pixelkiln 0.71.0 → 0.72.0

package/docs/CHARACTERS.md

@@ -199,6 +199,19 @@ the loop and accepts or rejects it whole. One asset per direction; declare
 another asset for another direction, or a [mirror](#mirrors) of this one
 for the direction that faces the other way.
 
+`mode: "skeleton-v3"` takes the same `template` and poses it onto the
+character with PixelLab's skeleton video model, which moves the character
+rather than redrawing it every frame: steadier identity and colours than a
+plain template loop, at 2 to 4 generations and 3 to 5 minutes per
+direction (plan budgets 4). It is beta and needs a Tier 1 PixelLab plan or
+higher, and it is sent to `/characters/animations`, the endpoint that
+documents it; every other mode keeps using `/animate-character`. Like a
+template loop it takes no `frames` and needs no prompt of its own.
+
+```jsonc
+"mira.walk": { "animation": { "of": "mira", "template": "walk", "mode": "skeleton-v3", "directions": ["south", "west", "north"] } }
+```
+
 ### Pose frames and other loop controls
 
 A v3 loop can start and end where you say. `startFrame` is a

package/docs/GENERATORS.md

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ account; [ENDPOINTS.md](./ENDPOINTS.md) contains the detailed experiments.
 | Larger or non-square scene or background, up to 792 wide and 688 tall | `imagePro` | 40 generations flat | 1–64 by size |
 | Controlled pose/expression sequence in ComfyUI | `frames` | 0 `free` provider units | one atomic ordered set |
 | Animated GIF or spritesheet from Retro Diffusion | `animation` | $0.07–$0.25 per animation (published price) | 1 GIF or PNG sheet |
-| A character facing 4 or 8 directions, its poses, and its animations | `character` | 1 per base (standard), 20–40 per pose or portrait, 1 per template loop, 20 per outfit (measured once) | one set of directions, one ordered loop, or one portrait |
+| A character facing 4 or 8 directions, its poses, and its animations | `character` | 1 per base (standard), 20–40 per pose or portrait, 1 per template loop (2–4 as `skeleton-v3`), 20 per outfit (measured once) | one set of directions, one ordered loop, or one portrait |
 | A prop, creature, or vehicle with rotations, states, or loops but no character rig | `objectPro` | about 6 per base at 64px (unmeasured) | one set of directions, or one ordered loop |
 | UI chrome — panels, buttons, health bars, toolbars | `uiAsset` | 20 generations (measured once, at 256x192) | 1 composited image |
 | One UI element from a description, 16px and up, optionally guided by a concept image | `uiElement` | 20–40 generations (unmeasured) | 1 image |

package/package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "pixelkiln",
-  "version": "0.71.0",
+  "version": "0.72.0",
   "description": "Manifest-driven pixel-art generation, review, recovery, and packaging with deterministic provenance.",
   "type": "module",
   "sideEffects": false,

package/schema/manifest.schema.json

@@ -1210,6 +1210,7 @@
                     "type": "string",
                     "enum": [
                       "template",
+                      "skeleton-v3",
                       "v3",
                       "pro"
                     ]

package/skills/pixelkiln/references/pixellab-roadmap.md

@@ -22,6 +22,12 @@ and which tutorial(s) demonstrated real (not hypothetical) demand for it.
 
 ## Already closed since this catalog's research began
 
+- **Skeleton-v3 template loops** — `/characters/animations`'
+  `mode: "skeleton-v3"` poses a template with the skeleton video model
+  (2 to 4 generations and 3 to 5 minutes per direction, beta, Tier 1 and
+  up). Now a character loop's `mode: "skeleton-v3"`; see
+  `docs/CHARACTERS.md`. Not yet billed live.
+
 - **Masked inpainting and whole-image editing** — was the single largest gap
   found (routine in at least 6 of the 26 tutorials). Now the `revision` asset
   shape's `inpaint` and `image-to-image` modes; see `docs/REVISIONS.md`.

package/skills/pixelkiln/references/pixellab.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ providers, or before any PixelLab account operation.
 | `tiles` | Ground variations or connected structures | 20–40 generations |
 | `terrain` | A two-terrain Wang tileset for elevation (grass-to-water, floor-to-cliff) | Unmeasured; borrows the same 20–40 canvas tiers |
 | `imagePro` | A larger or non-square background/scene, or real style transfer | **40 generations flat**, any size |
-| `character` | A character in 4 or 8 directions, its poses (`state`), its loops (`animation`), bust `portrait`s, and `outfit` transfers onto a loop | 1 per standard base, 6 per pro-flash base at 64px (1 from a `reference`), 20–40 per pose or portrait, 1 per template loop per direction, 20 per outfit (measured once) |
+| `character` | A character in 4 or 8 directions, its poses (`state`), its loops (`animation`), bust `portrait`s, and `outfit` transfers onto a loop | 1 per standard base, 6 per pro-flash base at 64px (1 from a `reference`), 20–40 per pose or portrait, 1 per template loop per direction (2–4 as `skeleton-v3`), 20 per outfit (measured once) |
 | `objectPro` | A prop, creature, or vehicle that needs rotations, states, or loops but has no character rig | 6 per base at 64px (1 from a `reference`), **unmeasured**; assumed to match `character` pro-flash |
 | `isometricTile` | One standalone isometric tile (a raised mesa, a cliff block), 16–64px | **1 generation, measured once** (32px `block`) |
 | `uiAsset` | A UI panel, button, health bar, or other chrome, from precise `pieces` and/or named `elements` | **20 generations, measured once** (256×192); the borrowed canvas-tier estimate still predicts 40 |
@@ -318,6 +318,13 @@ files, not 6. Account for the `+1` when checking a loop's output count or
 estimating its budget; set it `false` only when the caller will supply its
 own first frame downstream.
 
+`"mode": "skeleton-v3"` with a `template` poses that template onto the
+character with PixelLab's skeleton video model instead of redrawing each
+frame: the steadiest template loop, 2 to 4 generations and 3 to 5 minutes
+per direction (plan budgets 4), beta, Tier 1 plans and up. Prefer it over a
+plain template loop when identity drift matters and the account qualifies;
+plain `template` stays the 1-generation option.
+
 A named `template` loop (`walk`, `breathing-idle`, and similar) is trained
 mostly on characters with empty hands, and reliably struggles once a
 character holds an item — a weapon, a tool, anything gripped. For a