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… #237 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
Whilst working with the baseline picture, I decided to have a setting of the train coming out of a mystical tunnel into an enchanted forest.
I was happy with the result, but I wanted a more mystical scene as the train emerged into the forest. A few tweaks to the prompt & the next image was created.
As you can see above, the train looks like it’s emerging from a portal instead of a tunnel. This “hallucination” (technical term for a mistake by the AI) by the AI took my next series of images down a slightly different track 😉😉😉
I also realised that the baseline picture I was using had a long string of cars following the engine. This comes through very well in the pictures so far, but I wanted less of the train visible emerging from the tunnel/portal. There were two ways to deal with this: specify in the prompt that I wanted a shorter train or change the baseline image.
I went with a more foreshortened image where most of the carriages are not visible.
I decided to rewrite the prompt to have the train emerging from a portal. Through the portal, we see a different world. In this case, as the train emerges into the mystical forest, we can see a steampunk world through the portal.
A futuristic style for my next image. A more modern styling for the engine & a futuristic world seen through the portal.
This is a fair result, and I like the setting. However, the scene looks too static, and the futuristic cityscape can be seen both outwith and through the portal.
Another re-write, and finally, what was in my mind appeared. A modern-styled steam engine emerges from the mystical portal into an enchanted forest; through the portal, we see a futuristic cityscape.
Finally, just for fun, I thought I’d go with bright neon colours!!! I really like this one; it’s bright, colourful & full of movement 😃
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 Leny’s turn; here’s a quick sneak peek 🫣
Join the ‘Fan Of…’ Challenge
How To Join In
- Create a Fan Of… Photo Post.
- Add a link to your Fan of… blog post in my comment box or create a pingback by linking to my post.
- Title your post Fan Of… or add a Fan Of… tag.
Hae a guid week 😁
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