Cel Shading

STYLEKIT_STYLE_REFERENCE
style_name: Cel Shading
style_slug: cel-shading
style_source: /styles/cel-shading

# Hard Prompt

## When To Use
Use this when you want AI to generate code with strict style consistency. It is the safest default for production UI.

## How To Use
- Copy the full prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, or another coding assistant.
- Append the concrete product/page requirement after the prompt.
- After generation, check the forbidden rules and interaction states before accepting the output.

Strictly follow the style rules below and maintain consistency. No style drift allowed.

## Requirements

- Prioritize style consistency first, then creative extension.
- When conflicts arise, treat prohibitions as the highest priority.
- Self-check before output: verify colors, typography, spacing, and interactions still match this style.

## Style Rules

You are designing in Cel Shading (Toon Shading) style.
- All elements MUST have 3px solid black borders: border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e]
- Use hard offset shadows ONLY: shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e] or shadow-[4px_4px_0_#1a1a2e]
- NO gradients, NO blur shadows, NO soft edges
- Flat saturated colors: #e63946, #4ea8de, #2ecc71, #f1c40f
- Text is always bold/black weight and uppercase
- Light background #fafaf5 with dark ink outlines
- Think "video game menu" or "cartoon UI"

Animation & Interaction Rules:
- Anime Physics: Use extremely short transitions (duration-75) to simulate 2D animation keyframes. Avoid silky smooth easing.
- Squash & Stretch: On :active, use cartoon physics -- active:scale-x-110 active:scale-y-90 -- combined with translate toward click direction.
- Zero-Blur Impact: On :active, hard shadow must instantly snap to zero (active:shadow-none), creating a strong physical "hit" sensation.
- Toon Highlight: On hover, a white diagonal stripe (bg-white/30 -skew-x-12) sweeps across the button via translate-x from off-screen to [200%], simulating cel shading's hard specular highlight.
- Hover Lift: Elements can hover:-translate-y-1 with expanded shadow to "charge up" before clicking.

---

# Cel Shading Design System

> A rendering style inspired by traditional cel animation, featuring bold black outlines, flat color fills, hard shadows without gradients, and vivid saturated colors full of cartoon and game energy.

## Design Philosophy

Cel Shading (Toon Shading) simulates the visual effect of traditional hand-drawn animation.

Core principles:
- Bold black outlines: all elements have distinct 3px black borders
- Flat color fills: using solid colors with no gradients
- Hard shadows: shadows are solid offsets, not blurred
- High saturation: vivid colors with strong contrast
- Game-like UI: buttons and cards feel lively like game menus
- Frame-skipping feel: interactions are extremely brief, simulating keyframes rather than smooth transitions

---

## Token Dictionary (exact class mapping)

### Border
```
Width: border-[3px]
Color: border-[#1a1a2e]
Radius: rounded-none
```

### Shadow
```
sm: shadow-[2px_2px_0_#1a1a2e]
md: shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e]
lg: shadow-[4px_4px_0_#1a1a2e]
hover: hover:shadow-[1px_1px_0_#1a1a2e]
focus: focus:shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e]
```

### Interaction
```
Hover translate: hover:translate-x-0.5 hover:translate-y-0.5
Hover scale: (none)
Hover opacity: (none)
Transition: transition-all duration-150
Active: active:translate-x-1 active:translate-y-1 active:shadow-none
```

### Typefaces
```
Heading: font-black uppercase tracking-tight
Body: font-bold
Mono: font-mono font-bold
```

### Type scale
```
Hero: text-4xl md:text-6xl lg:text-8xl
H1: text-3xl md:text-5xl
H2: text-2xl md:text-4xl
H3: text-xl md:text-2xl
Body: text-sm md:text-base
Small: text-xs
```

### Spacing
```
Section: py-12 md:py-20
Container: px-4 md:px-8
Card: p-6
Gap sm: gap-3
Gap md: gap-6
Gap lg: gap-8
```

### Color roles
```
Background primary: bg-[#fafaf5]
Background secondary: bg-white
Background accent: bg-[#e63946], bg-[#4ea8de], bg-[#2ecc71], bg-[#f1c40f]
Text primary: text-[#1a1a2e]
Text secondary: text-[#1a1a2e]/60
Text muted: text-[#1a1a2e]/40
Button primary: bg-[#e63946] text-white
Button secondary: bg-[#4ea8de] text-white
```

