Seeker Anime Production

One story vault.
One active chapter.
One clear handoff.

Seeker is produced manhwa-first. The vault is the writers' room and canon record; the art station creates approved visual work. Animation is an optional adaptation path after the manhwa material is ready.

North star: elegant celestial beauty, readable anime composition, stable character identity, stable location geography, and devastating human emotion.

Authority and canon

The vault is the source of truth

The project folder contains current written canon, story drafts, approved visual assets, and production rules. Codex reads and updates this vault when you request it.

The Idea Inbox is the exception

IDEA_INBOX.md is your raw-capture space. Notes there are not canon until you deliberately promote or approve them in Lore, Canon, Story, Character, or Location files.

Approval rule: once you approve a story decision and write it outside the Idea Inbox, treat it as binding until you explicitly revise it.

Written authority

Canon, lore, arcs, chapters, characters, locations, and production direction live in Markdown.

Visual authority

Every image placed in the project is an approved visual reference. Use relevant images in art-station work; do not maintain a separate references folder or image-name lists in lore files.

Simple vault map

Area	Use it for	How often
`CORE/`	Project rules, master index, and the single live work tracker.	Often: primarily `00_CURRENT_WORK.md`.
`IDEA_INBOX.md`	Fast, unstructured personal idea capture.	Any time inspiration arrives.
`CANON/` and `LORE/`	Series-level facts that matter beyond one chapter.	Only for durable world canon.
`STORY/ARCS/`	Active Arc overview and one evolving Markdown file per Chapter.	Primary drafting home.
`CHARACTERS/` and `LOCATIONS/`	Identity, personality, voice, geography, and approved visual material.	When a recurring person or place changes.
`HANDOFFS/`	Short approved packages sent to the art station.	Only when visual work is ready.
`ASSETS/`	Approved manhwa, sheets, storyboards, music, video, and handbooks.	Browse as reference; do not catalogue every image.

Legacy material stays put: EPISODES/ is preserved source material from the earlier anime-first workflow. Do not reorganize it during normal writing.

Your daily workflow

Capture or discuss the idea. Put a run-note into IDEA_INBOX.md, or brainstorm with Codex in chat. Do not organize first.
Choose the active story unit. Open CORE/00_CURRENT_WORK.md. It is the only file you routinely update for status.
Draft in one chapter file. Add or revise the chapter's purpose, outline, and eventually its page-level script in the same Markdown file.
Promote only durable facts. If the decision will matter outside the chapter, record it in Canon, Lore, a Character file, or a Location file.
Create a handoff only when ready. Make one focused art-station package containing approved story requirements and relevant visual references.

Low-busywork rule: do not update multiple trackers, indexes, image lists, or production logs just because you had an idea. Update the active chapter first; update world files only if the idea becomes lasting canon.

Arc, Chapter, and Timeline tag

ARC  ->  CHAPTER  ->  TIMELINE TAG

Arc       A multi-chapter story unit. It may cross multiple timelines.
Chapter   The primary manhwa unit you write, draw, and publish.
Timeline  The historical/reincarnation era in which that chapter occurs.
Episode   A future anime-adaptation unit only.

Arc

Choose the Arc you are working on. Its overview keeps a simple chapter map and the questions that unite the story.

Chapter

One chapter file grows from purpose to outline to script to art handoff. Do not split it unless it becomes unusually large.

Timeline tag

Use Pleroma, New Rome, Lumeria, Crusader Era, Renaissance Age, or Modern Age. A timeline never controls the folder path.

Manhwa chapter lifecycle

Purpose. State why the chapter exists emotionally and structurally, where it begins, and what changes by the end.
Length guideline. A standard Seeker manhwa chapter is usually 15-30 pages. Choose the final count for pacing; do not stretch a chapter to meet a number. Chapter 002 is planned at approximately 29 pages.
Outline. Add chronological page or scene beats. Keep unanswered choices visible rather than forcing premature decisions.
Script. Turn the approved outline into page-level action and exact dialogue. The script is the authority for lettering.
Art handoff. Extract only approved requirements for the art station: scene purpose, beats, people, place, continuity, and exact dialogue.
Approved manhwa. Return finished pages to ASSETS/Manhwa/. Record new story implications, not a redundant asset inventory.

Manhwa first: do not require storyboards, Seedance clips, voice packages, or animation timing before a chapter can be written or illustrated.

Art-station handoff

A handoff is not a second source of truth. It is a small, approved working copy made only when visual production is ready.

# MANHWA ART HANDOFF

Arc:
Chapter:
Timeline tag:
Requested asset: thumbnails / complete lettered page / Mode C lettering revision / sheet

## Scene purpose
Beginning emotional state:
Ending emotional state:
Required beats in order:

## People and place
Characters present:
Location:
Continuity that must not change:
Relevant approved visual references: attach only what is needed

## Page direction
Desired reading rhythm / panel emphasis:
Required opening image:
Required final image:
Mood, palette, effects, or important props:

## Dialogue
Exact approved dialogue, narration, or FX:
Production route: New Page — Complete Lettered Page / Mode C — Lettering-Only Revision

## Hard constraints
Canon facts that cannot change:
What to avoid:
Required output:

Attach relevant images, not a catalogue. Every vault image is already approved. The art station only needs the references relevant to the requested scene.

