Cinema4D UI Render Skill

Transform a UI screenshot into a structured JSON render prompt for Cinema4D/Octane. Output purpose: promotional poster art, not documentation. Abstraction beats fidelity.

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Core Philosophy: "舍得" (Less is More)

A poster is not a screenshot. The JSON you produce must:

• Simplify layers — 4–8 layers max. Merge minor UI regions. Omit decorative chrome.
• Abstract content — No literal button labels unless they define the product identity. Use semantic descriptions: "primary action buttons row" not "Bold / Italic / Underline".
• Elevate the hero — One layer is the visual anchor (the "hero slab"). Give it the prominent glow, active color, and bloom effect. Everything else supports it.
• No clutter — Status bars, scrollbars, tooltips, and minor icons: omit entirely unless they are distinctive brand elements.
• Extract interactive controls as micro_elements — Every visible button, toggle switch, pill chip, or CTA must be listed in the micro_elements array as an independent glass brick with its own z_offset, shape, and tint. Do NOT bury them inside a parent layer's content description. This is mandatory — missing micro_elements is a critical error.

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Step 1 — Analyze the Screenshot

Look at the screenshot and extract:

1. UI category: productivity / developer / creative / mobile / web / dashboard
2. Brand identity signals: dominant color, logo, product name, characteristic icon
3. Natural focal region: which area draws the eye first — that becomes the hero layer
4. Aspect ratio decision (if user has not specified):
   • Desktop/web UI with wide layout → "16:9"
   • Mobile app or portrait-first UI → "9:16"
   • Square or ambiguous → "1:1" or "16:9" as default

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Step 2 — Design the Layer Stack

Collapse the real UI into 4–8 abstract depth layers, Z-offset spaced 5–6mm apart. Use this table as a starting template — adapt to the actual UI:

Layer ID	Typical Role	Z offset	Thickness	Roughness	Transmission
0	App shell / chrome	0mm	8mm	0.20	0.50
1	Background / canvas	5mm	6mm	0.15	0.65
2	Main content area	10mm	5mm	0.06	0.85
3	Primary toolbar/nav	15mm	5mm	0.12	0.70
4	Hero element	20mm	4mm	0.08	0.75
5	Floating accent (opt.)	25mm	3mm	0.18	0.60

Rules:

• The hero layer gets glow and active_element with effect: "backlit_halo_bloom"
• Content descriptions use semantic phrases, never exhaustive lists of UI elements
• Omit Layer 5 if the UI has no natural floating element

micro_elements (mandatory if interactive controls exist)

After the main layer stack, scan the screenshot for every interactive widget: buttons, toggle switches, pill chips, dropdown triggers, submit CTAs, radio buttons, sliders. Each one becomes an entry in micro_elements — a separate floating glass brick:

"micro_elements": [
  {
    "id": "me_01",
    "type": "toggle_switch",
    "label_semantic": "Computer mode toggle — active state",
    "parent_layer_id": 1,
    "z_offset_mm": 28,
    "shape": "pill",
    "size": "small",
    "material": {
      "thickness_mm": 2.5,
      "roughness": 0.05,
      "transmission": 0.80,
      "tint": "accent_blue"
    },
    "glow": {
      "color": "#4AA8FF",
      "intensity": 0.5,
      "radius_mm": 6,
      "effect": "edge_rim_glow"
    }
  }
]

type values: button_primary, button_secondary, toggle_switch, pill_chip, dropdown_trigger, icon_button, cta_submit. shape values: rectangle, pill, circle, square. tint values: accent_blue, accent_teal, neutral_white, clear, warm_white, cool_white.

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Step 3 — Choose Environment & Tone

Default white balance is neutral-to-slightly-cool (5200–5600K). Avoid warm golden tones unless explicitly requested. Match environment to UI category:

UI Category	Environment	Tone	Palette
Productivity	bright_minimal_desk_daylight	neutral_cool	clean_daylight
Developer / Code	dark_minimalist_desk_led_strip	cool	cool_white_led
Creative / Design	architects_drafting_table	neutral_cool	soft_overcast
Mobile App	white_marble_surface_lifestyle	neutral_cool	clean_daylight
Dashboard / Data	glass_conference_table	cool	morning_cool_light

Props are 2–3 contextually appropriate objects, soft bokeh background. UI float height: 15–20cm above surface.

