Inside Front — Content Pending
Generation Progression
Full diagnostic chain — every step, prompt, and reference image traced from origins to published spread
Title Page — Content Pending
Style Origin
Spread 07 generations used D10 Mixed Media P3 v1 (d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg) as character ref and v2 as style ref. See Sunny Reef tab, Section 0 for full D10 origin trace.
D10 Mixed Media P3 — Source Generation Prompt
This prompt generated both d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg (character ref — "favorite Ollie") and d10-mm-p3-v2.jpg (style benchmark ref). Both are variant outputs from the same prompt — visual differences are from model randomness.
D10 Generation Prompt — Page 3, Mixed Media Style (draft10_gen.py)
Reference images fed in:
ollie_pick.png
dot_pick_agata.png
Output variants:
v1 — CHAR REF
"favorite Ollie"
"favorite Ollie"
v2 — STYLE REF
Style benchmark
Style benchmark
0. Text-Only Origins — March 26, 2026
TEXT-ONLY GENERATION — No Reference Images
Original Text-Only Prompt — vertical_descent (scene_prompts_v3.py)
Strong vertical composition. [Ollie] swimming downward, arms trailing above, body angled toward the bottom. [Dot] following separately above him, green glow leaving a faint trail. The water transitions from warm golden at top to cool teal in the middle to deep navy at bottom — the color gradient tells the story. Bubble trail rises upward. The warm reef visible far above, tiny and distant. Scattered deep-water rock formations become visible below. Beautiful, not scary.
CHARACTER_OLLIE: a small golden-amber baby octopus (Ollie) with a large round bulbous head and big prominent dark eyes with HORIZONTAL PILL-SHAPED PUPILS containing tiny star-shaped sparkle catchlights inside the dark pupils. Golden-amber watercolor skin with scattered chromatophore spots and warm spotted texture. NO mouth — emotion conveyed entirely through eyes and arm posture. Eight flowing curling tentacles with small suction cups. Three small heart shapes on his chest. Baby proportions — head is 40% of body. About the size of a softball. Warm, endearing, cute.
CHARACTER_DOT: a tiny pearl-white sphere robot companion (Dot), golf-ball sized. Smooth round sphere body with a wide horizontal PILL-SHAPED DARK SCREEN on the upper face displaying two small GREEN-YELLOW GLOWING DOT EYES. Thin antenna with a small glowing tip on top. Subtle horizontal seam around the equator. Hovers with a soft glow underneath. Clean, minimal, warm. NO limbs, NO legs.
STYLE_WRAPPER: Underwater children's book illustration in mixed-media collage style. Layered textures: torn paper edges for coral and rocks, watercolor washes for water and light, gouache-painted characters, delicate tissue paper overlays for atmosphere. Metallic gold and iridescent paper accents on shells and special surfaces. Iridescent shimmer on water surfaces only. Rich, layered underwater environment. Cinematic 16:9 widescreen composition. Full bleed, no borders. Award-winning picture book quality. Dreamlike, spiritual, warm.
A
Storyboard Round 4 Outputs — Text-Only
March 26, 2026 · 4 concept variants · No reference images used
LIKED
vertical_descent — "character team sketch"
spiral_path
last_light
depth_layers — "LIKED Ollie"
↓↓↓
B
Draft 4 Expansion — "Like V1 but FULL PAGE"
March 26, 2026 · 10 variations with updated characters · Used vertical_descent as reference
V01
V01 — Full Page Vertical Descent
0b. NBP Final Variants — March 27, 2026
NBP Final Prompt — Page 04 (pending-prompts/page04_prompt.md)
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Heavy watercolor paper base.
SCENE: A FULL PAGE vertical descent composition showing clear downward swimming motion. Ollie and Dot swim actively DOWNWARD through a dramatic color gradient — the entire page is a column of water transitioning from warm peach-gold at the very top to deepening blue-green in the middle to dark navy at the bottom. The movement is unmistakable — characters are angled down, arms trailing up, bubbles rising behind them. The warm reef is visible far above — tiny and distant. Below, the deep ocean opens up with scattered rock formations and the first hints of deep-water life. The feeling is exciting, adventurous — the first big plunge.
OLLIE: Illustrated cartoon baby octopus face on a real-feeling underwater body. Face is ALWAYS the cartoon version: big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden catchlight sparkles, small gentle curved smile — expression is happy and excited about the adventure, subtle rosy-pink cheeks, thin subtle eyebrows, perfectly rounded plump head. Smooth golden-amber skin with soft airbrushed gradient on face, slightly muted by depth (#D4806A — beginning to cool). Body has fine stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, and white, detailed suction cups, flowing realistic arms trailing ABOVE him as he swims downward. Body angled toward the bottom of the page. Painted character photographed underwater.
DOT: Smooth pearlescent seafoam-nacre sphere, perfectly round, no seams. Surface is polished mother-of-pearl reflecting the transition colors around her — warm above, cool below. Eyes are soft glowing warm-yellow crescent shapes (happy squint) projected through the sphere surface from inside. ENGAGED and looking DOWNWARD — oriented in the direction of descent, aimed where they are heading. Soft glow becoming more noticeable as ambient light dims — about 30% glow. Golf-ball sized relative to baby octopus. Iridescent reflective surface. Following Ollie, clearly separate.
ENVIRONMENT: The water color gradient IS the story — warm golden-peach at the very top (distant surface), transitioning through green-teal in the middle, to deepening navy at the bottom. Scientific accuracy: warm colors fading as depth increases. Bubble trail rises upward from the characters. Scattered deep-water rock formations visible below. The warm reef is tiny and distant far above. Possible sea creatures for scale — a ray gliding past, a turtle in the distance.
STYLE: Transitioning mixed media. Exciting dynamic collage colors like Descent V1 DeepDove. Underwater photography realism in the background — real water feel, caustic light patterns, real bubbles. Characters look genuinely submerged. Full bleed, no white margins. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
COLOR: Fading from warm Peach-Gold (#F5D693) at top through Reef Green (#7EC8A0) to Deepening Blue (#3D7EA6) to dark Navy at bottom. Ollie slightly muted (#D4806A). Dot's warm glow at 30%. Dynamic, exciting color range.
C
NBP v11 — Missing Pages Batch
4 variants with D14B style references · Text prompts with 4 different descriptions
NBP v11 — V1
NBP v11 — V2
NBP v11 — V3
NBP v11 — V4
C2
NBP v11 — Page 18 (Deeper Descent)
4 variants · Same batch as page04 above · Deeper descent scene
NBP v11 Page18 — V1
NBP v11 Page18 — V2
NBP v11 Page18 — V3
NBP v11 Page18 — V4
D
NBP v12 — Descent-Specific Batch
6 variants focused specifically on the descent scene
NBP v12 Descent — V1
NBP v12 Descent — V2
NBP v12 Descent — V3
NBP v12 Descent — V4
NBP v12 Descent — V5
NBP v12 Descent — V6
D2
NBP v13 — Page 04 Continued
2 variants · Further descent explorations
NBP v13 — V1
NBP v13 — V2
E
Round 2 Regeneration — Corrected Prompts
March 27, 2026 · 4 of 10 variants shown · Feedback-corrected prompt with Ollie ref
Round 2 — V01
Round 2 — V02
Round 2 — V03
Round 2 — V04
E2
NBP v14 — Page 04 Happy Variants
2 variants · Happy expression exploration
NBP v14 Happy — V1
NBP v14 Happy — V2
E3
NBP v15 — Page 18 Deeper Descent
2 variants · Deeper descent exploration
NBP v15 Deeper — V1
NBP v15 Deeper — V2
E4
NBP v16 — Page 04 Dive Variants
2 variants · Dive composition exploration
NBP v16 Dive — V1
NBP v16 Dive — V2
E5
NBP v16 — Page 18 Variants
2 variants · Page 18 descent scene
NBP v16 Page18 — V1
NBP v16 Page18 — V2
E6
NBP v17 — Page 18 Variants
2 variants · Page 18 descent scene
NBP v17 Page18 — V1
NBP v17 Page18 — V2
0c. Draft 1 Origin — front_cover_v2 (2).jpg — March 28, 2026
DRAFT 1 ORIGIN — NBP-V20 Batch 3 — Replicate
Generation Prompt — front_cover_v2 (pending-prompts/front_cover_v2_prompt.md)
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
SCENE: Wide-angle underwater descent along a dramatic cliff edge. Ollie and Dot diving downward together, bodies angled down, following the steep reef wall into the deep. The composition is split: the LEFT half shows the beautiful reef cliff face — vibrant, detailed, alive with coral and collage texture and natural underwater environment. The RIGHT half opens into dark oceanic vastness — deep watercolor ink wash darkness with distant bioluminescent hints glowing far below, showing where they're heading. This split creates the drama: beauty and safety on one side, mystery and adventure on the other. Both characters are looking at each other as they dive — excited, connected, happy. This is the beginning of the adventure. Bright vibrant color above fading into rich darkness below.
OLLIE: Illustrated cartoon baby octopus with a real-feeling underwater body. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles, both eyes aligned, looking toward Dot. Small gentle curved smile mouth showing excitement. Subtle rosy-pink cheeks. Thin subtle eyebrows. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. Golden-amber skin (#E8A735) with fine small stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, and white across his body. Body has detailed suction cups, flowing realistic arms trailing upward as he swims downward. His whole body is angled in downward swimming motion — dynamic, purposeful descent. Rendered with page 1 D14B quality — a painted character photographed underwater.
DOT: A solid natural Tahitian pearl — smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with beautiful iridescent quality. Mother-of-pearl sheen reflecting the surrounding warm reef colors — golds, greens, blues playing across her surface. Eyes are soft glowing warm-yellow ROUNDED SQUINT shapes projected through the pearl surface from inside — like warm light passing through nacre. Happy, engaged expression. Golf-ball sized relative to baby octopus. Floating beside Ollie, oriented downward in the direction of descent, facing toward him.
ENVIRONMENT: Dramatic steep reef cliff edge dominating the left side of the frame. Brain coral, cauliflower coral, sea fans, anemones, small tropical fish tucked into crevices — each element rendered with a mix of torn paper collage texture and natural underwater photography realism. Vibrant blues (#4A90D9), pinks (#F4B8C1), purples (#9B7ECF). At the very bottom: a hint of bioluminescent glow — iridescent rainbow shimmer on the distant canyon floor. Abundant bubbles streaming upward, caustic light patterns, water particle haze, volumetric light shafts.
STYLE: Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Torn paper coral, watercolor washes, tissue paper overlays blending organically with photographic underwater realism. Characters rendered with D14B page 1 quality. Full bleed, edge to edge. Luxury craftsmanship.
COLOR: Bright vibrant blues (#4A90D9), warm golds (#F5D693), rich pinks (#F4B8C1), vivid purples (#9B7ECF) in the reef zone at top. Green transition (#7EC8A0) through the middle. Deepening blue (#3D7EA6) to Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A) at the bottom. Ollie golden-amber (#E8A735). Iridescent rainbow glow hints at the very bottom.
F
NBP-V14 Cover — Predecessors
March 27-28, 2026 · 2 incline/descent variants · First iteration with v1 prompt
NBP v14 Cover — Incline V1
NBP v14 Cover — Incline V2
G
NBP-V20 — The Selected Batch (V2 = Book Winner)
March 28, 2026 17:28 UTC · Replicate NBP · Batch 3 of 4 · 2 variants · V2 selected for the printed book
CHAR REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V1 — Ollie character
STYLE REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V2 — Style reference
V20 Generation Prompt (front_cover_v2_prompt.md)
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
SCENE: Wide-angle underwater descent along a dramatic cliff edge. Ollie and Dot diving downward together, bodies angled down, following the steep reef wall into the deep. The composition is split: the LEFT half shows the beautiful reef cliff face — vibrant, detailed, alive with coral and collage texture and natural underwater environment. The RIGHT half opens into dark oceanic vastness — deep watercolor ink wash darkness with distant bioluminescent hints glowing far below, showing where they're heading. This split creates the drama: beauty and safety on one side, mystery and adventure on the other. Both characters are looking at each other as they dive — excited, connected, happy. This is the beginning of the adventure. Bright vibrant color above fading into rich darkness below.
OLLIE: Illustrated cartoon baby octopus with a real-feeling underwater body. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles, both eyes aligned, looking toward Dot. Small gentle curved smile mouth showing excitement. Subtle rosy-pink cheeks. Thin subtle eyebrows. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. Golden-amber skin (#E8A735) with fine small stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, and white across his body. Body has detailed suction cups, flowing realistic arms trailing upward as he swims downward. His whole body is angled in downward swimming motion — dynamic, purposeful descent. Rendered with page 1 D14B quality — a painted character photographed underwater. He looks genuinely submerged, lit by the underwater environment, bubbles trailing from his motion.
DOT: A solid natural Tahitian pearl — smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with beautiful iridescent quality. Mother-of-pearl sheen reflecting the surrounding warm reef colors — golds, greens, blues playing across her surface. Eyes are soft glowing warm-yellow ROUNDED SQUINT shapes projected through the pearl surface from inside — like warm light passing through nacre. Happy, engaged expression. Golf-ball sized relative to baby octopus. Floating beside Ollie, oriented downward in the direction of descent, facing toward him. Her iridescent surface catches the shifting light as they descend — warm reef tones above, cooler blue-green tones below.
ENVIRONMENT: Dramatic steep reef cliff edge dominating the left side of the frame. The cliff face is richly detailed: brain coral, cauliflower coral, sea fans, anemones, small tropical fish tucked into crevices — each element rendered with a mix of torn paper collage texture and natural underwater photography realism. The collage blends seamlessly with the natural environment — vibrant blues (#4A90D9), pinks (#F4B8C1), purples (#9B7ECF), warm corals visible in the reef life. The colors are bright and vivid at the top, rich and saturated. Moving down, the reef gives way to deeper rock, the colors shift cooler, and the right side opens into vast dark ocean. At the very bottom: a hint of bioluminescent glow — iridescent rainbow shimmer on the distant canyon floor, like the iridescent canyon light effect. Tiny glowing creatures scattered in the deep darkness. Real underwater feel: abundant bubbles streaming upward, caustic light patterns dancing on the reef, water particle haze, volumetric light shafts filtering from above. A subtle glimmer of light from above but the surface is not visible.
STYLE: Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography and natural environment. The collage elements (torn paper coral, watercolor washes, tissue paper overlays) blend organically with photographic underwater realism — not paper-mache looking, but rich luxurious craftwork that feels like part of the real ocean. The reef side has heavy collage texture blending into the natural reef. The dark open side uses watercolor ink wash with distant line work. Characters rendered with D14B page 1 quality — illustrated faces, realistic underwater presence. Full bleed, edge to edge. Luxury craftsmanship.
COLOR: Bright vibrant blues (#4A90D9), warm golds (#F5D693), rich pinks (#F4B8C1), vivid purples (#9B7ECF) in the reef zone at top. Green transition (#7EC8A0) through the middle. Deepening blue (#3D7EA6) to Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A) at the bottom. Ollie golden-amber (#E8A735). Iridescent rainbow glow hints at the very bottom — the promise of the deep adventure ahead.
NBP v20 — front_cover_v1 (sibling)
.jpg)
SELECTED
BOOK
NBP v20 — front_cover_v2 = draft1_page7_descent.jpg
H
NBP-V21 & V22 — Later Iterations (Not Selected)
March 28, 2026 · Further variants after V20 pick · V21 = book-editor v2.jpg/v2(1).jpg, V22 = 6 final variants
CHAR REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V1 — Ollie character
STYLE REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V2 — Style reference
V21/V22 Generation Prompt (same base: front_cover_v2_prompt.md)
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
SCENE: Wide-angle underwater descent along a dramatic cliff edge. Ollie and Dot diving downward together, bodies angled down, following the steep reef wall into the deep. The composition is split: the LEFT half shows the beautiful reef cliff face — vibrant, detailed, alive with coral and collage texture and natural underwater environment. The RIGHT half opens into dark oceanic vastness — deep watercolor ink wash darkness with distant bioluminescent hints glowing far below, showing where they're heading. This split creates the drama: beauty and safety on one side, mystery and adventure on the other. Both characters are looking at each other as they dive — excited, connected, happy. This is the beginning of the adventure. Bright vibrant color above fading into rich darkness below.
OLLIE: Illustrated cartoon baby octopus with a real-feeling underwater body. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles, both eyes aligned, looking toward Dot. Small gentle curved smile mouth showing excitement. Subtle rosy-pink cheeks. Thin subtle eyebrows. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. Golden-amber skin (#E8A735) with fine small stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, and white across his body. Body has detailed suction cups, flowing realistic arms trailing upward as he swims downward. His whole body is angled in downward swimming motion — dynamic, purposeful descent. Rendered with page 1 D14B quality — a painted character photographed underwater. He looks genuinely submerged, lit by the underwater environment, bubbles trailing from his motion.
DOT: A solid natural Tahitian pearl — smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with beautiful iridescent quality. Mother-of-pearl sheen reflecting the surrounding warm reef colors — golds, greens, blues playing across her surface. Eyes are soft glowing warm-yellow ROUNDED SQUINT shapes projected through the pearl surface from inside — like warm light passing through nacre. Happy, engaged expression. Golf-ball sized relative to baby octopus. Floating beside Ollie, oriented downward in the direction of descent, facing toward him. Her iridescent surface catches the shifting light as they descend — warm reef tones above, cooler blue-green tones below.
ENVIRONMENT: Dramatic steep reef cliff edge dominating the left side of the frame. The cliff face is richly detailed: brain coral, cauliflower coral, sea fans, anemones, small tropical fish tucked into crevices — each element rendered with a mix of torn paper collage texture and natural underwater photography realism. The collage blends seamlessly with the natural environment — vibrant blues (#4A90D9), pinks (#F4B8C1), purples (#9B7ECF), warm corals visible in the reef life. The colors are bright and vivid at the top, rich and saturated. Moving down, the reef gives way to deeper rock, the colors shift cooler, and the right side opens into vast dark ocean. At the very bottom: a hint of bioluminescent glow — iridescent rainbow shimmer on the distant canyon floor, like the iridescent canyon light effect. Tiny glowing creatures scattered in the deep darkness. Real underwater feel: abundant bubbles streaming upward, caustic light patterns dancing on the reef, water particle haze, volumetric light shafts filtering from above. A subtle glimmer of light from above but the surface is not visible.
STYLE: Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography and natural environment. The collage elements (torn paper coral, watercolor washes, tissue paper overlays) blend organically with photographic underwater realism — not paper-mache looking, but rich luxurious craftwork that feels like part of the real ocean. The reef side has heavy collage texture blending into the natural reef. The dark open side uses watercolor ink wash with distant line work. Characters rendered with D14B page 1 quality — illustrated faces, realistic underwater presence. Full bleed, edge to edge. Luxury craftsmanship.
