Category: art

Tuesday Tinkering…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

Well, I think last weeks tinkering session was a total success!

Not that I’ll be winning any academy awards, or anything. I just mean that I challenged myself to do a thing (creating a new character on Tuesday, and then writing a story about it by Friday), and it worked out.

So, it got me to thinking (I know, dangerous pastime)… what if I sought to write a whole series of children’s character books, only employing my tinkering sessions and a two day rest before kicking out a little story, song, or poem to accompany the images. I don’t see why I couldn’t, what with todays insta book mentality flooding across the web.

While I get my jabs in at all the ai created mumbo jumbo being printed out there, currently, I’m not being snarky when I say that I believe it’s possible to actually write imaginative content without my computer telling me how… or worse, doing the writing for me. Not on my watch!

Anyway, getting back to the tinkering plans I’ve set for us, I plan on making a habit of mixing up writing styles, as well as, continuing to expand my illustration skills. My hands on learning is all that can be afforded, at this present moment, so if I wish to become a better writer, more brain stretching work is involved.

I know your probably saying, “Great, now she’s gonna start wearing even bigger hats on her noggin.” Maybe I will, maybe I won’t, but if I do then that means my cookies will need to be bigger, as well.

Go big or go home, right?!

For today’s next challenge, I went with another water baby, but on an entirely different patch of sand…

This isn’t the finished character, by the way, but it was the first image offered by the ai. All I typed in was “a photorealistic image of an adorable baby walrus”.

While the little guy seems awful cute and chubby, we’re nowhere near satisfied. He’s got no nostrils, for one thing. So, I used the auto-enhance on the prompt…

“a photorealistic image of an adorable baby walrus, trying to learn to swim along the shore of a beautiful sandy beach”

Getting a better shot of his nose, but now his eyebrows look like they were individually stuck into his little forehead. It made him look too much like a plushie toy.

Again, I returned to the auto-enhance feature, asking it to expand the prompt even more…

“Imagine a photorealistic scene at a picturesque sandy beach where gentle waves lap against the shore. The sun casts a warm, golden glow across the landscape, illuminating the fine grains of sand and sparkling blue waters. In the foreground, an adorable baby walrus, with soft, wrinkled gray skin and big, curious eyes, awkwardly paddles in the shallow surf. Its flippers splash playfully, sending droplets gleaming in the sunlight, while a few sea gulls circle overhead, drawn by the joyous scene. The sandy beach is dotted with tufts of sea grass swaying in the light breeze, enhancing the serene atmosphere of this tender moment.”

At least he has more expression with his eyes, even if he lost his eyebrows. His facial expression seems far more realistic, though his fat rolls look rather like sweatshirt material than skin. I kept at it for nearly a half hour before, coming up with numerous images that were similar to this one, but with differing poses and expressions.

Now that we’ve come this far, let’s give the ai our best 10 images. From there, we’ll generate some possibilities for a solid Avatar.

I’ll be right back! Give me about 10 minutes, or so….

Everyone, meet our newest character…

I’ve decided to name him Booker, though I’ve ne earthly idea why! The ai decided to give him tusks, even with him only being a baby, but I think it makes him super cute.

Norbert gave me several differing shots, but I think he looks most realistic in this one…

… minus the grown up tusks, mind you.

I don’t think Booker took nearly as long to create, as it took me last week, during pumpkin’s creation.

Now that he’s here, I’ve only til Friday to create his story, so I best get moving!

See you Friday… hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka6 Comments

Perhaps you’ve asked yourselves how I get from an idea, all the way to producing an actual story, here on WordPress. Well, I doubt you were actually wondering that exact thought, but for all intents and purposes, I’m going to act as if you asked. Humor me, if you would.

We will just call today’s tinkering, a tutorial on how to create a brand new story character from scratch. Did you know that I usually develop the character, or Avatar, if you will, before I even create the story that goes with them? While there are some stories that are born in my imagination first, most of the children’s stories are born upon the visual produced for the main character… that first few, rough around the edge images that are produced by Norbert, the OpenArt ai assistant.

