Paper Illustration: Multi-Stage Codex-Supervised Figure Generation
Generate publication-quality illustrations using a multi-stage workflow with Codex as the STRICT supervisor/reviewer.
Core Design Philosophy
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MULTI-STAGE ITERATIVE WORKFLOW │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ User Request │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Codex │ ◄─── Step 1: Parse request, create initial prompt │
│ │ (Planner) │ │
│ └──────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Gemini │ ◄─── Step 2: Optimize layout description │
│ │ (gemini-3-pro)│ - Refine component positioning │
│ │ Layout │ - Optimize spacing and grouping │
│ └──────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Gemini │ ◄─── Step 3: CVPR/NeurIPS style verification │
│ │ (gemini-3-pro)│ - Check color palette compliance │
│ │ Style │ - Verify arrow and font standards │
│ └──────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Paperbanana │ ◄─── Step 4: Render final image │
│ │ (gemini-3- │ - High-quality image generation │
│ │ pro-image) │ - Internal codename: Nano Banana Pro │
│ └──────┬──────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ ┌─────────────┐ │
│ │ Codex │ ◄─── Step 5: STRICT visual review + SCORE (1-10) │
│ │ (Reviewer) │ - Verify EVERY arrow direction │
│ │ STRICT! │ - Verify EVERY block content │
│ └──────┬──────┘ - Verify aesthetics & visual appeal │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ Score ≥ 9? ──YES──► Accept & Output │
│ │ │
│ NO │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ Generate SPECIFIC improvement feedback ──► Loop back to Step 2 │
│ │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Constants
- IMAGE_MODEL =
gemini-3-pro-image-preview— Paperbanana (Nano Banana Pro) for image rendering - REASONING_MODEL =
gemini-3-pro-preview— Gemini for layout optimization and style checking - MAX_ITERATIONS = 5 — Maximum refinement rounds
- TARGET_SCORE = 9 — Minimum acceptable score (1-10) — RAISED FOR QUALITY
- OUTPUT_DIR =
figures/ai_generated/— Output directory - API_KEY_ENV =
GEMINI_API_KEY— Environment variable
CVPR/ICLR/NeurIPS Top-Tier Conference Style Guide
What "CVPR Style" Actually Means:
Visual Standards
- Clean white background — No decorative patterns or gradients (unless subtle)
- Sans-serif fonts — Arial, Helvetica, or Computer Modern; minimum 14pt
- Subtle color palette — Not rainbow colors; use 3-5 coordinated colors
- Print-friendly — Must be readable in grayscale (many reviewers print papers)
- Professional borders — Thin (2-3px), solid colors, not flashy
Layout Standards
- Horizontal flow — Left-to-right is the standard for pipelines
- Clear grouping — Use subtle background boxes to group related modules
- Consistent sizing — Similar components should have similar sizes
- Balanced whitespace — Not cramped, not sparse
Arrow Standards (MOST CRITICAL)
- Thick strokes — 4-6px minimum (thin arrows disappear when printed)
- Clear arrowheads — Large, filled triangular heads
- Dark colors — Black or dark gray (#333333); avoid colored arrows
- Labeled — Every arrow should indicate what data flows through it
- No crossings — Reorganize layout to avoid arrow crossings
- CORRECT DIRECTION — Arrows must point to the RIGHT target!
Visual Appeal (科研风格 - Professional Academic Style)
目标：既不保守也不花哨，找到平衡点
✅ 应该有的视觉元素：
- Subtle gradient fills — 淡雅的渐变填充（同色系从浅到深），不是炫彩
- Rounded corners — 圆角矩形（6-10px radius），现代感但不夸张
- Clear visual hierarchy — 通过大小、颜色深浅区分层次
- Consistent color coding — 统一的配色方案（3-4种主色）
- Internal structure — 大模块内部显示子组件（如Encoder内部的layer结构）
- Professional typography — 清晰的标签，适当的字号层次
✅ 配色建议（学术专业）：
- Inputs: 柔和的绿色系 (#10B981 / #34D399)
- Encoders: 专业的蓝色系 (#2563EB / #3B82F6)
- Fusion: 优雅的紫色系 (#7C3AED / #8B5CF6)
- Outputs: 温暖的橙色系 (#EA580C / #F97316)
- Arrows: 黑色或深灰 (#333333 / #1F2937)
- Background: 纯白 (#FFFFFF)，不要花纹
❌ 要避免的过度装饰：
- ❌ Rainbow color schemes (彩虹配色)
- ❌ Heavy drop shadows (重阴影效果)
- ❌ 3D effects / perspective (3D透视)
- ❌ Excessive gradients (夸张的多色渐变)
- ❌ Clip art / cartoon icons (卡通图标)
- ❌ Decorative patterns in background (背景花纹)
- ❌ Glowing effects (发光效果)
- ❌ Too many small icons (过多小图标)
✓ 理想的视觉效果：
- 一眼看上去专业、清晰
- 有适度的视觉吸引力，但不抢眼
- 符合CVPR/NeurIPS论文的审美标准
- 打印友好（灰度模式下也能清晰辨认）
- 像精心设计的学术图表，而不是PPT模板
What to AVOID (CRITICAL)
- ❌ Rainbow color schemes (too many colors)
- ❌ Thin, hairline arrows (arrows must be THICK)
- ❌ Unlabeled connections
- ❌ Plain boring rectangles (add some visual interest)
- ❌ Over-decorated with shadows/glows/icons (too flashy)
- ❌ Small text that's unreadable when printed
- ❌ WRONG arrow directions — This is UNACCEPTABLE!
Scope
| Figure Type | Quality | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture diagrams | Excellent | Model architecture, pipeline, encoder-decoder |
| Method illustrations | Excellent | Conceptual diagrams, algorithm flowcharts |
| Conceptual figures | Good | Comparison diagrams, taxonomy trees |
Not for: Statistical plots (use /paper-figure), photo-realistic images
Workflow: MUST EXECUTE ALL STEPS
Step 0: Pre-flight Check
# Check API key
if [ -z "$GEMINI_API_KEY" ]; then
echo "ERROR: GEMINI_API_KEY not set"
echo "Get your key from: https://aistudio.google.com/app/apikey"
echo "Set it: export GEMINI_API_KEY='your-key'"
exit 1
fi
# Create output directory
mkdir -p figures/ai_generated
Step 1: Codex Plans the Figure (YOU ARE HERE)
**CRITICAL: Codex must fi