# Heliopolis — original art direction

The original five files are the visual reference. The four early City Spaces are related studies, but the original five control any new work.

## What makes it Heliopolis

- Warm cream `#FAF9F5`, deep navy `#103044`, pale lime `#DAEAAA`. Generated PNGs may vary slightly. Do not add cyan, pink, bright yellow or another decorative palette.
- Fine, confident navy outlines; flat fills; little shading. Avoid doubled blue shadow lines, textured hatching, glow and decorative starbursts.
- One clear idea per image. Use almost frontal or simple three-quarter views, modest depth, and substantial empty cream around the subject.
- The arch and sun carry the identity. Plants, books, benches and useful work objects support the setting without becoming dense wallpaper.
- Illustrations are secondary to the task, note or document. Preserve readable headings, fine dividers and generous whitespace in the interface.

The original library and courtyard PNGs have some soft tonal variation. Treat their composition, palette and visual quiet as the reference; a vignette or gradient is not a requirement for new art.

The original library, courtyard and plant-and-books illustrations have transparent pixels outside the drawing. Some image viewers show that alpha as black. Inspect new art against the warm cream page background and verify actual transparency; never copy the viewer's black preview into an opaque vignette.

## For future scenes and icons

Content can still cover LA, NYC, science, meetings, Kelly and Nirosha. Reduce it to one recognizable subject. Remove unnecessary buildings, leaves, tiny symbols, borders and extra props. Keep the same line weight and cream/navy/lime balance as the original plant-and-books and library pieces. Test each illustration beside the original courtyard at the size it would actually appear on a page.

The [drawing-style comparison](<Style Calibration v3 - 2026-09-18/index.html>) shows original, held and corrected tests side by side. Those tests are working material, not approved additions to the library.

## Current selection

The [artwork library](index.html) shows the original five and four early City Spaces. The [complete catalog](later-art-review.html) organizes the later images, including the 33 new redraws, by working style labels. Subject matter may be useful even when execution needs another pass; compare any selection beside the original five at its intended display size.