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

Finally, it’s here, more AI-assisted re-imaginings of an old steam train. This week’s Fan Of… #236 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 weather?

I also work in retail; this sees an increase in work hours & very little chance to get out with Snappy. The end result is that I can feel my creativity start to wane; not being able to get out with my camera certainly puts a dampener on the creative spirit — & so over 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 from these posts, the expected output is not always what I wanted (I’ll share these as well), so I’m back to rewriting the prompt.

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

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

This week, I’ve got the plucky wee engine crossing high bridges over deep valleys. This first picture is done in a steampunk style, with aircraft attacking the train.

Next, I’ve swapped out the aircraft for dragons.

As you can see above, the AI does make mistakes & needs to be continually checked — in this case, it’s got tracks crossing tracks in the distance. So back to the prompt. The next 3 pictures are all in a similar vein.

A futuristic style for my next image. A modern, high-speed train crosses a bridge over a plain.

My next three images never quite worked and will need to be revisited in the future. I was going for a train racing across a plain, but the train was to be elevated just above the ground, like a maglev train.

As you can see it didn’t quite work & the train is too high. That being said, I like the overall feel of the pictures, particularly the styling of the engine in the second.

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 a Fan Of… tag.

Hae a guid week 😁