[Q] [ROM] Splashscreen for Custom ROM

All of the advice I have found on here is to add a custom splash screen to an existing ROM by grabbing the boot.img and modifying it with Android Kitchen, or else download a .zip and flash it using a custom recovery. I have been working on my own version of a ROM for my device using AOSP. I currently have the phone booting and working great with some modifications to drivers within the kernel. I am now focused on higher-level issues. I want to add a custom splash screen to my device build. I have added the boot animation by configuring the .mk file to copy my .zip into the right folder, but I am looking for the splash screen. This is the screen that loads at the very beginning on startup. If you have questions as to which screen is which, then PM me and I will straighten you out. I know this is higher difficulty than a lot of the questions on here, so I am hoping someone with more experience than I will be able to help. Ideally this would be done within the build of AOSP, and then able to be ported onto multiple devices (this may be useable for replication or mass production). An application solution would be inferior, but acceptable. I have been working with KitKat (4.4.2_r1) to make this build before porting it to other versions, so any apps should be advised with that in mind. Finally, the prize for adding a correct solution: you will be credited within the title bar of the source code of any files changed for this process, and there may be monetary compensation depending on the reliability and rapidity of response. Thanks!