scientific-schematics

Scientific Schematics and Diagrams

Overview

Scientific schematics and diagrams transform complex concepts into clear visual representations for publication. This skill uses Nano Banana Pro AI for diagram generation with Gemini 3 Pro quality review.

How it works:

• Describe your diagram in natural language
• Nano Banana Pro generates publication-quality images automatically
• Gemini 3 Pro reviews quality against document-type thresholds
• Smart iteration: Only regenerates if quality is below threshold
• Publication-ready output in minutes
• No coding, templates, or manual drawing required

Quality Thresholds by Document Type:

Document Type	Threshold	Description
journal	8.5/10	Nature, Science, peer-reviewed journals
conference	8.0/10	Conference papers
thesis	8.0/10	Dissertations, theses
grant	8.0/10	Grant proposals
preprint	7.5/10	arXiv, bioRxiv, etc.
report	7.5/10	Technical reports
poster	7.0/10	Academic posters
presentation	6.5/10	Slides, talks
default	7.5/10	General purpose

Simply describe what you want, and Nano Banana Pro creates it. All diagrams are stored in the figures/ subfolder and referenced in papers/posters.

Quick Start: Generate Any Diagram

Create any scientific diagram by simply describing it. Nano Banana Pro handles everything automatically with smart iteration:

# Generate for journal paper (highest quality threshold: 8.5/10)
python scripts/generate_schematic.py "CONSORT participant flow diagram with 500 screened, 150 excluded, 350 randomized" -o figures/consort.png --doc-type journal

# Generate for presentation (lower threshold: 6.5/10 - faster)
python scripts/generate_schematic.py "Transformer encoder-decoder architecture showing multi-head attention" -o figures/transformer.png --doc-type presentation

# Generate for poster (moderate threshold: 7.0/10)
python scripts/generate_schematic.py "MAPK signaling pathway from EGFR to gene transcription" -o figures/mapk_pathway.png --doc-type poster

# Custom max iterations (max 2)
python scripts/generate_schematic.py "Complex circuit diagram with op-amp, resistors, and capacitors" -o figures/circuit.png --iterations 2 --doc-type journal

What happens behind the scenes:

1. Generation 1: Nano Banana Pro creates initial image following scientific diagram best practices
2. Review 1: Gemini 3 Pro evaluates quality against document-type threshold
3. Decision: If quality >= threshold → DONE (no more iterations needed!)
4. If below threshold: Improved prompt based on critique, regenerate
5. Repeat: Until quality meets threshold OR max iterations reached

Smart Iteration Benefits:

• ✅ Saves API calls if first generation is good enough
• ✅ Higher quality standards for journal papers
• ✅ Faster turnaround for presentations/posters
• ✅ Appropriate quality for each use case

Output: Versioned images plus a detailed review log with quality scores, critiques, and early-stop information.

Configuration

Set your OpenRouter API key:

export OPENROUTER_API_KEY='your_api_key_here'

Get an API key at: https://openrouter.ai/keys

AI Generation Best Practices

Effective Prompts for Scientific Diagrams:

✓ Good prompts (specific, detailed):

• "CONSORT flowchart showing participant flow from screening (n=500) through randomization to final analysis"
• "Transformer neural network architecture with encoder stack on left, decoder stack on right, showing multi-head attention and cross-attention connections"
• "Biological signaling cascade: EGFR receptor → RAS → RAF → MEK → ERK → nucleus, with phosphorylation steps labeled"
• "Block diagram of IoT system: sensors → microcontroller → WiFi module → cloud server → mobile app"

✗ Avoid vague prompts:

• "Make a flowchart" (too generic)
• "Neural network" (which type? what components?)
• "Pathway diagram" (which pathway? what molecules?)

Key elements to include:

• Type: Flowchart, architecture diagram, pathway, circuit, etc.
• Components: Specific elements to include
• Flow/Direction: How elements connect (left-to-right, top-to-bottom)
• Labels: Key annotations or text to include
• Style: Any specific visual requirements

Scientific Quality Guidelines (automatically applied):

• Clean white/light background
• High contrast for readability
• Clear, readable labels (minimum 10pt)
• Professional typography (sans-serif fonts)
• Colorblind-friendly colors (Okabe-Ito palette)
• Proper spacing to prevent crowding
• Scale bars, legends, axes where appropriate

When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:

