This week I’ve finally been playing with text-to-image AI generators, and it’s been fun. Stunned by the creative artwork some of my facebook friends are creating, I wanted to get on board fast. I’ve been a book cover design and graphic artist for years, so I know my way around Photoshop.
Ultimately I gave up oil painting because digital art is so much easier and faster… but it’s nothing compared to what’s coming.
Right now the current tools are cute and fun. I can make some surrealistic, vibrant, digital illustrations that are vaguely abstract and on theme. If I find a good filter I can let them run. On a recent international flight I made hundreds of pictures of AI generated chonky cats, and a whole series of dark fantasy artwork for a children’s book that reminds me of the stunningly creative “golden period” of children’s illustration.
I could see, in theory, using AI generated images for all of the featured images on a blog for a unique branding style; for a kid’s book or even posters, prints or iphone cases. I could legit see some of these as print on canvas art at high-end art exhibits.
But even though they’re beautiful, they’re also limited and predictable. The filters have a recognizable style, and people will soon get bored with them.
DALL-E 2 is something else entirely.
Unfortunately I don’t have access to it myself yet (hint hint).
The Verge’s article on OpenAi’s text-to-image AI tool shows some exciting and terrifying examples of what’s possible, so as someone pretty familiar with the “art as work” space (creative entrepreneurs getting paid for illustrative design skills) it’s worth reflecting on the consequences.
3 dramatic consequences of Dalle’s new AI illustrator
- stock photo sites will lose money
People use stock photos for featured images, for advertisements, and for a lot of other things. But most blog owners would rather just pay for a tool that gives them a creative, unique, fun image that doesn’t exist anywhere else.
- illustrators will need new jobs
You might say “a robot can’t be as creative as a human”… but I think you’re wrong. In fact I’m surprised a robot can make chonky cat pics that are nearly so abstract the cat needs to be pieced together. Dalle seems to handle both photorealism and soft illustration equally well, and conceptually it takes creative risks will maintaining a surprising degree of aesthetic integrity (the whole thing looks good, well planned and well orchestrated together – in a way that few artists have the same kind of control or skillset, and if they do, it takes them a lot of work and a lot of time, which makes them expensive). Dalle can do 75% of the job for 1% of the time and cost, and in most cases, that’s going to be good enough.
- reality will stop existing
Truth is already pretty subjective, unfortunately, and Dalle is taking steps to make sure its tool can’t be used for evil by limiting search terms or stuff like DeepFakes. In the other tools I can make artsy illustrations of political figures, but nobody takes them as reality.
But I could have “proof” as a photograph for something that never actually happened. Although I can’t actually have Dalle draw me a smoking gun due to search limitations, I could in theory have a politician meeting up in a dark alley to smuggle organs. We already have photoshopped or carefully trimmed images and videos (even on mainstream news media) to tell the story we want to tell. This will make it faster and easier, and there will be less safeguards or repercussions because it will be so prevalent.
- there will be a boom in handicrafts and maker economy
It’s possible that humanity’s celebration of art and creativity is coming to a close. It’s not actually that old. People focused on technique and skill until about 150 years ago, when a few artistic revolutions – starting with romantic poets and bleeding into the art scene through Klimt’s vienna circle, decided to cast off reality or beauty in favor of mad, emotional outbursts of blind creativity – the new thing in itself, to be creative, to be creating, was more important than the work.
Most people still believe this even though making a living as an artist has always been hard, and recently more so, due to the vast, vast amount of content and competition.
What is Dalle 2: the dark side of AI art
It’s been a few months since Dalle 2 was announced and for such a big deal, I don’t feel it’s gotten a great deal of attention. This video showing off the features only has a few thousand views… and it’s amazing. Watch the part where he shows an ultrasound of a baby dragon or just erases a dog and puts a cute cat in its place… in a photorealistic version.
Sure it can be done in Photoshop, but that takes a trained human time and effort. The huge revolution here is that anybody without any special design skills is going to be able to create anything with just some basic text prompts.
We will see an absolute FLOODING of AI art in stock photo sites. An explosion of media content and choices and options. I predict a handful of people will (and already are) getting in early, like my friend who is selling Ai generated art for book covers at $900 a pop.