COLOR: Bright vibrant blues (#4A90D9), warm golds (#F5D693), rich pinks (#F4B8C1), vivid purples (#9B7ECF) in the reef zone at top. Green transition (#7EC8A0) through the middle. Deepening blue (#3D7EA6) to Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A) at the bottom. Ollie golden-amber (#E8A735). Iridescent rainbow glow hints at the very bottom — the promise of the deep adventure ahead.
NBP v21 — V2 (also in book-editor as v2.jpg)
NBP v21 — V3 (= front_cover_v3.jpg)
G
NBP v23 — Page 04 + Page 18 Variants
5 variants · 1 page04 + 4 page18 descent scenes
NBP v23 Page04 — V1
NBP v23 Page18 — V1
NBP v23 Page18 — V2
NBP v23 Page18 — V3
NBP v23 Page18 — V4
↓↓↓
Style Transfer Era Begins — March 31, 2026
1. Style Reference Origin — edit10_nbp_b1_v2.png
Style Transfer — March 31, 2026
A
Draft 1 Base Image — Target for Style Transfer
The scene that was restyled · Book page 7 · Draft 1 era · See full origin trace in Section 0c above
ORIGINAL
Draft 1 page 7 — NBP-V20 front_cover_v2 (origin traced above)
↓↓↓
B
Style Transfer Output — page33_yellowlines_v2.png
March 31, 2026 · Nano Banana Pro · Google AI Studio free tier · v2 of 4 selected
Style Transfer Prompt (generate_page33_yellowlines.py)
The first reference shows the character rendering style. The second reference shows the EXACT SCENE — reproduce precisely, same character positions, same reef, same dark water, same torn paper collage, same rainbow iridescent edges.
DOT: Solid Tahitian pearl. TWO YELLOW GLOWING LINES as eyes — warm yellow (#FFD700) upward-curving arcs that GLOW with yellow light from inside the pearl. The lines themselves are YELLOW, not black, not dark, not grey. They emit warm yellow light. NO cheeks. NO mouth. NO eyebrows. NO blush marks. NO other features of any kind. The pearl surface is completely smooth and clean except for the two glowing yellow arc lines. CRITICAL: The eye lines must be YELLOW COLORED and GLOWING, not drawn in black/dark ink.
OLLIE: Add gold stipple dots across his skin. Keep same position and pose as target.
EVERYTHING else identical to target — do not change anything except Dot's face and Ollie's stipple.
↓↓↓
Edit10 Generation Prompt (from edit10_down_down.py)
The first reference image shows the ZOOM LEVEL and epic scale to match — wide shot showing the full dramatic drop of the ocean canyon. The second reference image shows the current descent scene to improve upon.
Dry torn paper coral with visible fiber texture exists deep underwater alongside photographic reef life. Gold foil metallic stipple shimmers on surfaces submerged in real ocean water. Gouache painted characters swim through photographic Hawaiian reef. Heavy watercolor paper base.
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: FULL PAGE vertical descent composition — ZOOMED OUT like the cover to show the FULL DRAMATIC DROP. The viewer sees the entire canyon wall from top to bottom — the SCALE of the descent is breathtaking. Characters are SMALL against the massive underwater cliff face, actively swimming DOWNWARD with MOTION AND DYNAMISM — this is an ACTION shot of pure descent energy. The coral reef is visible at the TOP of the composition — warm, bright, the world they are leaving. Below them: the deep unknown darkens progressively. CORAL REEF at top only — no kelp, no seaweed.
OLLIE: A cartoon baby octopus swimming DOWN with dynamic energy. His eight arms are FLOWING and TRAILING dramatically — tentacles streaming UPWARD and BEHIND him as he descends, creating beautiful flowing motion lines. The tentacles should feel alive, each one flowing individually in the current. Fine gold stipple brush dots on his skin, smooth round head, big dark eyes with golden star catchlights. Excited grin — thrilled by the descent. Golden-amber (#E8A735) skin beginning to mute with depth. SMALL in the composition — the canyon dwarfs him.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl descending alongside Ollie. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS (upward-curving arcs). NO mouth, NO smile line, NO cheeks, NO eyebrows. Pure smooth pearl with only two yellow crescent eyes. Her warm yellow glow leaves a faint trail as she descends. Golf-ball sized. Oriented downward, engaged in the descent.
MOTION/DYNAMISM: Real underwater bubbles trailing UPWARD from the characters. Ollie's tentacles flowing dramatically in the descent motion. The entire composition conveys DOWNWARD MOVEMENT — the eye flows from top to bottom.
COLOR GRADIENT: Warm peach-gold coral reef at TOP fading through rich green in the middle to dark navy at BOTTOM. Scientific color loss — red light first cut off. Light gradient follows depth accurately: shallow=warm, going down=light blue to dark blue. Coral and rock formations have fine gold foil stipple dot texture. Real bubbles, caustic light patterns, water particle haze.
RENDERING: Luxury craftsmanship quality. Mixed media collage with underwater photography. Torn paper coral at top transitioning to watercolor wash at depth. Full bleed 16:9.
ZOOM LEVEL
cover.jpg — Epic scale reference
TARGET
Style transfer output — page33_yellowlines_v2.png (Mar 31)
V1
Selected
V2 — Winner
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
Variant 1
Variant 2
Variant 3
Variant 4
↓ led to
1b. Gen2 Edit10 — All 24 Variants (7 Sub-Batches)
NB2-A — V1
NB2-A — V2
NB2-B — V1
NB2-B — V2
NB2-Full — V1
NB2-Full — V2
NB2-Full — V3
NB2-Full — V4
NBP-B1 — V1
STYLE REF
NBP-B1 — V2 (Selected)
NBP-B1 — V3
NBP-B1 — V4
NBP-B2 — V1
NBP-B2 — V2
NBP-B2 — V3
NBP-B2 — V4
NBP-B3 — V1
NBP-B3 — V2
NBP-B3 — V3
NBP-B3 — V4
NBP-B4 — V1
NBP-B4 — V2
NBP-B4 — V3
NBP-B4 — V4
↓ led to
1c. Gen3-v3 Spread 07 — 19 Variants (4 Rounds + 3 Picks)
R1 NB2 — V1
R1 NB2 — V2
R1 NB2 — V3
R1 NB2 — V4
R2 NB2 — V1
R2 NB2 — V2
R2 NB2 — V3
R2 NB2 — V4
R3 NBP — V1
R3 NBP — V2
R3 NBP — V3
R3 NBP — V4
R4 NBP — V1
R4 NBP — V2
R4 NBP — V3
R4 NBP — V4
Top 1
Pick #1 — R4 NBP V1
Top 2
Pick #2 — R2 NB2 V4
Top 3
Pick #3 — R3 NBP V3
↓ led to
2. Composition Reference Origin — 4-Stage Pipeline
Text-Only Origin
1
NB2 Initial Exploration (TEXT ONLY)
8 images · gemini-3.1-flash (NB2) · temp 0.85–1.01 · No image refs — pure text prompt
V01
V02
V03
V04
V05
Honorable
V06
V07
V08
↓↓↓
2
NB2 Refinement
8 images · gemini-3.1-flash (NB2) · Stage 1 best outputs used as anchors
Refinement Notes Added
Wider angle to capture the FULL DROP — canyon wall from top to bottom. Characters SMALLER in the composition. Ollie's tentacles streaming dramatically upward as he plunges down. Coral reef + clownfish at top only. Color gradient: warm peach-gold at top fading through green to dark navy at bottom. More dynamic descent energy — this is an ACTION shot.
V01
V02
V03
V04
Honorable
V05
V06
V07
V08
↓↓↓
3
NBP Initial Generation
16 images · Nano Banana Pro · Model upgrade from NB2 · Stage 2 best as anchor
Pick #2
8.0
V01
V02
V03
V04
V05
V06
V07
Honorable
V08
V09
V10
V11
V12
V13
V14
V15
V16
↓↓↓
4
NBP Polish
11 images · Nano Banana Pro · Stage 3 best as anchors · Top pick: V08 (8.5)
Polish Notes Added
Gold foil stipple quality on reef — super intricately handmade feel, not painted watercolor. Underwater photography realism. Iridescent descent path. Ollie muted yellow (not brown), Dot joyful yellow eyes. Mixed-media museum-quality rendering. Depth gradient with scientific color loss.
V01
V02
V03
V04
V05
V06
V07
Top Pick
8.5
V08
V09
Honorable
V10
V11
↓ led to
3. Character Reference Origin — illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png
Character Evolution Chain
v3: Extracted from spread07 composition output (Stage 4 best)
v4: Revamped via Gemini 2.0 Flash — fine microstipple texture, gouache-rendered face, gold foil irises. April 13.
v5 NB2: Illustrated version with RAISED METALLIC GOLD LEAF dots, ACTUAL GOLD LEAF hand-applied on watercolor texture. April 19.
v5 NBP: Polished through Nano Banana Pro for maximum fidelity → illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png SELECTED as final character reference.
CHAR REF
illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png — Final character ref
Gen3 Dark Character References (used in edit10 pipeline)
The Gen3 spread07 pipeline (generate_spread07_edit10.py) used dark-variant character references as OLLIE_REF and DOT_REF. Generated April 13, 2026 via NBP on Google AI Studio. 6 variants each, batch-generated (no generation script preserved). From instructions.html:
Ollie Dark: "Dim brown body with silver stipple dots. Silver foil iris with diffused light reflection. Used for shadow/deep scenes."
Dot Dark: "Solid Tahitian pearl with blue U-shaped glowing eyes. NO mouth. Deep water variant."
Source: character-refs-v2/ollie_dark/ and character-refs-v2/dot_dark/ (commit a8d8606, April 13 2026).
REF IMAGE
ollie_dark_v1.png — Gen3 Ollie char ref (dark)
REF IMAGE
dot_dark_v1.png — Gen3 Dot char ref (dark)
↓ led to
4. Quality Target Origin — s07_nbp_v2.png
Generation Details
Generated using the same prompt as Pipeline 3. Reference images used:
• edit10_nbp_b1_v2.png as STYLE REF (recursive — same style ref as Pipeline 3)
• spread07_down_they_swam.png as COMP REF
This generation was an earlier iteration with the same recipe. v2 was selected and then fed back into Pipeline 3 as the QUALITY TARGET — showing the model what "good enough" looks like at the rendering level.
QUALITY TARGET
s07_nbp_v2.png — Selected from corrected batch
↓ led to
5. Pipeline 3 — Final Generation
Pipeline 3 Generation Prompt
The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, and material quality to match. The second reference image shows the current scene composition to improve upon.
Dry torn paper coral with visible fiber texture exists deep underwater alongside photographic reef life.
Gold foil metallic stipple shimmers on surfaces submerged in real ocean water.
Gouache painted characters swim through photographic Hawaiian reef.
Heavy watercolor paper base.
Full bleed 2:1 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: FULL PAGE vertical descent composition — ZOOMED OUT like the cover to show the FULL DRAMATIC DROP. The viewer sees the entire canyon wall from top to bottom — the SCALE of the descent is breathtaking. Characters are SMALL against the massive underwater cliff face, actively swimming DOWNWARD with dynamic energy. Coral reef + clownfish visible at TOP (matches 'past clownfish town'). Gradient: light blue top to dark blue bottom. Jellyfish + watercolor blend, sparkles on bottom.
OLLIE: A cartoon baby octopus. Same features as bright Ollie but his yellow is MUTED by the deep underwater dimness — slightly desaturated, still recognizably yellow, NOT brown. Gold stipple dots less visible in the dim light. Smooth round head, NO EARS. Big dark eyes with golden star catchlights becoming less prominent. Gold foil iris. Arms flowing. Expression: gently happy, exploring. Swimming DOWN with dynamic energy. Eight arms FLOWING and TRAILING dramatically — tentacles streaming UPWARD and BEHIND him as he descends. Each one flowing individually in the current. Excited grin — thrilled by the descent. SMALL in the composition — the canyon dwarfs him. Face: gently happy, exploring.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl. Smooth nacre surface with subtle warm glow beginning to shift. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS — still yellow but starting to dim. NO mouth. Her warm yellow glow leaves a faint trail as she descends. Golf-ball sized. Retains faint yellow glow + yellow eyes.
SNAIL: A tiny snail Easter egg hidden somewhere in the scene — tucked into coral, sitting on a shell, nestled in a corner. Small enough to be a discovery element. Consistent appearance across all pages.
ENVIRONMENT: Massive canyon wall from top to bottom. Warm peach-gold coral reef at TOP with clownfish, fading through rich green in the middle to dark navy at BOTTOM. Scientific color loss — red light first cut off. Jellyfish and watercolor blend. Sparkles in the deep.
RENDERING: Color gradient: warm peach-gold TOP to dark navy BOTTOM. Scientific depth color loss. Full bleed 2:1 aspect ratio. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
STYLE
edit10_nbp_b1_v2.png
COMP
spread07_down_they_swam.png
CHAR
illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png
QUALITY
s07_nbp_v2.png
8.2
V1
8.8
V2
9.0
V3
Perfect
10.0
V4
9.3
V5
8.2
V6
9.3
V7
7.3 FAIL
V8
8.3
V9
9.9
V10
Perfect
10.0
V11
9.1
V12
7.7
V13
9.1
V14
9.1
V15
Perfect
10.0
V16
↓ led to
6. Post-Pipeline Refinements (P21, P27, P28)
21
Pipeline 21 — Base Selection
Selected p21_s07_v4.png as the base for refinement
P21 — V1
P21 — V2
P21 — V3
BASE
P21 — V4 (selected as base)
↓↓↓
27
Pipeline 27 — Smaller Dot + Color Clarity
4 variants · NB2 (gemini-3.1-flash) · temp 0.85–1.0 · Edit-based generation
P27 Edit Prompt
Edit this image. Keep everything mostly the SAME — it looks really good. Make these specific changes only:
1. Make DOT (the white pearl character) slightly SMALLER — reduce her size by about 20-25%. Keep her in the same position, same expression, same warm yellow U-shaped glow arc eyes.
2. INCREASE the CLARITY of the water and colors throughout the scene. Make the colors more vibrant and crisp — the pinks, oranges, yellows, and greens of the coral reef should pop more. Sharpen the details slightly.
3. KEEP the underwater feel — the scene should still feel submerged with that beautiful blue-green underwater atmosphere, depth haze, and realistic bubbles. Don't remove the underwater quality, just make the colors within it clearer and more vivid.
4. Keep EVERYTHING else exactly the same — same Ollie, same composition, same coral reef layout, same clownfish, same snail, same jellyfish, same iridescent rainbow elements on the cliff. Do NOT change the collage style or the scenery structure.
P27 — V1
P27 — V2
P27 — V3
SELECTED
P27 — V4 (fed into P28)
↓↓↓
28
Pipeline 28 — Eye Outline Fix
4 variants · NB2 (gemini-3.1-flash) · temp 0.85–1.0 · Edit-based generation
P28 Edit Prompt
Edit this image. Keep everything exactly the SAME. Only fix Ollie's eyes:
Remove the BLACK OUTLINE/RING around Ollie's eyes. His eyes should have:
- Large round black pupils with natural white light glimmers
- Subtle gold foil irises — a thin ring of metallic gold around the black pupil
- NO black outline, NO dark ring, NO heavy border around the eye area
- The skin around his eyes should be the same smooth golden-amber as the rest of his face
Keep EVERYTHING else exactly the same — same Dot, same composition, same coral reef, same jellyfish, same bubbles, same colors. Minimal change — just remove the black eye outline.
P28 — V1
P28 — V2
P28 — V3
SELECTED FOR BOOK
P28 — V4 (Book Winner)
↓ led to
7. Published Spread
Published Spread 07 — Down They Swam
page_07_22x8.5in.jpg — 2400 x 927
Review Summary
What Worked
Vertical descent composition with epic scale achieved
Ollie's muted yellow coloring correct in nearly every image
Gold stipple dots visible throughout
No ears detected in any reviewed image
Dot spherical with crescent yellow eyes
Jellyfish and watercolor blend at depth
Scientific color loss gradient from warm top to dark bottom
Pipeline 3 achieved 3 perfect 10.0 scores (v4, v11, v16)
Post-pipeline refinements successfully fixed Dot size and eye outline
Issues Found
Dot mouth appeared in some early variants (resolved in Pipeline 3)
Ollie's eye outline too heavy (fixed in P28)
Dot too large in some variants (fixed in P27)
Mixed media texture could be stronger in early stages
0. Foundational Style Origins — D10 Mixed Media P3
Origin Chain
Draft 07 (draft07_full.py) → Mixed Media Collage style, Page 1 den scene, NBP via Replicate, Ollie+Dot ref images → 4 variants
Draft 10 (draft10_gen.py) → Same Mixed Media style applied to storyboard Pages 1-3, NB2 iterate mode with Gemini review loop → v1/v2 from Round 1
Gallery Build (PR #174, March 25) → v3/v4 generated as additional variants during deployment to ctrlcompany CDN
v1 selected as "favorite Ollie" character ref → used in ALL subsequent NBP generations as image_input
v2 selected as style benchmark ref → used in all gen_a/gen_b scripts
Draft 10 (draft10_gen.py) → Same Mixed Media style applied to storyboard Pages 1-3, NB2 iterate mode with Gemini review loop → v1/v2 from Round 1
Gallery Build (PR #174, March 25) → v3/v4 generated as additional variants during deployment to ctrlcompany CDN
v1 selected as "favorite Ollie" character ref → used in ALL subsequent NBP generations as image_input
v2 selected as style benchmark ref → used in all gen_a/gen_b scripts
D10 Generation Prompt (d10-mm-p3-v2.jpg)
Generated March 26, 2026 · Nano Banana 2 (NB2) via Replicate · iterate mode · Reference images: ollie_pick.png (Ollie character) + dot_pick_agata.png (Dot character)
Character Reference Images (input to D10 generation)
ollie_pick.png — Character ref fed to NBP
dot_pick_agata.png — Co-author's pick
D07 Mixed Media — Predecessors (draft07_full.py, March 24)
D07 Mixed Media v1
D07 Mixed Media v2
D07 Mixed Media v3
D07 Mixed Media v4
D07 Mixed Media Prompt (draft07_full.py)
D10 Mixed Media P3 — THE Foundational Style Refs (draft10_gen.py, March 25-26)
AGATA'S FAVORITE OLLIE
D10 MM P3 v1 — Character ref for ALL NBP gens
STYLE BENCHMARK
D10 MM P3 v2 — Style ref for gen_a/gen_b scripts
D10 MM P3 v3 — Additional variant
D10 MM P3 v4 — Additional variant
D10 Mixed Media Style Prompt (draft10_gen.py — STYLES["mixed_media"])
Technical Details
Model: Nano Banana 2 (iterate) via Replicate (asiryan/nano-banana-pro for v3/v4)
Script: draft10_gen.py — Round 1, iterate mode, 2 variants/style/page
Reference images: ollie_pick.png + dot_pick_agata.png as image_input
Date: March 25-26, 2026 · Deployed via PR #174 to ctrlcompany
Source: drafts/draft-10_storyboard/iterate/round_1/page_03/mixed_media/
v1 hash: cb0d4447e663b7e041f7acdc4d0eae9b
v2 hash: 70b1b348fe0aa26f01ae6afa001866ad
v3 hash: 612be8f2754ab2f139360080598c28d9
v4 hash: aa0a738712ea65268922ee53673cdbf2
Script: draft10_gen.py — Round 1, iterate mode, 2 variants/style/page
Reference images: ollie_pick.png + dot_pick_agata.png as image_input
Date: March 25-26, 2026 · Deployed via PR #174 to ctrlcompany
Source: drafts/draft-10_storyboard/iterate/round_1/page_03/mixed_media/
v1 hash: cb0d4447e663b7e041f7acdc4d0eae9b
v2 hash: 70b1b348fe0aa26f01ae6afa001866ad
v3 hash: 612be8f2754ab2f139360080598c28d9
v4 hash: aa0a738712ea65268922ee53673cdbf2
1. Style Explorations
Script: generate_pages_1_5.py
Four distinct style directions were explored for Page 1 (Ollie's Den / Sunny Reef): gouache storybook, risograph ocean, soft pastel dream, and woodblock folk. Multiple variants generated per style. These early explorations established the warm, underwater aesthetic before the 3D mixed-media direction was chosen.
