Exploring creative possibilities.
I recently tried AI generated art out of curiosity. Now there are four ways I have been using it for myself (non-commercially).
In case it's helpful, below are the topics covered in this post:
Creative Inspiration
I love doing arts and crafts projects, but a lot of the time I search for creative inspiration online.
With AI, I can use a text to image feature to describe what I would like to make. AI then generates multiple renditions of what it "thinks" I want to see. I spend time looking through the results for creative inspiration.
For example, I wondered what a "monkey pencil holder" could look like. I imagined the results to illustrate cups with a picture of a monkey on it and a pencil or two in it.
Instead, I was presented with cartoony-looking monkeys holding pencils. It was not what I expected, but it made me wonder if I could recreate the concept using polymer clay. I do not know if I am skilled enough to sculpt a monkey figure, but I am tempted to try it for fun.
Personalized Greeting Cards
I enjoy making handmade greeting cards for family members, friends, and mail carriers. Recently, instead of using my usual stamp sets, paper packs, or coloring pages, I used AI to generate images to use on card fronts.
My friend recently celebrated her twenty-first birthday. Since she is allergic to avocados, and I am an evil friend, I used AI to create an avocado-themed birthday card for her.
I looked through several renditions of a "smiling avocado wearing a birthday hat." I downloaded, slightly modified, and printed a couple images to decorate the birthday card.
The card turned out better than I expected. I already made my other friend's birthday card for when she celebrates her twenty-first birthday later this year. (My friends are always turning twenty-one every year.) Soon, I will generate Halloween-themed images to use for more handmade greeting cards.
Digital Wallpapers
I change my phone and desktop wallpaper often, especially for different holidays. I can use the text to image feature to describe a character and environment that fit the seasonal theme I wanted to save as a wallpaper.
For the summertime, I searched "smiling hedgehog using a pool float in a kiddie pool." It presented several fun renditions of what I described.
I chose one design I liked most and set it as my phone and desktop wallpaper. The one thing I do not get is what AI generated to float in the water. Are they chocolate chip cookie dough, rocks with acne, or something else that would only spawn if the hedgehog is not potty trained? Now that I think about it, why is the hedgehog smiling the way it is?
Spamming My Friends
One way I like to relax and unwind is to text my friends’ random images to make them smile (or annoy them). I tend to generate smiling animal images because those are the type of images that I like sending my friends the most.
While searching online for a smiling animal provides me with decent results, it is a lot more fun to describe a smiling animal in a certain environment or situation that my friends can relate to or be annoyed by. Until my friends tell me to quit, they will receive weird smiling animal images from me for life.
Not only did I make my friend an avocado-themed birthday greeting card using an AI generated image, but I also spammed her with various smiling animals wearing birthday hats surrounded by party balloons.
When I eventually generate holiday-themed wallpapers, I will download the cutest and goofiest generated images to share with my friends. I hope they enjoy receiving the images I send.
The Programs I Have Experimented With
I have only used two AI generative programs to date. I currently use them for personal entertainment, not for commercial purposes. If/when I start selling my arts and crafts, I may then do more research about the legality of using AI generated art for commercial purposes.
For creative inspiration and handmade greeting card images, I used Adobe Express. At the time of writing this post, it is in the beta stage and does not work with the Firefox web browser.
Adobe's terms specifically state that "while generative AI features are in beta, all generated output is for personal use only and cannot be used commercially." This is not a problem for me since I am not selling my creations.
Adobe Express offers a variety of templates for creating marketing designs, Instagram stories, TikTok videos, and more. Personally, I was most interested in the Generative AI feature.
I enjoy viewing the results of my text to image descriptions. The images are not without imperfections. For example, a dragon may have an extra tail, a balloon may not be colored in completely, or an eight-legged octopus may have twelve legs.
Overall, the Adobe Express AI generated images are great for visualizing a concept I am unable to illustrate on my own. Some turn out well enough to use on a greeting card while others are so hilariously awful that they are worth saving to laugh at later.
I recently played with NVIDIA Canvas. At the time of writing this post, it is a beta program that only generates landscape images based on simplistic Microsoft Paint looking images a user draws within the app.
NVIDIA Canvas requires NVIDIA GeForce RTX, NVIDIA RTX, or TITAN RTX GPU and Windows 10 or later to run.
To my surprise, the landscapes generated have fewer noticeable imperfections than anything I have generated using Adobe Express. There are still minor imperfections, but they are not something I see at first glance.
I will use these images as digital wallpapers and reference for landscape painting practice exercises.
What's Next?
With holiday season coming soon, I will use AI generated images to craft cards and gifts for my family and friends. If you are interested in doing the same, take a look at the different AI programs and see which one works best for you!
Comment below to share how you use AI generated images.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam