February Fest Capsule Safe Zone Pass After Winter HDR Masters - 2026 Art Workflow

December: Winter HDR downscale GREEN—winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1.json filed, snow highlights tamed, logo readable at header size. January: signup receipt latched. February RC week: marketing swaps fest capsule variant B—cooler grade, tighter crop on hero—without re-running safe-zone overlays. Discord: "title illegible on phone" while Wednesday smoke stays GREEN on gameplay.

February 2027 RC capsule updates reuse winter HDR masters from December—tone map may still pass W1–W6, but composition safe zones regress when crops shift, logo scale bumps, or snow rim lights move into the outer 8% title band. Tone truth ≠ layout truth.

This Game Art & Design workflow is the February second pass—not December winter tone (false bloom), not October five composition gates (gallery screenshots), not animated GIF loop pass (motion). It delivers safe-zone overlay checklist on header + main capsule after winter master swaps, gates Z1–Z6, and february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json before February RC store upload.

Non-repetition note: December pass owns winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1 (HDR→SDR downscale). October safe zones own gallery PNG composition. This URL owns february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1 for RC-week capsule crop regression after winter masters.

Pair February prep calendar, 7-day RC challenge, Lesson 254 cousin, Resource #33 winter tone ladder forward.

Why this matters now (February 2027 RC capsule week)

1. RC store swaps — Teams upload capsule B/C during fest-demo-2027-02-rc* week without re-proofing crops.
2. Winter master reuse — Snow rim and cool fill push logo into danger zones when crop tightens.
3. Phone discovery — February fest traffic scrolls store on mobile—Gate 3 phone-width fails on capsule, not only screenshots.
4. Defer FREEZE drift — December defer may list capsule FREEZE while RC variant still edits.
5. BUILD_RECEIPT gap — winter_capsule_tone_ok true does not imply february_capsule_safe_zone_ok.

Direct answer: Overlay 8% safe margin on 460×215 header and 1232×706 main capsule exports; run 360px silhouette test; cross-check December tone receipt; file february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json with Z1–Z6 GREEN before RC store metadata upload.

Who this workflow is for

Time: ~60 minutes first February RC capsule swap; ~20 minutes per variant once template exists.

Format ladder (store art cluster)

Order: December winter tone GREEN → February RC crop edit → this safe-zone pass → Wednesday metadata diff same week.

Beginner path — printable safe-zone overlay checklist

Copy into release-evidence/marketing/february-capsule-safe-zone-checklist-2027.md:

# February 2027 RC capsule safe-zone pass
build_label: fest-demo-2027-02-rc1
winter_tone_receipt: release-evidence/marketing/winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1.json

[ ] Z1 — winter_hdr_master_v1.png path matches December receipt
[ ] Z2 — Header 460×215: logo + title inside inner 84% rectangle
[ ] Z3 — Main 1232×706: hero silhouette inside inner 84% rectangle
[ ] Z4 — 360px wide resize: genre + title readable in 3 seconds
[ ] Z5 — winter_capsule_tone_ok still true OR new tone receipt filed
[ ] Z6 — february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json filed
[ ] BUILD_RECEIPT february_capsule_safe_zone_ok == true

Beginner mistake: Running tone ffmpeg only—skipping overlay guides on new crop.

Gates Z1–Z6

Z2–Z4 are upload blockers when RED. Z5 YELLOW only when crop unchanged from December proof—document in receipt.

Working dev path — overlay assets

Safe-zone PNG templates (generate once)

Create transparent overlays in release-evidence/marketing/templates/:

ImageMagick example (inner guide stroke):

magick -size 460x215 xc:none -fill none -stroke red -strokewidth 1 \
  -draw "rectangle 41,17 419,198" safe_zone_header_460x215.png

Composite in Krita/Photoshop: overlay at 50% opacity on export—screenshot for receipt overlay_proof_header.png.

Z4 phone-width test (ffmpeg)

ffmpeg -i february_main_capsule_sdr.png -vf "scale=360:-1" \
  -y february_main_capsule_360w_proof.png

Open february_main_capsule_360w_proof.png at actual pixel size—no zoom. Pass when title and hero silhouette read without halation from winter bloom.