• Creating neural network architecture diagrams (Transformers, CNNs, RNNs, etc.)
• Illustrating system architectures and data flow diagrams
• Drawing methodology flowcharts for study design (CONSORT, PRISMA)
• Visualizing algorithm workflows and processing pipelines
• Creating circuit diagrams and electrical schematics
• Depicting biological pathways and molecular interactions
• Generating network topologies and hierarchical structures
• Illustrating conceptual frameworks and theoretical models
• Designing block diagrams for technical papers

How to Use This Skill

Simply describe your diagram in natural language. Nano Banana Pro generates it automatically:

python scripts/generate_schematic.py "your diagram description" -o output.png

That's it! The AI handles:

• ✓ Layout and composition
• ✓ Labels and annotations
• ✓ Colors and styling
• ✓ Quality review and refinement
• ✓ Publication-ready output

Works for all diagram types:

• Flowcharts (CONSORT, PRISMA, etc.)
• Neural network architectures
• Biological pathways
• Circuit diagrams
• System architectures
• Block diagrams
• Any scientific visualization

No coding, no templates, no manual drawing required.

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AI Generation Mode (Nano Banana Pro + Gemini 3 Pro Review)

Smart Iterative Refinement Workflow

The AI generation system uses smart iteration - it only regenerates if quality is below the threshold for your document type:

How Smart Iteration Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. Generate image with Nano Banana Pro             │
│                    ↓                                │
│  2. Review quality with Gemini 3 Pro                │
│                    ↓                                │
│  3. Score >= threshold?                             │
│       YES → DONE! (early stop)                      │
│       NO  → Improve prompt, go to step 1            │
│                    ↓                                │
│  4. Repeat until quality met OR max iterations      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Iteration 1: Initial Generation

Prompt Construction:

Scientific diagram guidelines + User request

Output: diagram_v1.png

Quality Review by Gemini 3 Pro

Gemini 3 Pro evaluates the diagram on:

1. Scientific Accuracy (0-2 points) - Correct concepts, notation, relationships
2. Clarity and Readability (0-2 points) - Easy to understand, clear hierarchy
3. Label Quality (0-2 points) - Complete, readable, consistent labels
4. Layout and Composition (0-2 points) - Logical flow, balanced, no overlaps
5. Professional Appearance (0-2 points) - Publication-ready quality

Example Review Output:

SCORE: 8.0

STRENGTHS:
- Clear flow from top to bottom
- All phases properly labeled
- Professional typography

ISSUES:
- Participant counts slightly small
- Minor overlap on exclusion box

VERDICT: ACCEPTABLE (for poster, threshold 7.0)

Decision Point: Continue or Stop?

If Score...	Action
>= threshold	STOP - Quality is good enough for this document type
< threshold	Continue to next iteration with improved prompt

Example:

• For a poster (threshold 7.0): Score of 7.5 → DONE after 1 iteration!
• For a journal (threshold 8.5): Score of 7.5 → Continue improving

Subsequent Iterations (Only If Needed)

If quality is below threshold, the system:

1. Extracts specific issues from Gemini 3 Pro's review
2. Enhances the prompt with improvement instructions
3. Regenerates with Nano Banana Pro
4. Reviews again with Gemini 3 Pro
5. Repeats until threshold met or max iterations reached

Review Log

All iterations are saved with a JSON review log that includes early-stop information:

{
  "user_prompt": "CONSORT participant flow diagram...",
  "doc_type": "poster",
  "quality_threshold": 7.0,
  "iterations": [
    {
      "iteration": 1,
      "image_path": "figures/consort_v1.png",
      "score": 7.5,
      "needs_improvement": false,
      "critique": "SCORE: 7.5\nSTRENGTHS:..."
    }
  ],
  "final_score": 7.5,
  "early_stop": true,
  "early_stop_reason": "Quality score 7.5 meets threshold 7.0 for poster"
}

Note: With smart iteration, you may see only 1 iteration instead of the full 2 if quality is achieved early!

Advanced AI Generation Usage

Python API

from scripts.generate_schematic_ai import ScientificSchematicGenerator

# Initialize generator
generator = ScientificSchematicGenerator(
    api_key="your_openrouter_key",
    verbose=True
)

# Generate with iterative refinement (max 2 iterations)
results = generator.generate_iterative(
    user_prompt="Transformer architecture diagram",
    output_path="figures/transformer.png",
    iterations=2
)

# Access results
print(f"Final score: {results['final_score']}/10")
print(f"Final image: {results['final_image']}")

# Review individual iterations
for iteration in results['iterations']:
    print(f"Iteration {iteration['iteration']}: {iteration['score']}/10")
    print(f"Critique: {iteration['critique']}")

Command-Line Options

# Basic usage (default threshold 7.5/10)
python scripts/generate_schemat

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