Product grid scene planner

product-grid-scene-planner

Purpose

Translate a multi-product grid intent (e-commerce / catalog / comparison) into a structured scene plan. Distinct from product-hero-scene-planner (single product, hero) and interior-architectural-scene-planner (room scene).

Quick start

• pin product list (count + per-product type)
• pin grid layout (rows × cols + spacing)
• pin per-cell consistency (camera angle, lighting, background)
• pin shared material / lighting / background palette
• emit a structured plan + handoff to checkers

When to use

• intent is multi-product display (4+ products in same scene)
• e-commerce catalog grid
• product comparison view
• showroom-style grid

When not to use

• single product hero (use product-hero-scene-planner)
• character portrait (use character-portrait-scene-planner)
• environment / interior scene (use respective planners)

Trigger phrases

• "grid of products"
• "lineup of"
• "catalog showing N items"
• "comparison render"

Prerequisites / readiness

• product list known (count + per-product description)
• consistency expectations known (identical lighting? identical camera? identical scale?)

Input schema

Required inputs

Input	Why it is required
Product list	Determines grid size + asset scope
Grid layout (rows × cols)	Drives composition
Aspect ratio	Composition rules
Consistency level (strict / loose)	Determines per-cell rules

Optional inputs

Input	Use
Brand palette	Material + background consistency
Per-product variants (color / SKU)	Adds variant rows
Reference catalog images	Calibrate visual style

Assumptions to confirm

• All products share the same scale convention.
• Lighting is shared across cells (not per-cell separate lighting setups).
• Camera angle is consistent (same yaw / pitch / lens) across cells unless explicitly varied.

Output schema

Primary output

A structured product-grid plan: Product list, Grid layout, Per-cell consistency rules, Shared lighting plan, Shared background, Per-cell composition rules, Aspect + framing.

Secondary output

• asset list flagged for blender-asset-discovery-planner
• naming + file convention notes for export
• handoff list

Evidence / caveat output

Runtime status: Not Run | Attempted | Produced | Verified | Failed | Blocked / Not Run
Artifact status: Not Run | Not Produced | Produced | Verified | Failed
Evidence used: <links, paths, logs, or "none">
Limitations: <known gaps>

Required laws

• ../../laws/evidence-before-done.md
• ../../laws/non-blender-user-language.md
• ../../laws/no-arbitrary-python-interface.md
• ../../laws/official-runtime-only.md

Official runtime boundary

Planning skill — does not run Blender, model, or render. Hand off to discovery / quality checkers.

Operating procedure

1. Read product list; pin count + per-product description.
2. Pin grid layout (rows × cols + spacing) per references/grid-layout-rules.md.
3. Decide consistency level (strict / loose).
4. Plan shared lighting (one rig, applied uniformly).
5. Plan shared background.
6. Plan per-cell camera + framing (typically same).
7. Define per-product asset rows.
8. Hand off to discovery / checkers.

Decision tree

Products at very different scales (lipstick + sofa) in same grid?
  → Fail; pick separate scenes or normalize scale clearly
Different lighting per cell requested?
  → Warn; usually erodes catalog uniformity
20+ products in single render?
  → Warn; consider multiple grid renders
Brand palette unclear?
  → Hand off to brief writer

Playbooks

Playbook A: 2×2 e-commerce hero grid (16:9)

4 products, identical 35mm lens, identical 3-point lighting, neutral seamless background, products centered in cells, equal spacing.

Playbook B: 3×3 catalog page (1:1)

9 products, square cells, identical lighting, brand-color background, consistent product orientation, lower-third caption space per cell.

Playbook C: 1×4 comparison strip (2.39:1)

4 product variants of same SKU, side-by-side, identical lighting + camera, label space below each.

Mode handling

Text-only mode

Plan only.

Runtime-ready mode

Plan + runtime path attribution.

Blocked runtime mode

Plan only; flag what cannot be confirmed.

Validation checklist

• Product list complete with count
• Grid layout (rows × cols + spacing) explicit
• Consistency level stated
• Shared lighting plan present
• Shared background present
• Per-cell camera consistent (or variation explicit)
• Aspect + framing consistent across cells
• Asset list flagged
• Handoff named

Pass / Warn / Fail rubric

Verdict	Criteria
Pass	All sections + scale-normalized + consistent lighting + asset list.
Warn	One inconsistency (per-cell lighting variance) without justification.
Fail	Mixed-scale products without normalization, no shared lighting plan, missing per-cell camera consistency.

Failure handling

• Mixed product scales → user picks normalized scale or splits into separate grids.
• 20+ products → suggest splitting into multiple renders.
• Missing brand palette → hand off to brief writer.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Response
Products read at different sizes despite same scale	Verify camera distance is identical per cell; verify assets at same world scale.
One cell stands out	Check for accidental lighting / material variance.
Caption space cramped	Re-plan grid spacing or reduce product count.
Background distracts	Simplify to solid color or gradient.

Best practices

• Lock one camera + one lighting rig; apply identically across all cells.
• Normalize product scale before grid planning.
• Reserve consistent caption space per cell for downstream layout.
• Use brand color as accent only, not full background (often clashes with materials).

Good examples

• "Products: 4 sneaker variants. Grid: 2×2, 0.5m spacing. Aspect: 16:9. Shared lighting: 3-point key 250W + fill 50W + rim 100W; HDRI 0.7 studio. Background: neutral seamless gray (#dddddd). Per-cell camera: 50mm equivalent, eye-level, 1.5m distance, identical orientation. Caption space: lower 15% of cell. Mood: clean, modern, e-commerce."

Bad examples

• "Show 4 products in a grid." — no lighting, layout, scale.

User-facing response template

Product list: <count + per-product list>
Grid layout: <rows × cols> | spacing <m> | aspect <ratio>
Consistency: <strict / loose>
Shared lighting: <plan>
Shared background: <type + tone>
Per-cell camera: <focal length> | <distance> | <eye-line>
Caption / label space: <where + size>
Mood + style: <line>

Assets to discover: <list>
Limitations: <gaps>
Next: blender-asset-discovery-planner / composition-quality-checker / lighting-quality-checker / material-quality-checker

Anti-patterns

• Per-cell separate lighting setups (breaks uniformity).
• Mixed-scale products without normalization.
• Background clashing with products.
• Skipping caption space when downstream layout needs it.

Cross-skill handoff

• Brief writer → ../intent-to-3d-brief-writer/SKILL.md
• Asset discovery → ../blender-asset-discovery-planner/SKILL.md
• Composition validation → ../composition-quality-checker/SKILL.md
• Lighting validation → ../lighting-quality-checker/SKILL.md
• Material validation → ../material-quality-checker/SKILL.md

Non-goals

• Model the products.
• Source the products.
• Render.
• Run Blender.

References

• references/grid-layout-rules.md
• references/grid-consistency-rules.md
• references/grid-output-naming-rules.md
• ../../docs/skill-system.md