As promised in my previous AI art article, I’ve returned this week with a new selection from my recent creations. Through these … chronicles … I hope to share an art amateur’s insights on this revolutionary frontier. And of course to entertain you with some images that you hopefully find captivating. The theme for this week is the past re-imagined and I’ve experimented with different styles and depictions. Clicking on the images will take you to the image post on NightCafe where these images were created. To view my other creations, please visit my NightCafe profile page. So without further ado, let’s get right to them.
A Faster Horse
Composition: “(roman emperor: 1.3) rides a motobike”
Modifier: “album poster cel shaded pop art”
This is similar in style and theme to the “Reply to all” image shown in the previous article in this series. This image also tries to show a hypothetical scenario where an ancient character interacts with or uses a modern invention. One would expect that the algorithm would draw a Roman emperor in full imperial regalia but it has changed the outfit to match what a bike rider would typically find comfortable. At the same time, it has preserved the color scheme one would expect in the imperial clothes. It’s fascinating to observe these autonomous adjustments. As for the modifiers, you’ve probably noticed that I like the “cel shaded pop art” results. They produce colorful results.
Odin’s Banner
Composition: “raven portrait (1.5)”
“norse mythology (1.2)”
Modifier: “quilt scene, red quilted fabric illustration (1.5)”
“abstract vector fractal, wave function, Zentangle, 3d shading (1)”
Odin is the King of the Gods in the Norse pantheon. He is described as a one-eyed old man in a dark hooded cloak who travels with (or as) ravens. I wanted to imagine what his standard would look like. This was challenging because getting the Raven framed in a circle in a field of red required some luck. Once that happened, I evolved it to add the quilt fabric like effect as well as the fractal designs. Working on this image taught me a lot about weighting compositions, styles, modifiers, and eras in the prompt. The process is quite instructive on how and when to use different mediums and techniques.
The World Tree
Composition: “planet Earth on top of the world tree (1.5)”
“norse mythology (1.1)”
Modifier: “Quilt scene quilted fabric illustration (1.3)”
Continuing with the Norse theme, this one means to depict the World Tree. The Norse believe that the world is borne upon a gigantic tree, Yggdrasil. I like that this image shows Earth as but one branch of the Tree. Indeed, Yggdrasil is meant to bear all the nine realms of the Norse cosmos. I like how well the algorithm draws quilt fabric scenes. It guides the viewer into imagining how legends may have been presented in the past. I find that using the right modifier for an illustration is crucial.
Traveler
Composition: “minstrel sitting next to a tree plays a tune on his lute full body (1.5)”
“medieval art (1.3)”
Modifier: “horror Gustave Doré Greg Rutkowski (0.8)”
I was working on an image representative of the song “Scarborough Fair” and I wanted to depict a ghostly minstrel sitting next to a tree. This image was the result when I changed the modifier to the one given above. I think it’s a nice medieval scene and I believe it’s due to the words “minstrel”, “lute”, and “medieval art”. The black and white overlay and somewhat unsettling texture of the tree are due to the modifier. While the image doesn’t match what I intended, and that’s mostly due to my prompt, it produced a great scene.
Zeus
Composition: “Giant Zeus throws a bolt of lightning (1.5)”
“ancient Greece apocalyptic landscape shining sun (1.3)”
Modifier: “neo-impressionism expressionist style oil painting, smooth post-impressionist impasto acrylic painting, thick layers of colourful textured paint (0.7)”
I wanted a straightforward depiction of Zeus and this is why I used the word “Zeus” in the prompt. I believe it’s not always a good idea to literally prompt for what you are looking for because then you will get results derivative of what has been done before. Here, for example, prompting for Zeus resulted in an old bearded man in a toga. Because I was looking for a traditional rendition, this is fine for my purposes. But it’s good to be mindful that if your subject isn’t amply documented or described or depicted in digital formats, your results may be limited. You will then have to be more descriptive. Refer back to the ‘Parshuram’ image in the previous article. I hadn’t prompted for Parshuram but instead for an ancient Vedic sage. However, the results were close to what I wanted. I shall write more on the depiction of Dharmik deities in future articles in this series.
What did you think of this week’s images? Any that caught your eye in particular? Any particular style that you are curious about and would like to see in a future article? Write your feedback to me through the Contact page. You can also find more of my creations on my NightCafe profile page.
If this is your first time here, welcome! I am Nimmit Prabhackar, and I write white papers to help leaders take initiative. To learn more, please visit the home page.