IP Calendar Poster

IP Character Calendar Poster

Generate a collectible, printable single-month poster or a 12-poster series for the full year based on one IP character reference image and a year. By default, deliver the final image directly, without first showing internal prompts to the user.

Before Starting

Read references/monthly-master-prompt-v4-1.md in full. This is the user-tested V4.1 master prompt and the primary specification for individual images, layout, calendar information, and acceptance criteria. For full-year requests, also read references/annual-series-system.md in full. Do not delete, rewrite, or replace its rules with generic aesthetics unless the user explicitly requests changes.

Basic Input:

• One IP character reference image
• Four-digit Gregorian year
• For single-month mode: month (1-12); for full-year mode: do not ask month-by-month
• Outfit strategy: Fixed Original Outfit or Seasonal Outfit Changes

Without an IP reference image, ask the user to upload one; do not fabricate "original facial features, clothing, or accessories" from text. Before starting full-year mode, ask the outfit strategy only once and apply it for the entire year; do not reconfirm each month. For a single-month sample, if the outfit strategy is not yet decided but the reference image's outfit already matches the current month's season, you may proceed with the original outfit and explicitly state this assumption. If the user does not specify scene, action, color scheme, props, holidays, or layout, follow the master prompt automatically and do not ask for these ordinary details.

Any new requirements explicitly added by the user may override corresponding creative parameters, but must not compromise character identity, real dates, or text readability. If a requirement conflicts with the master prompt, briefly point out the conflict and prioritize these three bottom lines.

Workflow

1. Use an image viewing tool to inspect the IP reference image. Extract face shape, facial features, hairstyle, hair color, head-to-body proportions, clothing, accessories, materials, and overall modeling language. Distinguish between non-drifting identity anchors, wearable items that can change with outfit strategy, and details not visible in the reference image that must not be guessed.
2. Before drawing, establish a structured date table: Gregorian date, day of week, lunar month, lunar day, solar terms, major holidays, and final displayed text. For single-month mode, create data only for that month; for full-year mode, complete data for all 12 months before starting any image generation. Use reliable calendar tools, authoritative Gregorian/lunar data sources, or trustworthy databases for verification; do not rely solely on memory or image model guesses.
3. Analyze the month's seasonal and cultural context per the master prompt. Design scene story, character interaction, outfit, camera composition, watercolor card color scheme, and the transition between upper and lower areas. Avoid copying the reference image's standing pose, and do not mechanically reuse the same animal, plant, or action.
4. Combine the character identity anchors, outfit strategy, structured date table, the month's visual plan, and the master prompt into a single generation instruction. For normal generation, prioritize using Codex's imagegen Skill and built-in image generation tools; if the current host is different, use the actually available image generation capability that supports reference images—do not fabricate model or parameter support.
5. Use "one month, one final product" as the production unit. Call image generation only once per month to complete the character, seasonal scene, and watercolor card visuals. The original IP image is always the primary reference for character identity; series-complete images should only serve as auxiliary anchors for layout, card, and material consistency to avoid cumulative drift month-to-month.
6. If the image model cannot stably render accurate full Chinese calendar text, save the month's text-free card as a temporary working file, then immediately use scripts/render_calendar_card.py to overlay the verified dates locally, producing the sole official product for that month. Programmatic text overlay is not a second image generation. After acceptance, delete the temporary base image unless the user explicitly asks to retain editable intermediate files. Do not batch-generate 12 empty cards first and then do a second round of batch composition.
7. Only allow one-step generation to directly produce the official product if the current image tool has already proven it can stably generate accurate full Chinese calendar text; once dates or text fail, switch to the local text overlay method above. Do not re-generate the entire character scene just to fix text.
8. Against the master prompt's section 18, verify each item: IP identity, outfit strategy, year and month, weekday column, date continuity, lunar calendar, solar terms, holiday substitution rules, text clarity, and watercolor card language. Complete and accept one month before moving to the next.

Dynamic Calendar Grid Layout

• First, calculate the actual number of week rows for the month based on the real Gregorian calendar. Use only the real 4 to 6 rows needed; do not insert placeholder empty rows.
• Gregorian numbers and the lunar, solar term, or holiday text below them form a date information group. In a 3072×4096 output, maintain a default 20px vertical gap between their visible glyph boundaries; when output size changes, scale proportionally by width—do not re-tighten.
• First reserve a safe area for watercolor decorations at the bottom of the card, then dynamically allocate the available height below the weekday separator line based on the actual number of week rows: 4 rows give more spacious line spacing, 5 rows keep balanced, and 6 rows moderately compress line spacing and necessary font size. Do not mechanically apply a fixed line spacing from one verified month to the entire year.
• Date information groups should be vertically centered within their respective week rows. When adjusting line spacing, keep within-group hierarchy stable; prioritize compressing the white space between rows, and never delete lunar dates, solar terms, holidays, or calendar dates.
• Below the last row, retain a breathing zone coordinated with the edge illustration, but do not leave large blocks of ineffective blank space that break the layout's balance; no text may overlap decorative elements like paper edges, plants, fruits, or snow scenes.

Handling Date and Text Failures

• If the character, scene, and overall layout are acceptable and only individual dates or text are wrong, prioritize targeted editing of the erroneous area, preserving the character and scene—do not redraw the entire image.
• After correction, re-verify the entire month to ensure local edits do not introduce new typos, duplicate numbers, missing numbers, or misaligned columns.
• If the current image tool cannot stably render complex Chinese calendar text, make a reasonable number of targeted correction attempts; if still failing, honestly state the specific items that failed, without claiming "fully verified."
• When the system supports programmatic text layout, precise calendar data may be overlaid onto the IP scene image, but must maintain the watercolor card visual specified in the master prompt—do not degrade into a plain table or cold UI.

Output Boundaries

• By default, generate only one complete poster for the specified month.
• Without explicit user request, do not output full-year collections, 9-grids, multi-month collages, composite images of multiple options, or incidentally generate other months.
• The official delivery for a full-year series is fixed as 12 independent 3:4 products, each containing only one month. "Complete calendar card" by default means a single-month complete product, not a large annual image combining 12 months.
• For a full-year task, you may complete January and July first as internal winter/summer anchors to lock the character, watercolor card, font hierarchy, and layout proportions. When the user requests "output all 12 directly," do not stop to wait for sample confirmation; continue completing the remaining 10 months month by month. Only pause if the user explicitly requests a sample.
• After all 12 months are completed, perform cross-month checks to avoid repetition in actions, scenes, props, card decorations, or outfits. The official full-year product always retains 12 independent single-month images; do not replace them with a single annual overview.
• By default, after all 12 single-month products are accepted, you may locally compose an additional full-year overview preview using these 12 products. The overview does not use image generation, is not counted among the 12 single-month products, and must not be the only deliverable; omit it only when the user explicitly says no overview.
• By default, only show the final images and a brief verification conclusion. When the user asks, provide the date table, visual plan, or reproducible final prompt.
• If you cannot generate images directly, clearly state the limitation; only after the user accepts, deliver reproducible prompts instead—do not pass off prompts as images.