What’s inside

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

Pixel Promo Video

When to use

• You want a promo video that stands out in a feed full of slick 3D renders, and a chunky retro pixel look fits your brand
• You are promoting a game, an app, a stream, or an event and need a 15–45 second teaser, not a full trailer
• You have a logo and a few product screenshots but no video, and no animator on the team
• Your audience is nostalgic for 8-bit and 16-bit games and will read pixel art as a love letter, not a shortcut
• You need a storyboard and asset list you can hand to a pixel artist or build yourself in a simple animation tool

Workflow

1. Lock the concept (input: product + audience → output: one-line concept + tone)
   Pick one idea the whole video hangs on: a character walking through your product's world, a pixel version of your logo assembling itself, a day in the life told in three pixel scenes. Write it in one line and name the tone — playful, heroic, cozy, chaotic — plus the era you are referencing (8-bit blocky, 16-bit detailed, or modern chunky pixel). If the concept needs more than one line to explain, it is two concepts; pick the stronger one. The concept decides every later choice, from palette to sound.
2. Define the pixel rules (input: concept → output: pixel style sheet)
   Set the constraints before drawing anything: canvas resolution (e.g. 320×180 scaled up), palette size (8–16 colors), pixel scale, character height in pixels, and how much detail is allowed (outline or no outline, shading steps, text font). Constraints are the whole point of pixel art — without them the video drifts into generic flat illustration. Write the style sheet down so every asset, whoever makes it, matches.
3. Storyboard the beats (input: concept + style sheet → output: timed storyboard)
   Break the video into 4–8 beats, each 3–6 seconds: hook (the first 2 seconds must earn the rest), setup, payoff, call to action. For each beat, describe the scene, the action, the camera (static, pan, or cut — pixel art rarely needs fancy moves), and the exact on-screen text. Sketch each beat as a rough frame description, not a paragraph: what is where, what moves, what the viewer reads first. Read the storyboard as a flipbook in your head — if a beat does not move the story, cut it.

Template preview

Pixel Promo Video — Production Brief

One concept, one video. Fill this in before drawing anything.

Concept

One-line concept: {e.g. A tiny pixel courier delivers a package that grows into our logo.} Tone: {playful / heroic / cozy / chaotic} Era reference: {8-bit blocky / 16-bit detailed / modern chunky pixel} Length: {15–45 seconds}

Pixel style sheet

Storyboard (4–8 beats, 3–6s each)

Flipbook check: [ ] Every beat moves the story — cut any that does not

Asset list

Hero asset: {character or logo} — gets the most frames.

Sound plan

• Music: {one loopable chiptune-style track}

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