Gouache Storybook
Risograph Ocean
Soft Pastel Dream
Woodblock Folk
↓ led to
2. Storyboard Scenes
Composition Studies
Scene composition explorations for Page 1 — closeup, wide, panorama, and overhead views of Ollie's den. Testing camera angles and framing before committing to a style direction.
Den Closeup
Den Wide
Den Panorama
Den Overhead
↓ led to
3. Draft 4 Concepts
V01 Generation Prompt
Children's picture book illustration in warm watercolor and ink wash style on textured watercolor paper. Soft, dreamy, hand-painted quality with visible brush marks, pigment blooms, and natural watercolor bleeding edges. BABY BLUE and BABY PINK warm childlike color palette. Rich and idealistic. Iridescent shimmer on water surfaces only. Rich, layered underwater environment with foreground, midground, and background depth. Cinematic 16:9 widescreen composition. Full bleed, no borders.
A small baby octopus (Ollie) nestled inside a large clam shell bed — two symmetrical halves arching over the top like a canopy. A small friendly seahorse companion curled beside Ollie in the shell. Ollie's eyes warm and content, mouth showing a tiny smile. The clam shell looks like a BED and a HOME. Dot hovering nearby, crescent-squint eyes glowing, smaller than Ollie. Warm baby blue and baby pink reef surroundings, golden sunlight filtering down. Cozy, intimate, home.
Draft Pick
V01 — Clam bed + seahorse
V02 — Conch den closeup
V03 — Rock den flat shell
V04 — Wide den clam
V05 — Overhead clam bed
V06 — Panoramic den
V07 — Closeup clam bed
V08 — Inside looking out
V09 — Large conch test
V10 — Pair focus
↓ led to
4. Original Mixed-Media Generation — NBP Final
Original Generation Prompt (page01_flat.txt)
torn paper mache coral formations growing in a photographic Hawaiian reef. Gouache-painted baby octopus nestled in a clam shell alongside a 3D pearlescent nacre robot sphere. Real photographic shells sitting on watercolor-painted sand. Tulle fabric undulating as ocean current. Kraft paper rock textures in crystal-clear tropical water. Every material is undeniably ITSELF — dry paper, wet ocean, painted character, real shell — yet they coexist as one reality.
SCENE: underwater camera, medium-close shot, warm and inviting — we are inside the reef looking at Ollie's cozy den. Ollie center-right nestled in clam shell bed, Dot floating beside him at left, seahorse companion nearby. Coral reef fills the background with I Spy density of Hawaiian species. Full bleed, no margins — we are IN the reef.
OLLIE: Golden-amber baby octopus, smooth gradient (#E8A735 to cream underneath), soft watercolor rendering. Happy, content, relaxed — large pill-shaped pupils with star-sparkle catchlights, cute small mouth with gentle smile. Nestled into clam shell bed (two halves arching over like a canopy), arms draped lazily. MOST STYLIZED watercolor — the innocence phase.
DOT: Small seafoam pearlescent sphere robot, nacre surface — the MOST REAL element in the scene. Yellow crescent eyes glowing through surface. Warm faint glow at 10%. 3D pearlescent — catches warm Hawaiian sunlight.
ENVIRONMENT: Hawaiian coral reef inside/around a rock den with clam shell bed. Warm, safe, HOME. Maximum mixed media — torn paper coral edges, real photographic shell accents, paper mache coral, real bubbles, gouache opacity, ink line work. I Spy MAXIMUM density. Baby blue + baby pink palette with golden sunlight.
CHAR REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V1 — Ollie character reference
STYLE REF
D10 Mixed Media P3 V2 — Style reference
V1
V2
V3
Selected
V4 — became spread04_sunny_reef.png
↓↓↓
5. Corrected Batch — 3D Mixed-Media Style
Corrected Batch Generation Prompt
The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, and material quality to match. The second reference image shows the current scene composition to improve upon.
Dry torn paper coral with visible fiber texture exists deep underwater alongside photographic reef life.
Gold foil metallic stipple shimmers on surfaces submerged in real ocean water.
Gouache painted characters swim through photographic Hawaiian reef.
Heavy watercolor paper base.
Full bleed 2:1 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: Warm bright shallow reef — the first full story page. Shell is OPEN here (transition from Inside Front where it was closed). The 3D look with pearl realism, painted fish, seahorse (PINK), collage style. Underwater submersion: ocean color, bubbles, light refraction. Sandy real ocean bottom blended with watercolor. Abundant sea life — painted fish, pink seahorse, coral formations.
OLLIE: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL cartoon baby octopus — 3D rendered quality with tactile, dimensional presence. Fine gold stipple brush dots on his skin — shimmering gold micro-dots with precise gradient. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. NO EARS. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles. Small gentle curved mouth, excited expression. Eight flowing soft-curved arms. Golden-amber (#E8A735) skin. Gold foil iris.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl — THREE-DIMENSIONAL rendering with realistic pearl quality. Smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with stunning iridescent quality. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS — upward-curving arcs, soft rounded squint shapes. NO mouth, NO smile line, NO black lines. Warm yellow glow. Golf-ball sized. MORE VISIBLE than previous versions — she must POP in the scene. Engaged, facing the action.
SNAIL: A tiny snail Easter egg hidden somewhere in the scene — tucked into coral, sitting on a shell, nestled in a corner. Small enough to be a discovery element. Consistent appearance across all pages.
ENVIRONMENT: Warm bright shallow reef. Open clam shell visible. Pink seahorse, painted fish, abundant coral. Sandy ocean bottom blended with watercolor. Underwater bubbles, light refraction, ocean color. Golden sunlight from above.
RENDERING: Warm golden sunlight. 3D character quality with mixed media collage. Golden Sunlight (#F5D693), Baby Pink (#F4B8C1), Reef Green (#7EC8A0), Baby Blue (#A8D8EA). Full bleed 2:1 aspect ratio.
The corrected batch used spread04_sunny_reef.png (NBP Final V4 from Section 4) as both the style target and scene composition to improve upon. Prompt: "The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, and material quality to match. The second reference image shows the current scene composition to improve upon."
STYLE + SCENE REF
spread04_sunny_reef.png — NBP Final V4 (Section 4 winner)
CHAR
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png — 3D Ollie character ref
↓ produced
Key Corrections Applied
CRITICAL FIX: Only ONE Dot — a single pearl held in Ollie's arms. No other pearl anywhere. Dot smaller (head-sized). Shell iridescence on inside (subtle rainbow on white part). Realistic snail. Ollie facing viewer with 8 arms.
NB2 V2
NB2 V3
NB2 V4
NBP V1
NBP V2
NBP V3
NBP V4
NBP V5
NBP V6
NBP V7
NBP V8
↓ led to
6. Pipeline 2 — Double-Dot Discovery
Pipeline 2 Prompt (Key Correction Attempted)
Added correction: "There is ONLY ONE Dot — a single pearl, held in Ollie's arms. No other pearl or Dot character appears anywhere else in the scene."
Despite this instruction, many variants still showed the old page's Dot in original position AND a second Dot in Ollie's arms — the "double Dot problem."
Founder Feedback — Pipeline 2
"Lots still showing old page — Dot in original position AND a second Dot in Ollie's arms (double Dot problem)."
"V4 kind of good but Dot WAY too big — needs to be smaller."
"V8 turned out pretty good but Dot too big."
"Like the iridescence being on the INSIDE of Ollie's shell — white part is subtle rainbow."
"Favorite: p2_s04_nb2_v1."
"p2_s04_nb2_v1 could potentially be used for 'You Did It' / swimming home page."
"Getting a lot closer overall."
Favorite
V1
V10
V11
V12
V13
V14
V15
V16
↓ led to
7. Pipeline 3 — Winning Batch
Pipeline 3 Generation Prompt
The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, and material quality to match. The second reference image shows the current scene composition to improve upon. The third reference image shows OLLIE's exact character design — maintain these features.
Dry torn paper coral with visible fiber texture exists deep underwater alongside photographic reef life.
REAL GOLD FOIL micro-dots that catch light like tiny metallic beads shimmer on surfaces submerged in real ocean water.
Gouache painted characters swim through photographic Hawaiian reef.
Heavy watercolor paper base.
Full bleed 2:1 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: Warm bright shallow reef — the first full story page. Shell is OPEN here (transition from Inside Front where it was closed). The 3D look with pearl realism, painted fish, seahorse (PINK), collage style. Underwater submersion: ocean color, bubbles, light refraction. Sandy real ocean bottom blended with watercolor. Abundant sea life — painted fish, pink seahorse, coral formations. Ollie looking directly AT THE VIEWER/CAMERA.
OLLIE: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL cartoon baby octopus — 3D rendered quality with tactile, dimensional presence. Fine gold stipple brush dots on his skin — shimmering gold micro-dots with precise gradient. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. NO EARS. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden natural underwater light reflection (soft white glimmers from water caustics, NOT stars). Small gentle curved mouth, excited expression. Eight flowing soft-curved arms. Golden-amber (#E8A735) skin. Gold foil iris. A few tiny freckle-dots scattered between the eyes.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl — THREE-DIMENSIONAL rendering with realistic pearl quality. Smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with stunning iridescent quality. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS — upward-curving arcs, soft rounded squint shapes. NO mouth, NO smile line, NO black lines. Warm yellow glow. About the size of Ollie's head — small enough to wrap 2-3 arms around. MORE VISIBLE than previous versions — she must POP in the scene. Engaged, facing the action.
SNAIL: A tiny actual snail (body + shell, not just shell) hidden inconspicuously — tucked into coral, sitting on a rock, nestled in a corner. Small enough to be a discovery element.
ENVIRONMENT: Warm bright shallow reef. Open clam shell visible. Pink seahorse, painted fish, abundant coral. Sandy ocean bottom blended with watercolor. Underwater bubbles, light refraction, ocean color. Golden sunlight from above.
Rainbow iridescent light accents a specific element in the scene.
RENDERING: Warm golden sunlight. 3D character quality with mixed media collage. Golden Sunlight (#F5D693), Baby Pink (#F4B8C1), Reef Green (#7EC8A0), Baby Blue (#A8D8EA). Full bleed 2:1 aspect ratio.
Script:
generate_spread04_p3.py · STYLE_REF = current-pages/spread04_sunny_reef.png · OLLIE_REF = character-refs-v5/ollie/3d-r4/3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png · Prompt: "The first reference image shows the current scene composition and rendering style to match and improve upon."
STYLE + COMP
spread04_sunny_reef.png — NBP Final V4, the scene being improved upon
CHAR
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png — 3D Ollie character ref
Founder Feedback
"This one nails it" — V02 selected. Shell iridescence perfect, Ollie perfect, Dot perfect, love the snail. Direction: generate more with Ollie looking STRAIGHT FORWARD.
V01
Winner
★ NAILS IT
V02
V03
V04
V05
V06
V07
V08
V09
V10
V11
V12
V13
V14
V15
V16
↓ led to
8. Pipeline 4 — Forward-Facing Refinement
Pipeline 4 Prompt Change
Same prompt as Pipeline 3 with one key modification:
"Ollie looking directly AT THE VIEWER/CAMERA" — the only change from Pipeline 3.
Everything else maintained from v02 winner: shell iridescence, Dot design, scene composition, snail placement.
STYLE (P3 Winner)
P3 v02 winner — "this one nails it"
CHAR
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png
P4 Automated Review Scores
v01: GAZE:10 SCENE:9 DOT:8 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v02: GAZE:10 SCENE:10 DOT:9 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v03: GAZE:10 SCENE:9 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v04: GAZE:10 SCENE:9 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v05: GAZE:10 SCENE:9 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v10: GAZE:10 SCENE:10 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v11: GAZE:10 SCENE:10 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v13: GAZE:10 SCENE:10 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
v14: GAZE:10 SCENE:9 DOT:10 SHELL:10 SNAIL:10 SEAHORSE:10 OVERALL:10
Top picks: v02, v03, v10, v11, v13, v14 — all scored 10/10 OVERALL
10/10
V01
Top Pick
10/10
V02
Top Pick
10/10
V03
10/10
V04
10/10
V05
10/10
V06
10/10
V07
10/10
V08
9/10
V09
Top Pick
10/10
V10
Top Pick
10/10
V11
9/10
V12
Top Pick
10/10
V13
Top Pick
10/10
V14
10/10
V15
8/10
V16
NB2 V1
NB2 V2
NB2 V3
NB2 V5
NB2 V6
NB2 V7
NB2 V8
NB2 V9
NB2 V10
NB2 V11
NB2 V12
NB2 V13
NB2 V14
NB2 V15
NB2 V16
↓ led to
9. R7 Test — Advanced Prompt Variants
NB2 V1
NB2 V2
NB2 V3
NB2 V4
NBP V1
NBP V2
NBP V3
NBP V4
↓ led to
10. Character Reference — 3D Ollie (3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png)
Character Evolution
3D Ollie character reference chain:
• Text-only character description (golden-amber octopus, gold stipple, gold foil iris)
• NB2 early character explorations
• Gemini 2.0 Flash character revamp (quality improvements)
• v5 NB2 illustrated (RAISED METALLIC GOLD LEAF dots, gold foil on watercolor)
• v5 NBP polish → 3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png SELECTED
Used as CHAR REF for Pipelines 1 through 4.
CHAR REF
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png
↓ led to
11. Published Spread
Published Spread 04 — Sunny Reef
spread04_sunny_reef.png
12. Review Summary
What Worked
Double-Dot problem fully resolved in Pipeline 3+
Shell iridescence on inner surface achieved
3D character quality with mixed media collage
Realistic snail Easter egg included
Dot correctly sized (golf-ball/head-sized)
Pipeline 3 v02 selected as winner — "nails it"
Pipeline 4 achieved multiple 10/10 scores across all criteria
Warm bright reef atmosphere with abundant sea life
Forward-facing Ollie achieved in Pipeline 4
Issues Found and Resolved
Critical: Double Dot appeared in Pipelines 1-2 (fixed Pipeline 3+)
Moderate: Dot too large in some Pipeline 2 variants (fixed with size instruction)
Moderate: Too many arms on Ollie in some variants
Minor: Ollie not facing camera consistently (addressed Pipeline 4)
Minor: Snail missing in some early variants (added explicit instruction)
Style Origin
Cover generations used D10 Mixed Media P3 v1 as character ref (image_input) and v2 as style benchmark. See Sunny Reef tab, Section 0 for full D10 origin trace.
0. Full Origin Trace — draft1_cover.jpg
DRAFT 1 COVER ORIGIN — NBP-V21 — Replicate
R
Reference Images (2 refs sent to API)
image_1: d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg (Ollie character) · image_2: d10-mixed-media-p3/v2.jpg (Style)
REF 1
Ollie — d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg
REF 2
Style — d10-mixed-media-p3/v2.jpg
Generation Prompt — front_cover_v2_prompt.md (corrected-prompts, March 28)
Full bleed 16:9 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography. Luxury craftsmanship quality.
SCENE: Wide-angle underwater descent along a dramatic cliff edge. Ollie and Dot diving downward together, bodies angled down, following the steep reef wall into the deep. The composition is split: the LEFT half shows the beautiful reef cliff face — vibrant, detailed, alive with coral and collage texture and natural underwater environment. The RIGHT half opens into dark oceanic vastness — deep watercolor ink wash darkness with distant bioluminescent hints glowing far below, showing where they're heading. This split creates the drama: beauty and safety on one side, mystery and adventure on the other. Both characters are looking at each other as they dive — excited, connected, happy. This is the beginning of the adventure. Bright vibrant color above fading into rich darkness below.
OLLIE: Illustrated cartoon baby octopus with a real-feeling underwater body. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles, both eyes aligned, looking toward Dot. Small gentle curved smile mouth showing excitement. Subtle rosy-pink cheeks. Thin subtle eyebrows. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. Golden-amber skin (#E8A735) with fine small stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, and white across his body. Body has detailed suction cups, flowing realistic arms trailing upward as he swims downward. His whole body is angled in downward swimming motion — dynamic, purposeful descent. Rendered with page 1 D14B quality — a painted character photographed underwater. He looks genuinely submerged, lit by the underwater environment, bubbles trailing from his motion.
DOT: A solid natural Tahitian pearl — smooth, perfectly round, polished nacre surface with beautiful iridescent quality. Mother-of-pearl sheen reflecting the surrounding warm reef colors — golds, greens, blues playing across her surface. Eyes are soft glowing warm-yellow ROUNDED SQUINT shapes projected through the pearl surface from inside — like warm light passing through nacre. Happy, engaged expression. Golf-ball sized relative to baby octopus. Floating beside Ollie, oriented downward in the direction of descent, facing toward him. Her iridescent surface catches the shifting light as they descend — warm reef tones above, cooler blue-green tones below.