I’ve thought of opening an instagram just for my abstract chonky cat images, but in the meantime I’ll at least put them on pinterest and stuff to drive traffic back to my cat website (yes I have a cat website now).
I feel like, the idea that someday robots may threaten humanity by becoming creative – capable of real creative generation, which most experts will say is just a mixing and meshing what already exists, a blending of things into new surprising forms – that this day is already here. It’s no longer a speculative fantasy. It is now. It is happening, and most people are missing it.
As this guy in the above video says,
“artistic and imaginative activities are so valued because they are difficult, because not everybody can do them and because they show us something new and stimulating.”
Dr Ben Miles
We get a dopamine hit and mood boost when we see something new and interesting; we scroll for hours of crap to try and find that one *new* thing. And genuinely new, cool, creative stuff that is well produced is actually rare.
People may say “oh you’re so creative” when you have an imaginative idea… but ideas are cheap. They’ll say “oh you’re so talented” when you’ve shown signs of skill – talent is usually something a person has when a skill comes more easily to them. (Talented people also have trouble becoming actually good at something, because they get frustrated when things get hard).
What will happen when everybody can create without effort or consequence?
I wrote a while back about a charlie chaplin film made nearly a hundred years ago (“Modern Times”) that was itself a reflection on the automation of industry; how robots were taking our jobs because they were more efficient. That day has never yet really truly come to pass, because robots aren’t as deft as our little capable fingers. But also this week, they’re putting human skin on a robot finger.
Elon Musk is determined that humanoid robots will be his next big thing. We are much closer than you think we are, to an absolute and complete change with how humans relate to the means and ends of their own production.
I could quote Marx here, but I won’t – you can make the connections yourself. Our work was taken from us, sold to lower bidders overseas. This might be a way to take it back, but what will do when the captains of industry no longer need us?
Currently, they pay as little as they can to keep us working, while giving us just enough so that we can actively participate in the economy – bribing us with shiny toys. Even when they don’t need us to produce, they will need us to consume, which means they’ll have to find ways to keep paying us for something.
Universal income? Who knows.
Creativity is making what is not; what does not exist; and being able to imagine a world where it does exist – even if it’s nonsensical. Previously, this is what artists and illustrators have done, not just capture art, but also expand on it to show what could be possible. To imagine (to picture what isn’t real) or create (to make what isn’t real) have been marks of the human species, and some would argue, our core purpose – after all God tasked Adam with the naming of all things
DallE 2 AI illustration Examples
It’s hard to grasp what the big deal is without examples, so here are a few I’ve picked out. You’ll notice some look photorealistic and some look like illustrations, but you can just choose *any* style including any famous art movements or artists.
The cat’s expression is perfect…
For more examples, definitely check out this Twitter feed of Dalle2 Pics.
- Is Dall-E 2 Real?
- Is DALL-E available to the public?
- How does DALL-e 2 work?
- What is DALL-E mini?
Can AI replace your graphic designer?
I found this fun video where a graphic designer and Dall-E are given the same prompt, and the coworkers have to vote and guess who made it. The results are surprising. This doesn’t mean the jury is out; it means the AI illustration tools are already better (or as good).
Children’s book illustrations & product mockups
This video has a few new interesting examples. One of them I love because I’m thinking of doing a dinosaur-themed kid’s book and here are some quick illustrations Dall-E2 spit out.
“I’m blown away by the amount of creativity in this.”
And there’s also a kind of “respinner” tool where you can take one photograph and recreate something new based from it. Go to 6:23 in the above video – he has a picture of him in a robot costume with a techie puzzle. Dalle2 creates a completely new similar image with non of the original components, creating or making up a fancy alien-esque puzzle device. Dreaming almost; with near photorealism.
And you can even choose an art style or type or even a particular camera model to get a certain type of filter, though filter isn’t at all the right word for this.
A history of AI made by Dall-E2 Images
This is actually a super interesting and well done video lesson of AI history, so you should watch it just to be informed about how we got here. BUT all the pictures were also made with Dalle2, so it’s a great case study or example of how marketers or content creators will soon be using software like this. For example I could have Jarvis research and write the article, use an AI tool to generate specific images, and find another AI video tool to put it all together.
