I always seem to be attracted to things that feel like magic (AI is a clear example of this). Five years ago I got my first Virtual Reality headset. I never tried one, but when I saw videos about Google Tilt Brush and Masterpiece Studio and Adobe Medium, I needed to have it. Today I run everything wirelessly, but back then a long wire suspended from my ceiling with a series of retractable pulleys, wrapped around the room, and went into my gaming rig. It wasn’t ideal at all, but it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. VR was exactly what I wanted – pure magic. In an instant my boring, empty, dark room could be transformed into a beach at sunset, a multiplayer battleground, or a studio with endless clay.

I got really into virtual sculpting (like staying up until 3am with 6 hours straight in VR). It felt so intuitive, I mean, I get to use my hands to manipulate material in front of me. I can make it bigger, smaller, and walk around it as if the virtual object is actually in my room. I created a lot of stuff for fun, and even was hired to sculpt.

Now that AI is my new creative hobby, I wanted to see how this technology could take in things I’ve sculpted and make something new of them, maybe more detailed than I was able to sculpt. Here are three examples – an octopus, large format camera, and a circuit board. Not only was I shocked by the similarities to my own creations, but it got me thinking how we might soon be able to quickly sketch 3D objects and “paint in” more details via artificial intelligence. The entire game could change… I can’t wait until I can put on a VR headset, sculpt a quick asset I need for a project, then use AI technology and enhance the looks of my creation. Can you /imagine that?

(click the prompt to copy it!)

/imagine prompt: https://s.mj.run/0EV72P50DXo an octopus under water with bubbles and volumetric light --ar 128:95

I am a media editor. For money, sure, but I mean as a person. It is one of my many passions. I have edited probably 2,000 plus videos (commercial, social, interview), a shameful amount of photographs (nature, art, real estate) – and somehow it has never lost its appeal. I always seek things that I find to feel magical: Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, OneWheel! I think there is magic in editing, like, I can turn something into something else. My hand is in it… I love to shoot – but most of the joy I get is in front of my PC working up the final piece.

Okay, romanticized chatter aside, I wanted to test MidJourney V5 by describing a photograph I made. I have done this with all the old versions and many did (what I thought was) quite well, but I picked a weird edited art image from my recent work (on the left) this time to toss the AI a strange curveball. I will say, I was incredibly shocked at how well it handled the prompt, but also the many other beautiful variations that I am not showing here. I picked this one (on the right) because it was similar to my vision, but also a new thing.

By the way, this post is not some comparison of AI to photography, or about skill or anything like that – just a fun example of seeing how two different creative mediums can… create.

(click the prompt to copy it!)

/imagine prompt: photograph of a line of solid black rectangle columns coming out of the ocean at sunset and stretching into the distance dark blue water orange sun magenta light vibrant colors --ar 3:2 --v 5