Fundamentals of AI Art Generation

[CBR JGWRR]

right? I was happy with how it made it all one style. don't think I could recreate that for say 20-30 images though, but it's a start.


Have you tried putting the image back into chatgpt? say you find the character your most happy with, upload that image into chatgpt and write "give this character gloves". then you take that image and upload it into chatgpt again to work on the background? could work?

Did try, but the results were still hit and miss... While ChatGPT was much better at getting the feel of the painting, it still had a habit of missing elements.

Overall, I do keep in mind that what I'm working on with the Xenayan space program is a very niche project artistically, but it is difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed.

 

[dmurgell]

Hello everyone
I arrived to this thread thanks to @Chac1 who always has great advice. Thanks @Chac1 !

For those who are not yet familiar with my CK2 AAR, I will sum it saying it is a comedic chronicle of Scotland, ruled by the Blackadders. You can see the link in my signature. From the very beginning, I decided to use only AI generated images in the AAR, not game screenshots. This is giving me quite a lot of freedom on the story, as I can add absurd details which do not come on the game. And I was not aware of this thread, so I have been just learning and trying 'solo' ... I am using both Chat GPT and Copilot for image generation. I was not initially aware that they both rely on DALL·E 3.

What I found to date, and sorry I was not really 'documenting' the process as I only used it as a 'personal work' is :

- Add as much context as you can before starting "the prompt" itself. It dramatically improves results. Really.
Example : I am writing an After Action Report based on Crusader Kings 2 game, where the main character is Lord Edmund Blackadder. It is a comedic AAR mixing recurring jokes and character from the TV series Blackadder with CK2 game events. The current chapter is set in year 769 in Edinburgh.

- Add the overall idea / scenario where your image is to be used.
Example : I need an image to illustrate a passage where Lord Edmund is on pilgrimage to Ireland, where he would pay a visit to St. Patricks tomb. During the journey, he is assaulted by thieves but somehow manages to fight them back.

- Finally "the prompt" specifying what you want to be pictured, on which style, the size or proportions expected, and all details that you need
Example : With the previous context, generate an image of Edmund Blackadder during his pilgrimage. He is wearing noble robes and a crown. As it is on Ireland, picture a leprechaun and some four-leaf clovers. I want it to look like an illustrated manuscript similar to the Book of Kells. I want the image to be on landscape, that is wider than tall.

I just made up this example, and this is the result :

Nice, but it does not seem the Book of Kells - I assume it is because on my last session I was asking for comic style, and maybe Chat GPT has still that memory (although I started a new conversation). So I added a new prompt : Find images of the Book of Kells and use them as style guide for the image. Generate it again.

This is the answer with the "process" Chat GPT has done :

And the image after this process :

Which looks funny ... but not what I wanted.

So, what I will do now is close browser, clean cache, delete history, ask Chat GPT to erase memory as well and try again ...

Stay tuned for next post.

 

[dmurgell]

Okey so this is the result after restarting browser and asking Chat GPT to erase the memory of last conversation. Same prompt used on a new conversation.

Generate an image of Edmund Blackadder during his pilgrimage. He is wearing noble robes and a crown. As it is on Ireland, picture a leprechaun and some four-leaf clovers. I want it to look like an illustrated manuscript similar to the Book of Kells. I want the image to be on landscape, that is wider than tall.

Now looks closer to my idea, getting finally rid of the "comic" style that was previously used. But sadly the face ressemblance has lost quite the detail.



Using same prompt but changing the style definition, just for the fun of testing. I keep on the same conversation so context remains active.

Generate an image of Edmund Blackadder during his pilgrimage to Ireland. He is wearing noble robes and a crown. As it is on Ireland, picture a leprechaun and some four-leaf clovers. I want it to look like a Caravaggio baroque painting . I want the image to be on landscape, that is wider than tall.

Seems hands are no longer an issue for AI, which is great. However, face does not ressemble Blackadder at all ...

Lets do one more try, on differnt style (just to see the results)

Generate an image of Edmund Blackadder during his pilgrimage to Ireland. He is wearing noble robes and a crown. As it is on Ireland, picture a leprechaun and some four-leaf clovers. I want it to look like a professional photography. I want the image to be on landscape, that is wider than tall.

I do like testing different styles for the same prompt, then selecting one and using it for an entire chapter in the AAR. In the next chapter, I choose a different style. It might cause some 'cohesion issues' between chapters, but I think it's also interesting and fun — and a real chronicle spanning over 500 years would naturally feature different styles.

 

[MacGowan]

Thanks @CBR JGWRR & @MacGowan for keeping this thread interesting with further discussions of image making and the image making process.

Thank you for keeping it alive! I'm hoping to see some new AI discoveries. I know reddit got lots of stuff, but this thread is more in the vein of what i use AI for.

I do hope @MacGowan that when you launch your AAR with these images that you will let us know in this thread so we can see how you are using them.

I've published the worldbuilding on some social media platforms:

Not doing much traffic. I also made a youtube channel, but I'm not really feeling the videos. I worked with suno for music, elevenlabs for the narration, but it's a bit cumbersome, and meh. I'm hoping to launch the AAR next year, but I def need to figure out the gaming mechanics, might nick some axis and allies and darkest hour mechanics, also thinking about seeing if i can't use chatgpt or Claude to play against, (by feeding them screenshots), would love to know if anyone here has played with LLM AI as a CPU gaming opponent.

So far, we have no confirmed reports of a platform that will guarantee cohesive character creation across scenes and different poses, at least not in a free version. (One can dream, no?)

However, I do find this workaround is one way to try it: use your character in a reference image that may help with the next generation. Thanks @MacGowan for reminding us of that. When in a corner, try reusing older generations to spark new creation.

