I have been creative since I was little when, at the age of three, I decided to paint my tricycle with house paint. My creativity continued in different ways since then. And being creative has become like breathing. I would die without it. But, as I age, my body becomes less patient with sitting or standing for long periods of time. My photography and graphic design are ways I can stay creative, but I wanted to find other ways to create that didn’t involve standing at an easel or crouching over a desk, drawing. Enter Midjourney and generative AI imagery.
I tried different AI image platforms, but I chose to stick with Midjourney. It worked for me and allowed me to pull my way of looking at art and design into the images that I created. Originally, Midjourney was created to be the “mid journey” between the client and designers, allowing the designer to help the client envision a project. But, as others beyond designers began to create images out of Midjourney, it became a place to create ideals as well as art.
Yeah. A lot of people hate AI imagery. In fact, many might fantasize about burning AI artists at the stake if they could. It is a powerful tool. I will say that. But like anything, it can be abused. But I’m here to tell you that it is not just pushing a button. Yes, you can create some interesting images with very simple prompts. But, the challenge, for me at least, has been to get as close to what I’m imagining as possible. That is incredibly difficult, if not damn near impossible. But, like art, after spending time and research crafting a prompt, and spending, sometimes, hours working on an image, you end up with crap. But, also like an artist, you can end up with magnificent imagery.
In some of my recent projects, I wanted to leverage Midjourney as its original intent, by creating content for a magazine layout for two different magazine types, skateboarding and fashion, Decks and Trucks Magazine and Rebel Couture Magazine. In both projects, I created elements that might be at home in such publications. I created products and places, which amounted to several projects within a project. Each magazine project took weeks to complete.
So, if some say it is so easy, and not art or design, I firmly disagree. It’s not lazy art. On the contrary, it can take a lot of time, research, and trial and error to come up with a completed project.
So, haters “gawna” hate. Midjourney, AI image generation, was a welcomed addition to my creative tool box.
Come visit me on Bluesky.