ENVIRONMENT: Dramatic steep reef cliff edge dominating the left side of the frame. The cliff face is richly detailed: brain coral, cauliflower coral, sea fans, anemones, small tropical fish tucked into crevices — each element rendered with a mix of torn paper collage texture and natural underwater photography realism. The collage blends seamlessly with the natural environment — vibrant blues (#4A90D9), pinks (#F4B8C1), purples (#9B7ECF), warm corals visible in the reef life. The colors are bright and vivid at the top, rich and saturated. Moving down, the reef gives way to deeper rock, the colors shift cooler, and the right side opens into vast dark ocean. At the very bottom: a hint of bioluminescent glow — iridescent rainbow shimmer on the distant canyon floor, like the iridescent canyon light effect. Tiny glowing creatures scattered in the deep darkness. Real underwater feel: abundant bubbles streaming upward, caustic light patterns dancing on the reef, water particle haze, volumetric light shafts filtering from above. A subtle glimmer of light from above but the surface is not visible.
STYLE: Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography and natural environment. The collage elements (torn paper coral, watercolor washes, tissue paper overlays) blend organically with photographic underwater realism — not paper-mache looking, but rich luxurious craftwork that feels like part of the real ocean. The reef side has heavy collage texture blending into the natural reef. The dark open side uses watercolor ink wash with distant line work. Characters rendered with D14B page 1 quality — illustrated faces, realistic underwater presence. Full bleed, edge to edge. Luxury craftsmanship.
COLOR: Bright vibrant blues (#4A90D9), warm golds (#F5D693), rich pinks (#F4B8C1), vivid purples (#9B7ECF) in the reef zone at top. Green transition (#7EC8A0) through the middle. Deepening blue (#3D7EA6) to Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A) at the bottom. Ollie golden-amber (#E8A735). Iridescent rainbow glow hints at the very bottom — the promise of the deep adventure ahead.
A
NBP-V21 Batch — The Selected Cover (V2 = Book Cover)
March 28, 2026 17:50 UTC · Replicate NBP · 2 front cover variants in this batch · V2 selected as book cover
SELECTED
BOOK COVER
NBP v21 — front_cover_v2.jpg = draft1_cover.jpg
NBP v21 — front_cover_v3.jpg (batch sibling)
public/images/nbp-v21/front_cover_v2.jpg— 2752x1536 (EC2 original)book-editor/images/front_cover_v2.jpg— 2752x1536 (AI Studio copy 1)book-editor/images/front_cover_v2 (1).jpg— 2752x1536 (Chrome re-download)
01_front_cover_v2_(1).jpg_202603292213.jpeg— book-editor numbered (AI Studio timestamp: Mar 29, 22:13)book-drafts/.../01_front_cover_v2_(1).jpg_202603292213.jpeg— Draft 1 full-pages setdraft-2/progression/cover/refs/draft1_cover.jpg— progression reference copy
↓ Predecessor batches
0b. Predecessor Cover Batches — V11 through V23
V11 — front_cover_v1
V11 — front_cover_v2
V11 — front_cover_v3
V11 — front_cover_v4
V11 — front_cover_v5
V11 — front_cover_v6
V11 — front_cover_v7
V11 — front_cover_v8
↓↓↓
V13 — front_cover_v1
V13 — front_cover_v2
↓↓↓
V14 — cover_incline_v1
V14 — cover_incline_v2
↓↓↓
V16 — cover_wide_v1
V16 — cover_wide_v2
↓↓↓
NBP-V20 — Full Batch (18 images)
REF 1 — CHAR
d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg (Ollie)
REF 2 — STYLE
d10-mixed-media-p3/v2.jpg (Style)
Generation Script — generate_gen_a.py (used for front_cover, page02, page05)
V20 was generated using generate_gen_a.py prompts. Each page had a dedicated prompt describing the scene, characters, and mixed media style. Reference images (d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg + d10-mixed-media-p3/v2.jpg) were sent as image_1 and image_2 with every API call. Aspect ratio: 16:9.
Front Cover prompt: Close-up cliff edge underwater dive scene. Fish BIGGER and prominent, painted paper-craft style. Rainbow iridescent bio glow at bottom. Iridescent foil airbrush lighting on cliff face.
Page 02 (Kelp Forest): MASSIVE Monterey kelp forest with IRIDESCENT RAINBOW shimmer. Characters TINY (size of one kelp bladder). Painted pink seahorse, painted harbor seal.
Page 05 (WOW Page): WIDE-ANGLE bioluminescent creature parade. Canyon view teeming with glowing sea life. Characters small, both looking UP with wonder. Scientifically accurate bioluminescence.
Pages 03, 04, 08, 09, 15, 16: Generated from corrected-prompts directory (see prompt-status.md). Each prompt addressed specific creator feedback comments.
front_cover_v1
front_cover_v2
page02_v1
page03_v1
page04_v1
page05_v1
page05_v2
page05_v3
page08_v1
page08_v2
page09_v1
page09_v2
page15_v1
page15_v2
page16_v1
back_cover_v1
back_spread1_v1
back_spread2_v1
↓↓↓
NBP-V21 — Full Batch (9 images)
V21 Generation Notes
V21 continued the V20 session with updated/iterated prompts for pages that needed additional variants. Same reference images (image_1: Ollie char ref, image_2: style ref). Same model (google/nano-banana-pro via Replicate). Aspect ratio: 16:9.
Front Cover: Used front_cover_v2_prompt.md (corrected-prompts) with cliff edge descent, split composition, rounded squint Dot eyes. V2 selected as the book cover (draft1_cover.jpg).
Pages 19-20: Used page19_prompt.md and page20_prompt.md. Page 19: shell den, emotion bubbles, page 1 D14B quality. Page 20: closing mantra, visual step icons, sunset from below.
Back Cover Hold variants: Three variants showing Ollie holding Dot from behind, based on back_cover_prompt.md.
Back Spread 2: Updated dark canyon composition with rainbow floor.
Book Cover
front_cover_v2 (= draft1_cover.jpg)
front_cover_v3
page19_v3
page20_v3
back_cover_v3
back_cover_hold_v1
back_cover_hold_v2
back_cover_hold_v3
back_spread2_v3
↓↓↓
NBP-V22 — Full Batch (29 images)
REF 1 — CHAR
d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg (Ollie)
REF 2 — STYLE
d10-mixed-media-p3/v2.jpg (Style)
REF 3 — QUALITY
page01_v4.jpg (Realistic character quality)
Generation Prompt — gen_front_cover_v22.py (front covers)
The first reference shows the octopus character. The second shows the mixed media style. The third shows the realistic character quality and underwater environment to match.
Real underwater photograph blended with mixed media collage. A baby octopus and a solid natural Tahitian pearl diving DOWNWARD along a steep coral cliff edge, LOOKING AT EACH OTHER with excitement. Bright vibrant blues, pinks, and purples throughout. LEFT HALF: the cliff face alive with colorful coral, anemones, painted watercolor elements blended naturally with real underwater environment. RIGHT HALF: open deep blue ocean.
The gradient tells the story of the dive: BRIGHT vivid warm colors at the top with sunlit coral reef, transitioning through vibrant teal-blue in the middle, to deep darkness at the bottom with a beautiful RAINBOW IRIDESCENT GLOW — like the iridescent canyon light, concentrated shimmer on the deep floor below.
The baby octopus has fine stipple brush dots in gold, orange, yellow, white. Smooth round head. Big round dark eyes with golden star catchlights, adventurous excited grin. Body angled downward, arms trailing. Looking at his pearl companion. Characters look as REALISTIC as in the reef reference — like real creatures photographed underwater with cartoon charm.
The solid natural Tahitian pearl diving alongside, oriented downward. Iridescent nacre surface reflecting the vibrant reef colors. Rounded happy squint eyes glowing softly from inside. Golf-ball sized. Looking at Ollie.
Mixed media collage blended naturally with real underwater photography — not papier-mache looking. Real water, real bubbles, real light. Full bleed 16:9.
front_cover_v1
front_cover_v2
front_cover_v3
front_cover_v4
front_cover_v5
front_cover_v6
front_page_v1
front_page_v2
front_page_v3
front_page_v4
page02_v1
page02_v2
page02_v3
page02_v4
page03_v1
page03_v2
page03_v3
page03_v4
page19_v1
page20_v1
back_cover_v1
back_cover_hold_v1
back_cover_hold_v2
back_cover_hold_v3
back_cover_hold_v4
back_cover_hold_v5
back_cover_hold_v6
back_cover_hold_v7
back_spread2_v1
↓↓↓
V23 — front_cover_v1
↓ led to
1. NBP v23 Gen A — Later Cliff Edge Prompt
Draft 1 Era
Gen A Prompt (generate_gen_a.py — front_cover_v1)
The first reference shows the octopus character. The second shows the mixed media style.
A close-up cliff edge underwater dive scene. Two characters near the edge of a vibrant reef cliff about to descend into the deep. The baby octopus with fine gold stipple brush dots, smooth round head, big excited dark eyes with golden star catchlights, happy adventurous expression, body angled downward. A solid natural Tahitian pearl with rounded squint eyes glowing warmly from inside, oriented downward with the octopus. Fish are BIGGER and prominent — painted paper-craft style tropical fish like a collage illustration. Real ocean coral reef blended with painted collage elements. Blue ocean sunlight streaming through water from above. The cliff drops away below them — rainbow iridescent bio glow at the bottom of the cliff, detailed and shimmering. Iridescent foil airbrush lighting on the cliff face. Dark areas below still have beautiful ink line work showing underwater environment. Stipple brush texture on coral and rocks. Full bleed 16:9.
Gen A V1 — NBP v23
↓ led to
2. Drafter Current — Multiple Exploration Batches
No-ref V1
No-ref V2
Ref V1
Ref V2
V1
V2
V3
V4
V8 V1
V8 V2
V8 V4
↓ led to
3. Style Transfer — 4 Batches (16 variants)
Style Transfer — Page 1 (Cover)
V1
Selected
V2 — Winner (oceanbubbles_v2)
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
↓ led to
4. Cover Test Generations
Cover Test Prompt (cover-test)
Square 1:1 aspect ratio. Full bleed children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
REAL GOLD FOIL micro-dots that catch light like tiny metallic beads shimmer on surfaces submerged in real ocean water. Gouache painted characters swim through photographic Hawaiian reef. Heavy watercolor paper base.
SCENE: A dramatic steep Hawaiian reef drop-off descending into the deep. Three color zones: warm golden reef light at top, green transition in the middle, dark deep navy with rainbow iridescence bioluminescence at bottom. Ollie and Dot swim SIDE BY SIDE descending into the deep. Enormous cauliflower coral, lobe coral dwarf them. Schools of vivid yellow tangs and Moorish idols swim past. CORAL REEF ONLY — no kelp, no seaweed.
Characters in DYNAMIC SWIMMING MOTION — both DIVING DOWNWARD, mouths OPEN with excitement. WIDER ANGLE — more zoomed out showing full dramatic drop. Ocean surface light is BLUE (NOT pink). Fish ONLY on coral reef side — dark side has cliff details with ink line work. Rainbow iridescent reflection at the BOTTOM where reef meets deep.
V1
V2
V3
V4
V1
V2
V3
V4
↓ led to
5. Corrected Batch — spread01_cover
Corrected Batch Prompt (spread01_cover/prompt.txt)
SCENE: A dramatic steep Hawaiian reef drop-off descending into the deep. Three color zones: warm golden reef light at top, green transition in the middle, dark deep navy with rainbow iridescence bioluminescence at bottom. Ollie and Dot swim SIDE BY SIDE descending into the deep. Enormous cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina), lobe coral (Porites lobata) dwarf them. Schools of vivid yellow tangs and Moorish idols swim past. Cowrie shells and slate pencil urchins scatter across the reef. CORAL REEF ONLY — no kelp, no seaweed.
OLLIE: A cartoon baby octopus. Fine gold stipple brush dots on his skin — shimmering gold micro-dots. Smooth perfectly rounded plump head. NO EARS. Big round dark pill-shaped pupils with warm golden star catchlight sparkles. Small gentle curved mouth. Eight flowing soft-curved arms. Golden-amber (#E8A735) skin.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS — upward-curving arcs. NO mouth, NO smile line, NO cheeks, NO eyebrows, NO black lines. Warm yellow glow. Golf-ball sized relative to Ollie. ENGAGED in the scene.
SNAIL: A tiny snail Easter egg hidden somewhere in the scene.
ENVIRONMENT: Rich shallow coral reef dropping into deep. Warm golden god-ray light from above transitioning to dark navy at bottom. Rainbow iridescent bioluminescence in the deep areas. Every square inch saturated with discoverable detail.
NBP V1
NBP V2
NBP V4
NBP V5
NBP V6
NBP V7
NBP V8
NB2 V1
NB2 V2
NB2 V3
NB2 V4
↓ led to
6. Gen4 + Gen4v2 Pipeline
Pick 1
Gen4 R4 NBP V3
Gen4 R4 NBP V2
Gen4 R4 NBP V4
Pick 1
Gen4v2 R3 V4
Gen4v2 R3 V2
Gen4v2 R3 V1
↓ led to
7. R7 Test + Pipeline 4 — Final Explorations
R7 A NBP V1
R7 A NBP V2
R7 A NBP V3
R7 A NBP V4
R7 R1A NBP V1
R7 R1A NBP V2
R7 R1B NBP V1
R7 R1C NBP V1
P4 01
P4 02
P4 03
P4 04
P4 05
P4 06
P4 07
P4 08
Style Origin
Spread 10 generations used D10 Mixed Media P3 v1 (d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg) as character ref. See Sunny Reef tab, Section 0 for full D10 origin trace.
1. Origins — Draft 1 + Master Prompt
Draft 1 Era
A
Draft 1 Ollie Froze Image
Page 10 in Draft 1 era · March 29, 2026
ORIGINAL
Draft 1 page 10 — Ollie Froze original
↓↓↓
Master Prompt Round 3 (Page 7 — Fear / Darkest Point)
SCENE: THE NADIR — the DARKEST page in the entire book. Extreme wide shot. Almost entirely Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A).
Ollie small, arms CURLED TIGHT against his body in a defensive ball. Skin turned DARK BROWN (#4A3728) — full fear camouflage. He is barely visible in the darkness — ONLY illuminated where Dot's soft blue glow falls on him. You don't see his full outline, just what's illuminated. Eyes are wide and scared — the only bright areas. Cute small mouth visible but in a worried expression. He should look like a scared CHILD, NOT creepy or weird — genuinely vulnerable and small.
Dot floats near, tiny pearlescent sphere, her ENTIRE SURFACE glowing soft blue (#5B9BD5) — she is the sole light source, creating a small circle of blue-white light in the vast dark. The glow at 70%.
Whale shadow MASSIVE above — still the enormous ambiguous dark form. Faint bioluminescence at extreme edges (barely there). No bubbles (he's holding his breath). The emptiness IS the fear — he's small, the world is dark and huge.
MIXED MEDIA EXECUTION: FLATTEST texture in the book. Almost no detail visible. Pure ink wash darkness. Texture ONLY where Dot's blue light hits Ollie's skin.
The composition emphasizes how alone and small they are. This is the bottom. But the bottom has a light in it.
Founder Voice Notes
“Like how it gets really dark” · “More like v3, more concepts of v2 (half and half)” · “Like how Ollie goes dark in color — missing whale shadow in that version” · “v1 Ollie looks too creepy/weird”
↓ led to
1b. NBP Original Generation Batches (All EC2 Variants)
R2 Dark Transformation
R2 Frozen Ball
R2 Held Breath
R2 Small In Vast
R3 Dark Transformation
R3 Frozen Ball
R3 Held Breath
R3 Small In Vast
R4 Dark Transformation
R4 Frozen Ball
R4 Held Breath
R4 Small In Vast
v11 New V1
v11 New V2
v12 Closed V1
v12 Closed V2
v12 Closed V3
v12 Closed V4
v13 Final V1
v13 Final V2
v14 Expand V1
v14 Expand V2
v16 Dark V1
v16 Dark V2
v17 V1
v18 V1
v19 V1
v23 V1
v23 V2
v23 V3
v23 V4
Round2 V01
Round2 V02
Round2 V03
Round2 V04
Round2 V05
Round2 V06
Round2 V07
Round2 V08
Round2 V09
Round2 V10
Draft4 S2 Refine V01
Draft4 S2 Refine V02
Draft4 S2 Refine V03
Draft4 S2 Refine V04
Draft4 S3 NBP V01
Draft4 S3 NBP V02
Draft4 S3 NBP V03
Draft4 S4 Polish V01
Draft4 S4 Polish V02
Draft4 S4 Polish V03
↓ led to
2. NBP Final Variants
V1
V2
V3
V4
↓ led to
3. Gen2 Edit Pipeline — edit14 (Ollie Froze)
Gen2 Edit14 Prompt (Ollie Froze / Spread 10)
The first reference image shows the character quality and dark-scene rendering to match. The second reference image shows the current Ollie Froze scene — USE THIS AS THE MAIN COMPOSITION. Keep the same collage and realism style as the current spread. ONLY change the character's EXPRESSION and add Dot's face.
Full bleed children's book illustration, 2:1 aspect ratio. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: VERY CLOSE on Ollie — he is FROZEN with fear but in a CUTE, PERSONABLE way. Not in pain, not suffering — scared in a way that a small child finds relatable and safe. His arms are curled tight around his body protectively. The same collage-realistic mixed media environment as the current page. The shadow looms above, creating dramatic contrast.
OLLIE: A cartoon baby octopus with fine SILVER stipple dots on dark brown skin (#3A2A1E). Smooth perfectly rounded plump head, no nose. Big dark pill-shaped pupils with SILVER FOIL detailed iris. Expression: CUTE BUT SCARED — eyes slightly more open than the current page, showing the iris and pupil clearly so we can see his emotions. Like a baby animal hiding — scared but cute. Small worried mouth. Arms curled tight protectively around his body.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl, smooth nacre surface. Mother-of-pearl iridescent sheen with soft blue glow (#5B9BD5). TWO BLUE GLOWING U-shaped eyes. Nearby, her blue glow providing comfort in the darkness. Eyes showing gentle concern, oriented toward Ollie supportively.
ENVIRONMENT: Dark deep ocean matching the current page composition. The massive shadow above. Dark water with scattered bioluminescent hints. Torn paper elements and photographic darkness create depth. Silver stipple on dark rock surfaces.
↓ led to
4. Gen3 + Gen3-v3 Pipeline
Pick 1
NB2 R1 V1
NB2 R2 V1
NBP R4 V1
R1 NB2 V1
R1 NB2 V2
R1 NB2 V3
R1 NB2 V4
R3 NBP V1
R3 NBP V2
R3 NBP V3
R3 NBP V4
R4 NBP V1
R4 NBP V2
R4 NBP V3
R4 NBP V4
↓ led to
5. Pipeline 2 + Pipeline 3
P2 NB2 V1
P2 NB2 V2
P2 NB2 V3
P2 NB2 V4
P3 NB2 V1
P3 NB2 V2
P3 NB2 V3
P3 NB2 V4
Style Origin
Spread 11 generations used D10 Mixed Media P3 v1 (d10-mm-p3-v1.jpg) as character ref. See Sunny Reef tab, Section 0 for full D10 origin trace.
