Why I Use AI To Generate Images for My Books
And a Challenge to Graphic Artists
I’ve gotten some flak from people about using AI images. And I’m not impervious to these attacks, as I don’t wear a flak jacket. I’m not as Chicken Little or Eeyorish as they are about AI, obviously, but I would actually prefer art created by wetware (humans) over that generated by software (robots).
So why don’t I (use human artwork in my books)?
I’ve tried. Oh, how I’ve tried.
How? I have attempted to interest graphic artists in a share-the-profits plan, even offering a 50/50 deal, but nobody (so far) has taken me up on it. They all want to do the work for pay, rather than risking getting nothing. I can’t blame them, really; and in any case, it’s their decision. But they can’t complain about starving artists (the writer subgenre of the starving artists, that is) turning to AI when the graphic artists aren’t willing to meet them halfway.
Not to be antagonistic, but there’s no use whining about how things used to be or how they should be. The current situation is what the situation is (that’s another way of saying “It is what it is,” I guess, or “S[ituations] happen”). Regardless, the sooner you learn to live with things as they are, the better off you’ll be.
As a couple of examples of how good-but-not-great the AI images are, here are a few that I (providing the descriptions/prompts) and AI (generating the art) produced for the just-finished utopian/dystopian time-travel novella Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe (Book 3 of the Taterskin & The Eco Defenders trilogy), along with my critiques of how they could be improved:
Marmalade the Orange Tabby Kitten, Stripes the Bengal Tiger, and Rory the Lion (pretty good, but why do cute little Marmalade’s eyes look so spooky?)
Yukyuk the Chuckling Hyena (the only problem with this one is the boat, as they are supposed to be on the most isolated island in the world [The Wet Tortugas] where nobody lives, visits, or are even aware of its existence)
Falcona the Peregrine Falcon (not bad, but the mountains in the background look more like Yosemite than the Trinity Alps, which is what my prompt/picture description specified)
The Androcles, an eVTOL used by The Eco Defenders (pretty good, but each rendition of the eVTOLs [electric Vertical TakeOff and Landing aircraft, sort of a combination airplane/helicopter] differ a bit from each other)
Terri Wingfinger the Pterodactyl (I don’t know why AI adorned Terri with a psychedelic feather sprouting out of the top of her head)
Ooga the Gorilla at the U.N. (not bad, but I don’t think the gorilla paperweight on the desk belongs there)
Quedly Dake and his two bodyguards, Kenworth Bumney and Reed Reid (why do they all look the same, and more like action figures than real [albeit “punified”] men?)
The Wet Tortugas (I wish the other islands in the background weren’t there; after all, the Wet Tortugas are supposed to be the most isolated islands in the world)
Ocero Puddleby eating Thyme mashed potatoes (not too bad, but the mashed spuds look a bit too scrambled-eggish for my taste [no pun intended])
Ulysses “Yookie” Calypso, a Koala Bear (no real complaints here)
These images are good enough, for the most part, but if I could have more consistency in the appearance of the characters and the eVTOLs, it would be a vast improvement. There are two ways this could be accomplished:
Have an artist create the images. As I cannot afford to pay them “up front,” though (starving artist syndrome), they would have to agree to a profit-sharing deal (a risk, yes!)
Use AI. But this would only solve the consistency problem if the AI software could “remember” the likeness of characters already created, either images made by AI itself or via some other means.
This is how I could see the latter possibility working: I upload an image, whether it be a photograph, an artist-created drawing, a previously-AI-generated image, or whatever, and give the subject in the image a name; e.g., if I want to use the following AI-generated image of the villain of Book 3 of the Taterskin trilogy, Quedly Dake, as a “model” of how he should look in other images:
…I could name the image (Quedly Dake would be a logical choice in this case), and then, whenever in the future I want AI to generate another image of Mr. Dake (eating, opening a window, walking dully along, scratching his not-so-innocent behind on a tree, or what have you), my prompt would be: “QUEDLY DAKE [engaging in some activity]”
The capitalized name in the prompt would indicate to the AI robot that I previously saved an image named Quedly Dake, and I want that same likeness to be used for this next image.
So here’s my challenge to the artists who complain about AI taking away their livelihood: Create a set of images for me, and if I accept them as suitable (better than the AI images), I will split the profit from all sales of Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe with you 50/50. Otherwise, I will keep it all, but it will probably be less than I would make with you providing your skill and expertise (I do appreciate and value good artwork).
If any talented artist “out there” would like to have a go at it, provide me with your email address (you can respond here or contact me at axx3andspace at gmail dot com), and I will send you the PDF of Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe so that you can read the book and use the AI-generated images as inspiration or a cautionary tale of what not to do or what needs to be improved.
So, you can either sit on your easel, twiddle your paintbrush, and do nothing, or you can grab your palette, twirl your mustache (if you’ve got one), and commence. It’s up to you.
Here’s a brief description of the book:
Blackbird Crow Raven's utopian/dystopian time-travel fantasy novella "Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe" is the story of Quedly T. Dake, an evil man who will stop at nothing to achieve power; he uses flattery, bribes, and even deadly threats to achieve his goals: First, to become President of the United States, and then to name himself Secretary General of the U.N. and turn that "paper tiger" into an organization with real "teeth," a force in the world that becomes the primary world power when Dake also crowns himself Emperor of the World. He nukes the 12 nations who try to stop him. When this happens, the Eco Defenders spring and fly into action, traveling back in time from the year 2525, where they had been enjoying a peaceful, egalitarian society, to the year 2029, when Dake is about to unleash nuclear weapons on those dozen 'holdout' countries.Follow Taterskin the Labrador Retriever and his family, as well as Alexis the African Gray Parrot (the smartest animal in the world), Albert Spartacus Joad, and the other human and animal members of The Eco Defenders as they take on Dake in an effort to restore peace and harmony to the earth.You can read the PDF of Quedly Dake and His Quest to Conquer the Globe here.
The ePub version is available there, too. Click the image to download the file.
The Paperback version is available on amazon here.
The Kindle version is available on amazon here.
The Hardcover version is available on amazon here.
Although already published, I can replace these with an updated version—with your better-than-AI images—at any time.
