Midjourney... what can I say? I wonder what would happen if I would invest the hours spent with this AI to actually create my own digital art... a topic for another time. I never get what I want. Sometimes I get something I might like. Most of the times I get frustrated.
I finally took the time to look up some of the options and settings and got mildly better results. I also hear the new version 5 is better at doing what you ask without giving you back the interpretive dance version of your prompt. 😉 But even then, it's still not as straightforward and definitely not as consistent as working with a person.
Yes, I also noticed that the AI is getting better. I will run some of my older prompts and see if the results are cleaner. I totally agree that it can never replace working with an artist. An artist would be able to understand what I see in my world and create my vision. Midjourney never does. I have to take what it gives me.
So much goodness in this post. Again, I really appreciate the nuance you are bringing to it.
Going to watch the Sam Does Arts video filled me with SUCH rage at how some people do not seem to mature out of a "stop hitting yourself" childish mentality. Seriously, people who troll that way REALLY NEED A HOBBY.
The most salient point in your piece for me is the penultimate paragraph: I do not have the money to pay people a living wage for services. I dream about finding a perfect editor the way a lot of straight women dream about finding the perfect husband. I would LOVE to have a writer-editor relationship with someone, AND it's not gonna happen anytime soon. I can pay for some editing services here and there, but I do not have anything close to the income needed to hire someone to work on a full manuscript. I wish I did. The second I do, it's happening. This is high on my dreamy-creative-living-my-best-life-bucket-list. I even have people in mind who I would hire in a heartbeat if my income allowed for it.
Until then...I pay for ProWritingAid and for years I used grammarly. These apps provide a lot that an editor might at a price I can afford. That being said, there is nothing like actual human ingenuity and awareness when it comes to creativity. These apps can't understand the audience I'm writing for or what it means to help me refine and amplify my voice as a writer. They help, AND they are not the same as a skilled, trained editor. Just like AI art is not the same as a skilled, trained artist. It's a stand in for those of us who would absolutely spend the money if we had the means.
"I dream about finding a perfect editor the way a lot of straight women dream about finding the perfect husband." This line is perfect. Also, an editor that is really a partner in writing sounds like a lovely dream indeed! Question: where do you even go to look for these sorts of magical people?
But yes, this is a great analogy! It's a help, but AI is just no substitute for working with a real creative.
Great post, very much agree and I've been thinking on this a lot lately. What I enjoy about using Midjourney on Discord is watching what other people create, because you get to see what keywords/stylewords etc they use, which has been really valuable in learning some manipulations. But yeah, the output can be wild ... and not necessarily what was intended.
Midjourney... what can I say? I wonder what would happen if I would invest the hours spent with this AI to actually create my own digital art... a topic for another time. I never get what I want. Sometimes I get something I might like. Most of the times I get frustrated.
I finally took the time to look up some of the options and settings and got mildly better results. I also hear the new version 5 is better at doing what you ask without giving you back the interpretive dance version of your prompt. 😉 But even then, it's still not as straightforward and definitely not as consistent as working with a person.
Yes, I also noticed that the AI is getting better. I will run some of my older prompts and see if the results are cleaner. I totally agree that it can never replace working with an artist. An artist would be able to understand what I see in my world and create my vision. Midjourney never does. I have to take what it gives me.
So much goodness in this post. Again, I really appreciate the nuance you are bringing to it.
Going to watch the Sam Does Arts video filled me with SUCH rage at how some people do not seem to mature out of a "stop hitting yourself" childish mentality. Seriously, people who troll that way REALLY NEED A HOBBY.
The most salient point in your piece for me is the penultimate paragraph: I do not have the money to pay people a living wage for services. I dream about finding a perfect editor the way a lot of straight women dream about finding the perfect husband. I would LOVE to have a writer-editor relationship with someone, AND it's not gonna happen anytime soon. I can pay for some editing services here and there, but I do not have anything close to the income needed to hire someone to work on a full manuscript. I wish I did. The second I do, it's happening. This is high on my dreamy-creative-living-my-best-life-bucket-list. I even have people in mind who I would hire in a heartbeat if my income allowed for it.
Until then...I pay for ProWritingAid and for years I used grammarly. These apps provide a lot that an editor might at a price I can afford. That being said, there is nothing like actual human ingenuity and awareness when it comes to creativity. These apps can't understand the audience I'm writing for or what it means to help me refine and amplify my voice as a writer. They help, AND they are not the same as a skilled, trained editor. Just like AI art is not the same as a skilled, trained artist. It's a stand in for those of us who would absolutely spend the money if we had the means.
"I dream about finding a perfect editor the way a lot of straight women dream about finding the perfect husband." This line is perfect. Also, an editor that is really a partner in writing sounds like a lovely dream indeed! Question: where do you even go to look for these sorts of magical people?
But yes, this is a great analogy! It's a help, but AI is just no substitute for working with a real creative.
These people exist! I have a few in my social network who I'll happily point folks to anytime if they have the funds to pay them.
Noted! 😃
Great post, very much agree and I've been thinking on this a lot lately. What I enjoy about using Midjourney on Discord is watching what other people create, because you get to see what keywords/stylewords etc they use, which has been really valuable in learning some manipulations. But yeah, the output can be wild ... and not necessarily what was intended.
Seeing what others have coaxed out of the algorithm and how they did it is definitely as fun as it is educational!