So, today I want to create a brand new character, build up a supply of appropriate images, and then on Friday, I’ll hopefully have a cute little story to post. I’m by no means expecting you to anticipate an academy award winning performance, or anything.

I suppose that one could say, it’s an exercise in story development. Hopefully, I will learn a good many things about my own writing style, how accommodating Norbert can be, and how flexible I’m willing to be, when it comes to my own content. While I might need Norbert for producing the right images, I don’t need any assistance in the imagination process, nor in my ability to write a decent story.

For this particular act of literary science and exploration, I randomly selected a baby hippo, as our story subject.

My first query was simply asking for a photorealistic image of an adorable baby hippo, but before finishing the prompt, I selected the auto enhance option for a more complete description. This was my first full query…

A photorealistic image of a baby hippopotamus joyfully playing in a sun-drenched meadow, surrounded by vibrant wildflowers swaying gently in the breeze. The lush green grass glistens with dew drops, catching the soft, warm sunlight that filters through a few wispy clouds in the azure sky. The baby hippo, with its round, cherubic face and big, glistening eyes, frolics playfully, splashing water as it leaps into a small, shimmering puddle. Its skin glistens with a hint of mud, adding a touch of earthy charm to its playful antics. In the background, a gentle stream sparkles, reflecting the peaceful atmosphere of this idyllic setting. This photorealistic scene captures the essence of childhood joy in nature, filled with colors and a warmth that embodies happiness.

These were the first images offered…

So far, so good, though I notice that Norbert wasn’t willing to actually put the hippo in the water, for some odd reason.

Without overthinking it, which I have a tendency to do sometimes, I took the very first three images offered, and then I went straight to character creation.

After only a few moments, Norbert gave us our newest character, and I’ve named her Pumpkin…

She even has a little tuft of hair on her head, like little bangs. I think it will be so fun to put a bow in her hair, and I can even change the color of the ribbon, depending on the day. Don’t ask me why I opted to name her Pumpkin. It just sounded like a sweet term of endearment, I guess.

Anyway, throughout this whole creation process, Norbert did fairly well, and only had to remove an object from one of the images. For some reason, the ai thought a hippo should wear a crown on their head. I’ve no earthly idea where a crown was mentioned in my query…

I told Norbert to get rid of the crown, and he actually did it without changing too much else in the image…

Unfortunately, her bangs disappeared, which I really wanted to keep.

For that reason, I asked for a different image, all together. But, still not enough hair on her head…

I spent nearly fifteen minutes arguing with Norbert over the stack of ridiculous selections I was given…

I even tried putting bows in her hair, to see if that would improve things.

Nope!

Sometimes, you just have to go back to the drawing board, as they say. You simply have to query a new background, and/or positioning of the character, in order to produce a workable image…

See what I mean? Change the background and her hair returns, just as I hoped it would.

Now that we’ve a loveable image to work with, the task at hand is to gather a decent supply of differing images that will aid in the building of her story.

By Friday, I should hopefully have a wonderful tale to share with you about our newest guest, here in the Barnyard.

Yikes! Friday’s only a few days away, so I should probably get started.

Hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka4 Comments

Yes, Osrig. Today is gonna be all about you, my sweet boy!

It’s high time we do some serious work on our favorite flying canine. From the very beginning of his creation, I struggled with making him look realistic instead of resembling a Claymation character. It’s always been a bit of a challenge to give the dog realistic traits, while also making his imaginary ones look adorable and endearing. If I can make an avatar of myself look real, then so to shall I embark this editing journey for Osrig. He’s worth it, I think.

I already went ahead and took the plunge last week, by upgrading his character images into the advanced avatar that we’ll be using today. I must say that as much as I loath to admit it, Norbert (resident openart ai) actually did me proud this morning, for the most part. There were a few moments that I wanted to say something snarky, but I refrained, for your sake!

Surprisingly, this was the very first image given this morning, and in all honesty, it seems perfect! I even made you a short video of it, so as to reflect the improvements they’ve made on their video creation section. I know it’s not much, and I am far from a videographer, film maker, or tv producer, in any real sense of the words. But it’s still cute, so I’m using it…

The reason I have to give so much credit to Norbert today, is because I only had one image that we didn’t see eye to eye on, literally, because the ai never could correct the problem. Here, I’ll show you…

This image would’ve been perfect, aside from the demon glowy eyes… sheesh!