1. Origins — Draft 1 + Master Prompt
Draft 1 Era
A
Draft 1 Dot Floats Near Image
Page 8 in Draft 1 era · Dot's blue glow pearlescent · March 29, 2026
ORIGINAL
Draft 1 page 8 — Dot floats near (page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg)
↓↓↓
Master Prompt Round 3 (Page 8 — Connection / Dot's Light)
SCENE: DOT'S MOMENT. Still almost entirely dark (Abyss Navy #0D1B2A). But now Dot is the clear focal point.
Dot — pearlescent white sphere — her whole surface GLOWING SOFT BLUE, light expanding outward like a gentle nightlight in the ocean depths. Her pearlescent/nacre texture POPS OUT against the dark — the mixed media texture on her surface is visible and beautiful in her own glow. Eyes projected on her sphere surface as GREEN crescents — tender, caring expression.
Her blue glow creates a sphere of visible detail in the darkness — a circle of light and safety. Ollie within the glow radius, still dark brown and curled but now LOOKING TOWARD HER. The beginning of connection. Faint texture on Ollie's skin where Dot's light hits.
Everything outside the glow radius is flat ink wash darkness. Whale shadow may still be faintly visible above.
MIXED MEDIA EXECUTION: FLAT dark base with Dot's glow creating a sphere of visible detail. Pearlescent/nacre texture on Dot's surface — she is the mixed media star of this page, popping out with 3D pearl quality against the 2D ink wash dark.
The metaphor: in the darkest moment, your friend becomes your light. “Would you like help?” — close but not touching, present but not overwhelming.
Founder Voice Notes
“Like v2 — accentuate Dot's blue light” · “Eyes stay same color (try GREEN)” · “Around Dot should be blue” · “v1, v2, v3 — different concepts focusing on still deep/dark, Dot's light turned blue”
↓ led to
1b. NBP Original Generation Batches (All EC2 Variants)
STORYBOARDStoryboard Pages 16-17 — Source for 8 concept variants (4 x Round 2 + 4 x Round 4)
v11 New V1
v11 New V2
v12 Light V1
v12 Light V2
v12 Light V3
v12 Light V4
v12 Light V5
v12 Light V6
v13 Final V1
v13 Final V2
v16 Blue V1
v16 Blue V2
v20 V1
v20 V2
Round2 V01
Round2 V02
Round2 V03
Round2 V04
Round2 V05
Round2 V06
Round2 V07
Round2 V08
Round2 V09
Round2 V10
Draft4 R3 — V09 (distinct)
Draft4 R3 — V10 (distinct)
↓ led to
2. NBP v23 Gen B — First Generation
Gen B Prompt (gen_b.py — page08_v1)
Deep dark underwater scene. A solid natural Tahitian pearl floats level with a baby octopus, face-to-face in the darkness. The pearl glows with soft blue light — blue rounded squint eyes shaped like upside-down U shapes, compassionate and caring, projected from inside. The blue glow creates a small sphere of visibility around both characters. The octopus is VERY dark brown, almost blending into the dark background — depth has stolen his color. His facial features are soft and painterly, no hard lines for eyes and mouth. Fine SMALL stipple dots barely visible on his dark skin. Smooth round head. He looks toward the pearl with vulnerability and trust. Watercolor ink wash darkness surrounding them. Stipple brush texture on nearby sea floor rocks. Real underwater quality — subtle particle haze, faint caustics from pearl glow. Full bleed 16:9.
Gen B V1 — NBP v23 (page08)
↓ led to
3. Style Transfer — Pair 5 (Collage Circle / Page 11)
Style Transfer — Pair 5
Pair 5 Recipe
Style 14 (dark watercolor, Ollie + Dot face-to-face) + Style 10 (deep dark atmosphere) → Target 11 (collage circle with Dot blue glow pearlescent).
Source: Draft 1 full pages from ollie_draft-1_full-pages_260330_numbered/. These 3 images were the reference inputs for the style transfer generation.
Draft 1 P14 (14_make_eyes_shorter_202603300024.png): Created via ChatGPT/DALL-E iterative editing on March 30, 2026. The filename records the edit instruction: "make eyes shorter." This page shows a dark watercolor scene with Ollie and Dot face-to-face. Created through ChatGPT's conversational image editor — no programmatic API prompt exists. The original image was refined through multiple ChatGPT edit rounds; "make eyes shorter" was the final edit applied to reach this version.
Draft 1 P10 (10_remove,_add_more_202603292220.png): Created via ChatGPT/DALL-E iterative editing on March 29, 2026. The filename records the edit instruction: "remove, add more." This page shows a deep dark atmosphere scene. Created through ChatGPT's conversational image editor — no programmatic API prompt exists.
Draft 1 P11 (11_page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg): See origin block below — generated via NBP (generate_depth_concepts.py).
REF IMAGE
Draft 1 P14 — Style: dark watercolor
REF IMAGE
Draft 1 P10 — Style: deep atmosphere
REF IMAGE
Draft 1 P11 — Target: collage circle (= page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg)
Origin: st_input_draft1_p11.jpg
File: page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg from NBP Round 3 depth batch
Source path: agata_books/2026-03-27_round2/style-concepts/nbp-depth/page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg
Also at: book-drafts/ollie_draft-1_full-pages_260330/page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg (numbered as 11_page08_dot_blue_glow_pearlescent.jpg)
Model: Nano Banana Pro (gemini-2.5-flash-image) via Google AI Studio
Script: agata_books/2026-03-27_round2/style-concepts/depth-scenes/generate_depth_concepts.py (concept 03_p8_dot_blue_glow_illuminating)
Style ref: d10-mixed-media-p3/v1.jpg
Date: March 29, 2026
Generation prompt (from generate_depth_concepts.py):
PAGE 8 -- DOT'S MOMENT. A pearlescent white sphere robot (Dot) glows soft blue, her light expanding outward like a gentle nightlight in the ocean depths. She illuminates a small dark brown octopus (Ollie) who is curled but looking toward her. Dot's blue glow creates a sphere of visible detail in the surrounding darkness -- pearly iridescent texture visible on Dot's surface, watercolor texture on Ollie's skin where light hits. Everything outside the glow radius is FLAT INK WASH darkness, completely featureless Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A). The contrast between the luminous detail sphere and the flat dark void is the visual story. Intimate, tender. Dot has projected eyes on her surface (simple, no screen). NO antenna, NO robot body.
Pair 5 Style Transfer Generation Prompt — generate_round3.py
V1
V2
V3
V4
Regen V1
Regen V2
Regen V3
Regen V4
Regen2 V1
Selected
Regen2 V2 — Winner
Regen2 V3
Regen2 V4
↓ led to
4. Corrected Batch — Dot Floats Near
Corrected Batch Prompt (spread10_dot_floats/prompt.txt)
SCENE: Centered circle collage composition. Dot floats near Ollie in a tender connection moment. The circle collage element is rich with intricate LINE WORK and STIPPLE ART. Everything immersed in real water effects. Characters in painted cardboard look. More complexity in underwater submersion vibe. Space characters apart (page divide in center). The overall feeling is tender connection rendered at high craft level.
OLLIE: His colors have turned DIM and BROWN (#3A2A1E). Silver stipple dots replacing gold as the shadow looms. Ollie's eyes: CIRCLE glimmers (not stars). Arms still held close but beginning to open. Painted cutout quality with intricate stipple art texture. Looking toward Dot.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl. TWO BLUE GLOWING soft rounded squint eyes (#5B9BD5) — inverted U shapes, compassionate, caring. NO mouth. Her surface GLOWS SOFT BLUE, creating a gentle sphere of blue light. Pearl is the primary light source, creating the illuminated sphere of the centered circle composition. Upside-down U shaped blue eyes.
ENVIRONMENT: Deep ocean darkness — Abyss Navy (#0D1B2A) base. Centered circle collage — RICH with intricate line work: fine pen lines, cross-hatching, stipple art creating gradients and texture. Dot's blue glow filling the circle.
NBP V1
NBP V2
NBP V3
NBP V4
NBP V5
NBP V6
NBP V7
NBP V8
NB2 V1
NB2 V2
NB2 V3
NB2 V4
↓ led to
5. Gen4 + Pipeline 2 + Pipeline 3
Pick 1
R1 V2
R2 V2
R1 V4
P2 NB2 V1
P2 NB2 V2
P2 NB2 V3
P2 NB2 V4
P3 A1
P3 A2
P3 A3
P3 A4
Pipeline 41 Scene Ref · p41_s11_v1.jpg — Name It + Breathing scene reference
1. R6 Base Prompt — Corrected Batch (April 19, 2026)
R6 BASE PROMPT — Corrected Batch
R6 Base Prompt — spread11_name_it/prompt.txt
SCENE: CLOSE-UP character interaction. Ollie and Dot face each other in tender, intimate moment. Ollie arms around chest while breathing. Cinematic underwater lighting. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES prominent — more WHITE and lighter tones than rainbow. Bigger bubble from Ollie's whisper. Blend photography + glowing animals in background.
OLLIE: Yellow coming back — warm yellow with gold stipple beginning to shimmer. THREE-DIMENSIONAL rendering. CIRCLE glimmers (not stars), SILVER iris. One arm held to chest (body awareness). Single small bubble from mouth (the whisper). Arms around chest. 3D quality.
DOT: BLUE GLOWING eyes (#5B9BD5). Blue glow at 85%, soft and steady. Teaching/guiding expression. Turned directly toward Ollie. 3D pearl quality.
ENVIRONMENT: Deep underwater with CINEMATIC LIGHTING. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES with rainbow sheen. More WHITE — lighter, cleaner palette. Subtle bioluminescent creatures.
RENDERING: More WHITE — lighter. Deep Blue (#2D5A7B) softened with white-blue haze. Full bleed 2:1.
↓ led to
2. P4 Prompt — Fresh Generation, No Refs (April 20, 2026)
P4 — NO REFERENCE IMAGES
Creator Feedback (drove P4 prompt)
"Scene IN THE DARK — deep ocean, NOT white/light backgrounds" · "Close-up intimate moment — Ollie and Dot facing each other" · "Ollie: BROWN skin (#3A2A1E), SILVER foil stipple (MUCH SMALLER — fine, tiny, microscopic)" · "Silver foil iris. One arm AROUND DOT, other arm to chest (breathing)" · "Dot: Compassionate BLUE eyes — TWO BLUE GLOWING inverted U shapes" · "DARK atmosphere — Dot's blue glow is main light source" · "Characters look painted, illustrated, part of the dark water — NOT pasted on"
↓ led to
3. Gen 2 — Early NBP + NB2 Outputs (Favorites)
A
Gen 2 Favorites — NBP + NB2
edit12_nameit/ · Selected favorites from early generation
FAV
NBP v5 — Gen 2 favorite
FAV
NB2 v1 — Gen 2 favorite
FAV
NB2 v2 — Gen 2 favorite
↓ pipeline refinement
4. Pipeline 2 — NB2 (19 variants)
Reference images used (Pipeline 2):
Style ref — Gen 2 NBP v5 (Section 3 FAV)
Composition ref — current page
Ollie v5 character ref
Pipeline 2 Prompt — pipeline2_spread11_name_it/prompt.txt
The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, and material quality to match. The second reference image shows the current scene composition to improve upon. The third reference image shows the character Ollie for consistency.
Tissue paper jellyfish glow with real bioluminescent light. Watercolor painted characters dissolve into photographic deep ocean darkness. Flat ink wash coexists with cinematic underwater photography.
Full bleed 2:1 children's book illustration. Mixed media collage blending with underwater photography.
SCENE: CLOSE-UP character interaction. Ollie and Dot face each other in a tender, intimate moment. Ollie arms around chest while breathing. Cinematic underwater lighting — dramatic, beautiful light effects. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES prominent — beautiful, realistic bubbles with rainbow iridescence. More WHITE and lighter tones than rainbow. Bigger bubble from Ollie's whisper. Blend of photography + glowing animals in background. Iridescent rainbow accent.
OLLIE: A cartoon baby octopus. His yellow is coming back — warm yellow with REAL GOLD FOIL stipple beginning to shimmer again. Smooth round head, NO EARS. Big dark eyes — transition from silver back to natural underwater light reflection (NOT stars). Expression transitioning from relief to hope to joy. Arms loosening, becoming more relaxed — LONG and FLOWING. THREE-DIMENSIONAL rendering. CIRCLE glimmers (not stars), SILVER iris. One arm held to chest (body awareness). Single small bubble from mouth (the whisper). Arms around chest.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl. TWO BLUE GLOWING soft rounded squint eyes (#5B9BD5) — inverted U shapes, compassionate. NO mouth. GLOWS SOFT BLUE — nightlight in the darkness. About the size of Ollie's head. Blue glow at 85%, soft and steady. Teaching/guiding expression. Turned directly toward Ollie. 3D pearl quality.
ENVIRONMENT: Deep underwater with CINEMATIC LIGHTING. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES with rainbow sheen. More WHITE and lighter overall tone. Subtle bioluminescent creatures in background.
RENDERING: More WHITE — lighter, cleaner palette. Deep Blue (#2D5A7B) softened with white-blue haze. Iridescent rainbow on bubbles. Full bleed 2:1 aspect ratio.
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v1
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v2
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v4
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v5
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v10
FAV
p2_s11_nb2_v11
FAV
s11_p2_nb2_v6
↓ pipeline refinement
5. Pipeline 6 — NB2 with Full Prompt (4 variants)
Reference image used (Pipeline 6): Prompt says "Use the reference image ONLY for character quality, mood, and artistic style."
Style/quality ref — Gen 2 NBP v5 (Section 3 FAV)
Lineage: Gen 2 edit12_nameit batch → Section 3 favorite
Pipeline 6 Prompt — prompt_used.txt
Children's picture book illustration, 1:1 square format.
SPREAD 11 — "NAME IT / BREATHING" — Ollie names his fear by breathing it out as bubbles.
Use the reference image ONLY for character quality, mood, and artistic style. Recreate the scene with all modifications below.
SCENE OVERVIEW:
A dark, intimate, close-up underwater scene. Deep ocean. Ollie has just finished breathing out bubbles — naming his fear. Photo-realism aesthetic with slight underwater photography feel. Mixed media children's book illustration.
CHARACTERS — CENTERED in the composition, not at edges:
OLLIE: A small octopus with BROWN body (#3A2A1E dark brown). His entire body surface is covered in hyper-realistic SILVER FOIL stipple dots — these MUST look like REAL pressed silver foil catching ambient light, metallic and reflective, not gray paint dots. Silver foil also on his IRISES — metallic reflective silver eyes. Eight tentacles, soft rounded head. Vulnerable, brave expression — he just breathed out his fear. A few tiny freckle-dots between the eyes.
DOT: A MUCH SMALLER bioluminescent pearl-like creature floating near Ollie. Dot is dramatically smaller than Ollie — roughly the size of one of Ollie's eye. Warm glowing appearance. TWO BLUE GLOWING soft squint eyes, NO mouth. Dot's glow is one of the few light sources in this dark scene.
BUBBLES: Several underwater bubbles floating NEAR but SEPARATED from Ollie's mouth — he has JUST FINISHED breathing them. IRIDESCENCE appears ONLY ON THE BUBBLES — rainbow nacre shimmer on bubble surfaces.
LIGHTING: DARK scene. Deep ocean. NO light from above — whale silhouette blocks overhead light. Scene lit primarily by Dot's subtle bioluminescent glow. Dark blues, near-blacks, intimate bioluminescent glow.
STYLE: Mixed media children's book illustration. Watercolor washes for dark ocean background. Silver foil on Ollie must look PHYSICALLY REAL.
p6_s11_v1
p6_s11_v2
p6_s11_v3
p6_s11_v4
↓ pipeline refinement
6. Pipelines 37–41 — Later Refinements (JPG Era)
Generation details (Pipelines 37–41): No separate prompt files found for these pipelines. They used the R6 base prompt from the corrected batch (Section 1 above) with progressive pipeline-level refinements. JPG output format (earlier pipelines used PNG).
R6 Base Prompt (reused) — corrected-batch/spread11_name_it/prompt.txt
SCENE: CLOSE-UP character interaction. Ollie and Dot face each other in tender, intimate moment. Ollie arms around chest while breathing. Cinematic underwater lighting. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES prominent — more WHITE and lighter tones than rainbow. Bigger bubble from Ollie's whisper. Blend photography + glowing animals in background.
OLLIE: Yellow coming back — warm yellow with gold stipple beginning to shimmer. THREE-DIMENSIONAL rendering. CIRCLE glimmers (not stars), SILVER iris. One arm held to chest (body awareness). Single small bubble from mouth (the whisper). Arms around chest. 3D quality.
DOT: BLUE GLOWING eyes (#5B9BD5). Blue glow at 85%, soft and steady. Teaching/guiding expression. Turned directly toward Ollie. 3D pearl quality.
ENVIRONMENT: Deep underwater with CINEMATIC LIGHTING. IRIDESCENT BUBBLES with rainbow sheen. More WHITE — lighter, cleaner palette. Subtle bioluminescent creatures.
RENDERING: More WHITE — lighter. Deep Blue (#2D5A7B) softened with white-blue haze. Full bleed 2:1.
Source refs for pipelines 37-41: These later pipelines likely used outputs from earlier pipelines (P2, P6) as style/composition references, with the R6 base prompt driving scene content. No refs_used.txt files were found — ref lineage is inferred from pipeline progression.
p37_s11_v1
p37_s11_v2
p37_s11_v3
p37_s11_v4
p38_s11_v1
p38_s11_v2
p38_s11_v3
p38_s11_v4
p39_s11_v1
p39_s11_v2
p39_s11_v3
p39_s11_v4
p40_s11_v1
p40_s11_v2
p40_s11_v3
p40_s11_v4
SCENE REFp41_s11_v1 — used as scene ref
p41_s11_v2
p41_s11_v3
p41_s11_v4
↓ Draft 3 era
7. Draft-3 — NBP Batch 1 (5 variants)
PROMPT_NAMEIT — Full (used for NBP Batch 1)
The first reference image shows the rendering style, lighting, gold foil quality, and underwater environment to match — use this as the quality and style target.
The second reference image shows OLLIE's exact character design — maintain these exact features, gold foil pattern, face proportions.
The third reference image shows DOT's exact character design — maintain this pearl surface, eye style, proportions.
