Hermes Agent · Animation Direction
Plan an art animation with Huashu Art Motion and Hermes
Turn a topic into a visual concept, a timed storyboard and a production brief using 35 art recipes and 9 explainer grammars. The catalog edition delivers a plan; rendering comes later.
huashu-art-motion-direction. This guide covers the audited, offline documentation edition in the catalog.What Huashu adds to Hermes
Huashu Art Motion helps you decide how an animation should look and communicate. Its art recipes cover visual languages such as ink wash, Bauhaus geometry, pixel art and shadow puppetry. Its explainer grammars cover approaches such as whiteboard relationships, animated charts and kinetic typography.
Use it when you already know the topic but need a visual metaphor, a coherent palette, and transitions that connect ideas. For a teaching video, choose a grammar that makes the explanation legible. For an art-led short, start with a recipe and let its materials guide the movement.
The pinned upstream Huashu project also contains executable animation tools and demos. Our direction edition includes the selected reference documents only. The upstream installation command installs a different package; it is not needed for this guide.
1. Install the direction edition on your Hermes bot
- Sign in and open dashboard Skills. Start your Hermes instance if it is stopped.
- Open the Chinese Huashu catalog page to switch the site language to Chinese, then return to dashboard Skills. This edition is listed only in the Chinese catalog.
- Select the running Hermes instance you want to use. Search for
Huashu Art Motionand find Huashu Art Motion — 美术指导版. - Open 预览 (Preview). Check that the instructions identify
huashu-art-motion-directionand say the edition does not render video. - Click 安装 (Install), wait for success, and check 已安装 (Installed) for that same instance.
The public Chinese skill page describes the edition. Use the dashboard to install it on Hermes; the public page’s instance picker does not offer Hermes bots. Installation applies to the selected bot, so check the instance name before continuing in chat.
2. Give Hermes a complete brief
Include the audience, message, duration, aspect ratio and output language. Add any facts the animation must preserve. The references are primarily Chinese; you can explicitly request an English plan.
Use the installed huashu-art-motion-direction skill to plan a 45-second, 16:9 animation in English for first-time gardeners.
Topic: how collected rainwater reaches a garden bed. Use only these facts: rain falls on the roof, a gutter carries it to a covered storage barrel, and a hose feeds the bed. Do not invent savings figures or drinking-water claims.
Recommend two visual directions using the bundled references, explain which fits the audience, then develop your recommendation.
Deliver an original art direction, a timed shot table, narration, on-screen text, transitions and production notes in chat.
This request is for a plan. Do not download assets, install tools, change configuration or claim to have rendered a video.For a Chinese plan, try:
使用已安装的 huashu-art-motion-direction 技能，为“雨水怎样进入菜园”设计45秒、16:9的中文解说动画。
面向第一次种菜的人。只使用屋顶、排水槽、带盖储水桶、水管和菜园这些事实，不编造节水数据。
比较白板解说与水墨两个方向，选一个并说明原因。交付原创美术方案、逐镜时长、旁白、字幕、转场和制作说明。
只在聊天里交付方案，不下载素材、不安装工具、不渲染视频。3. Review the storyboard before production
The following is an illustrative timing target for the rainwater brief, not a generated or rendered result. Each shot has one explanatory job.
| Time | Visual job | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 0–8 seconds | Establish the roof and the garden; ask where the rain goes. | The audience understands the setting before labels arrive. |
| 8–18 seconds | Follow water from roof to gutter. | Motion shows the route clearly, with readable labels. |
| 18–30 seconds | Reveal the covered barrel and trace the hose. | The storage and delivery stages are distinguishable. |
| 30–40 seconds | Show the hose reaching the garden bed. | The visual answers the opening question. |
| 40–45 seconds | Hold the complete route with a short recap. | The final subtitle has time to be read. |
Ask Hermes to confirm that shot durations total 45 seconds. Read the narration aloud: a timed table cannot establish that the spoken words fit. Check that arrows, color and text still communicate the same route without relying on the voice-over.
4. Refine one visual system
If the first plan mixes too many styles, constrain the revision. A single visual system makes the next production step easier.
Revise the plan using only the bundled whiteboard explainer grammar. Keep the facts and 45-second duration.
Give each shot one information task. Describe exactly when each line, label and arrow appears, and preserve the same roof, barrel and garden layout across shots.
Cut narration that repeats readable labels. End with a five-second overview. List any assets still needed; do not fetch them.5. Hand off the plan to production
Ask for a final brief containing the chosen reference, palette, materials, shot timings, movement, narration, subtitle holds and asset list. Give that brief to your editor or a separately configured animation workflow. Production needs its own fonts, original or licensed assets, audio and rendering tools.
The offline edition does not bundle executable scripts, render dependencies, media or credentials. Its instructions forbid dependency installation, account access and automatic uploads. Those limits describe this package; independently added tools still need their own review. Review a real export for legible text, visual continuity and audio timing before sharing it.
If Hermes cannot use the installed skill
Confirm the Installed view belongs to the bot you are chatting with. Start a fresh conversation and name huashu-art-motion-direction explicitly. Ask Hermes to read its bundled index and the chosen reference, and report if either is unavailable. If the card is missing, check the Chinese dashboard language and clear category filters. Requests for renderer setup or API keys are outside this edition’s planning workflow.
Huashu Art Motion FAQ
Does this skill create an MP4?
No. This direction edition produces an art direction, storyboard, narration draft and production notes. A finished video needs a separate rendering workflow and its own checks.
Why can I not find Huashu in the English catalog?
The Huashu edition is listed in the Chinese catalog. Open the Chinese Huashu catalog page, then return to dashboard Skills and search for Huashu Art Motion. Select your running Hermes bot before installing.
Do I need another API key or a particular Claude model?
The bundled direction documents need no separate service key or renderer setup. Hermes still needs its configured language model, and ordinary model usage costs apply. This edition does not require a specific Claude model.
Are the original characters, fonts and demo videos included?
No. The package includes adapted documentation, an index, MIT license and attribution notice. Character artwork, demo media, fonts and executable production tools are excluded. Use original designs or assets you have permission to use.