. Coverage including synonyms and tool-specific format names matches anchor 5; it is above anchor 4 ('a few natural terms missing') because no common way a user would request sprite work is absent.

Distinctiveness Conflict Risk

The niche is clear and the conflict surface is explicitly managed: 'Not for maps, tiles or backgrounds (generate2dmap), video clips (video2dsprite), code-drawn art (codeart2d, only on request) or calling an image or video API by itself (generate2dmedia)' disambiguates every adjacent sibling skill by name, and character animation is routed explicitly ('one image-to-video clip per action from the master (video2dsprite)'). Clear niche with distinct triggers and minimal conflict risk — anchor 5, not 4, since even the closely related skills are named as boundaries rather than left as overlap risk.