Both characters are EXTREMELY TINY — only a few CENTIMETERS tall in a VAST underwater world. MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY at its most extreme — like a nature documentary shot through a macro lens. Coral formations TOWER over the characters. Fish are MUCH BIGGER than both characters. Visible water particles, natural depth-of-field blur, caustic light patterns. The characters should occupy a SMALL portion of the frame. This must look like REAL UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY of miniature handcrafted 3D artwork — NOT a CG render, NOT a Pixar still. Gritty, textured, photographically real.
SCENE: "'What do you feel?' 'I feel scared.' 'Where do you feel it?' 'In my belly, right there.' 'Let's breathe in... Nice and slow... and breathe out...'"
EMOTIONAL REGULATION moment. Deep water, but Dot's glow creates a warm safe space. Ollie is PROCESSING his feelings — his expression shows thoughtful introspection, not panic. He might have one arm on his belly (where he feels the fear).
Dot is close, guiding him — her glow pulsing gently, calmly. Their body language shows a shared breathing rhythm — both calm, centered, connected.
The water around them might show subtle visual cues of breathing — gentle expanding/contracting ripples of light, or small bubbles released with each breath.
This is a QUIET, CENTERED scene — no action, no drama. Just two small characters in the dark, breathing together. The darkness is no longer scary — it's simply the space they're in while they practice this skill.
Ollie has long flowing proportionate tentacle arms that move like a REAL swimming octopus — smooth, graceful, hydrodynamic arcs through the water. Gold foil stipple texture matching reference exactly. Spherical smooth head, NO ears. Fluid, organic, truly submerged — water caustics play across his skin, particles drift around him, subtle underwater color tinting. He is IN the water, not placed on a background.
Dot is golf-ball sized relative to Ollie — clearly visible as a character. Bright pearlescent white nacre with beautiful NATURAL IRIDESCENT SHEEN — soft shifting pink, green, gold, blue, cream across her surface like a real Tahitian pearl. Eyes are golden light U-shapes from within only. NO mouth.
Both truly submerged — caustics, particles, underwater tinting, natural edge blending. Photographed handcrafted 3D artwork in real ocean water. Full bleed 16:9 landscape.
name-it_v1 — NBP Batch 1
name-it_v2 — NBP Batch 1
name-it_v3 — NBP Batch 1
name-it_v4 — NBP Batch 1
name-it_v5 — NBP Batch 1
↓ batch 16 generation
8. Draft-3 — Batch 16 (8 variants)
PROMPT_B16_NAMEIT — Batch 16 Prompt
The first reference image shows OLLIE — a tiny golden-amber baby octopus with gold foil stipple texture, big dark pill-shaped eyes, smooth perfectly round head with NO ears. Match this character EXACTLY.
The second reference image shows DOT — a small pearlescent Tahitian pearl with golden glowing eyes. Iridescent nacre sheen. Match this character EXACTLY.
The third reference image shows the overall STYLE, LIGHTING, and UNDERWATER ENVIRONMENT quality to match.
RENDERING STYLE: Photographed handcrafted 3D artwork submerged in real ocean water. Photorealistic macro underwater photography. Real material textures — real gold foil, real pearl surface, real water with caustics and particles. NOT cartoon, NOT illustrated.
SCENE — NAME IT: Emotional regulation moment. Deep water, but Dot's glow creates a warm safe space.
Ollie is PROCESSING his feelings — thoughtful introspection, not panic. One arm may be on his belly (where he feels the fear).
Dot is close, guiding him — glow pulsing gently, calmly. Body language shows shared breathing rhythm — both calm, centered, connected.
Subtle visual cues of breathing — gentle expanding ripples of light, small bubbles with each breath.
QUIET, CENTERED scene — no action, no drama. Two small characters in the dark, breathing together.
CHARACTERS ~10% of frame.
Ollie: golden-AMBER skin, gold foil stipple, smooth spherical head, NO ears. Truly submerged.
Dot: pearlescent nacre, golden glowing eyes. Marble-sized.
Full bleed 16:9 landscape.
b16_t085_v1
b16_t085_v2
b16_t085_v3
b16_t085_v4
b16_t085_v5
b16_t085_v6
b16_t085_v7
b16_t085_v8
↓ new generation + batch-v2
9. Draft-3 — New Generation + V2 (6 variants)
name-it_v1 — New Gen
name-it_v2 — New Gen
name-it_v3 — New Gen
name-it_v1 — V2 Gen
name-it_v2 — V2 Gen
name-it_v3 — V2 Gen
↓ batch 4 + redo
10. Draft-3 — Batch 4 + Redo (8 variants)
nameit_b1_v1 — Batch 4
nameit_b1_v2 — Batch 4
nameit_b1_v3 — Batch 4
nameit_b1_v4 — Batch 4
nameit_redo_v1 — Batch 4 Redo
nameit_redo_v2 — Batch 4 Redo
nameit_redo_v3 — Batch 4 Redo
nameit_redo_v4 — Batch 4 Redo
↓ batch 5 ref tests
11. Draft-3 — Batch 5 Ref Tests (16 variants)
A @ 0.95
A @ 1.05
B @ 0.95
B @ 1.05
C @ 0.95
C @ 1.05
D @ 0.95
D @ 1.05
V2 A @ 0.95
V2 A @ 1.05
V2 B @ 0.95
V2 B @ 1.05
V2 C @ 0.95
V2 C @ 1.05
V2 D @ 0.95
V2 D @ 1.05
↓ C4 composition-directed
12. Draft-3 — C4 Composition-Directed (8 variants)
Reference images used (C4):
Composition ref
Style ref
Ollie ref
Dot ref
PROMPT_NAMEIT_C4 — Composition-Directed Prompt
The first reference image shows the COMPOSITION AND DIRECTION to match. CRITICAL: Match ONLY:
- The COMPOSITION/LAYOUT from this image
- The CHARACTER DIRECTION/POSITIONING
- The COLOR GRADIENT flow
DO NOT copy ANYTHING ELSE — not the 2D art style, not the character designs, not the rendering.
The second reference image shows the 3D RENDERING STYLE — gold foil texture quality, underwater macro photography, depth-of-field.
The third reference image shows OLLIE's exact character design — golden amber octopus with gold foil stipple texture.
The fourth reference image shows DOT in motion — small white pearlescent pearl with golden arc eyes.
CRITICAL STYLE: 3D PHOTOREALISTIC MACRO UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY of tiny handcrafted figurines in a real coral reef. Water particles, caustics, depth-of-field blur. NOT 2D illustration, NOT watercolor, NOT painted. Physical 3D objects in real ocean water.
SCALE: Characters TINY — few centimeters tall. Coral TOWERS over them. Fish BIGGER than them. Macro photography.
SCENE — NAME IT + BREATHING (Close-up):
COMPOSITION: CLOSE on Ollie — more intimate framing than other spreads. Ollie with one tentacle WRAPPED AROUND HIS CHEST in a self-soothing, hand-on-heart gesture. Processing his emotions.
LIGHTING: Dot's iridescent BLUE nightlight glow refracts through the water, illuminating bubbles and nearby particles with soft blue underwater light. Still in deep water but the mood is calmer.
ENVIRONMENT:
- Deep water environment but less oppressive than Giant Shadow
- Realistic underwater bubbles floating around Ollie
- Particles illuminated by Dot's blue glow
- Subtle deep water ambient — not pitch black but deep blue
CHARACTERS: Ollie close-up with one arm WRAPPED AROUND HIS CHEST (breathing/self-soothing gesture). Smaller head proportionally. Dark brown skin (#3A2A1E) with silver stipple dots (reflecting the darkness). Introspective, processing. Dot glows with blue nightlight glow, blue U-shaped eyes.
OLLIE — Match Ollie from the third reference image EXACTLY.
- Golden-AMBER skin (warm amber like honey, NOT solid metallic gold)
- Gold foil STIPPLE texture — tiny metallic dots like hot-stamped gold leaf
- Perfectly SPHERICAL smooth head — NO ears, NO bumps, NO hair
- Big dark PILL-SHAPED pupils with gold iris rings
- Very subtle pink blush on cheeks
- Arms flowing naturally
- TINY — a few centimeters tall
- INTROSPECTIVE, PROCESSING — mouth gently closed, eyes thoughtful, naming his feeling internally
DO NOT make Ollie: solid metallic gold, static/stiff, realistic adult octopus, with ears on head, too large in frame, with tentacle suckers visible, brown/dark colored, bright golden color (he is dark brown #3A2A1E here), happy expression, arms spread wide
DOT — Match Dot from the fourth reference image EXACTLY.
- Bright pearlescent WHITE nacre with iridescent sheen
- Eyes are golden-yellow UPSIDE-DOWN HALF-U shapes — warm light glowing through nacre
- NO mouth, NO nose, NO other facial features — ONLY the two glowing arc eyes
- MARBLE-SIZED relative to Ollie — smaller than his head
- Glows with iridescent BLUE nightlight that refracts through water
- Blue U-shaped glowing eyes (dark palette)
- Illuminates bubbles and particles around them
DO NOT make Dot: with dot/circle eyes, with a mouth, dark colored, too large, separated from Ollie
Full bleed 1:1 SQUARE format. Photographed handcrafted 3D artwork in real ocean water. NO text or writing anywhere.
v1 — C4 Composition
v2 — C4 Composition
v3 — C4 Composition
v4 — C4 Composition
v5 — C4 Composition
v6 — C4 Composition
v7 — C4 Composition
v8 — C4 Composition
Generation Summary
Draft-2: pipeline2, pipeline3, pipeline5, pipeline6, pipeline7, pipeline8, pipeline9, pipeline10, pipeline11, pipeline20, pipeline21, pipeline22, pipeline37, pipeline38, pipeline39, pipeline40, pipeline41
Draft-3: nbp-batch1 (5), batch16 (8), batch-new (3), batch-v2 (3), batch4 (4), batch4-redo (4), batch5-ref-test (8), batch5-ref-test-v2 (8), C4 generation (8)
PUBLISHED SPREAD — Spread 16 / Whale Facts
Book Pages 30-31 · "Whales are gentle giants..."
1. Storyboard Scenes — March 25-26, 2026
TEXT-ONLY GENERATION — Earliest Concepts
Original Storyboard Prompt — whale_world (v3, liked)
Educational spread: the whale with a BABY WHALE beside it (nursing). Sound waves radiating from the whale's head (whale song as flowing curved lines in watercolor). The pair traveling through vast ocean — a dotted path behind them. [OLLIE] and [DOT] tiny observers at the bottom corner. The whale pair rendered in beautiful detailed soft grey-blue watercolor. Scientific but magical.
A
Storyboard Round 2 — March 25
4 concept variants: mother_and_calf, vast_journey, whale_song, whale_world
mother_and_calf
vast_journey
whale_song
LIKED
whale_world — "sound and baby trail"
↓↓↓
B
Storyboard Round 3 — March 25
4 concept variants · same scene names, refined
mother_and_calf
vast_journey
whale_song
whale_world
↓↓↓
C
Storyboard Round 4 (Draft 3) — March 26
4 concept variants · whale_world used as composition ref for Round 3 master prompt
COMP REF
mother_and_calf — "v3 good too"
vast_journey
whale_song
COMP REF
whale_world — primary composition reference
2. Round 2 Session — March 27, 2026
Round 3 Master Prompt — Whale Facts / Education (MASTER_PROMPTS_ROUND3.md)
[ROUND 3 STYLE TECH]
[ROUND 3 OLLIE CHARACTER — watching in awe, warm restored #E0845E, small observer]
[ROUND 3 DOT CHARACTER — small, beside Ollie, watching]
WHALE CHARACTERS: Mother whale — large, gentle, detailed, singing. REALISTIC EYE — gentle, wise. Can be the most "real" element in mixed media. Baby whale swimming alongside mother — close, following, possibly nursing.
SCENE: EDUCATIONAL WHALE PAGE. Mother whale and baby whale swimming together — the primary composition. Sunlight streams from above onto the whales (light is returning). Sound waves radiating from the whale's head — whale song as flowing curved lines in watercolor. A dotted path behind them showing their journey.
MIXED MEDIA EXECUTION: RETURNING texture — more detail, mixed media elements coming back. Whale can have REALISTIC TEXTURE accents (photographic whale skin texture, realistic eye). Warm light on whale surfaces.
COLOR: Whale Blue-Grey (#34657F). Soft Steel Blue (#5F8CA3). Sky Reflect (#87CEEB). Warm golden sunlight accents on the whales.
CALL NOTES: "Really like v1 — sound and baby trail" / "v3 good too" / "More depth" / "Sunlight coming down on whale and mom" / "REDUCE TEXT SIZE"
2
Round 2 Whale Variants — 10 Concepts
March 27, 2026 · Exploring whale composition, sound, scale, lighting
v01 whale_baby_trail
v02 singing_deep_songs
v03 traveling_far
v04 gentle_giant_closeup
v05 real_whale_accents
v06 baby_whale_focus
v07 sunlight_on_whale
v08 whale_facts_montage
v09 scale_wonder
v10 depth_surface_hint
3. NBP Style Concept Batches — March 27-28, 2026
NBP-V23 Prompt (gen_b.py) — Final NBP Style Batch
The first reference shows the octopus character. The second shows the mixed media style.
Mother and baby humpback whale swimming while singing — iridescent resonance waves radiate outward from the whales like visible sound, shimmering with nacre rainbow colors. A baby octopus and solid natural Tahitian pearl sit tiny on a reef cliff edge watching the whales in wonder. The octopus is restored to full golden-amber stipple brush dots, happy expression, arms resting on the cliff. The pearl glows warmly with rounded squint eyes from inside. Rich mixed media collage throughout — torn paper edges, watercolor washes, tissue paper overlays all blended with underwater photography realism. Warm light returning. Abundant reef life on the cliff. Stipple brush texture on rocks and coral. Real bubbles and caustics. Full bleed 16:9.
V11
NBP-V11 Missing Pages Batch — 4 Variants
Earliest NBP attempt at whale scene
NBP V11 v1
NBP V11 v2
NBP V11 v3
NBP V11 v4
↓↓↓
V13
NBP-V13 Page16 Dedicated — 2 Variants
Targeted whale song generation
V13 whalesong v1
V13 whalesong v2
↓↓↓
V16
NBP-V16 Page16 Dedicated — 2 Variants
Continued whale composition refinement
V16 whale-song v1
V16 whale-song v2
↓↓↓
V20
NBP-V20 — 1 Variant
Single generation in V20 batch
NBP V20 v1
↓↓↓
V23
NBP-V23 — 1 Variant (Final NBP Batch)
Last Replicate NBP generation for this spread
NBP V23 v1
4. Gen3-V3 Multi-Round Variants & Top Picks
R1
Round 1 (NB2) — 4 Variants
First Gemini NB2 generation round
R1 NB2 v1
R1 NB2 v2
R1 NB2 v3
R1 NB2 v4
↓↓↓
R2
Round 2 (NB2) — 4 Variants
Second Gemini NB2 generation round
R2 NB2 v1
R2 NB2 v2
R2 NB2 v3
R2 NB2 v4
↓↓↓
R3
Round 3 (NBP) — 4 Variants
NBP model generation round
R3 NBP v1
TOP 1R3 NBP v2 — TOP PICK
R3 NBP v3
R3 NBP v4
↓↓↓
R4
Round 4 (NBP) — 4 Variants
Final NBP generation round
R4 NBP v1
R4 NBP v2
TOP 3R4 NBP v3 — 3rd PICK
R4 NBP v4
↓↓↓
TOP
Gen3-V3 Top 3 Picks
AI-scored best variants from 4 rounds
TOP 1Top 1 — R3 NBP v2
TOP 2Top 2 — R3 NBP v1
TOP 3Top 3 — R4 NBP v3
5. Gen2 Edit16 — Draft 2 Edits
ED
Edit16 Refined — 4 Variants
Refined edit output selected from multiple sub-batches
edit16_refined v1
edit16_refined v2
edit16_refined v3
edit16_refined v4
6. Corrected Batch — Whale Song + Ending
Corrected Batch Prompt — Spread 13 / Whale Song
SCENE: FULL COLOR RETURN — color FLOODS back. A mother humpback whale swims in warm, bright water alongside Ollie and Dot. WARM, BRIGHT, COLORFUL — complete opposite of the dark pages. Golden sunlight streams through water. Iridescent resonance waves shimmer outward from whale like visible sound, rainbow nacre colors radiating from her song.
OLLIE: Full golden-amber (#E8A735) stipple brush dots. FULL COLOR RESTORED. Happy, relieved expression.
DOT: Solid natural Tahitian pearl. TWO WARM YELLOW GLOWING CRESCENTS. Warm yellow glow restored.
ENVIRONMENT: Rich coral reef — warm, colorful, alive. MAGNIFICENT mother humpback whale — warm, gentle, protective. White parts shimmer with full RAINBOW IRIDESCENCE. Iridescent sound waves radiate from her. Golden sunlight from above.
S13 NBP v1
S13 NBP v2
S13 NBP v3
S13 NBP v4
S13 NB2 v1
S13 NB2 v2
S13 NB2 v3
S13 NB2 v4
S16 NBP v1
S16 NBP v2
S16 NBP v3
S16 NBP v4
S16 NB2 v1
S16 NB2 v2
S16 NB2 v3
S16 NB2 v4
7. Pipeline Outputs — 9 Pipelines, 68 Variants
Pipeline 31 Prompt (generate_s16.py) — Representative
SCENE: Educational whale page — RECOMPOSED as 2:1 ratio. Move the mother whale and baby whale to the RIGHT SIDE of the composition. Ollie and Dot remain on the left as tiny painted 2D observers.
WHALE (LAYERED RENDERING): Real underwater photography depth as the BASE — genuine underwater lighting, real water. ON TOP: watercolor washes add color, INK LINE DRAWING adds fine pen lines tracing contours. The effect: watercolor + ink PAINTED OVER reality. Sound waves from the whale — watercolor flowing curves with iridescent collage quality.
OLLIE: PAINTED 2D LOOK — flat, illustrated, painted cutout quality. Golden-amber (#E8A735). Fine gold stipple brush dots. Tiny observer on the left side.
STYLE: Heavy mixed media collage with three-dimensional depth. Torn paper edges on coral. Watercolor + ink line drawing painted OVER real underwater photography. Tissue paper overlays for water atmosphere. Full bleed, no white margins.
P2 NB2 v1
P2 NB2 v2
P2 NB2 v3
P2 NB2 v4
P3 v01
P3 v02
P3 v03
P3 v04
P9 v1
P9 v2
P9 v3
P9 v4
P10 v1
P10 v2
P10 v3
P10 v4
P21 v1
P21 v2
P21 v3
P21 v4
P24 v1
P24 v2
P31 v1
P31 v2
P31 v3
P31 v4
P32 v1
P32 v2
P32 v3
P32 v4
P40 v1
P40 v2
P40 v3
P40 v4
8. Review Summary
Generation History — Spread 16 / Whale Song
BOOK TEXT: "Whales are gentle giants. / They travel very far. / They sing deep songs. / Baby whales drink milk."