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Step 4 — Output the JSON

Produce exactly this structure. No extra fields, no prose, no markdown around the JSON.

{
  "task": "photorealistic_3d_render",
  "renderer": "Cinema4D_Octane",
  "resolution": "8K",
  "aspect_ratio": "<16:9 | 9:16 | 1:1>",
  "source_ui": "<product name — short description>",

  "negative_prompt": [
    "no annotation text",
    "no dimension labels",
    "no callout lines",
    "no layer name overlays",
    "no technical labels in scene",
    "no dark mode UI",
    "no dark backgrounds on UI panels",
    "no `Layer 1`, `Layer 2`, ..., `Layer N` callouts and annotations"
  ],

  "layers": [
    {
      "id": 0,
      "name": "<semantic_name>",
      "z_offset_mm": 0,
      "content": ["<abstract description, max 2 items>"],
      "material": {
        "thickness_mm": 8,
        "roughness": 0.20,
        "transmission": 0.50,
        "tint": "<neutral_gray | warm_white | cool_white | clear>"
      },
      "glow": null
    }
  ],

  "micro_elements": [
    {
      "id": "me_01",
      "type": "<button_primary | button_secondary | toggle_switch | pill_chip | dropdown_trigger | icon_button | cta_submit>",
      "label_semantic": "<what this control does, not its literal text>",
      "parent_layer_id": 1,
      "z_offset_mm": 28,
      "shape": "<rectangle | pill | circle | square>",
      "size": "<small | medium | large>",
      "material": {
        "thickness_mm": 2.5,
        "roughness": 0.05,
        "transmission": 0.80,
        "tint": "<accent_blue | accent_teal | neutral_white | clear | cool_white>"
      },
      "glow": null
    }
  ],

  "hero_layer_id": "<integer>",

  "material_global": {
    "type": "frosted_acrylic_glass",
    "edge_bevel_mm": 1.5,
    "chromatic_aberration": true,
    "ray_traced_reflections": true,
    "ambient_occlusion_between_layers": true
  },

  "environment": {
    "scene": "<environment_key>",
    "surface": "<material>",
    "props": ["<prop_1>", "<prop_2>"],
    "ui_float_height_cm": 18,
    "caustic_shadow_on_desk": true
  },

  "camera": {
    "angle": "three_quarter_perspective",
    "tilt_degrees": 10,
    "position": "slightly_right_of_center",
    "focal_length_mm": 100,
    "aperture": "f/1.2",
    "bokeh_blur": true,
    "focus_target": "layer_<hero_id>",
    "dof_blur_layers": [0, 1, "environment"]
  },

  "lighting": {
    "tone": "neutral_cool",
    "white_balance_kelvin": 5400,
    "palette": "<palette_key>",
    "key":  { "position": "top_center",  "color": "#F5F8FF",  "type": "soft_area"    },
    "rim":  { "position": "upper_left",  "color": "#C8DEFF",  "type": "backlit_edge" },
    "fill": { "position": "lower_right", "color": "#EAF0FF",  "type": "bounce"       }
  },

  "style_tags": [
    "photorealistic",
    "Fluent_Design",
    "physically_based",
    "light_mode_ui",
    "neutral_cool_white_balance",
    "no_annotation_text",
    "no_cartoon",
    "no_flat",
    "no_watermark"
  ]
}

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Quality Checklist (self-review before output)

Before writing the final JSON, verify:

• Layer count is 4–8, not more
• Each content array has ≤ 3 items, all semantic (no literal button labels)
• Exactly one layer has a glow value and an active_element
• hero_layer_id matches that layer's id
• focus_target in camera matches hero_layer_id
• Environment and tone are consistent — default is neutral_cool, never warm/golden unless user asked
• white_balance_kelvin is set (5200–5600K range for neutral cool)
• negative_prompt array is present and includes annotation-text suppressors
• micro_elements array is present if the UI has any buttons, toggles, or chips
• Every button / toggle / pill in the screenshot has a corresponding micro_element entry
• style_tags includes "light_mode_ui" and "no_annotation_text"
• Aspect ratio is decided and justified
• No midjourney_suffix or prose fields present