Yeah, chatGPT/Sora can be a bit annoying, but it's the only one I've found that let's me reuse characters like this:

Overall, I do keep in mind that what I'm working on with the Xenayan space program is a very niche project artistically, but it is difficult not to feel a little bit disappointed.

Yeah, it seem the more specific we want the image to be, the harder it is to generate correctly.

Hello everyone

hello!

For those who are not yet familiar with my CK2 AAR, I will sum it saying it is a comedic chronicle of Scotland, ruled by the Blackadders.

I love me some Blackadder! I'll def check out your AAR.

my last session I was asking for comic style, and maybe Chat GPT has still that memory (although I started a new conversation).

I had similar problems, where ChatGPT kept sneaking in traditional chinese soldiers into everything i made. I found it had saved a memory of it in its settings, so i went there and deleted it, and turned off any memory setting.

So, what I will do now is close browser, clean cache, delete history, ask Chat GPT to erase memory as well and try again ...

yeah, i found it's better to wipe everything everytime with starting a new window.
you can also check out http://sora.chatgpt.com. It's the image generator openAI / ChatGPT is using, but its the designated site for it. That one seems to not have this memory issue, and it gives you 4 variations when you generate.

 

[dmurgell]

and it gives you 4 variations when you generate

Double the fun, half the price!

Thanks @MacGowan for all the tips. Definitely worth to check that 'memories setup' I was not aware of. It had a mix of previous conversations and ended up messing the results. Now without memory I guess each conversation will be independent and not affected by previous commands.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

An LLM as a gaming opponent is an interesting concept. I wonder if it would do better or worse than a conventional video-game AI...

Those worldbuilding pictures are really impressive for consistency of style.

 

[MacGowan]

Thanks @MacGowan for all the tips. Definitely worth to check that 'memories setup' I was not aware of. It had a mix of previous conversations and ended up messing the results.

I'm glad it helped!

An LLM as a gaming opponent is an interesting concept. I wonder if it would do better or worse than a conventional video-game AI...

I think it will be much more unpredictable and buggy. But might work if i keep a close watch. I know they got Claude to beat Pokemon Blue with just using screenshots.

Those worldbuilding pictures are really impressive for consistency of style.

thank you! It's def hard to get the style consistent across the board.

Anyone tried any video ais yet? i hear google veo3 is insane.

 

[MichOrion]

Over the past few months, I’ve been developing a visual archive for my tabletop RPG project, Hollow Crown: No Lords but the Living, inspired by the After the End mods for Crusader Kings, a post-collapse, neo-medieval setting rooted in ritual, memory, and survival along a reimagined Mississippi and Appalachian interior. The goal has been simple but demanding: generate images that look like in-world artifacts, not fantasy concept art.


Consistency has been the hardest part — and the most satisfying win. Every image is generated using a strict workflow grounded in:

• Extensive Project Files and editorial instructions, covering lore, tone, formatting, and mechanical integration
• A closed corpus — no speculation or extrapolation beyond what’s written
• A visual rulebook: real-world materials only (cloth, bone, iron, wood), natural light only (candle, torch, overcast), and no fantasy drift
• Captions are structured as diegetic entries: reverent, in-universe, and formatted like those found in an illustrated psalter or faction ledger
• Any visual misstep — even a bow held wrong or a feather too bright — gets corrected and re-rendered using direct textual reference

Here are a few of the results so far:

Butternutter Hearthtender – matron of a communal oven-shrine

Conclavian Field Confessor – priest taking indulgence from shackled rebels, offering absolution in exchange for certain death in the front line of the President's forces

Ani-Nantahi Spirit-Warrior – forestbound rite-fighter armored in bone and oath

Ophiolatrist Shrine-Matron – binding rites lit by serpent-candles in a cave shrine

Riverlander Duelists – fiddle duel scene shown as graffiti in a textbook from centuries later

Saint of Arch and Mass – stained glass depiction of a Builder-Saint holding a civic structure

Deltaic Cavalier – a second-born noble in ceremonial duel attire, quilted with family thread

If you’re building your own in-world visual stylebook, especially for game settings, historical fiction, or alt-future societies, I’ll be happy to share process details or the full Image Workflow.

I've got many more examples and I'll post more if there is more interest!

I'm currently developing character images from bios. Multiple figures is still difficult as well as recreating something generated in a new pose in a consistent way.

 

[MichOrion]

I've published the worldbuilding on some social media platforms:

Wow, I love the subject! Hard sci-fi, Expanse-inspired? Looks like some hard-fought consistency here!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I'm glad it helped!

I think it will be much more unpredictable and buggy. But might work if i keep a close watch. I know they got Claude to beat Pokemon Blue with just using screenshots.

To be fair, I think Pokemon is something that would be relatively easy for a LLM, as strategic level is well within the limits of it's long term memory, and especially for Pokemon Blue - being from way before they started the XP reduction for beating lower level Pokemon - it would have the patience to grind out level 100 mons from the start of the game, and that would trivialise the rest of the game once the moveset of the mon is loaded with pure attack moves.

Or did they get it to complete the Pokedex?

I think a LLM would have a much harder task of say, playing CK3.

thank you! It's def hard to get the style consistent across the board.

Definitely...

Anyone tried any video ais yet? i hear google veo3 is insane.

I've been unhappy with the attempts I've done with LeonardoAI, but equally I've not tried it in a while so it may be improved by now.

Edit.

I've now blown through 25k Tokens on LeonardoAI with the VEO3 model (at 2500 a go...) and well.. It takes a good four minutes to generate with my system - a mid-range gaming desktop that's a few years old now.

But, these forums don't support .mp4 files...

And that means you guys can't see the short video of Naomi and Buri cuddling, with Buri opening and shutting his jaws at a pace suggestive of saying "I love you." It's sweet.