This time it's done in an Techno-Swing format, inspired by bands like Caravan Palace. This song got over 400 listens on the first 4 days on YouTube; which is surprising since I didn't really promote it or mention it to anyone. I'll be posting more of my AI songs as they get uploaded to YouTube.
Arrrggghhh! Another @#$% Blog!
Jim Romer’s blog: character designs, writing picture books, and random thoughts!
Monday, August 26, 2024
Pop! Boom! Bang! (a Techno-Swing ARGH!Tune)
This time it's done in an Techno-Swing format, inspired by bands like Caravan Palace. This song got over 400 listens on the first 4 days on YouTube; which is surprising since I didn't really promote it or mention it to anyone. I'll be posting more of my AI songs as they get uploaded to YouTube.
Sunday, June 2, 2024
AI Advances: Music!
Holy $#!% have things advanced in AI music these past few months!
For the past year, I've been deeply involved in learning, using, and putting together AI websites and programs to work for me as a product designer. The improvements are usually amazing and often happen in large leaps. Graphic generation alone has been mind-blowing. It is not perfect, so much is still hit-and-miss.
As for video generation, it is way too new and early -- and I'm not impressed at the overall look of these seconds-long videos. It needs to be less random; currently, there is no consistency. I find it annoying and boring. But enough about that, let's go back to the music . . .
Okay, here's a song I generated.
This means I wrote the lyrics, fully described what I wanted to be included in the song, and generally guided the direction the song was going bit by bit. The best way to describe creating AI music is that you are like a producer in a recording studio, keeping the stuff you like and generally saying "Well, that part's not right -- how about doing it this way instead?"
with a cameo appearance of Paul McCartney towards the end
I'm using Udio.com, which allows developing a full song by building half-minute sections at a time. Udio is currently in beta mode as of this writing, its still free to use, BUT, the $10/month is much more worth the time if you really want to generate your own songs. There is a huge random outcome to most of this process. I find I generally need about 12-32 takes to find the 30+ second clips I want.
Sunday, February 4, 2024
Google's New AI, Bard - 1st Impression
You might expect a well-known and powerful company like Google to eventually enter the AI competition arena. One could assume that Google has had a major AI-like system for years, used for web searches and information gathering. Or perhaps not? My first impression of Bard, Google's response to ChatGPT, is, "Holy $#%&! This might be the worst AI I've encountered in over a year!"
Let me explain the level of detail I usually expect. As a toy designer, I use AI to help me collect images of toys, conduct market research, and explore styles and color schemes, among other things. Recently, a client requested generic toy robots but wasn't sure about the exact appearance. This is where AI shines, by generating images/mock-ups in a variety of possible styles.
A very traditional cute metal toy robot design - requested in metallic silver without colors |
Above are two examples of robot toy designs, created by Dall-E (also known as ChatGPT-4).
I find Dall-E to be the best at "listening" to exactly what I'm asking for in my toy design prompts. Many other image generators tend to overlook key details mentioned in the prompt. Now, let's look at what Google's Bard created. Note: This was done using the exact same prompts I used with Dall-E.
Google . . . I'm speechless. (Was this thing shot in the chest?) |
This one's even better. And by "better" I mean worse. Why the colors? Why does it look old, grimy and used. |
Monday, January 22, 2024
UPDATE: My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #1 Moldy Bread Monster
Needed to update with the latest version of the Moldy Bread Monster. All AI generators have been updated several times since the creation of the first image -- so this is now the latest version circa January 2024. I mean, this newer guy is actually made of BREAD! The former dude was more wool-like.
Love, love, love this updated version. Much better mold. The goofy expression has a very Adventure Time/Gravity Falls vibe. The red veins in the eyes are simply priceless. Bravo, AI -- Bravo! |
Behold, the slice welding Moldy Bread Monster |
Meet the Moldy Bread Monster, born on the day there was a half loaf of moldy bread in our kitchen, and I REALLY wanted a sandwich! (Hate when that happens.)
The MidJourney prompt was simple, though I added the word “dancing.” The dancing wasn't quite captured, which often happened with version 4 back then. But the character's uniqueness, especially with it seeming upset about a slice of “good bread” in its left hand gave me a good laugh. (Especially since I was in a similar situation mere hours ago, complaining and holding a “bad slice’ of moldy bread.)
