Art through the “eyes” of artificial intelligence
What makes us human?
What is that unique trait that only humans possess? Many say it’s art. Art is the deepest form of human expression. Animals are not capable of creating art – at least not those that haven’t had contact with humans.
There are a few “artist” animals that have been taught to produce a form of art. Take, for example, Pockets Warho, a capuchin monkey who “knows” how to use watercolors. However, there is no documented case of animals independently creating art on their own.
Of course, there is a species of pufferfish that draws fascinating shapes in the sand on the ocean floor to attract females. While this behavior isn’t fully understood, scientists believe it’s part of a mating ritual.
We can’t definitively say that animals don’t create art – there’s still much to learn about them – but we do know for certain that only humans create complex, intentional art.
In the creative process, humans use both abstract and concrete thinking. We are able to communicate a wide range of emotions through poetry, painting, sculpture, music, and more. That’s what art does – it makes the observer feel something!
It’s about feelings, emotions, states of mind, symbols – about the intangible. And it’s one of our most complex and precious abilities.
We’re all familiar with those futuristic sci-fi scenarios (which might not be so “sci-fi” anymore), where robots and artificial intelligence begin replacing humans in more and more fields – eventually becoming so powerful that they either help us evolve to a new stage or attempt to wipe us out, seeing us as inferior.
Today, the use of artificial intelligence and robots has brought significant benefits across many industries—from software and medicine to construction and agriculture. Their contribution is remarkable, making our lives easier and better.
Opinions are divided. There is concern that AI and robots might eventually replace many jobs, leaving people unemployed. However, for now, AI is still very limited and cannot match our cognitive and creative abilities.
Speaking of creativity, another hot topic is whether AI can actually create art. While some believe it’s impossible, others fear that AI might even start replacing creative jobs.
Recently, I experimented a bit with Midjourney, an AI that creates complex – and dare I say – emotional art. I was surprised and impressed.
All you have to do is ask it to “imagine” what you imagine! You describe what’s in your mind -objects, colors, emotions, landscapes, characters, even sensations – and you can also add a few technical details (such as image resolution, high-definition settings, or concepts like “3D,” “octane render,” “natural lighting,” and so on). It will generate four versions of your prompt. You can choose to refine one or all four, or create more variations until you’re happy with the final result.
In short, that’s how Midjourney works.
Here are a few creations by the Midjourney AI based on the prompts I provided. These are the four versions generated from a prompt that included the following words: night landscape with a wooden boat, fire, dark blue, realistic, high quality.
The final image is the one I chose to upscale and use as the finished version.
This painting left me speechless! It nailed it! It conveyed emotion! It transported me right into that scene! It’s great with colors and lighting – it knows exactly how to combine them!
It can create anything you ask for.
Like a humanoid cat god, or a zebra man, or something completely wild like a fish-man in a suit and hat.
Or you can ask it to create abstract works in various styles.
Like this one: “a photograph of a naga and pearls on a wet surface.”
Below are also images created by other users.
You can clearly see the intricate details this AI can reach. Just look at how the light falls on the imposing and enchanting face of the “knight cat in shining armor”!
It’s great with portraits – it understands the human face well…
But it still can’t draw hands.
As you can see, hands remain a major challenge for AI.
Even a simple prompt like “hands holding a sphere” can’t be accurately rendered.
I looked through the community for other creations featuring hands, and the verdict is clear:
It CANNOT “draw” hands properly.
Although Midjourney is a very poetic “artist”, it still struggles with fine and technical details. Its biggest failure? Hands!
And that’s actually quite amusing – because drawing hands is notoriously difficult even for humans, especially for beginner artists.
And it’s not just with hands that AI struggles. If we look more closely at the details, we’ll notice unclear outlines, irregular shapes – not intentionally distorted, but due to gaps in the creation process.
AI is still a beginner, or perhaps simply still limited.
Here are a few attempts with mermaids. While it didn’t quite manage to capture the proper form of a mermaid, the composition and colors are stunning and captivating.
You can help improve its abilities by uploading photos or images for the AI to build on – this allows it to generate results based not only on your text prompt, but also on a visual reference.
I’ve seen many people on social media sharing Midjourney creations, claiming: “This is art I made using AI.” But is that really accurate? How much of it is your work, and how much is the AI’s? After all, the AI does all the creative heavy lifting (and does an amazing job), while our contribution is the description and the selection of versions.
Let’s be honest: the AI does most of the work – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. For professional artists, AI-generated art can be a source of inspiration, a starting point for new ideas. In the end, I believe tools like Midjourney are meant to support us, not replace us. No matter the field, AIs are created by us, to serve us.
And in the creative world, AI is an assistant to the artist, not a replacement. Yes, it creates stunning, beautiful, inspirational images – but true perfection comes from the human mind and hand.
As for those of us working in branding, we can rest easy – for now, AI poses no real threat. Beyond creative ability, it still lacks understanding, empathy, and the power of human interaction. Who knows – maybe in a few years we’ll be playing around with an AI “intern” learning branding basics.
Until then, feel free to test out Midjourney, free beta version, or just browse through what other users have created with it – it’s definitely worth a look.
Author: Ana Armeanu, August 2022