Gate-by-gate detail (Z1–Z6)

Z1 — Winter master lineage

Compare SHA256 of current winter_hdr_master_v1.png against December receipt evidence.hdr_master_sha256:

sha256sum winter_hdr_master_v1.png
jq -r '.evidence.hdr_master_sha256' release-evidence/marketing/winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1.json

Z2 — Header capsule (460×215)

Steam library list views use header heavily on mobile. Checklist:

1. Import february_header_capsule_sdr.png into editor.
2. Place safe_zone_header_460x215.png at 50% opacity.
3. Confirm game title, logo, and one focal icon sit inside inner 84% box.
4. Export composite overlay_proof_header.png for receipt.
5. Fail if snow particle or rim light bleeds into outer 8% on left/right—store chrome overlaps there.

Cousin: October Gate 1 HUD safe zone—same outer 8% philosophy on capsule, not in-game HUD.

Z3 — Main capsule (1232×706)

Store page hero uses main capsule. Winter failures:

Export overlay_proof_main.png at 100% zoom crop for producer sign-off.

Z4 — Phone-width silhouette (3-second test)

Procedure:

1. Generate february_main_capsule_360w_proof.png via ffmpeg.
2. Display on phone at arm's length OR open at 1:1 pixel in monitor.
3. Timer: 3 seconds—can a non-team member name genre and read title?
4. Record pass/fail in receipt phone_squint_test.pass.

Working dev: Optional CI thumbnail step uploads 360w PNG as artifact—human still judges pass.

Z5 — Tone crosswalk

jq -e '.winter_capsule_tone_ok == true' BUILD_RECEIPT.json

If February crop required re-tone (new snow grade), file updated winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1.json with version_bump: true before Z6—do not rely on December W6 alone.

Z6 — Receipt and BUILD_RECEIPT latch

Same commit:

1. february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json
2. BUILD_RECEIPT february_capsule_safe_zone_ok: true
3. Optional: link in Wednesday metadata diff row for capsule filenames

jq gate sketch

jq -e '
  .february_capsule_safe_zone_ok == true
  and (.gates | .Z1, .Z2, .Z3, .Z4, .Z5, .Z6 | . == "GREEN")
' february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json

Merge BUILD_RECEIPT:

jq -e --slurpfile sz february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json '
  .february_capsule_safe_zone_ok == $sz[0].february_capsule_safe_zone_ok
  and .winter_capsule_tone_ok == true
' BUILD_RECEIPT.json

Krita / GIMP quick overlay workflow (beginner)

1. Open capsule PNG → Layer → Import overlay PNG.
2. Set overlay 50% opacity, Multiply or Normal as needed.
3. If logo breaches red guide, Transform logo layer or re-export from master with new crop.
4. File → Export overlay_proof_*.png (flat PNG, not PSD).
5. Hide overlay → export final february_*_capsule_sdr.png for Steam upload.

Save Krita template february_capsule_safe_zone.kra in release-evidence/marketing/templates/ for RC rc2 repeats.

Integration with RC week ops

Rule: Art-only uploads should not bump build_label unless producer documents store-metadata-only change in row diff—cousin winter pass scenario G.

Comparison pack (producer one-pager)

Export side-by-side PNG for Discord approval:

magick montage dec_header.png feb_header.png feb_header_overlay.png feb_360w.png \
  -tile 2x2 -geometry +4+4 february_capsule_comparison_pack.png

Attach february_capsule_comparison_pack.png to receipt evidence.comparison_pack—answers "what changed in RC capsule B?" without reopening Krita.