I asked the ai to change the dog’s eye color to a gentle green, but ended up with a radioactive dog…

As I’m not one to give up on a thing so easily, I had a rather short but meaningful chat with Norbert…

“I’ve never met a dog with glowing green eyes. Please look up images of what a canine’s eyes should be, and then color them a gentle soft green please.”

It took several more tries, but we finally got a compromise out of the deal…

The image is alright, I guess. It’s certainly nothing to write home about, but definitely far better than the alien shots we started out with, in my opinion. I will say that the ai is doing a fantastic job of textures and realism, both in the scenery and also the dogs fur. But, unfortunately, I can’t really use the image because his wings are missing.

I pressed on, wanting to get a real handle on the realism of the dog’s fur, expressions, and body posture. You should feel as if you could reach out and touch him, you know? I put Norbert through his paces, and got a solid handful of really decent images. Take a look…

Aside from the image with the strange looking arrow head on the end of his tail, these images took no editing at all. But I’ll certainly be fixing that tail… ugh!

I did make another little video, but the first one is still my favorite, over all…

So, that’s it for today’s tinkering session. All in all, it was a very successful day, and I hope it wasn’t too boring for you.

As a sign of good will, and also my willingness to share with others, I’ve made you some homemade virtual oatmeal. It’s got a little brown sugar and some blueberries, too…

Breakfast is really the most important meal of the day, or so I’ve heard. They also say that it’s good for your heart.

You’re welcome!

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka4 Comments

So I decided on the final image for mini Wiwohka, and went ahead with the character creation feature, using the image you saw last week.

Let’s made a whole new portfolio for her this morning, now that we’ve a new and revised avatar. I started with collecting some profile shots…

So far, so good. Now let’s try changing her outfit…

Wow! I’m really impressed with how they’re keeping her so true to the original. But, what if we take her out of the studio and into the real world…

She’s coming to life, in my opinion. And, she fits in perfectly at the Barnyard, both in doors…

… and outdoors.

Well?

What do you think?

I know that being the one who created her images, I feel rather partial to mini-me. If it were possible, I think I’d adopt her and bring her home with me!

I haven’t tried to alter her hair color yet, but I’d like to see if we can change that little red streak to another color… just to match her outfits. I think we’ll try that next week, right before we move on to some more work with Brutus.

I think it’s time to go deeper into the dragons facial features, now that OpenArt has revamped their system. I’m kind of liking the changes, but don’t tell them that… it’ll probably just go to their heads.

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka4 Comments

You know, it’s much harder than you’d think to create images of myself in miniature… and even harder to make them look anything like me, at all!

I don’t know why it’s such a big deal to me, anyway, but it is.

For some reason, whenever I work with this program to generate images of the little model I’d created, it still requires me to go back and alter not only her eye color, but her hair color and style, as well. I get very irritated by this little daily detour the ai tries to take me on, so it’s time to make an actual avatar, or character, if you will.

I got to thinking about it yesterday, when I’d attempted to generate an image of myself for the daily prompt. Asking Norbert to create an image of myself dressed in a childish outfit, actually created a random image of me, but in small form.

It was actually kind of funny at first, but then I got to wondering if I could reproduce a similar image of myself for creating a child sized avatar. First of all, the child looks kind of mean. Secondly, I’ve no idea why it put me in that ridiculous pajama get-up!

So, I tried a different scene, with different clothing and actions, just to see if it might improve things.

Nope!

All I ended up with was a really creepy image of one of the von Trapp family singers from The Sound of Music…

Quickly, I realized that it would require an actual child in order to create a valid childlike appearance in the image’s rendered. So, going back to our little model of mini Wiwohka, I asked a similar question to the ai, and this is what it offered me…

While she is an adorable little girl, as you can see in the image, her hair goes blond and her eyes go any color but blue!

