Art Icon Creator

Purpose

Convert images into artistic icon variations suitable for branding, UI design, or artistic purposes. Generate 10 distinct artistic variations of an image as compressed, greyscale, high-contrast icons—from simple black & white to poster effects to comic book styles.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Creating icon variations from a single source image
• Needing multiple artistic interpretations of the same image
• Preparing images for icon sets or UI design systems
• Converting any image to greyscale, posterized, high-contrast artwork
• The source is a URL or local file path

Quick Start

Execute the script with an image source (URL or local file):

python scripts/create_art_icons.py "https://example.com/image.jpg"

Or with a local file:

python scripts/create_art_icons.py "/path/to/image.png"

Output files are created in the same directory as the source (or current directory for URLs) with naming pattern:

• <original-name>_art_icon_01.png through <original-name>_art_icon_10.png

Output Display

The script displays:

1. JSON results with all file information (names, sizes, styles)
2. Output directory - absolute path where files were saved
3. Absolute paths - complete file paths for each generated icon

Example output:

✅ Created 10 variations

📁 Output Directory: /Users/benno/projects/ai/bassi/chats/xyz/DATA_FROM_USER

  ✓ /Users/benno/projects/ai/bassi/chats/xyz/DATA_FROM_USER/image_art_icon_01.png
  ✓ /Users/benno/projects/ai/bassi/chats/xyz/DATA_FROM_USER/image_art_icon_02.png
  ...

The 10 Artistic Variations

Each variation applies different artistic techniques to create distinct visual styles:

Black & White High Contrast (Variations 01-03)

• 01: High Contrast Soft - Simple B&W with softer threshold
• 02: High Contrast Strict - Pure B&W with strict 100-level threshold
• 03: High Contrast Extreme - Extreme contrast black & white

Best for: Logo variations, UI icon sets, clean graphic design

Artistic Poster Effects (Variations 04-06)

• 04: Poster 8-Color - Artistic posterized with 8 color levels
• 05: Poster 16-Color - Artistic posterized with 16 color levels
• 06: Poster Smooth - Smooth posterized effect with edge smoothing

Best for: Design system assets, artistic interpretations, print media

Comic Book Styles (Variations 07-09)

• 07: Comic Bold - Comic book style with bold lines and edges
• 08: Comic Outline - Comic book style emphasizing outlines
• 09: Comic Smooth - Comic book style with smooth edge blending

Best for: Artistic graphics, illustrative designs, playful aesthetics

Artistic Blend (Variation 10)

• 10: Artistic Blend - Combination of posterization and edge emphasis

Best for: When you want something between poster and comic styles

Output Specifications

All generated icons have these guaranteed properties:

• Format: Greyscale PNG
• Size: < 20 KB (PNG optimized)
• Dimensions: 256 × 256 pixels (square)
• Aspect Ratio: Original preserved with white padding
• Colors: Greyscale with high contrast
• Background: White (transparent areas and detected backgrounds replaced)

Image Processing Pipeline

1. Load: Supports URLs (http/https) and local file paths
2. Convert: Handles any color mode or transparency
3. Background: Detects and removes background, replaces with white
4. Resize: 256×256 square with aspect ratio preservation and white padding
5. Convert to Greyscale: All variations are monochrome
6. Apply Artistic Effect: Different techniques per variation
7. Compress: PNG optimization to <20 KB

Advanced Usage

Specify Output Directory

python scripts/create_art_icons.py "source" "/path/to/output"

Python Import

from create_art_icons import create_variations

results = create_variations(
    source="https://example.com/image.jpg",
    output_dir="/output/path"
)

# results contains:
# - success: Boolean
# - files: List of created files with paths and sizes
# - output_directory: Where files were saved

Tips for Best Results

1. Source Image Quality: Works best with clear, well-defined subjects
2. Complex Images: May lose fine detail due to posterization (expected for icon style)
3. Choosing Variations:
   • For logos: Try 01-03 (high contrast) or 10 (artistic blend)
   • For UI icons: Try 04-06 (poster effects)
   • For artistic graphics: Try 07-09 (comic styles)
4. File Size: All outputs automatically optimize; actual sizes vary by image complexity

Examples

Processing a URL Image

python scripts/create_art_icons.py "https://github.com/user/image.jpg"

Creates image_art_icon_01.png through image_art_icon_10.png in current directory.

Processing a Local File with Custom Output

python scripts/create_art_icons.py "/Users/me/pictures/photo.png" "/Users/me/icons"

Creates icons in /Users/me/icons.

Technical Implementation

The skill includes scripts/create_art_icons.py which implements:

• URL and local file loading
• 10 different artistic variation algorithms
• Automatic background detection and removal
• PNG compression and optimization
• JSON result reporting
• CLI interface for automation

Key Functions:

• create_variations(source, output_dir) - Main function (returns dict with results)
• variation_01_high_contrast_soft() through variation_10_artistic_blend() - Individual artistic effects