I have to admit that when AI works, it is like pure magic! But, those moments are rare amongst all of the failures and one should be prepared for huge mood swings while using a platform.
I mainly use ChatGPT for my images and, while, in the end, it ultimately gave me what I wanted for my children’s books, the anger and frustration over wasted hours with repeated failures, was unreal. I would reject an image and ask for changes (usually what I asked for at the beginning) and the system would proceed to send me the exact same image for hours. It tells you that it is finally going to do it right this time and doesn’t change a thing. The first few tries are filled with hope, but as I realize that hours are being wasted arguing with a bot, my whole life begins to plummet – frustration and rage pour over me. I am often frustrated but rage is not an emotion that I find useful. But, yes, everyone gets angry and I am human that way.
It is funny because when you use AI people accuse you of being lazy and taking the easy way out. Well, they have never tried to use artificial intelligence for a lengthy project and they sure don’t know what they are talking about. It is even more hilarious when it is a group of photographers who are badmouthing a fellow photographer for their open use of AI on a large project, such as a children’s book, because they use AI everyday in their editing. I guess that is different.
I also use Chat for answers to things that have me stumped, like how to do a task in Photoshop or inDesign, and have found the instructions clear and completely helpful. I would say that Chat excels at answering questions and is accurate way more often than it gives bad information. I don’t trust everything and will usually look for a source. AI is also good about providing links for verification.
As a single person who has lived alone for a long time, decades, it can be difficult to make wise decisions when there is no one to bounce ideas off of. We can often be our own worst enemies, despite good intentions to do the right thing. Well, Chat is actually very good at giving other perspectives for me to think about. I don’t know everything and when stressed often find it hard to think clearly (another human characteristic) and so being willing to admit that I don’t know all and need advice is a good step towards making better decisions. No one can navigate this world alone but some of us, due to unfortunate circumstances, have to do so. I like solutions as opposed to being stuck and not moving forward. We all work within the boundaries of the resources that we possess.
Anyway, Adobe has recently come out with some video AI software and as a subscriber to their software I get free credits to try the video options. The first few videos turned out flawlessly great and it was fun. I took images from Pippin of Yellowstone to make some promotional videos and was quite pleased. BTW, full disclosure, after struggling with the next steps on promotion, I asked Chat and got reams of information. Well, last night, I wanted to use the last of this month’s credits on Firefly before they renewed and so played with the platform again. Below are the videos that resulted from this effort. Not quite as seamless and easy as the first attempts and a couple are quite funny – a bear with a lion’s tail, extra bear cubs running around.
AI is unpredictable and it literally does not care if you get frustrated. Oh, it voices the right words but they are the words of a machine. But, AI is the future and before long most people will be using it in their everyday lives, whether for information on Google, advice, or to make images for a children’s book.
Now that the pain is over for my first children’s book, and close to over for my second, I am very pleased with the images. I was hands on every step of the way. And, while I am well into book #3 with some super images created, the pain of the lost hours and the loss of my temper are fresh and I’m hesitant to go through that aggravation again. However, my options are few and if my commitment to entertaining the youth, while educating them about the wild, holds strong, I must do what it takes to finish.
Below are images I used for the video creation and the videos. You can tell which is which. LOL. It is a combination of images from both books.
The idea of being creative is having your own, fresh ideas and creating with those in mind. Being creative is not doing the same thing everyone else does but it often involves ideas from others that are carried into another realm through imagination and trial and error. If we all conformed to one way of doing everything, creativity would die. We must be allowed to express ourselves in our own ways and we must allow others to do the same. Have some respect for yourselves and stay on your own side of the street.
“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.”
― Henry Thomas Buckle