Now, OpenArt recently added in a new feature where you can chat with the ai, rather than trying to manually edit the image on the art board. In truth, it’s kind of like leading a child through an art class… very slowly.

I first asked for blue eyes and brown hair,

Now she looks like a small teacher, ewwwww, no! So, I asked Norbert to soften her hair…

Uhhh, no! Please shorten it…

What is this, Shirley Temple hour? Don’t get me wrong here, as I love that actress, but I’m not her!

So, I took the first image of the child and took it to my art board, just to adjust the eye color, which worked better for what I was looking for…

From here, I went back to Norbert for another go, but this time I chose to make mini Wiwohka her own beautiful self instead of trying to copy me! Why? Because, I’m not that little girl anymore, so of course it’s going to be an impossibility for me to duplicate the Now ME into an image of the Then ME. Hopefully, I’ve not just talked you into a giant circle. Sorry for that.

Before I finalize her into the actual avatar, I thought to ask what your take on her personality and image in this next photo…

I tweaked a few colors for comparison, but I can’t decide which is better. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Til next week, thank you in advance for any feedback, and I’ll do a whole fun photo reveal for her… hugs

Depends on what’s being lottered…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
View all responses

While most may assume the lottery to mean cash money, there are a number of other possibilities…

Such as peanuts! Why can’t there be a lottery for a lifetime supply of peanuts?

Or flowers, perhaps…

What about a lifetime supply of all the most beautiful spring blooms? Wouldn’t that be heavenly? Well, at least the fragrance would seem sent from above, in my humble opinion.

Then there’s babies…

Ok, so maybe that’s going a bit too far… but you can’t blame a girl for trying!

Now, books as a lottery?

SOLD!!!

Since the likelihood of an All-You-Can-Read book lottery isn’t that high for me, at this moment, how about we settle on a Cookie Lottery…

Yep! If it ain’t broke, then don’t try to fix it!

Tuesday Tinkering…

Wiwohka7 Comments

Norbert is in a timeout!

I’m already having to do his job, so it’s best he be in timeout, rather than scrapping the whole project out of frustration. At this point in the game, the ai simply cannot comprehend how to create an image with more than one subject character.

Without paying to upgrade both characters, or paying to rebuild two entirely different characters with the new upgraded features, I’m still left with an editing board to copy, cut, paste, and/or delete any given image.

If nothing else, I’m stubborn, so there’s that!

I refuse to allow Tilly, nor any of my other characters, to be swapped out for differing other ai generated pictures… I’ll not stand for it!

Let me show you what the (now in timeout) ai sought to produce for my requests, and that way you cans see why I refuse to compromise with Norbert.

This is what Henry should look like,

… see what I mean? Now, this is our Henry!

And, this is our Tilly,

In my opinion, she is unmistakable, with her soft doe-like eyes, those adorable ears, and the gentleness that always shows on her face, as well as the way she carries herself. Tilly is just Tilly, ya know? I can’t think of any other way to explain it.

Now, watch what happened when I prompted Norbert to put them in the same image:

As adorable as this young couple may be, while exchanging their vows… they aren’t anything like Henry or Tilly. The ai recognizes the two characters as themselves in any given individual query I ask of it. But the moment that I ask it to combine the two, Norbert goes on some random field trip to two entirely different characters, of which I do not recognize in any fashion!

The new upgraded video creation, is still far off from being any good, unless I simply allow the ai to take over… and that AIN’T gonna happen!

Until further notice, all my tinkering will be strictly my tweaks and adjustments… NOT Norbert’s!

It may take me more effort, along with extra time at the editing board, but I’ll do whatever I must to honor each individual character’s true self, that is their visual integrity…

It’s still far from perfect, but it’s workable. We’ll get there…

Sail on…

Wiwohka3 Comments

Even when you cannot see your destination, sail on

When the winds threaten, sail on

And, when the waves hit you from every side, sail on…

Trust your compass, trust your ship

Lean not on your own understanding

And, do not fear the wind that threatens…

Take each wave as it comes

Keep your course straight and true

And, trust the map you’ve been given…

As I was writing this, Proverbs 3:5, 6 came to mind. I googled part of the verse, because I couldn’t remember the scripture reference, and this is what popped up…

“Lean not on your own understanding” comes from Proverbs 3:5-6 in the Bible, meaning to trust God’s guidance over your own limited perspective, especially in decisions, acknowledging that divine wisdom is greater than human intellect, and that while using your mind is good, ultimate reliance should be on God, who promises to guide you if you submit your ways to Him. It encourages faith over purely rational, incomplete human reasoning, especially in uncertain times. 

