Fan Art Friday—Nov 10, 2022
Midjourney has been updated to version 4!
And the improvements are so good that I just have to show a few of them off. Less than a month after the release of Advent 9, the biggest fan artist of the book is still Midjourney, and it has been hard at work creating concept images for the novel.
Revisiting the Hummingbirds
You’ll remember that previously Midjourney had trouble depicting Advent 9’s feathered companions. Luckily, version 4 understands human language better, so when given the prompt “ferret angel” it managed to create some good-looking models.
Unfortunately, when I try to add more of the Hummingbird features to the ferrets (fish tail, iguana spines, ant antennae, I end up with this monstrosity:
Let Your Old Man Show You How It’s Done!
Previously, Midjourney’s attempts to draw Dr. Felix Antiworld were a mixed bag. Perhaps version 4 has a better grasp of the mad scientist’s features?
It’s not a bad likeness. And I love how, without any prompting from me, Midjourney made his bowtie checkered, much like the doctor’s past.
Holding Out for a Hero
But the real test is Advent 9 himself. Previously, Midjourney did a brilliant job of creating concept art of the hero. And while the AI could never replicate entire scenes featuring these characters, it almost nailed Advent 9’s portrait on a previous Fan Art Friday.
How has it improved since then?
Ka-POW! We knocked this one out of the park.
These good-looking concepts are fertile ground for any artist trying to capture Advent 9 going forward.
Looking Forward
Advent 9 is still a brand-new book, and real fan artists are in short supply. I imagine that a human artist could do quite a bit more than any machine (for example, illustrating scenes from the book, which Midjourney is still really bad at).
But it’s still fun to experiment. And maybe some of these concepts have enticed you to check out the book.
It’s currently available in ebook and audio formats wherever books are sold. I hope to start selling print copies through Amazon soon.
Until then, stay safe and sane.
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