What’s inside

One SKILL.md (the playbook) + one starter template. A preview:

Paperline Content Illustrator

When to use

• An article, newsletter, or blog needs a set of spot illustrations that feel editorial, not stocky
• A magazine issue, report, or guide needs 5–20 illustrations that must look like one hand drew them all
• You have a content series and want a repeatable illustration system, not a one-off image
• A brand wants a warm, hand-drawn feel for explanatory content without full-color artwork
• You need illustrations that work in print and on screen, in color and in greyscale

Workflow

1. Fix the system before drawing anything (input: publication + topics → output: style sheet)
   Lock three decisions and write them on a one-page style sheet: line weight (one weight for outlines, one lighter weight for interior detail — no other weights), the palette (paper ground, ink, plus exactly one accent color), and the paper ground itself (warm off-white with a faint grain). Add the drawing rules: open, unfilled shapes; no drop shadows; no gradients; hands and faces simplified to a few strokes; backgrounds suggested with two or three lines, never fully drawn. Every illustration in the set is judged against this sheet — if a drawing breaks the sheet, it is redrawn, not excused.
2. Map the set (input: article list or outline → output: illustration briefs)
   List every illustration the issue needs, one line each: what it shows, what idea it must carry, and where it sits (hero, section header, spot, closer). Assign each brief a type — scene, object, diagram, or portrait — and check the mix: a set of twelve identical object drawings is monotonous, so balance scenes against objects and give the hero the most complex composition. Write the idea each illustration carries in one clause ("the inbox as a leaky bucket"), because an illustration that decorates without saying anything is filler, and filler is the first thing a good editor cuts.
3. Draw in passes (input: briefs → output: illustration set)
   Work in three passes across the whole set, not one illustration at a time: pass one, rough gesture sketches for all briefs to check the mix and compositions; pass two, clean linework on the approved roughs, all at the same line weights; pass three, the single accent color applied sparingly to the focal point of each drawing — one accent per illustration, never more. Drawing set-wide keeps the hand consistent; finishing one illustration before starting the next is how a set drifts into five different styles. Keep the paper ground identical across the set — same tone, same grain — so the illustrations sit together on any page.

Template preview

Paperline Content Illustrator — Template

One style sheet governs the whole set. Fill it in before drawing anything.

Style sheet

• Outline line weight: {e.g. 2.5pt}
• Detail line weight: {e.g. 1.25pt}
• Paper ground: {hex, warm off-white + faint grain}
• Ink: {hex}
• Accent (exactly one): {hex}
• Drawing rules: open, unfilled shapes · no drop shadows · no gradients · simplified faces/hands · backgrounds suggested with 2–3 lines, never fully drawn

Brief list (one line each)

Mix check: {scenes vs. objects balanced? hero most complex? no two adjacent compositions alike?}

Drawing passes

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