Key Meanings

  • Trust God Fully: Place complete faith in the Lord with all your heart, not just in big decisions but in every aspect of life. 

Limited Human Wisdom:

Recognize that human understanding is finite and can be flawed or incomplete, even with intellect. 

Seek Divine Guidance:

Acknowledge God in all your ways (actions, plans, thoughts) for Him to direct your paths. 

Not Irrationality:

It doesn’t mean abandoning your intellect, but rather not relying solely on it, especially when it conflicts with faith or leads to confusion. 

Practical Application

  • In Uncertainty: When faced with dilemmas, pray and seek God’s will rather than trying to figure everything out alone, which can cause stress. 

Surrender Plans: Give your plans to God, trusting His bigger picture and better plan. Be Wise in His Eyes: Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil as a result of trusting Him. 

I know that was the long winded version to accompany my tiny poem, but thought it worth the share.

Have a beautiful day, my sweet friends…

Hugs

Tuesday Tinkering…

WiwohkaLeave a comment

Guess what? Norbert got an upgrade!

Well, OpenArt was actually what got a facelift, but I like to refer to the AI by a fictional name, just for fun.

Anyhow, one of the changes to the program was an upgraded visual for all my characters… that means, more realism and more accuracy. I love it! Of course I’ve no intention of paying for a silly account upgrade, but they did give me a freebie, so I chose Squagon.

Our tiny flying squirrel has never been the same since the switch to this AI application, so I gambled with my freebie character upgrade, and look what we got…

SUCCESS!!!

This new upgrade made it possible to put life back into our little guy, real fur and all. Plus, no matter what I tell him to do, the program now keeps the character perfectly in tact. No more free range, off the reservation, loose AI interpretations of what I ask… at least, with the visuals. It still tries to change what I ask for it to do, in some futile hope that I’ll like it’s version instead of mine, but I enjoy telling it off. I’ll have to make all new characters for each of them, but it’s cheaper than paying for the next tier of membership.

There are also a number of improvements on the beta version of putting two characters into the same scene. It’s still not good, but it is better than before…

They’ve even made improvements to the storyline side of things, like the short videos…

I didn’t like how the AI opted to change faces by the end of the video, but it still felt like somewhat of a success, in and of itself. Don’t think for one moment that I’ll settle for anything less than a true Tilly and Henry. This was just the first of many tests and trial runs, but I don’t mind, really. It gives me time to improve my own skills, utilizing ai for my illustrations without letting ai change my direction, if that makes any sense.

For now, it’s back to the drawing board, or rather, back to the ai program. I intend to become quite proficient with this program, but let it be made quite clear that I am NOT an artist, but simply a writer who enjoys bringing visuals into my writing. I think it helps with introducing an atmosphere that enhances the readers ability to see and feel what I do when I write. Trust me, if I had an actual publisher with an actual illustrations department, I’d leave the graphic visuals to the pros. But, til things change in this department, OpenArt is my go to.

Tinkering is by far the best way for me to become more proficient in the editing department, as well as sharing my progress with you.

My hope is that I’ll have some better pieces of video and images to share by next week so that you, me, and Norbert, can view the improvements made. I think I want to tackle both Osrig and Peanut, as they are both a battle with Norbert’s abilities. The ai program really seems to struggle with creations that are human, vs, fictional, or animal combinations. My characters are nearly all part human or animal, mixed with a fictional imaginary type creature. That’s why I love them so! These characters each have a life of their own, which I strive to keep true to their personalities, not just what Norbert thinks.

Well, that’s it for now. Maybe next week will have some real successes, but I’ll probably show you the failures, as well. Sometimes the mistakes are better than the perfect outcomes, wouldn’t you agree?