---

## [FORBIDDEN]

These classes are banned in this style. Check for them before returning code:

### Banned classes
- `shadow-sm`
- `shadow-md`
- `shadow-lg`
- `shadow-xl`
- `bg-gradient-to-r`
- `bg-gradient-to-b`
- `bg-gradient-to-br`
- `rounded-lg`
- `rounded-xl`
- `rounded-2xl`
- `rounded-3xl`
- `rounded-full`
- `border`
- `border-[1px]`
- `font-light`
- `font-extralight`
- `font-thin`
- `opacity-50`
- `opacity-30`

### Banned patterns
- matches `^shadow-(?:sm|md|lg|xl|2xl)$`
- matches `^bg-gradient`
- matches `^rounded-(?:lg|xl|2xl|3xl|full)$`
- matches `^font-(?:light|extralight|thin)$`

### Why they are banned
- `shadow-md`: Only hard offset shadows allowed, no blur shadows
- `bg-gradient-to-r`: Flat solid colors only, no gradients
- `rounded-lg`: Sharp corners (rounded-none) for cartoon panel aesthetic
- `font-light`: Bold and black weights only for impactful text

> WARNING: if your code contains any of the above, replace it before shipping.

---

## [REQUIRED]

### Every button must include
```
border-[3px]
border-[#1a1a2e]
font-black
uppercase
```

### Every card must include
```
border-[3px]
border-[#1a1a2e]
shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e]
```

### Every input must include
```
border-[3px]
border-[#1a1a2e]
focus:outline-none
```

---

## [COMPARE] Cel Shading wrong vs right

The wrong examples below stand for generic library defaults that were never adapted to this style. Do not read them as visual suggestions.

### Button

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic component library default, do not copy):
```html
<button class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_BUTTON_DEFAULT}">
  Click me
</button>
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's tokens):
```html
<button class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] font-black uppercase bg-[#e63946] text-white">
  Click me
</button>
```

### Card

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic card, not adapted to this style):
```html
<div class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_CARD_DEFAULT}">
  <h3>{TITLE}</h3>
</div>
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's card tokens):
```html
<div class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e] p-6">
  <h3 class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">{TITLE}</h3>
</div>
```

### Input

[WRONG] **Wrong** (generic input, not adapted to this style):
```html
<input class="{GENERIC_LIBRARY_INPUT_DEFAULT}" />
```

[CORRECT] **Right** (uses this style's input tokens):
```html
<input class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] focus:outline-none" placeholder="{PLACEHOLDER}" />
```

---

## [TEMPLATES] Cel Shading page skeletons

These skeletons use this style's tokens only. Replace `{PLACEHOLDER}` values, but keep every token in place:

### Navigation
```html
<nav class="bg-[#fafaf5] text-[#1a1a2e] border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] px-4 md:px-8">
  <div class="flex items-center justify-between max-w-6xl mx-auto gap-6">
    <a href="/" class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">
      {LOGO_TEXT}
    </a>
    <div class="flex gap-6 font-bold text-xs">
      {NAV_LINKS}
    </div>
  </div>
</nav>
```

### Hero section
```html
<section class="bg-[#e63946] text-[#1a1a2e] py-12 md:py-20 px-4 md:px-8">
  <div class="max-w-4xl mx-auto">
    <h1 class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-4xl md:text-6xl lg:text-8xl">
      {HEADLINE}
    </h1>
    <p class="font-bold text-sm md:text-base max-w-xl">
      {SUBHEADLINE}
    </p>
    <button class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] font-black uppercase bg-[#e63946] text-white">
      {CTA_TEXT}
    </button>
  </div>
</section>
```

