{"id":188652,"date":"2026-01-06T12:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T18:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/?p=188652"},"modified":"2026-02-05T08:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:40:37","slug":"further-fun-with-the-art-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/further-fun-with-the-art-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Further fun with the art machine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Feather tigers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Working with AI image generators is both addictive and frustrating. You can get pretty pictures, but it takes persistence. It’s like working with an idiot savant, emphasis on “idiot.” If a model can misinterpret your prompt, it will. It generally takes between six and twelve tries to get a satisfactory image, and the final result is always a compromise.<\/p>\n

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Precious one<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I mostly play at NightCaf\u00e9<\/a>. Sometimes I take part in the “challenges,” in which participants submit pictures they “made” and vote on the entrants. Consequently, I need to quickly evaluate a lot of pictures, too many of which look exactly like other pictures. I’ve developed some criteria for scoring:<\/p>\n

Catches my attention: +1
\nHolds my attention: +2
\nIs a generic headshot: -1
\nIncludes a kitten: -1
\nIncludes a fox: -1
\nIncludes a dragon: -1
\nIncludes fairies: -1
\nIncludes pointy ears: -1
\nIncludes angels: -1
\nIncludes Batman: -1
\nIncludes Wonder Woman: -1
\nIncludes Catwoman: +1
\nIs a generic landscape: -1
\nIs a generic cityscape: -1
\nIs a generic dystopian cityscape: -10
\nFeatures a knight in armor standing on a precipice looking out over a vast wilderness under a dramatic sky: -1
\nIncludes islands floating in the sky: -1
\nIncludes women in boob-plate armor: -1
\nIs imitation Klimt: -1
\nIs imitation Art Nouveau: -1
\nIs imitation Thomas Kinkade: -10
\nRelies on vulgar humor: -10
\nIs intentionally grotesque: -10
\nIncludes Donald Trump: -10
\nHas a message: -10
\nHas a political message: -100<\/p>\n

The astute will notice that many of my own pictures would be down-voted by these criteria. Don’t ever accuse me of consistency.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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License renewal at the Department of Magical Vehicles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mouse gambit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Billy and his imaginary playmate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Paul walks the line<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The warmth of friendship<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Overmatched<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Old time music of the 22nd century. Evidently AI doesn’t understand the theory behind a washtub bass, or how to play a jug.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Volcano fairy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Christmas 2084<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Working with AI image generators is both addictive and frustrating. You can get pretty pictures, but it takes persistence. It’s like working with an idiot savant, emphasis on “idiot.” If a model can misinterpret your prompt, it will. It generally takes between six and twelve tries to get a satisfactory image, and the final result … Continue reading “Further fun with the art machine”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[711,29,34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fake-art","category-sf-and-beyond","category-whatever"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4xam3-N4M","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188652"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188732,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188652\/revisions\/188732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shuffly.net\/zoop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}