For eons, humanity has used many different forms of art to create universes and images unknown to society. Today, we are on the cusp of a digital renaissance, if you will. AI Art, digital drawings, AI writing, music, NFTs, etc., have taken many footsteps ahead of the conventional ways we produce art. Are there cons to this? Of course there are, but there are also many pros to using these methods to enhance what you are doing today. What I will focus on is the AI Art aspect.
Back in 2020, when I first started to create the Lucid Universe, I knew what the Lucids looked like. I described them, in detail in my books. Even the new set of Lucids, I already knew what they looked like. There was one thing that nagged me, and that was the drawing aspect of it. I never graduated past stick figures, and those sucked. I couldn't afford to commission someone to draw them. I tried learning how to draw, but I didn't have the patience. Then, towards October of 2021, I had an epiphany. What about AI?
I looked at ways to use AI to form art, and settled on NightCafe Studio. I learned how they utilized their art generator, and started my very first prompt to form a Lucid. It was easy to learn. The first pic I formed was rudimentary, rough around the edges, but the AI knew what I was trying to do.
This was the very first image of a Lucid. I titled this 1st Cloaked Figure. When this image formed, I sat at my desk staring at it. This was almost what I envisioned what the Zorgonto looked like. I think I sat there for a good ten minutes staring at this pic. Soon, I started to form other Lucids in different ways and forms, which can be found here.
One image I formed was the epitome of the Malbronoj Ombroj. This one is called Crimson Nightmares. I have to admit, I cried when I made this one. I knew, right then and there, I was on the right track with utilizing AI to create the art I wanted. Since then, I've created 180 pieces, depicting either the Lucids, or various landscapes and worlds.
Why am I talking about AI art? There was a conversation on Twitter a while back, talking about how AI was going to take over writing and painting, and we need to stop it or don't use it. When you think back to other means of distributing art (TV, radio, record player, computers, the printing press, etc.), people said the same thing, or something similar. Remember, back in the 1400s and earlier, books were only left to the rich. The Printing Press gave the everyday person knowledge and universes unknown, something the rich looked down on.
For a few years, AI art have sprung up from imaginary people to nightmare fuel. I was always drawn to how AI formed these unreal, frightening, and enlightening pieces. When the Twitter page, "This Person Does Not Exist" popped on my feed, I was astounded by how real these people looked, until I saw some of the nightmare fuel and fleshy-blobby things the AI created. I was drawn even further into AI art.
After experimenting with AI to form art pieces, I came to this conclusion: there is no reason to not utilize those tools to expand your literary universe. With that being said, I know I will lose fellow writer followers on Twitter. I know with this new venture I'm alone, for the most part, and I have accepted it.
I have always been in the technological world, in one form or another, and I was never afraid of newer technologies. Don't be afraid to try new things to expand your writing. Giving the reader some form of image, besides written imagery, helps them form their universe from yours, and the possibilities are endless. There is a warning. Be wary with what you see on the net. Deep fakes are real, and hard to discern from the real thing. Use caution, but don't be afraid to use studios such as NightCafe Studio to help expand your art. Keep an open mind, step into the future, cautiously.