ORIGIN: March 25, 2026 — Storyboard scenes (text-only). 4 concepts per round across 3 rounds (12 total). Beth liked "whale_world" for sound+baby trail composition and "mother_and_calf" for tenderness.
PROMPT EVOLUTION:
1. Original storyboard: Simple educational scene, whale+baby, sound waves, dotted trail
2. Round 3 master: Added sunlight streaming down, realistic whale eye, text size reduction, baby nursing detail
3. NBP-V11 through V23: Shifted to mixed media collage with stipple brush, torn paper, underwater photography
4. Corrected batch: Full color return theme, iridescent resonance waves, rainbow nacre colors
5. Pipeline 31+: Recomposed 2:1, whale RIGHT/Ollie LEFT, layered rendering (photo base + watercolor + ink)
KEY DECISIONS:
- Whale must be gentle, not threatening (from call notes)
- Whale eye can be "super real" (the author's note)
- Sunlight from above on whale and mom (Beth voice note)
- Text size must be SMALL (emphatic note about covering characters)
- Mother+baby pairing is the visual focus
TOTAL VARIANTS: ~170 across 10 generation phases and 9 pipeline runs.
MODELS USED: NBP (Replicate), NB2 (Gemini), Gemini Flash Image Preview
PUBLISHED: spread16_whale_facts.png
0. Draft-1 Origin
0
Draft-1 Origin — Hide and Seek
Original book illustration · Starting point for all refinements
Draft-1 Origin — spread05_adventure.png
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch
R6 Base Prompt — spread05_hide_and_seek/prompt.txt
1
R6 Corrected Batch — Hide and Seek
Mixed-media collage · 2:1 aspect · NB2 + NBP variants
R6 — s05_nb2_v1
R6 — s05_nb2_v3
R6 — s05_nb2_v4
R6 — s05_nbp_v1
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 2 — R6 Refined
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
2
Pipeline 2 — R6 Refined
Macro scale · Corrected eyes · Dot sizing
P2 — p2_s05_nb2_v1
P2 — p2_s05_nb2_v11
P2 — p2_s05_nb2_v12
P2 — p2_s05_nb2_v13
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 3
Pipeline 3 Prompt — R6 Base + P2 Refinements
3
Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants
16 NB2 variants · Continued refinement from P2
P3 — P3-S05_v01
P3 — P3-S05_v02
P3 — P3-S05_v03
P3 — P3-S05_v04
↓↓↓
4. P4 Refinement — Major Pivot
P4 Orchestration Prompt — hideseek_full.txt
STYLE REF
Sunny Reef winner — spread04_v02.jpg
CHAR REF
Ollie v5 — illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png
4
P4 — 3 Directions (A/B/C), 24 Images Total
Sunny Reef continuity · DOT description fix · NB2 on Gemini
P4 — p4_s05_nb2_v10
P4 — p4_s05_nb2_v11
P4 — p4_s05_nb2_v12
P4 — p4_s05_nb2_v13
P4 — p4_s05_nb2_v14
↓↓↓
5. Pipeline 21
P21 Edit Prompt — spread05_p21_dot/generate.py · Model: NB2 (gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview) · Mode: EDIT · Temps: 0.85–1.00
EDIT SOURCE
P20 — p20_s05_v3.png (base image edited to fix Dot)
5
Pipeline 21 — Batch Series 19-24
p21_s05_v1 became composition reference for Pipeline 28
LIKED
P21 — p21_s05_v1 (became COMP ref for P28)
↓↓↓
6. Pipeline 28 — Style-Collage-Reality DNA
STYLE REF
DTS collage — p21_s07_v4.png
COMP REF
Hide & Seek layout — p21_s05_v1.png
Pipeline 28 Prompt — Style-Collage-Reality DNA · p28_spread05.py
6
Pipeline 28 — Style-Collage-Reality DNA
Script: p28_spread05.py · DTS style reference + Hide & Seek composition
P28 — p28_s05_v1
P28 — p28_s05_v2
P28 — p28_s05_v3
P28 — p28_s05_v4
↓↓↓
7. Pipeline 41 — Enhanced P28
Pipeline 41 Prompt — Enhanced P28 · p41_spread05_v2.py
7
Pipeline 41 — Enhanced P28
Photorealistic seagrass · Smaller hidden Dot · Used p28_s05_v3 as comp ref
LIKED
P41 — p41_s05_v1 (became COMP ref for P44)
P41 — p41_s05_v2
P41 — p41_s05_v3
P41 — p41_s05_v4
↓↓↓
8. Pipeline 44 — True Collage Mixed Media Diorama (FINAL)
Pipeline 44 Prompt — True Collage Mixed Media Diorama
8
Pipeline 44 — FINAL Selection
True Collage Mixed Media Diorama · p44_s05_v4 selected as PICK
P44 — p44_s05_v1
P44 — p44_s05_v2
P44 — p44_s05_v3
PICK
P44 — p44_s05_v4 (FINAL)
0. Draft-1 Origin
0
Draft-1 Origin — Reef Edge
Original book illustration · Starting point for all refinements
Draft-1 Origin — spread06_one_more.jpg
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch
R6 Base Prompt — spread06_edge/prompt.txt
1
R6 Corrected Batch — Reef Edge
Asymmetric canyon edge · 2:1 aspect · Mixed media collage
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 2
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
2
Pipeline 2 — 3-Ref System
Corrected eyes · GOLD/SILVER foil distinction
P2 — p2_s06_nb2_v1
P2 — p2_s06_nb2_v2
P2 — p2_s06_nb2_v3
P2 — p2_s06_nb2_v4
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 3
Pipeline 3 Prompt — R6 Base + P2 Refinements
3
Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants
16 NB2 variants · Continued from P2
P3 — P3-S06_v01
P3 — P3-S06_v02
P3 — P3-S06_v03
P3 — P3-S06_v04
↓↓↓
4. P4 — Two Directions
Version 1: edge_full.txt — Standard P4 Pipeline
Version 2: edge_combined.txt — Combined Creator Feedback
STYLE REF
Sunny Reef winner — spread04_v02.jpg
CHAR REF
Ollie v5 — illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png
4
P4 — Two Directions
edge_full.txt (standard) + edge_combined.txt (all creator feedback)
P4 — edge_v01
P4 — edge_v02
P4 — edge_v03
P4 — edge_v04
↓↓↓
5. Pipeline 11 — Early High-Quality Batch
Pipeline 11 Prompt — 4 Prompt Directions
5
Pipeline 11 — Early High-Quality
4 prompt directions: jumping, vertigo, wide canyon, action leap · p11_s06_v4 became COMP ref for P43
P11 — p11_s06_v1
P11 — p11_s06_v2
P11 — p11_s06_v3
LIKED
P11 — p11_s06_v4 (became COMP ref for P43)
↓↓↓
6. Pipeline 40
Pipeline 40 Prompt
6
Pipeline 40
4 variants · Continued edge refinement
P40 — p40_s06_v1
P40 — p40_s06_v2
P40 — p40_s06_v3
P40 — p40_s06_v4
↓↓↓
7. Pipeline 43 → Pipeline 44 (FINAL)
P43 Prompt — generate_p43_s06.py
COMP + CHAR REF
p11_s06_v4.png — composition + character reference
7
Pipeline 44 — FINAL Selection
P44 v1 selected as PICK
PICK
P44 — p44_s06_v1 (FINAL)
P44 — p44_s06_v2
P44 — p44_s06_v3
P44 — p44_s06_v4
0. Draft-1 Origin
0
Draft-1 Origin — Friendly Glowing Fish
Original book illustration · Starting point for all refinements
Draft-1 Origin — spread08_glowing_fish.png
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch
R6 Base Prompt — spread08_glowing_fish/prompt.txt
1
R6 Corrected Batch — Glowing Fish
Deep ocean · Bioluminescent · Dot with BLUE glow
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 2
Pipeline 2 Prompt — Dot Color Change
2
Pipeline 2 — Dot Color Change
Dot changed to YELLOW joy eyes · “SUPER JOYOUS” · Floating/swirling
P2 — p2_s08_nb2_v1
P2 — p2_s08_nb2_v2
P2 — p2_s08_nb2_v3
P2 — p2_s08_nb2_v4
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 3 — WRONG PROMPT!
Pipeline 3 — ERROR: Wrong Prompt Used
3
Pipeline 3 — WRONG PROMPT (Edge scene used)
16 NB2 variants generated with Edge/Cliff prompt instead of Glowing Fish prompt
P3 — s08_p3_v01 (WRONG PROMPT)
P3 — s08_p3_v02 (WRONG PROMPT)
P3 — s08_p3_v03 (WRONG PROMPT)
P3 — s08_p3_v04 (WRONG PROMPT)
↓↓↓
4. P4 — Clean Regeneration (Correct Prompt)
P4 Orchestration Prompt — glowfish_full.txt
STYLE REF
Gen3 v3 — variant_edit11_r1_v1.png
COMP REF
Original — spread08_glowing_fish.png
CHAR REF
Ollie v5 — illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png
4
P4 — Clean Regeneration, 16 NB2 Images
First CORRECT Glowing Fish generation · WOW page · Ollie looking UP
P4 — p4_spread08_v01
P4 — p4_spread08_v02
P4 — p4_spread08_v03
P4 — p4_spread08_v04
↓↓↓
5. Pipeline 24
Pipeline 24 Prompt
5
Pipeline 24 — Best Pre-P37
Best Glowing Fish result before the final ClarityEnhance pipeline
LIKED
P24 — p24_s08_v1
P24 — p24_s08_v2
↓↓↓
6. Pipeline 37 — ClarityEnhance (FINAL)
PROMPT_FRIENDLYFISHV3 — V3 Consistency Round
6
Pipeline 37 — ClarityEnhance (FINAL)
p37_s08_v1 selected as PICK · Van Gogh Starry Night bioluminescent effect
PICK
P37 — p37_s08_v1 (FINAL)
P37 — p37_s08_v2
P37 — p37_s08_v3
P37 — p37_s08_v4
↓↓↓
7. Pipeline 42 — Downstream (NOT ancestor)
Pipeline 42 Prompt — p42_spread08_gen.py
7
Pipeline 42 — Downstream from P37
Used P37 v2 as input · Not an ancestor of the final pick · Exploration branch
P42 — p42_s08_v1
P42 — p42_s08_v2
P42 — p42_s08_v3
P42 — p42_s08_v4
Draft-2 Mockup · Pipeline 40 · p40_s09_v3.jpg
0. Original Concept — Draft-2 Composition Baseline
A
Foundational References
Style ref + Composition ref + Character ref — fed into all early corrected-batch pipelines
COMP REF
spread09_giant_shadow.jpg — Original scene layout
STYLE REF
edit12_nbp_b1_v3.png — Lighting & material quality target
CHAR REF
illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png — Ollie character sheet R4 V3
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — Mixed Media Collage Era
R6 Base Prompt — spread09_giant_shadow/prompt.txt
B
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch (21 variants)
April 2026 · NB2 · Style + comp + char refs · First corrected-batch outputs
P2 — V1
P2 — V2
P2 — V3
P2 — V4
C
Pipeline 3 — Shadow Variants (16 variants)
16 variants · Refined shadow scene · NB2
P3 — V01
P3 — V02
P3 — V03
P3 — V04
↓↓↓
2. P4 Text-Only Fix — Sticker Effect Correction
TEXT-ONLY — No Reference Images (fix sticker/pasted-on look)
P4 Orchestration Prompt — shadow_full.txt
D
Pipeline 5 — No Char Ref (4 variants)
Style ref + comp ref only · Character ref dropped to fix sticker effect
P5 — V1 (no char ref)
P5 — V2
P5 — V3
P5 — V4
↓↓↓
18 pipelines of iteration — refining shadow, scale, darkness, character integration
3. Late Pipeline Milestones — P37 through P42
Late Pipeline Prompts — P37 through P42
E
P37 — ClarityBacklit (4 variants)
Clarity and backlighting emphasis
P37 ClarityBacklit — V1
P37 — V2
P37 — V3
P37 — V4
F
P38 — WatercolorWhale (4 variants)
Watercolor whale shadow treatment
P38 WatercolorWhale — V1
P38 — V2
P38 — V3
P38 — V4
G
P40 — NaturalShadow (4 variants) ★ FINAL PICK
April 27, 2026 · Natural blended whale shadow · V3 selected as top pick
P40 NaturalShadow — V1
P40 — V2
TOP PICK
P40 — V3 ★ Draft-2 Mockup
P40 — V4
H
P42 — TrueWatercolor (4 variants)
Later pipeline after P40 pick · True watercolor rendering
P42 TrueWatercolor — V1
P42 — V2
P42 — V3
P42 — V4
↓↓↓
Draft-3 Era Begins — 3D Photorealistic Macro Style
4. NBP Batch 1 — First 3D Photorealistic Attempt
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png — 3D rendering style target
OLLIE REF
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png
DOT REF
happy_3d_v4.png
PROMPT_GIANTSHADOW — NBP Batch 1
I
NBP Batch 1 Outputs (5 variants)
First 3D photorealistic macro style with 3 character/style refs
NBP Batch 1 — V1
NBP Batch 1 — V2
NBP Batch 1 — V3
NBP Batch 1 — V4
NBP Batch 1 — V5
↓↓↓
5. V3 — Darkest Page in the Book
PROMPT_SHADOWV3 — 3D Photorealistic Version
J
Batch-V2 Outputs (5 variants)
Refined 3D: whale shadow as barely-noticeable darker tone, darkest page emphasis
V3 Batch — V1
V3 Batch — V2
V3 Batch — V3
V3 Batch — V4
V3 Batch — V5
↓↓↓
6. V2 Tests — Composition Ref vs Style-Only
V2 Tests — PROMPT_SHADOWV3 with Different Reference Strategies
K
Track 1 — With Composition Ref (4 variants)
Refs: p40_s09_v3.jpg (composition) + o2_reaching.png (style)
Track 1 — V1
Track 1 — V2
Track 1 — V3
Track 1 — V4
L
Track 2 — Style Ref Only (4 variants)
Ref: o2_reaching.png only — no composition guidance
Track 2 — V1
Track 2 — V2
Track 2 — V3
Track 2 — V4
↓↓↓
7. Batch 4 — Character Ref Refinement
Batch 4 Prompt — giant-shadow/batch4/prompt_used.txt · Model: NB2 · Temp: 1.15 · 4 char refs
M
Batch 4 Outputs (4 variants)
Dedicated character reference approach
Batch 4 — V1
Batch 4 — V2
Batch 4 — V3
Batch 4 — V4
↓↓↓
8. Batch 4-Redo — Most Detailed Prompt
Batch 4-Redo Prompt — Most detailed version
N
Batch 4-Redo Outputs (4 variants)
Photorealistic macro with camera specs and FORBIDDEN list
Batch 4-Redo — V1
Batch 4-Redo — V2
Batch 4-Redo — V3
Batch 4-Redo — V4
↓↓↓
9. Batch 16 — Lower Temperature Refinement
Batch 16 Prompt — PROMPT_B16_SHADOW · Model: NBP · Temp: 0.85 · 3 refs
O
Batch 16 Outputs (8 variants)
Trimmed/simplified prompt · Temperature 0.85 for more consistent outputs
Batch 16 — V1
Batch 16 — V2
Batch 16 — V3
Batch 16 — V4
Batch 16 — V5
Batch 16 — V6
Batch 16 — V7
Batch 16 — V8
↓↓↓
10. Batch New — Latest Generation
Batch New Prompt — Latest Giant Shadow generation
P
Batch New Outputs (3 variants)
Latest iteration of the Giant Shadow scene
Batch New — V1
Batch New — V2
Batch New — V3
Earlier Pipelines
pipeline2, pipeline3, pipeline5, pipeline6, pipeline7, pipeline8, pipeline10, pipeline11, pipeline20, pipeline21, pipeline22, pipeline23, pipeline24, pipeline28, pipeline29, pipeline37, pipeline38, pipeline40, pipeline42
Draft-2 Mockup · Pipeline 44 · p44_s12_v2.jpg
0. Original Concept — Draft-2 Composition Baseline
A
Foundational References
Style ref + Composition ref + Character ref — fed into all early corrected-batch pipelines
COMP REF
spread15_whale_reveal.png — Original scene layout
D2 "spread15" = final "spread12"
D2 "spread15" = final "spread12"
STYLE REF
edit15_nbp_b4_v1.png — Gen2 NBP batch 4
CHAR REF
illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png — Ollie R4 V3
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — Mixed Media Collage Era
R6 Base Prompt — spread12_whale_reveal/prompt.txt
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
B
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch (20 variants)
April 2026 · NB2 · First corrected-batch outputs for whale reveal
P2 — V1
P2 — V2
P2 — V3
P2 — V4
C
Pipeline 3 — Whale Variants (16 variants)
16 variants · Refined whale reveal scene
P3 — V01
P3 — V02
P3 — V03
P3 — V04
↓↓↓
2. P4 Text-Only Fix — Wrong Dot Face Correction
TEXT-ONLY — No Reference Images (fix wrong Dot face / old designs)
P4 Orchestration Prompt — whale_fresh.txt
Pipeline 5 Prompt — Text-Only, No Refs
D
Pipeline 5 — Fresh Text-Only (4 variants)
No reference images — pure text generation
P5 — V1 (text-only)
P5 — V2
P5 — V3
P5 — V4
↓↓↓
15 pipelines of iteration — refining whale scale, iridescence, character design
3. Pipeline 44 — Final Pick
Pipeline 44 Prompt
E
P44 — Final Pipeline (4 variants) ★ FINAL PICK
April 27, 2026 · V2 selected as top pick for spread 12
P44 — V1
TOP PICK
P44 — V2 ★ Draft-2 Mockup
P44 — V3
P44 — V4
F
P45 — Later Pipeline (4 variants)
Post-pick pipeline · Continued iteration
P45 — V1
P45 — V2
P45 — V3
P45 — V4
↓↓↓
Draft-3 Era Begins — 3D Photorealistic Macro Style
4. NBP Batch 1 — First 3D Photorealistic Attempt
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png — 3D rendering style target
OLLIE REF
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png
DOT REF
happy_3d_v4.png
PROMPT_WHALEREVEAL — NBP Batch 1
G
NBP Batch 1 Outputs (5 variants)
First 3D photorealistic macro style — emotional release from fear to wonder
NBP Batch 1 — V1
NBP Batch 1 — V2
NBP Batch 1 — V3
NBP Batch 1 — V4
NBP Batch 1 — V5
↓↓↓
5. V2 Tests — Composition Ref vs Style-Only
V2 Tests — Two Reference Strategies Compared
H
Track 1 — With Composition Ref (4 variants)
Refs: p44_s12_v2.jpg (composition) + o2_reaching.png (style)
Track 1 — V1
Track 1 — V2
Track 1 — V3
Track 1 — V4
I
Track 2 — Style Ref Only (4 variants)
Ref: o2_reaching.png only — no composition guidance
Track 2 — V1
Track 2 — V2
Track 2 — V3
Track 2 — V4
↓↓↓
6. Batch 4 — Character Ref Refinement