Environment readiness is required for every chapter: before page art begins, make one chapter environment-readiness handoff. Do not create the chapter's page-art handoffs until it identifies the approved sheets each page should use, the recurring spaces that need dedicated sheets, and the spaces already covered well enough to avoid unnecessary asset work.

Ensemble dialogue rule: establish one approved master composition for a recurring group, then default to speaker close-ups. A dialogue panel should show the speaker and no more than one named reaction character. State exclusions, keepsakes, balloon placement, and the balloon-tail target directly in the handoff.

Visual continuity

Global style

2D anime, clean lineart, semi-flat cel shading, sharp stylized eyes, strong silhouettes, cinematic environments, and controlled focal detail. Avoid photorealism, painterly drift, 3D appearance, and visual clutter.

Character identity

Preserve face, hair, eyes, skin tone, build, proportion, and defining accessories. Wardrobe may change by timeline; core identity does not.

Location geography

Preserve floor plans, landmarks, scale, materials, dominant shapes, and light direction. Use camera maps when a scene needs stable movement or screen direction.

Conflict rule

Use relevant approved project images. If visual material appears to conflict, ask the creator rather than inventing a reconciliation.

Reference-sheet standard: character sheets use 16:9, a light background, front/back views, close-ups, key props, palette, and notes. Environment sheets show a wide view, alternate angle, top-down geography, landmarks, lighting, palette, mood, and scale.

Environmental scene transitions

When a chapter makes a major shift in location, time of day, or emotional world, give the reader a short visual breath before dialogue resumes. This keeps the world legible and lets the atmosphere carry part of the storytelling.

Use 1-3 panels

Place the transition at the opening of the arriving scene: a silent exterior, threshold, skyline, room detail, or wide environmental image. Do not automatically add a full page.

Give places a pulse

Use location-specific movement and sound: rain on Saint Aurelia, chalk and stove crackle inside it, slum crowds and neon, monorail glide, civic machinery, birds, wind, or changing light.

Escalate only when needed

A transition earns a full page only when the change itself is emotionally or structurally major. Continuous conversations and action scenes should remain connected without artificial pauses.

Handoff requirement: identify the required opening environmental image and any approved ambient FX in the page package whenever a major transition occurs.

Manhwa lettering

STYLE/01J_LETTERING_BIBLE.md is binding for final lettering. The first approved page in a chapter establishes that chapter's exact editorial reference.

Dialogue

Uppercase, hand-lettered appearance, centered, medium weight, approximately 9 degrees right slant, pure black text.

Balloons

White soft ovals, thin black outlines, generous padding, and clean natural tails. Remove a tail if attribution would be unclear.

Revision safety

In Mode C, only editorial elements may change. Panel composition, character art, lighting, and layout remain locked.

Manhwa rule: pages are designed for reading rhythm, not copied from an animation storyboard grid. Use panel size, silence, splash space, and pacing to serve the chapter.

Optional animation adaptation

Use this section only when an approved manhwa scene should become animation. It is not required for normal chapter development.

Choose an approved scene. Establish animation purpose and the visual references required.
Create an animation storyboard. Storyboards are separate planning tools: panels and panel numbers only, normally 10-12 for a 10-15 second narrative clip and 12-16 for complex action.
Write the Seedance plan. Use one dominant camera action and one primary character action per timestamped shot. Default clips are 15 seconds.
Keep audio modular. Seedance may provide environmental SFX and speaking animation. Final dialogue comes from Voice.md and a separate voice pass; music is added in the final mix.

Animation does not rewrite the chapter. It adapts approved story, identity, environment, and emotional progression.

Updates and frequently asked questions

What do I update after a normal writing session?

Usually only the active Chapter file. Update 00_CURRENT_WORK.md if your active Arc, Chapter, or immediate objective changes. Update Lore or Canon only for facts that will matter again.

Can an Arc move across timelines?

Yes. An Arc may begin in the Pleroma, continue in New Rome, and later shift elsewhere. Each Chapter simply records its own timeline tag.

Should I list every approved image in a character file?

No. All project images are already approved reference material. Keep character files about identity, personality, relationships, and story facts.

When do I use a Voice.md file?

Use it for a recurring speaking character once performance consistency matters. It is a technical acting guide, not a replacement for the Character.md lore file.

When does an idea become canon?

When you deliberately approve and place it outside the Idea Inbox in a relevant Canon, Lore, Story, Character, or Location file.

When do I make an art handoff?

Only after the scene's purpose, required beats, people, place, and relevant continuity are clear enough that the art station can execute without inventing story decisions.