I thought I’d take a minute to explain how I use AI to create the cartoons.

I have been accused on more than one occasion of creating AI slop, but this is not an accurate accusation.

AI slop is when you leave all the creativity up to the AI.

AI has no sense of humour, no idea of physics, and, surprisingly, how many hands a human should have.

Look at this failed image below…

The first thing you notice in the above cartoon is that the mirror image is wrong. How can a super intelligent AI get that wrong? Plus the head is both on the body and still on the spine.

We boomers had a saying when computers first came to be in our homes.

Crap in = Crap out

The same goes for AI. I have developed a template over the months that gives the AI precise instructions on what I want drawn.

I use AI as a ‘Super paintbrush’.

First I think of a concept.

I then paint in in my mind, move items around, and add in and remove jokes until I am happy.

I then transfer that image into writing on my template.

Now comes the fun, copying and pasting into Google Gemini AI on Pro mode and seeing my concept come to life.

… and you’ll see something like this…

You then shout, scream, and swear at the AI. Total poo.
Back to the template, adjust, re-write, make clearer, repeat until you get something close to what you had designed in your mind.

You then download and edit it in your editing software. I use GIMP. More on that in another post. Creating a cartoon normally takes around four to five hours.

Here are two ‘identical’ cartoons. One I left completely up to AI. The other went through my process.

“The Trojan Horse Mk1.”

or..

2 responses to “Human – AI – Human”

  1. Peter McLean avatar
    Peter McLean

    I think your cartoons are brilliant! The facial expressions that your characters have are hilarious.

    The ‘grief’ that you get for (so cleverly) instructing AI is the same that photographers have had for years for “daring” to develop images that might contain even the slightest amount of artistic licence. AI is just another tool in your box – so use it!

    Thanks for your clever work.

  2. julesadmin avatar

    Thank you for your comment Peter.
    AI is just a tool in my toolbox, just as Photoshop is a tool in the photographer’s.

    It is the 21st Century, it is Thunderbirds, it is Joe 90.

    It is as marvellous as the devices we use to make a video call to Australia, or Lane Assist on the car.

    Some shun the tech, some grasp it and use it.

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