The Great Confrontation (And Other Digital Artworks)
Yesterday I “inscribed” two related art pieces for PSYCHONØT. (What that means is I created them as NFTs on Bitcoin within the PSYCHONØT umbrella of works.)
I wanted to share these works with my readers, as well as some other recent works and then discuss the creative process a bit, as well as the tools used (including how I used AI). Hopefully this helps highlight how some of the tools out there can help increase creative output.
The Great Confrontation (artwork)
The Great Confrontation (Poem)
When summoned
To confront
That immense Darkness.
And questions
With no answers
Blunt your mind.
As thought
Becomes a demon,
Torment, a malevolent game.
When explanations
produce no meaning,
And intellect crumbles before the abyss.
Do not cower
In some distant corner,
Under some far-off dream.
Do not yield
To the Eternal Chase
That consumes existence.
Stand
And embrace
That which is.
Inspiration
This piece tries to capture many ideas, questions, and struggles that many people go through in life, particularly when trying to understand evil in the world. Some of the concepts that appear in this work include...
- The Yin/Yang
- Our search for explanations to unanswerable questions
- The darkness within ourselves
- Fear (of death)
- Ideas of heaven & hell
- Purity, love
- Acceptance
Composition
I began with the idea of a square image divided diagonally, featuring the PSYCHONØT icon as a sort of Yin Yang (darkness vs acceptance or purity). I envisioned each side of the composition in pencil/line art and wanted to make a creature with a horrific clown as an eye.
I experimented with various images in Midjourney to create a collage-style composition. As I discovered images, I found depth in assembling them, manipulating them, playing with color, and applying filters (all done in Photoshop).
After finalizing the static version, I experimented with motion and stillness to add depth and contrast. This motion further elevated the piece, showcasing one of the advantages of digital art.
For the poem, I mostly used AI to run ideas and questions about word choice to refine the main piece I wrote.
Here are the source images I used in the composition in their original form:
This piece is currently stored in our digital art vault and not listed for sale.
Time Fragments Collection
Time Fragments is another recent project I worked on for PSYCHONØT. This is a small art collection of 35 images consisting of 5 frames across 7 themes. Each theme is a series of animations.
Each of the frames were “inscribed” as NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain. From there, I created 7 “code based” inscriptions that pulled in each of the 5 frames to create 7 animations:
These animations were then “destroyed” in such a way where they can be viewed on the blockchain, but don’t exist as an asset that can be traded/sold/etc. This was to represent the idea that time does not exist as a whole even though we perceive it that way. It can only be experienced in fragments.
Each of the 5 fragments has a name representing a moment in life.
Each color also has a name…
And these make up the 35 piece collection of fragments (slightly over half have been purchased by our collectors so far!)
AI & composition
For this project, I used Midjourney to create elements for the composition, such as the hourglass, the room background, and astronaut, the brain, etc. These images were then assembled and manipulated in Photoshop to get the desired colors and animation sequence.
I spent quite a bit of time exploring different styles and approaches to creating a unified collection. Here are some samples of ideas I played with that didn’t make the cut…
I Will Be Light (Short Film)
Here is another project that relied heavily on AI. This was a short film I created and published to YouTube based on an inspiration I had while listening to a Matisyahu song. I wanted to use this song to highlight the power of music and tell a short story to bring to life the meaning in the words
For this video I used a number of various AI tools.
First, I ideated a list of scenes in a short for storyboard as a starting point. I used ChatGPT to help me format this and play with ideas.
Once I had the general outline, I began to create each still frame in Midjourney. I used the character reference commands to get fairly consistent characters in each scene. I also touched up some scenes in photoshop.
I used Runway to animate each scene into a cinematic shot. This can be tedious and sometimes it can take 20+ generations to get one you like (you can do 1-2 at a time and they take 30-60 seconds).
I used ElevenLabs to narrate the the script I wrote. I played with settings and character voices to get one that felt right. I also used ElevenLabs to generate sound effects (waves, etc).
I used MakeBestMusic.com (great name, right?) to upload the song and parse out the lyrics from the guitar so I could manipulate the song a bit and use it how I envisioned.
I edited everything together using Wondershare Filmora video editing tool and afterwards I upscaled it to 4k using Topaz Labs.
The power of AI in creativity
I know many people think AI is a shortcut, but I spent well over 60 hours on this video. AI gives creators capabilities they never had before and empowers creators to bring ideas to life on their own. I’ve experienced this daily in my work.
Thanks for continuing to follow along with my thoughts and what I’m working on!
-Ross