### Card grid
```html
<section class="bg-[#fafaf5] text-[#1a1a2e] py-12 md:py-20 px-4 md:px-8">
  <div class="max-w-6xl mx-auto">
    <h2 class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-2xl md:text-4xl">{SECTION_TITLE}</h2>
    <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-cols-3 gap-6">
      <!-- Card template - repeat for each card -->
      <div class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e] p-6">
        <h3 class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">{CARD_TITLE}</h3>
        <p class="font-bold text-sm md:text-base text-[#1a1a2e]/40">{CARD_DESCRIPTION}</p>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</section>
```

### Form input
```html
<input class="border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] focus:outline-none" placeholder="{PLACEHOLDER}" />
```

### Footer
```html
<footer class="bg-white text-[#1a1a2e]/60 py-12 md:py-20 px-4 md:px-8">
  <div class="max-w-6xl mx-auto">
    <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-3 gap-8">
      <div>
        <span class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">{LOGO_TEXT}</span>
        <p class="font-bold text-xs">{TAGLINE}</p>
      </div>
      <div>
        <h4 class="font-black uppercase tracking-tight text-xl md:text-2xl">{COLUMN_TITLE}</h4>
        <ul class="font-bold text-xs">
          {FOOTER_LINKS}
        </ul>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</footer>
```

---

## [CHECKLIST] Cel Shading post-generation self check

**Before returning code, verify every token and rule below. Fix any violation before delivering:**

### Token check
- [ ] Button includes: `border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] font-black uppercase`
- [ ] Card includes: `border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e]`
- [ ] Input includes: `border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e] focus:outline-none`

### Forbidden check
- [ ] Not using `shadow-sm`
- [ ] Not using `shadow-md`
- [ ] Not using `shadow-lg`
- [ ] Not using `shadow-xl`
- [ ] Not using `bg-gradient-to-r`
- [ ] Not using `bg-gradient-to-b`
- [ ] Not using `bg-gradient-to-br`
- [ ] Not using `rounded-lg`

### Style rule check
- [ ] Use 3px bold black borders on all elements border-[3px] border-[#1a1a2e]
- [ ] Hard shadow effect shadow-[3px_3px_0_#1a1a2e]
- [ ] Use solid color fills, no gradients bg-[#e63946]
- [ ] Bold fonts font-black uppercase
- [ ] Click interaction: shadow shrinks + offset hover:translate-x-0.5

### Style drift check
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use gradient colors (maintain flat color fills)
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use thin borders border
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use low-saturation or grayish tones
- [ ] Does not violate: Do not use smooth transitions above duration-300 (too soft)

### Delivery check
- [ ] Responsive layout holds on phone, tablet and desktop with no horizontal overflow
- [ ] Every interactive element has a visible focus state, an accessible name and a reduced-motion path
- [ ] Text contrast meets WCAG AA and colour alone never carries state
- [ ] The result is still recognizable at a glance as Cel Shading

## Absolute Bans (Match and Refuse)

If any of the following patterns appear, it is a style violation — rewrite without exception.

- use gradient colors (maintain flat color fills)
- use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- use thin borders border
- use low-saturation or grayish tones
- use smooth transitions above duration-300 (too soft)
- use ease-in-out (cartoon physics uses linear or ease-in)

## Self-Check (Verify Before Shipping)

If any item fails, the style has drifted — fix before shipping.

- [ ] No purple-to-blue gradients
- [ ] No overused fonts (Inter, Roboto, Geist, Fraunces, Plus Jakarta Sans)
- [ ] No nested cards (cards inside cards)
- [ ] No gray text on colored backgrounds
- [ ] Body text contrast meets WCAG AA (>= 4.5:1)
- [ ] No bounce or elastic easing curves
- [ ] Animations have a prefers-reduced-motion fallback
- [ ] Body text line length capped at 65-75 characters
- [ ] No side-stripe accent borders (border-left/right > 1px)
- [ ] No gradient text (background-clip: text)
- [ ] No glassmorphism used as the default surface treatment
- [ ] No tiny uppercase tracked eyebrow labels above every section heading
- [ ] do not use gradient colors (maintain flat color fills)
- [ ] do not use blurred shadows shadow-lg
- [ ] do not use thin borders border
- [ ] do not use low-saturation or grayish tones
- [ ] do not use smooth transitions above duration-300 (too soft)