Goal

• Take an existing figure (<FILE>.tex/TikZ, <FILE>.svg, <FILE>.dot/Graphviz, or <FILE>.mmd/Mermaid) and polish it into a publication-quality figure by applying the project's figure conventions
• Prove the improvement by rendering a before/after image and opening it

Workflow

Identify the Figure Type

• .tex (TikZ/LaTeX source): apply .claude/skills/tikz.rules.md
• .svg (SVG source): apply .claude/skills/svg.rules.md
• .dot/.gv (Graphviz source): apply .claude/skills/graphviz.rules.md
• .mmd/.mermaid (Mermaid source): apply the ## Mermaid Graph section of .claude/skills/figure.rules.md
• All four types also share the cross-diagram ## Color Palette in .claude/skills/figure.rules.md
• If unsure which rules apply, inspect the file extension/content before proceeding: never mix rule sets on one figure

Render the Original (Before)

• Render the figure exactly as given, without any edits, to before.png
  • TikZ:

    > dev_scripts_helpers/dockerize/dockerized_tikz_to_bitmap.py \
        -i <FILE>.tex -o before.png
    

  • SVG:

    > inkscape <FILE>.svg --export-type=png --export-filename=before.png
    

  • Graphviz:

    > dot -Tpng <FILE>.dot -o before.png
    

  • Mermaid:

    > mmdc -i <FILE>.mmd -o before.png
    

• Keep this file untouched: it is the baseline for the comparison at the end

Apply the Rules

• Read the relevant rules file in full and edit the source to conform to every section, in particular:
  • Layout & spacing (grid alignment, no cramped or overlapping elements; for Graphviz: rank/cluster alignment)
  • Color system (restrained, semantic palette; no raw saturated colors; use the shared palette in figure.rules.md unless the rules file gives a more specific one, e.g. Graphviz's flat/architecture color tables)
  • Typography (label-size hierarchy, sentence case, consistent font)
  • Strokes & geometry (consistent line weights, consistent arrowheads/corners; for Graphviz: edge style semantics; for Mermaid: the required %%{init: ...}%% theme directive)
  • The "What NOT to Do" / anti-pattern list at the end of the rules file (Graphviz/Mermaid have no such list: instead follow every section above)
• Do not change the figure's meaning or content: only its visual execution

Render the Result and Iterate

• Re-render to after.png using the same command as above (swap the output file name: -o after.png / --export-filename=after.png)
• Inspect after.png. If it still violates a rule (cramped spacing, overlapping labels, inconsistent strokes, non-semantic colors, etc.), fix the source and re-render. Repeat until the figure is professional per the rules

Compare Side by Side

• Build one image with the before and after panels next to each other and open it:

  > montage before.png after.png -tile 2x1 -geometry +10+10 -label '%f' comparison.png
  > open comparison.png
  

Verification

• Confirm comparison.png opened and shows before.png and after.png clearly labeled side by side
• Confirm after.png has no unresolved violation from the rules file applied above
• Confirm the figure's content/meaning is unchanged from the original: only styling improved