AI Art by Kevin Mack
AI and Me
I began considering the possibilities of using neural networks (AI) to make art in 1994. As AI tools became available, I experimented, but felt none of the models provided me with enough control to create work that reflected my own style or intention. With the release of Clip Diffusion models, a critical threshold has been crossed. For those willing to explore the nuances of prompt engineering, initial images, and model parameters, it's possible to direct the process in powerful ways. AI tools may not be suitable for every artist, style, or intention, but for my work, which has been focused on process, rule-based systems, directed randomness, and emergence for decades, AI is a powerful addition to my toolkit. I'm just getting started and have a limitless list of ideas I want to pursue, but here's a few of my first images working with Clip Diffusion AI.
I began considering the possibilities of using neural networks (AI) to make art in 1994. As AI tools became available, I experimented, but felt none of the models provided me with enough control to create work that reflected my own style or intention. With the release of Clip Diffusion models, a critical threshold has been crossed. For those willing to explore the nuances of prompt engineering, initial images, and model parameters, it's possible to direct the process in powerful ways. AI tools may not be suitable for every artist, style, or intention, but for my work, which has been focused on process, rule-based systems, directed randomness, and emergence for decades, AI is a powerful addition to my toolkit. I'm just getting started and have a limitless list of ideas I want to pursue, but here's a few of my first images working with Clip Diffusion AI.
Still Life of Favorite Things #1 - 2022 - Disco Diffusion 5, Photoshop - 8832 x 6624
Still Life of Favorite Things Series - 2022
This series is inspired by still life paintings, which I've always admired and find fascinating. The idea was to create realistic images of abstract, unrecognizable objects composed in the manner of a classic still life painting or photograph.
For my prompts, I didn't reference any artist names or specific art styles. I wanted to see what the AI and I could create without any specific art references in order to make the work as original as possible. Strange as it may seem, I didn't even use "Still LIfe" in my prompts. For many, sharing the prompt along with the image has become an integral part of the fun of AI art. I have not included the prompts for these images as they were created with a variety of prompts, which are rather long and complex, and not very poetic or interesting. My approach was to engineer the prompt through extensive testing in order to hone in on the image I was after.
For me the biggest limitation of the current AI art tools is the low resolution output, which is great for sharing on social media, but not very good for printing or zooming infor close scrutiny of details. In order to produce higher resolution with more detail, these images have been composed from dozens of AI images and have been manipulated and painted on extensively.
The versions seen here have been scaled down from higher resolution files.
This series is inspired by still life paintings, which I've always admired and find fascinating. The idea was to create realistic images of abstract, unrecognizable objects composed in the manner of a classic still life painting or photograph.
For my prompts, I didn't reference any artist names or specific art styles. I wanted to see what the AI and I could create without any specific art references in order to make the work as original as possible. Strange as it may seem, I didn't even use "Still LIfe" in my prompts. For many, sharing the prompt along with the image has become an integral part of the fun of AI art. I have not included the prompts for these images as they were created with a variety of prompts, which are rather long and complex, and not very poetic or interesting. My approach was to engineer the prompt through extensive testing in order to hone in on the image I was after.
For me the biggest limitation of the current AI art tools is the low resolution output, which is great for sharing on social media, but not very good for printing or zooming infor close scrutiny of details. In order to produce higher resolution with more detail, these images have been composed from dozens of AI images and have been manipulated and painted on extensively.
The versions seen here have been scaled down from higher resolution files.
Still Life of Favorite Things #2 - 2022 - Disco Diffusion 5, Photoshop - 8448 x 6912
Still Life of Favorite Things #3 - 2022 - Disco Diffusion 5, Photoshop - 8832 x 6624