RED / YELLOW / GREEN routing (Z gates)

february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json (schema)

{
  "schema": "february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1",
  "iso_week": "2027-W06",
  "build_label": "fest-demo-2027-02-rc1",
  "gates": {
    "Z1": "GREEN",
    "Z2": "GREEN",
    "Z3": "GREEN",
    "Z4": "GREEN",
    "Z5": "GREEN",
    "Z6": "GREEN"
  },
  "capsule_exports": {
    "header_460x215": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/february_header_capsule_sdr.png",
    "main_1232x706": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/february_main_capsule_sdr.png",
    "phone_360w_proof": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/february_main_capsule_360w_proof.png"
  },
  "evidence": {
    "overlay_proof_header": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/overlay_proof_header.png",
    "overlay_proof_main": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/overlay_proof_main.png",
    "winter_tone_receipt": "release-evidence/marketing/winter_capsule_tone_receipt_v1.json",
    "december_hdr_master_sha256": "abc123..."
  },
  "february_capsule_safe_zone_ok": true,
  "notes": "RC variant B tighter crop; re-ran Z2–Z4 only; tone unchanged from December"
}

BUILD_RECEIPT root rows

{
  "build_label": "fest-demo-2027-02-rc1",
  "winter_capsule_tone_ok": true,
  "february_capsule_safe_zone_ok": true,
  "february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt": "release-evidence/marketing/february-rc/february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json"
}

Winter tone vs safe zone (do not conflate)

If February edit re-tones HDR master, re-run both passes—file new winter tone receipt (Z5) then safe-zone receipt.

One-afternoon worked schedule

Run before Steam store capsule upload in RC week—pair February RC label evening binary promote same week.

Proof table

Scenarios A–G

Common mistakes

Counterarguments (honest limits)

"We already ran October safe zones."
October gates target gallery screenshots—capsule dimensions differ.

"Winter tone pass was enough."
Tone fixes bloom; crop regression is a separate failure class in February RC week.

"Art subjective—no JSON."
Receipt stores overlay PNG proofs—subjective disagreement becomes visible diff.

Outbound references

• Steamworks capsule specs — header and main dimensions
• Steam store asset guidelines — safe-area best practices

Related GamineAI reads

• Winter HDR downscale December pass
• Screenshot safe zones five gates
• January signup trend playbook
• 7-day RC smoke challenge
• February prep calendar
• December defer playbook
• 14 screenshot safe-zone tools
• Animated GIF safe zone pass
• Wednesday metadata diff
• HDR screenshot October art pass

Key takeaways

1. February RC capsule swaps need a second safe-zone pass after winter HDR masters.
2. Gates Z2–Z4 prove header, main, and 360px phone readability.
3. february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json is distinct from December tone receipt.
4. february_capsule_safe_zone_ok on BUILD_RECEIPT latches layout proof.
5. Tone pass (W) and safe-zone pass (Z) are complementary—not interchangeable.
6. Pair December winter HDR for Z5 crosswalk.
7. Run before RC store metadata upload in 7-day challenge week.
8. 84% inner rectangle matches October outer-8% safe zone philosophy.
9. Resource #33 forward expands winter tone ladder tooling.
10. Lesson 254 cousin for HDR capture source discipline.
11. Forward jq January reentry capstone pointer — J1–J6 November verify rerun before February RC.
12. Overlay PNG proofs beat verbal art approval.

FAQ

Is this the same as December winter HDR pass?

No. December owns tone/downscale (W1–W6). February owns safe-zone layout (Z1–Z6) after RC crops.

Must I re-run if only main capsule changes?

Yes for Z3 and Z4; Z2 N/A if header unchanged—document in receipt.

Does this replace October screenshot gates?

No—run October gates on gallery stills; this pass on capsule exports.

When in RC week?

After label receipt evening, before metadata diff upload—same week as fest-demo-2027-02-rc*.

What if tone receipt is missing?

Z5 RED until December winter pass completed or new tone filed.

Can contractors run Z2–Z4 without engineer?

Yes—attach overlay proofs to receipt; producer signs Z6. Engineer only needed for Z5 tone bumps and BUILD_RECEIPT jq.

Closing

February fest discovery fails quietly when winter snow reads beautiful at 4K and the title vanishes at 360px. A second safe-zone pass—overlay proofs, phone-width test, and february_capsule_safe_zone_receipt_v1.json—costs one afternoon and prevents RC week store regret.

Tone map once. Prove layout every time the crop moves.

Next: backlog #9 — January marketing spend cap worksheet when contractors return mid-fest prep.