Sunday, January 7, 2024
Runner-Up AI images of 2023
Manic Santa Claus was a popular trend during December, this one was my weirdest |
This one came out of nowhere! I believe I simply asked for a "Vivid Colorful Santa Hat" for photos of pet costumes. I have NO IDEA why this was the image I got instead. Disturbing. |
Another disturbing image, this was "a photo of Humpty Dumpty circa 1910." |
A beautiful fantasy city scene. I especially like the warm lighting in the foreground and the insanely doom-inspiring details of the towers in the distance. |
Tuesday, January 2, 2024
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #10 Darth Vader Worn Revisioned
There used to be a great website called Illustration Friday. Every Friday, a new word was given, and artists would submit images based on that week's word. For the week when the word was "WORN," I chose to interpret it as "damaged and shabby as a result of much use." Using this definition, I depicted Darth Vader as worn out from a long day. Many years later, I uploaded that image into Leonardo.ai, activated the 3D settings, and received this result:
Sometime later, I hand drew the design using brush pens, Copic markers, and a white Gelly Roll pen. This was the image uploaded into Leonardo.ai to be revised by AI technology. |
Monday, January 1, 2024
Baby New Years 2024 - The Year of AI
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
This year, something a little different: I'm using AI to create Baby New Year based on my original drawing.
Behold, the AI-generated version of the 2024 Baby New Year |
To be honest, this little guy was a combination of 4 AI images, which had to be altered, assembled, and touched up -- so it probably took me much longer to do than simply draw a new illustration.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #9 Cthulhu According to AI
"A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind."I prompted his exact wording into Leonardo.ai and generated several dozen images following that description. All of the images generally had similar aspects, but the level of difference was totally unexpected. Next, I entered more prompts, but this time provided much more details about character placement, size/proportions, and the background/environment setting. Which produced this:
More prompted images of Cthulhu are seen below, seen in ranges from traditional to insectoid.
Saturday, December 30, 2023
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #8 Joker Circa 1910
A nice feature of AI image generation is that you can suggest creating an image set in a specific period. For example, imagine if the Joker fought Batman around 1910. AI tends to do a better job with individual characters than with multiple people in one image. This is often because when describing several people in text, AI can lose focus on which person should receive specific details, leading to a tendency to morph two or more characters together.
Fabulous sepia toned image of the Joker back in 1910; the expression alone is priceless |
Friday, December 29, 2023
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #7 Celebrity Not-Quite-Right-Look-A-Like
This image doesn’t quite look like Joey Heatherton, but it captures the style of her time. The green smoky background, black dress, bobbed hair, and mystic pose makes this a fantastic image. |
In this particular case, I referred to a lesser-known celebrity from the early '70s who I saw on TV all of the time on variety, talk, and game shows as a kid: Joey Heatherton. (Not only was she cute, sexy, and bubbly — she was the inspiration to Catherine O’Hara’s character, Lola Heatherton, one of my all-time favorite comedy shows, SCTV.)
Catherine O’Hara as the over-the-top-manic-laughing, Lola Heatherton, on SCTV in the late ’70s Yes, that's Catherine O'Hara, known for Home Alone, Beetlejuice, Best of Show, and Schitt's Creek. |
Thursday, December 28, 2023
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #6 Capt. Billy Buttons
I have a favorite character I created for a children's book named Captain Billy Buttons, who is a pirate and serves as my company mascot for my ARRRGGGHHH Ink illustrations on social media. When experimenting with AI, I typed his name into an AI art generator just to get an idea of who AI thought the name represented. The result was unexpected and insane.
AI interpreted "Captain Billy Buttons" quite literally, covering the character with colorful, button-like pox, resembling a vibrant candy infection from a Willie Wonka candy factory. His expression is one of great surprise yet he remains at attention, as if he's bravely posing for this photograph despite his unusual appearance.
This outcome was a delightful surprise, transforming my silly pirate name into something so whimsically bizarre. Love it!
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
My Top 10 AI Images of 2023 - - - - - - - - - - - #5 Mycol
Comics were a huge part of my childhood and a big reason why I became an artist. As a teen, I drifted away from them. But post-college, writers like Frank Miller with "Dark Knight," Neil Gaiman with "Sandman," and especially Alan Moore with "Watchmen," "Miracleman," "Swamp Thing," and more, pulled me back in.
Alan Moore's run on "Swamp Thing" is a standout in my opinion. He took a character I loved and flipped its whole history in just one issue. It was groundbreaking. It felt like Moore was shaking me, saying, "Think you know Swamp Thing? Think again!"
A character I dreamt up decades ago, finally appears as I envisioned Mycology: the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi |
Back then, I often contemplated the stories I would create if I were a comic book writer. Reflecting on Swamp Thing, Moore's distinctive twist opened up new avenues of creativity. This led to the conception of characters who could seamlessly integrate into that universe. Among them was Mycol – akin to Swamp Thing, but with a twist. While Swamp Thing represented the "Green" of plant life, Mycol personified the "Gray" of the fungal domain, a completely different realm. Spoiler: Mycol is the offspring of Swamp Thing and Abigail Arcane, unknowingly conceived through the sinister machinations of Anton Arcane.
This story lingered in my mind, yet it remained largely unexplored until the advent of AI image generation decades later. I am quite fond of how the Mycol image materialized. It closely aligns with my vision for the character, though it still lacks some additional fungal elements that I envision within him.