Google’s Imagen AI
Apparently Google also has its own version which is surprisingly good – maybe even better. Here’s a video comparison.
Dall-E: The Ultimate Guide to Using This Powerful Marketing Tool
Ok, this might be devious, but I used Jarvis to generate a bunch of content on Dall-E so that Google thinks my articles is better than it actually is; you’ll notice the following is all decently well written, but it’s not *exactly* the truth. Dall-E1 was never launched to the public and Dall-E2 hasn’t been yet either, so these thoughts on how to use it for marketing are speculations… from a robot.
Dall-E is a powerful marketing tool that can help your business reach new heights. It has been used by some of the biggest names in the business world, and now it’s your turn to take advantage of its power! In this guide, we will show you how to use Dall-E to its fullest potential. We’ll discuss what Dall-E is, how it works, and how you can use it to improve your marketing efforts. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get started!
Dall-E is a software application that allows users to create and share digital content. It is similar to other applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Paint, but it has some unique features that make it ideal for marketing purposes. For example, Dall-E allows users to create three-dimensional images, which can be used to create product demonstrations or virtual tours. Additionally, Dall-E’s “layers” feature allows users to add text, audio, or video to their creations. This makes it easy to create engaging content that will capture the attention of your target audience.
Now that you know a little bit about what Dall-E is and how it works, let’s talk about how you can use it to improve your marketing efforts. One of the best ways to use Dall-E is to create product demonstrations or virtual tours. These can be used to showcase your products in a way that is both visually appealing and informative. Additionally, you can use Dall-E’s layers feature to add text, audio, or video to your product demonstrations. This will help you engage your target audience and give them the information they need to make a purchase decision.
If you’re looking for a powerful marketing tool that can help you reach new heights, look no further than Dall-E. With its unique features and easy-to-use interface, Dall-E is the perfect tool for any business owner who wants to take their marketing efforts to the next level. So what are you waiting for? Get started today and see the results for yourself!
Do you have any questions about using Dall-E? Leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to help!
Comment:
- I don’t really get how this is supposed to help with marketing? Can you give some examples?
Using Dall-E to create product demonstrations or virtual tours is a great way to improve your marketing efforts. By doing so, you can showcase your products in a way that is both visually appealing and informative. Additionally, adding text, audio, or video to your product demonstrations with Dall-E’s layers feature will help you engage your target audience and give them the information they need to make a purchase decision. If you have any questions about using Dall-E for marketing purposes, feel free to leave a comment below and we’ll be happy to help! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Comment:
This is really helpful, thank you! Can you give some examples of how businesses have used Dall-E successfully?
Yes, definitely! There are many examples of businesses that have used Dall-E’s unique features to create successful marketing campaigns. For example, one company used Dall-E to create a virtual tour of their product. This allowed potential customers to see the product in action and get a better understanding of how it worked. Additionally, they added text, audio, and video content to the virtual tour, which helped engage the audience and give them more information about the product. As a result of this campaign, the company saw a significant increase in sales. Another business used Dall-E to create an animated product demonstration. This allowed them to showcase their product in a fun and engaging way, while also providing potential customers with valuable information about the product. Thanks for asking! 🙂
Comment:
Do you have any advice on how to create successful marketing content with Dall-E?
There are a few things to keep in mind when creating marketing content with Dall-E. First, it’s important to make sure that your content is visually appealing. Remember, you’re trying to capture the attention of your target audience, so you want your content to be eye-catching and visually appealing. Additionally, make sure to add text, audio, or video content to your creations. This will help engage your audience and give them the information they need to make a purchase decision. Finally, don’t forget to promote your content! Make sure to share it on social media and other online platforms so potential customers can see it. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Comment:
Great tips! I’m definitely going to try using Dall-E for my business. Do you have any advice on how often I should create new content?
It’s important to create new content on a regular basis so that potential customers always have something new to check out. However, how often you create new content will depend on your specific business and marketing goals. If you’re selling a product that doesn’t change very often, you might not need to create new content as frequently. However, if you’re promoting a service or offering that is constantly changing, it’s important to create new content more often so that potential customers are always up-to-date on what you’re offering. Thanks for reading! 🙂
I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.
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