How an AI Image Created Several New Ideas

 

"Paper Diorama" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI

As I sat here trying to think of what I wanted my next post to be about, I had an idea. Though there will be a lot of prompts for both creative writing and AI image creation, I also wanted to come up with some ideas for anyone with a creative side. So, because I do a lot of paper crafting, I decided to go with that.

I use two different AI generation platforms: NightCafe Studio and Leonardo AI. When I was working on this post, I decided to use Leonardo AI as I can usually get some pretty cool images from them. Tonight was no different. I simply typed in "paper craft, paper diorama, beautiful paper crafts". I didn't know what would come up, but I was excited to see.

When the above image appeared, I was awestruck. I stared at this picture for quite some time as the first thing to go through my mind was, "I can make that." Truth be known, I probably have everything I'd need to put one of those together.

Next, I thought about the image itself and how I could have changed it up a bit. What would I enjoy making as a diorama myself? A mountain scene? A camping scene? The possibilities are endless. I decided to change up my prompt to say, "paper crafts, diorama, alchemist's lair, apothecary, laboratory". From there, I ended up with this.

"The Alchemist's Lab" by Christine Graves via Leonardo AI

No, it's not simply made of paper, but this is a diorama I could actually make. I've made a few dioramas over the years from old bits and baubles I had around the house. This is doable for me.

Once I'd seen this image, a story began to form in my mind. A story about an alchemist who's found the trick to making gold, or maybe accidentally setting off a plague. I could write a story and give it three or four different endings. That's the beauty of a cool image.

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Okay, it's your turn. Create an image on whichever AI image site you prefer. Don't get too over-complicated with the prompt. Use as few words as possible, while still creating the image you somewhat see in your head. Use a "craft" as your starting point. "A doll out of clay" or "A spray-painted Christmas card". Let your imagination run wild.

Once you've created an image that pulls you in, create a backstory for it. Who made the doll? Where did the Christmas card come from? Make the image your starting point, but don't let it hold you back. You can make it the focal point or simply a sidenote. The choice is yours.

Finally, attempt to make your art piece. Is it a medium you've ever worked with? Is it something you've done in the past? Can you mix and match your mediums and come up with something better than the AI image? That would be cool.

Embrace your creativity. Though others may work with similar mediums, only you can make the ideas that come out of your imagination. 

I wish you luck.

Until next time,
Miss Chris!!!

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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com, in which she runs a few publications.

The Creative Curve of a Chatbot

"Chatting with a Chatbot" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

Hello, and welcome to Promptly Creative. A place where you'll find prompts for all kinds of creative outlets, such as fiction writing, AI image creation, and personal art. My name is Christine Graves, and though I'm no expert, I've been working in this field for several years. 

Before you ask, no, I don't have any professional training. However, I've been offering creative writing prompts to my fellow writers for more than 20 years. As far as the AI art creation, I'm still learning, but I have been doing this for almost three years. 

That being said, I found out last night just how little I really do know about AI art and image creation. So, because I had questions and didn't know how to ask, I went to the one place I knew I could get some kind of answers: an AI chatbot.

As a writer, I didn't want to work with AI as I thought it was going to "take my job." That's a load of crap. I've come to realize the only way it can take my job is if I allow it. However, I can use it to my advantage. I can use AI to help me take my own creativity to the next level.

My personal favorite chatbot is Gemini. I love Gemini. There have been several times I've been stuck for ideas, both as a writer and an image creator. I'd try to do things, but nothing felt right. Then I'd throw my idea at Gemini and it would help me come up with ideas I wouldn't have thought of in a million years. Such an event happened last night. 

I was playing around with my favorite AI image generator, NightCafe Studio. They're my favorite because they make it fun. They offer badges and credits for personal milestones. I'm working on a personal best in image creation right now as I have 274 consecutive creation days under my belt. I get 5 credits every day just for making something, and 25 credits every fifth day. I'm gonna hit that 365th day, you wait and see.  (May have just jinxed myself).

Anyway, as I was looking through some of the creations by others, I noticed someone had a badge for something called LoRA. I had no clue what that meant, but did see that there were a hell of a lot of badges for this category. I didn't even know who to ask about the term, then I thought about Gemini.

I asked the chatbot what LoRA was and she laid it all out, complete with every technical term I've never heard. Yep, I had to ask Gemini to dumb it down for me. But, the chatbot complied and explained it in layman's terms. And guess what, I still didn't have a clue what the hell it was, but Gemini did crank out a few things that did catch my eye. She said (please forgive me, but in my head, Gemini is female) "it's all about focusing on your prompt". Oh, hey. A word I understand!!!

So, I talked about doing some of my prompts and how I go about it. Gemini gave me some pointers on how to up my game. I explained that some of my favorite image themes or styles are Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Victorian Era. She came back and told me to use the styles of specific artists of the time and gave me a few examples. Dude, I never really thought about the artists behind those styles. 

Gemini went on to help me expand further. She talked about lighting, persepective, using highly descriptive words, specific locations, and more. I was in awe. Then, she gave me another suggestion. She said, as an AI creator, I can be as normal or as weird as I want. Oooo, I embrace my weird. So I went with that.

She gave me a whole bunch of mixed and matched ideas. Things that you wouldn't normally put together. The one that caught my eye was her prompt of "an old man sitting in a salt desert knitting a scarf from the threads of the Northern Lights". I don't know why, but that one stood out to me, so I told her so.

From there, she helped me expand on the prompt. She asked me what it was that grabbed me. I told her it was just the one that played out in my mind. In my head, I saw a desolate desert, an eerie haze of pink and grey as far as the eye can see. I look out and see an old man sitting on a mound of encrusted salt, his hands wrinkled and weathered, but still moving as the scarf comes together. Within a moment, Gemini put together an image prompt I never could have created, and this is what came of it.

"The Salt Elemental" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio

This image blew me away. It's a hundred times better than I could have dreamed. No, it's not exactly what I saw in my mind, but it's so much more. 

I went on to explain to Gemini about me being a writer (a conversation I've had with Gemini before, but unfortunately, the chatbot doesn't recall past conversations). I mentioned how this image started forming a story in my head and that's when Gemini threw out a few ideas where to take the story, one of which was the idea of a Salt Elemental. OMG, yes.

As the night wore on, I found that I had copied and pasted well over twenty pages on Google Docs. I have ideas for all kinds of creative outlets, and I'm still vibrating from it. I was telling a friend of mine about it this morning over coffee, and she said, "You need to create a blog around this". OMG, Julie, yes I do. And that brings us to where we are right now.

I know this was a bit long-winded, but I'm very excited about this blog. My goal is to help other creatives take their hobbies to the next level. I hope you'll come along with me on this journey. I'm still shaping the site, but I will be adding some new prompts within the coming days. 

So, thank you for joining us and I hope to see you come back time and again. Leave a comment and tell me what you find creative. Let's see if we can't come up with some ideas we've never thought of before.

Until next time,
Stay Creative!!!

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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com, in which she runs a few publications.