Hi All 👋 Feel free to join this weekly challenge whenever you think, “I’m a fan of…” (see below for how-to).

This week’s Fan Of… #234 is AI-assisted artwork featuring the Bo’ness Steam Locomotive. This old steam locomotive runs a short tourist route out of Bo’ness Station to Kinneil on the southern shores of the Firth of Forth. Bo’ness Station is also home to the Museum of Scottish Railways.

The inspiration — Exploring the World of AI-Generated Artwork: My Journey in the ‘Fan Of…’ Challenge

Probably, most of you are wondering why AI; it all comes down to the time of year. Here in Scotland, daylight hours in winter are pretty much between 0900 & 1500 & unless you get one of those bright clear days, the weather can best be described as dreich (those grey, miserable, wet days) where the light is not so great. Don’t get me wrong, If there’s something worth photographing, I’ll happily be out in the worst of weathers?

I also work in retail; this sees an increase in work hours & very little chance to get out with Snappy. End result is that I can feel my creativity start to wain; not being able to get out with my camera certainly puts a dampener on the creative spirit — & so to AI & Hot Mods.

For more about AI in the creative world, visit Susan’s site & in particular, the series of posts that she’s writing: Post 1 & Post 2.

This form of AI artwork allows me to use my own photography as a basis for AI prompt engineering. In all my Fan Of… posts about AI creativity, I’ll show the original image & then the various outputs from Hot Mods as I work with the AI to create new artwork.

As you’ll see through these posts, the expected output is not always what I wanted (I’ll share these as well), so back to re-writing the prompt.

Last week was the Glenlee; this week, I’m working on the old Steam Locomotive that runs out of Bo’ness Station.

This is the original image I shot & used for the basis of my prompt engineering.

From Real Photos to COllaborative AI Artwork: My Experiment with AI Art

It’s winter, so a snowy scene with a more futuristic engine seemed apt for my first prompt. I like the styling of the train; it’s very reminiscent of the LNER Mallard Locomotive.

This prompt was to keep the engine & carriages looking old but have them coming through a futuristic cityscape. I like the sense of movement with this & the abundance of greenery in the future world. It was at this point I realised that images with movement in them, carry that movement through the prompt engineering into a dynamic picture.

Next up was a very basic prompt: re-imagine the train in steampunk, travelling past docks in an industrial cityscape. I was very happy with how this came out.

I returned to blending old with new for the next couple of pictures: an old-world locomotive racing across open plains with alien craft flying overhead. The distant mountains & giant moon add a grandiose sense of scale; you’ll see this particular prompt crops up a lot in my work.

Making the train a blend of futuristic & mystical for my next picture, I have it travelling through a mist-shrouded forest.

As I did with the Glenlee, I re-imagined the scene of a train racing through a post-apocalyptic cityscape, pursued by futuristic craft. I really like the sense of drama in this scene, with a real feel of a pursuit taking place!

My final picture for this week is a ghost train. The train is racing across a barren landscape, pursued by ethereal wraiths. For the prompt his time, I specified a giant red moon dominating the sky.

The Evolving Art of Prompt Engineering in AI-Generated Artwork

Prompt engineering is an evolving function; for the same prompt, you will get different outputs from different photos. The prompt needs to be tweaked constantly to fit the original photo & the desired outcome. So, join me over the next few weeks as I delve further into the world of prompt engineering & artwork manipulation.

Next week is more re-imaginings for the Bo’ness & Kinneil Steam Engine. I’ll be using the same base image as this week but changing the background landscape & features; here’s a quick sneak peek

Join the ‘Fan Of…’ Challenge

How To Join In

1. Create a Fan Of… Photo Post.
2. Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post.
3. Title your post Fan Of… or add Fan Of… tag.

Hae a guid week 😁