How AI Solved My BIGGEST Art Problem!

If you had asked me half a year ago what my biggest problem was when creating new pieces of art, I would have told you it was coming up with ideas and finding references for them. Finding inspiration, reference photos, and stitching them together digitally to create a coherent composition takes forever and is extremely frustrating, to say the least. Even if you're not working digitally, just a simple idea can take hours to sketch out, conceptualize, and rework multiple times to create only a half-decent piece of art.

So, I am very grateful for every tool that helps me with this difficult process, and I was so excited when I was one of the first hundreds of people who got early access to the Midjourney AI. To say that it revolutionized my painting process is probably an understatement. By the way, I'm not sponsored by them; I'm just a bit obsessed with this tool and wanted to share my experiences with you because since I got access to it, I've created over 700 images for upcoming paintings and commissions, and I already made a few new pieces of art with the help of AI.

AI makes coming up with painting ideas and references so much easier and more uncomplicated. Let me show you an example of how using AI in my most recent piece of art improved my skills and how it can improve your skills too. For this commission of an Egyptian-themed painting, I thought, why not paint an ancient Egyptian goddess on the moon? Normally, a concept I would never paint because it would be just too complicated to realize. But with AI, I could do it. The app only needed a few seconds to come up with various renderings of my idea. I was astonished by the results. Although most of them looked quite creepy, with a bit of work, they would make amazing pieces of art. The way the AI realized the concept was so unique and unconventional that I would have never dreamt of expressing it this way myself. It not only saved me time but also enhanced my visual library.

How Midjourney AI Works

Midjourney AI works with text prompts. You type in /imagine and the idea you want to render. The more specific you are, the better the results will get. For example, "a beautiful ancient warrior queen on an alien planet." You can add the name of an artist after your text, like "painted by Alfons Mucha," and you can add styles like "trending on ArtStation" or "highly realistic." Also, color schemes are really helpful: for example, "pink, blue, grey, or gold." These additions will alter the image and usually make it better than without any style or color directions.

After entering your prompt, the AI starts the rendering process. It's fascinating to see how it builds an image from scratch. When it's ready, it shows you four variations which you can either upscale or create even more variations from. You can also create concepts with images as references, which is a super useful feature in my opinion. You can also choose how it renders your image by entering /settings. This gives you access to different AI versions, style, and upscale options.

Personalizing AI-Generated Imagery

Using Midjourney AI, you start working from an idea first. By combining themes that speak to you personally and art styles that inspire you, you find a color scheme that you like and try multiple variations of your text prompt and various formats to see how your idea will be rendered in different sizes and styles. Next, cherry-pick the best pieces of these images and rework them in Photoshop with real references where the AI failed to create a convincing rendering, like faces, hands, and so on. Modify the image and include some of your own ideas to make something completely unique.

Case Studies

For my ancient Egyptian painting, for example, I replaced the moon, face, arms, and bust. I gave her giant translucent moth wings and added a sci-fi city in the background, which, by the way, I rendered as an individual image in the AI. For this mermaid painting, I only used the tail and the water and added everything else in the composition. For this tiger painting, I replaced the face and the tiger but nothing else.

Tools and Techniques

If you have no idea how to use Photoshop or alternative apps to create these kinds of collages, you can now watch my step-by-step tutorial for Photoshop and Procreate to learn how to make digital references yourself. Just follow the link in the description and join me on Patreon at the advanced student reward tier. I add a new tutorial on Patreon each month, and this month we will have a step-by-step lesson about this painting.

The biggest advantage of using AI, in my opinion, is that it will quickly give you ideas for new pieces of art, especially if you're looking at a blank canvas and have no idea what to paint on it. This tool will give you suggestions instantly. Even if you are not working so meticulously like me and making entire digital collages, it's still a wonderful tool to overcome the first step of what you should paint.

AI's Limitations

However, there are also a few disadvantages that come with this tool as well. After having rendered over 700 pictures, I realized that the way Midjourney does compositions with the figure as a focal point looks very similar, as well as the strange grungy patterns it creates to fill in the image's elements, and I got quickly tired of them. In addition, I wasn't able to recreate some of my favorite artworks with AI; they just were too complicated for it. The amount of elements and the beauty and dreamy poses of my models seemed to be impossible for it to render. Maybe in the future, this will change.

Conclusion

In short, using AI improves the process of finding references and concepts and will give you unconventional and creative imagery to work from without having to worry about copyrights. However, it doesn't replace effort and work, especially if you want to create complex pieces or have a very specific idea. The beauty, in my opinion, lies within the translation from a digital reference into a traditional piece of art.

Keywords

AI in art
Midjourney AI
digital art concepts
reference photos
art composition
Photoshop
art inspiration

FAQ

Q: How does Midjourney AI work?
A: Midjourney AI works with text prompts. You type in /imagine and your idea, and the app generates various renderings. You can be specific with styles, color schemes, and artist references to get better results.

Q: Can AI completely replace artists?
A: No, AI cannot completely replace artists. AI-generated images usually require additional work to be polished or modified. The artist's touch in combining skills, techniques, and personal preferences is essential to make unique art.

Q: What are the limitations of using Midjourney AI?
A: Some limitations include repetitive compositions and grungy patterns in images. Also, extremely complex artworks and detailed poses may be challenging for the AI to render accurately.

Q: How can AI help traditional artists?
A: AI can help traditional artists by quickly generating references and ideas, making the initial stages of the creative process easier. This allows artists to focus more on refining and adding personal touches to their work.

Q: What tools can be used with AI-generated images?
A: Photoshop and alternative applications like Procreate can be used to refine and modify AI-generated images. These tools enable artists to add their own elements and improve specific areas like faces and hands.