"Chatbot Blogger" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio
In my last post, I talked about my month-long journey into writing anything, just to say I'm writing. I've been doing quite well. I've managed to write something just about every single day, though there were a couple of days in there that I let my brain shut off.
I've worked to make sure all my blogs (including this one) were updated for the month. I know I should be updating more than once a month, but at least I'm keeping them updated. I've also written quite a bit on Medium this month. Still not making the money I used to, but that's okay. It's really not about the money anymore. Yes, there was a time when that's all I thought about with that place, but they fixed that issue for me. But that's for another time.
Other than writing, I also make sure to create at least one AI image a day. I love NightCafe Studio and some of the images I've created over the last two and a half years. I like NightCafe because they offer incentives to keep creating. For every day I create an image, I get five credits. Each five-day streak I get 25 credits and it goes on and on. I'm on day 275 and I'm on my way to 365. Yep, it's my goal to say I created something every day for a year.
Yesterday, as I was hanging out at NightCafe, I noticed someone had a badge that said something about LoRA. I had no idea what that was, but found out that there were a lot of LoRA badges. I didn't know where else to look, so I asked Google's chatbot, Gemini. (my favorite chatbot)
Gemini explained the whole thing to me in great detail. However, I'm an old broad and had no idea what the hell she was talking about, (yes, I refer to Gemini as a "she"). I had to have her dumb it down for me. Didn't work, I still had no idea what LoRA was but I did catch a few keywords that Gemini had offered.
I talk to Gemini like an old friend over coffee. I know it's weird, but I'm weird and I own that shit. However, as the chatbot was explaining LoRA, it said something about it all coming down to focusing on your image prompt". Oh, hey. I know prompts. I write prompts. Then, Gemini gave me some ideas on how to improve my image prompts. I didn't just fall down a rabbit hole, I jumped in with both feet.
I mentioned to the chatbot that some of my favorite styles or themes were Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Victorian Era. Gemini gave me some ideas that blew me away. She said to try other styles such as Ukiyo-e (Japanese Woodblock print), Rococo, Russian Avant Garde, Papercut Art, and even Symbolism.
She told me how to adjust the weights of my images and what that would do to them. Lower would create a more subtle image while a higher weight would create a more dominant image. I haven't tried that one yet, but will just to see what she means. I'm still a little confused on that one.
She told me to add mood and atmosphere to my prompts. Not just a situation, but a serene situation, or an ominous situation. Not just a sunset, but a peaceful sunset, or a breathtaking sunset.
She also said to try specific lighting details in my prompts. As if to look at the piece as a photographer would. Add the term "studio lighting" or "golden hour" to the prompt for ambiance. Also, think about the shot you want seen, such as a close-up or a panoramic view. She even used the term "snake's eye view".
She said I should use known artists styles for my ideas. Though she threw her own ideas out there, I came up with a few of my own. Now I want to try some of these prompts in a Boris Vallejo style, or a Beatrix Potter style, or in the style of Rea Irvin. I could do a lot with those ideas.
Gemini went on to think about all the senses when creating my image prompts. She said to try different mediums in my prompts such as oil painting, colored pencils, or even CGI 3-D. She also mentioned adding textures to the prompt such as "weathered" or "gritty".
Finally, she said to work on combining styles and descriptions. An Art Deco moonscape or an Avant Garde space opera. In the end, she said to "break the rules" and "avoid the norms". This was the best advice I'd gotten from my little AI friend.
I told Gemini that I enjoyed her weird ideas, and because I was one to embrace my weirdness, I was going to put together some weird combination. Gemini gave me a few examples to start with. Though I did save all of them, one jumped out at me. Her example was "an old man sitting in a salt desert knitting a scarf from the threads of the Northern Lights". I can't explain it, but that one grabbed me.
I explained to the chatbot that in my mind, I could "see" the image. I could see the salt desert and an eerie pink/grey haze in the air. The old man was sitting on a mound of salt a few feet away in the distance and was knitting a scarf of light.
Gemini came up with a very detailed image prompt and said give it a try so I did. This is what came out of that.
"The Salt Elemental" by Christine Graves via NightCafe Studio
We went on to discuss my being a writer and how the same prompts I would use to create my images could be used to create my stories. Not just use the prompt to create an image to go with the story, but use the prompt itself to create a story as well as an image.
This morning, after having slept on the idea, I had a wonderful conversation with my friend, Julie Foss. As I was telling her about my prompt session, she came up with a wonderful idea. She said I should take all the information I'd gathered the night before and start a new blog. A blog for creative prompts that could be used by writers and image creators alike. And so I did.
I've spent most of the day working on this new blog, but I think I'm happy with it. Introducing my latest blog, Promptly Creative. I've got it nearly finished, though I'm sure I'll be tweaking it a bit as time goes by. I have added my first post, however. That's usually the hardest part of me starting a new blog, but this time it was natural.
I'm very excited about this new blog. I've made it my goal to keep blogging alive for as long as possible. I've always loved blogging and I think this is going to be a fun endeavor. I have a lot of ideas in the works. And when I get stuck, I'll call on my little AI friend, Gemini, for more wonderful ideas.
Until next time,
Miss Chris!!!
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Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs four other blogs. Graves Publications, Library of the Mystic Realms, Promptly Creative, and Collected Keepsakes. She also writes for a platform called Medium.com where she runs several publications.