Batch 4 Prompt — whale-reveal/batch4/prompt_used.txt · Model: NB2 · Temp: 1.15 · 4 char refs
J
Batch 4 Outputs (4 variants)
Dedicated character reference approach
Batch 4 — V1
Batch 4 — V2
Batch 4 — V3
Batch 4 — V4
↓↓↓
7. Batch 4-Redo — Most Detailed Prompt
Batch 4-Redo Prompt — Most detailed version
K
Batch 4-Redo Outputs (4 variants)
Photorealistic macro with camera specs and FORBIDDEN list
Batch 4-Redo — V1
Batch 4-Redo — V2
Batch 4-Redo — V3
Batch 4-Redo — V4
↓↓↓
8. Batch 16 — Lower Temperature Refinement
Batch 16 Prompt — PROMPT_B16_WREVEAL · Model: NBP · Temp: 0.85 · 3 refs
L
Batch 16 Outputs (8 variants)
Trimmed/simplified prompt · Temperature 0.85 for consistency
Batch 16 — V1
Batch 16 — V2
Batch 16 — V3
Batch 16 — V4
Batch 16 — V5
Batch 16 — V6
Batch 16 — V7
Batch 16 — V8
↓↓↓
9. Batch-V2 — Refined 3D Style
Batch-V2 Prompt — PROMPT_WHALEREVEAL refined with V3 3D style
M
Batch-V2 Outputs (5 variants)
Refined whale reveal in 3D macro style
Batch-V2 — V1
Batch-V2 — V2
Batch-V2 — V3
Batch-V2 — V4
Batch-V2 — V5
↓↓↓
10. Batch New — Latest Generation
Batch New Prompt — Latest Whale Reveal generation
N
Batch New Outputs (3 variants)
Latest iteration of the Whale Reveal scene
Batch New — V1
Batch New — V2
Batch New — V3
Earlier Pipelines
pipeline2, pipeline3, pipeline5, pipeline6, pipeline7, pipeline8, pipeline9, pipeline10, pipeline11, pipeline20, pipeline21, pipeline22, pipeline40, pipeline44, pipeline45
Draft-2 Mockup · Pipeline 35 · p35_s14_v3.png
0. Original Concept — Draft-2 Composition Baseline
A
Foundational References
P35 used page01-style-ref.jpg (mixed media collage target) · Earlier pipelines used edit17 style + spread17 comp + Ollie char
COMP REF
spread17_i_was_scared.png — Original scene
D2 "spread17" = final "spread14"
D2 "spread17" = final "spread14"
STYLE REF (P35)
page01-style-ref.jpg — Mixed media collage target
STYLE REF (early)
edit17_nb2full_v4.png — Gen2 NB2 full
CHAR REF
illust_ollie_nbp_v3.png — Ollie R4 V3
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — "THE HOMECOMING"
R6 Base Prompt — spread14_going_home/prompt.txt
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
B
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch (21 variants)
April 2026 · NB2 · First corrected-batch outputs for going home
P2 — V1
P2 — V2
P2 — V3
P2 — V4
Pipeline 3 Prompt — Going Home Direction
C
Pipeline 3 — Going Home Variants (15 variants)
15 variants · Refined homecoming scene
P3 — V01
P3 — V02
P3 — V03
P3 — V04
↓↓↓
21 pipelines of iteration (the most of any spread) — refining celebration, homecoming, color palette
2. Late Pipeline Milestones — P30 through P35
Pipeline 30 Prompt — FreshCelebration
D
P30 — FreshCelebration (4 variants)
Fresh celebration scene approach
P30 FreshCelebration — V1
P30 — V2
P30 — V3
P30 — V4
Pipeline 34 Prompt — DetailedRegen
E
P34 — DetailedRegen (4 variants)
Detailed regeneration with refined prompts
P34 DetailedRegen — V1
P34 — V2
P34 — V3
P34 — V4
F
P35 — MixedMediaCollageRegen (4 variants) ★ FINAL PICK
April 26, 2026 · Mixed media collage regen with page01-style-ref.jpg · V3 selected as top pick
Pipeline 35 Prompt — MixedMediaCollageRegen
P35 MixedMediaCollage — V1
P35 — V2
TOP PICK
P35 — V3 ★ Draft-2 Mockup
P35 — V4
↓↓↓
Draft-3 Era Begins — Scene concept shifts from "Homecoming" to "Celebration"
3. NBP Batch 1 — "Celebration" (Scene Concept Shift)
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png — 3D rendering style target
OLLIE REF
3d_ollie_nbp_v2.png
DOT REF
happy_3d_v4.png
PROMPT_CELEBRATION — NBP Batch 1
G
NBP Batch 1 Outputs (5 variants)
First 3D photorealistic macro style — pure joy and celebration
NBP Batch 1 — V1
NBP Batch 1 — V2
NBP Batch 1 — V3
NBP Batch 1 — V4
NBP Batch 1 — V5
↓↓↓
4. V3 — Warm Color Palette & Abundance
PROMPT_CELEBRATIONV3 — Warm Color Palette
Batch-V2 Prompt — PROMPT_CELEBRATIONV3 refined
H
Batch-V2 Outputs (5 variants)
Warm color palette · Abundance/party scene · Sunset coral reef
V3 Batch — V1
V3 Batch — V2
V3 Batch — V3
V3 Batch — V4
V3 Batch — V5
↓↓↓
5. Batch 16 — Lower Temperature Refinement
Batch 16 Prompt — PROMPT_B16_CELEB · Model: NBP · Temp: 0.85 · 3 refs
I
Batch 16 Outputs (8 variants)
Trimmed/simplified prompt · Temperature 0.85 for consistency
Batch 16 — V1
Batch 16 — V2
Batch 16 — V3
Batch 16 — V4
Batch 16 — V5
Batch 16 — V6
Batch 16 — V7
Batch 16 — V8
↓↓↓
6. Batch New — Latest Generation
Batch New Prompt — Latest Celebration generation
J
Batch New Outputs (3 variants)
Latest iteration of the Celebration scene
Batch New — V1
Batch New — V2
Batch New — V3
Earlier Pipelines
pipeline2, pipeline3, pipeline5, pipeline7, pipeline8, pipeline9, pipeline10, pipeline11, pipeline20, pipeline21, pipeline22, pipeline23, pipeline24, pipeline27, pipeline28, pipeline29, pipeline30, pipeline31, pipeline32, pipeline33, pipeline34, pipeline35, pipeline36, pipeline41, pipeline44, pipeline45
0. Draft-1 Origin — Original Concept
ORIGINAL CREATOR MOCKUP — Not AI-Generated
0
Draft-1 Composition Reference
spread19_how_feeling.png · Original illustration for Interactive Breathing scene
ORIGIN
spread19_how_feeling.png — Draft-1 original mockup
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — April 2026
R6 Base Prompt — Interactive Breathing (generate.py)
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
1a
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch
24 variants · NB2 · Earliest exploration · 4 of 24 shown
P2 V1
P2 V10
P2 V14
P2 V16
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 7–8 Refinements
Pipeline 7–8 Prompts
2a
Pipeline 7 — 4 Variants
r7_generate.py · Using earlier pipeline outputs as refs
P7 V1
P7 V2
REF→P8
P7 V3 — used as P8 reference
P7 V4
↓↓↓
2b
Pipeline 8 — 4 Variants (ref: P7 V3)
pipeline8_gen.py · build_s15_prompt() · Mixed-media collage, emotion bubbles, 3D Ollie
REF→P10
P8 V1 — used as P10 reference
P8 V2
P8 V3
P8 V4
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 10 — Edit Mode (ref: P8 V1)
P9 Edits Applied to P8 Base
3
Pipeline 10 — 4 Variants
NB2 · Edit of P8 V1 with P9 corrections
P10 V1 (t0.85)
P10 V2 (t0.95)
P10 V3 (t1.05)
P10 V4 (t1.15)
↓↓↓
4. Iterative Pipelines 11–33
Pipeline 11 Prompt
4a
Pipeline 11 — 12 Variants (largest batch)
Extended exploration with multiple temperature/ref combinations
P11 V1
P11 V4
P11 V8
P11 V12
Additional pipelines: P19 (2 variants), P20 (4), P21 (8 with redos), P24 (4), P27 (4, GoldFoilEnhance), P28 (4, SubtleGold), P33 (4, GoldFoil+8Arms+Quality)
↓↓↓
5. Pipeline 34 — DetailedRegen (SELECTED)
Pipeline 34 Prompt — DetailedRegen
5
Pipeline 34 — 4 Variants · V4 Selected as Draft-2 Mockup
DetailedRegen · Final selected image for this spread
P34 V1
P34 V2
P34 V3
PICK
P34 V4 — SELECTED MOCKUP
↓↓↓
6. Draft-3 NBP Prompts
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png
o2_reaching.png
OLLIE REF
shell_c.jpg
shell_c.jpg
DOT REF
d3_in_motion.png
d3_in_motion.png
PROMPT_INTERACTIVE — Original NBP (Reader-facing, calm/centered)
PROMPT_INTERACTIVEV3 — Emotion Bubbles + Breathing Pose (temp 0.7)
PROMPT_INTERACTIVEV4 — Shell Version with Sunset (temp 0.7)
↓ led to
Final — Selected Draft-2 Mockup
Selected Mockup — Spread 15 — Interactive Breathing
Pipeline 34 · Variant 4 · p34_s15_v4.jpg
0. Draft-1 Origin — Original Concept
ORIGINAL CREATOR MOCKUP — Not AI-Generated
0
Draft-1 Composition Reference
spread20_big_feelings.png · Original illustration for Ending / Shell Closed scene
ORIGIN
spread20_big_feelings.png — Draft-1 original mockup
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — April 2026
R6 Base Prompt — Ending / Shell Closed (generate.py)
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
1a
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch
24 variants · NB2 · Earliest exploration · 4 of 24 shown
P2 V1
P2 V10
P2 V14
P2 V16
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants
Pipeline 3 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
2
Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants (spread17 numbering)
Large batch · No script preserved (predates structured approach) · 4 of 16 shown
P3-S16 V01
P3-S16 V04
REF→P10
P3-S17 V12 — used as P10 reference
P3-S16 V06
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 10 — Edit Mode (ref: P3-S17 V12)
P9 Edits Applied (nighttime adjustments)
3
Pipeline 10 — 4 Variants
NB2 · Edit of P3-S17_v12.png with nighttime P9 corrections
P10 V1 (t0.85)
P10 V2 (t0.95)
P10 V3 (t1.05)
P10 V4 (t1.15)
↓↓↓
4. Pipelines 21–24 — Final Refinements
Pipeline 21–24 Prompts
4a
Pipeline 21 — 4 Variants
Continued refinement from P10 outputs
P21 V1
P21 V2
P21 V3
P21 V4
↓↓↓
4b
Pipeline 24 — 2 Variants · V1 Selected as Draft-2 Mockup
"Starry Bioluminescence" · NB2 · Temperature 0.90
PICK
P24 V1 — SELECTED MOCKUP (t0.90)
P24 V2
Later pipelines continued: P31 (4 variants, generate_s16.py), P32 (4 variants, generate.py), P40 (4 variants)
↓↓↓
5. Draft-3 NBP Prompts
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png
o2_reaching.png
OLLIE REF
shell_c.jpg
shell_c.jpg
DOT REF
d3_in_motion.png
d3_in_motion.png
PROMPT_ENDING — Original NBP (Peaceful nighttime, sleeping Ollie)
PROMPT_ENDINGV3 — Whale Version with Full Color Return (temp 0.7)
PROMPT_ENDINGV4 — Bioluminescent Bedtime, Closed Clamshell (temp 0.7)
↓ led to
Final — Selected Draft-2 Mockup
Selected Mockup — Spread 16 — Ending / Shell Closed
Pipeline 24 · Variant 1 · p24_s16_v1.png
0. Draft-1 Origin — Original Back Cover
ORIGINAL CREATOR MOCKUP — Not AI-Generated
0
Draft-1 Back Cover
spread23_back_cover.png · Original hand-designed back cover
ORIGIN
spread23_back_cover.png — Original creator mockup
↓↓↓
1. R6 Corrected Batch — April 2026
R6 Base Prompt — Back Cover (Environment Only, 1:1 square)
Pipeline 2 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
1a
Pipeline 2 — First NB2 Batch
21 variants · NB2 · Earliest exploration · 4 of 21 shown
P2 V1
P2 V2
P2 V10
P2 V12
↓↓↓
2. Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants
Pipeline 3 Prompt — R6 Base + Refinements
2
Pipeline 3 — 16 Variants
Large batch · Predates structured script approach
P3-S19 V01
P3-S19 V04
P3-S19 V05
P3-S19 V06
↓↓↓
3. Pipeline 9 — 4 Variants
Pipeline 9 Prompt
3
Pipeline 9 — 4 Variants
Intermediate refinement step
P9 V1
P9 V2
P9 V3
P9 V4
↓↓↓
4. Pipeline 10 — Edit Mode (SELECTED)
P9 Edits Applied (back cover refinements)
4
Pipeline 10 — 4 Variants · V2 Selected as Draft-2 Mockup
NB2 · Edit of spread23_back_cover.png with P9 corrections · V2 = temp 0.95
P10 V1 (t0.85)
PICK
P10 V2 — SELECTED MOCKUP (t0.95)
P10 V3 (t1.05)
P10 V4 (t1.15)
Only 4 pipelines total — simplest lineage of all spreads. No further pipelines after P10.
↓↓↓
5. Draft-3 NBP Prompt — Complete Redesign
Direction Change
R6 base was environment-only (no characters, 1:1 canyon). V4 completely redesigned as an intimate Ollie+Dot portrait in teal-blue water with god-rays.
STYLE REF
o2_reaching.png
o2_reaching.png
OLLIE REF
shell_c.jpg
shell_c.jpg
DOT REF
d3_in_motion.png
d3_in_motion.png
PROMPT_BACKCOVERV4 — Intimate Ollie+Dot Portrait (1:1 square, temp 0.7)
↓ led to
Final — Selected Draft-2 Mockup
Selected Mockup — Spread 19 — Back Cover
Pipeline 10 · Variant 2 · p10_s19_v2.png
Origin Chain — Note for Grown-Ups (Spread 16)
Generation Chain
Step 1: Original Book Artwork (spread21_note_grownups.jpg) — Pre-existing published page, bright daytime reef scene with painted fish, coral, gold stipple dots
Step 2: Pipeline 3 (P3-S17_v12.png) — NB2, temp 1.3, April 21 — Extended to 16:9 wider format, added underwater feel
Step 3: Pipeline 10 (p10_s16_v3.png) — NB2, temp 1.05, April 23 — Edit to nighttime, darker blues, removed sandy shells
Later use: Selected as "Cut Paper Underwater" style source for batch 2 style experiment, and as STYLE_IMG for pipeline 19 back spread
Step 2: Pipeline 3 (P3-S17_v12.png) — NB2, temp 1.3, April 21 — Extended to 16:9 wider format, added underwater feel
Step 3: Pipeline 10 (p10_s16_v3.png) — NB2, temp 1.05, April 23 — Edit to nighttime, darker blues, removed sandy shells
Later use: Selected as "Cut Paper Underwater" style source for batch 2 style experiment, and as STYLE_IMG for pipeline 19 back spread
1. Original Generation — "Back Spread" Style Concept
STYLE EXPLORATION — Later Repurposed as Note for Grown-Ups
Originally generated as an environment "back spread" page (no characters) during NBP v20 batch. The founder said "this image is great so nothing" — it was kept as-is and later placed as the Note for Grown-Ups background.
Original Generation Prompt — back_spread1_prompt.md (NBP v20 Batch)
How the Reference Image Was Made — nano_pro_04_distance.png (NBP via Replicate, March 27 2026)
Reference image:
nano_pro_04_distance.png — img2img reference
Output:
back_spread1_v1.jpg → spread21_note_grownups.jpg
↓ led to
2. Pipeline 3 — 16:9 Extension
Pipeline 3 Prompt — Spread 17 (Note for Grown-Ups)
Reference image: spread21_note_grownups.jpg (original artwork)
P3-S17_v12.png — Pipeline 3, variant 12 (selected for Pipeline 10 input)
↓ led to
3. Pipeline 10 — Nighttime Edit (Final)
Pipeline 10 Edit Prompt — Spread 16
Edit this illustration. Make these specific changes:
1. LIGHTING: Adjust scene to look more like nighttime. Post-sunset light coming in from above.
2. COLORS: More darker blues throughout. Deep blue post-sunset atmosphere.
3. RIGHT SIDE: Remove sandy shells on the right side. Fill area naturally with surrounding elements.
4. STYLE: Apply the watercolor collage mixed-media style consistent with the rest of the book — gouache, torn paper, watercolor washes, collage elements.
Keep overall composition and characters. 2:1 aspect ratio.
Reference image: P3-S17_v12.png (Pipeline 3 output above)
p10_s16_v3.png — FINAL IMAGE
↓ used as
4. Later Usage
- Style Experiment Batch 2 — Selected as "Cut Paper Underwater" style source for style extraction and cross-model testing (NB2, NBP, GPT-Image-2)
- Pipeline 19 Back Spread — Used as STYLE_IMG reference for back spread generation
- Note for Grown-Ups page — Current candidate for the final book's Note for Grown-Ups page
Page Text — Note for Grown-Ups
A Note for Grown Ups
Young children experience big feelings in their bodies before they have words for them. This story models a simple, repeatable skill you can practice together: Name the feeling. Notice the body. Breathe slowly together.
When Dot says, "Would you like help?", she shows a healthy way technology, and adults, can support children. Dot does not fix Ollie's feelings. She stays close and practices the skill with him.
The goal is not to remove fear, but to build confidence in handling it. You can use the phrase from the book anytime: Name it. Feel it. Breathe slow.
Young children experience big feelings in their bodies before they have words for them. This story models a simple, repeatable skill you can practice together: Name the feeling. Notice the body. Breathe slowly together.
When Dot says, "Would you like help?", she shows a healthy way technology, and adults, can support children. Dot does not fix Ollie's feelings. She stays close and practices the skill with him.
The goal is not to remove fear, but to build confidence in handling it. You can use the phrase from the book anytime: Name it. Feel it. Breathe slow.