Can AI Draw Like David Sutherland?

 I've been participating in a beta for MidJourney, an AI image creation algorithm that takes key words, searches the internet for thousands, millions of images and creates an original graphic. The results are dream like, strange, and sometimes really well composed.

There are many AI image making systems in development, for example Artbreeder and Dream are ones I've dabbled with. This technology is just in its infancy and is already exciting, intimidating, and a little scary for those of use who make a living doing Illustrations.

As an experiment I challenged the software to replicate the style of David C. Sutherland III. The results are interesting, but not particularly convincing. The images are more abstract than illustrative, and they don't really capture the fine line work at all. I've found in general it is difficult to get the AI to draw decent line work, it tends to do either painterly or photographic much better. Here are some of the results.

This was only a first attempt. There are a lot of techniques such as refining keywords, emphasizing words, feed it images to work from, and so on that can help to improve the results. The keywords I used for this batch were: knight fighting a dragon in a dungeon, and a paladin in hell fighting devils. As you can tell the answer to the question "Can AI draw like David Sutherland?" is currently no.

I'll be continuing to play with the software as it improves, but for now illustrators don't have much to worry about. Then again, master Go players never thought they'd get beaten by a computer either. We live in interesting times.

Discussion thread: https://nightowlworkshop.freeforums.net/thread/33/ai-draw-david-sutherland-iii

Warduke Wednesday

 Warduke wants to defeat Strongheart because he's such an annoying goody little two-shoes.

Wizard Tower of Karogul the Grotesque

Karogul was a misshapen and grotesque man. Born with terrible birth defects and a hideous appearance, he was nonetheless a kind soul and an extremely gifted wizard.

When he completed his apprenticeship and left his master to find his way, he traveled to many of the most impressive cities in the lands. He took copious notes of architecture and was determined to make his own wizard tower a lustrous spire of great beauty. He succeeded. He passed away ages ago, but his legacy remains. The spire has withstood the test of time.

Dark forces have infiltrated the spire from the caverns below and are defiling this great monument to a great wizard.

 

Warduke Wednesday

"Then it will be a fight to the finish," cries Warduke. "For the crown will be mine." 

Wizard Tower - Cancerous Spire of Hyjel the Pestilential Harbinger

 Every era has a harbinger that represents the Spirit of the Age. At the end of the reign of the Eldritch Lords the darkest Harbinger, named Hyjel arrived who represented pestilence. Hyjel, whose name means cancerous rot in the foul tongue of demons, built a sinister spire that spread cancer throughout the land, a darkened blot on the peaceful countryside.

A conclave of wizards, clerics of light, and paladins joined forces to conquer Hyjel. A great battle ensued and Hyjel was forced to flee back to the Abyss he came from. His tower however remained, a dark and malevolent force that may contain great treasures and knowledge of dark sorceries.