Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds - the nightmare

In Book 13, SOUL SHADOW, you get a glimpse of the nightmare that inhabits L'Ni's mind. This was hinted in Book 8, RACING THE ORAST BELT.

It is the evil that Nya and her friends are fighting, the creature that seeks to destroy the universe while promising the Feri a new creation where they rule. This creature manipulates them to serve it relentlessly with lies. Its hiss is the source of its name, Issa.

It wasn't too difficult to get this image, but it's pretty generic. I did have an idea of an amorphous black smoky shape with red eyes like I described as coiling around Nya and L'Ni in Book 13, but the face was not specific. 

Can you imagine what this nightmare would do if it escaped into our universe?

Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds scenes (Book 14 spoiler)

I have a little time left with a second month subscription for Midjourney. With it, I've been trying to get action scenes for a series trailer.

I also wanted the romantic scenes, and those are probably harder still. I've tried a few times to get a scene of the romantic subplot that came to fruition in Book 14, the final decision of Nya, who hadn't been looking for love. Isn't that the way it usually happens? I had given up when I found the man who became my husband. I've heard the same thing from others. You try to find someone, but it's when you ultimately give up and accept God's fate that you may be single that the right person comes along.

In this case, I brought the same upon Nya. She wasn't looking and she even resisted love. And then it found her. Of course, I knew what was coming and had sprinkled in hints but didn't want to make it the focus of the overall story but incidental. Nevertheless, it was needed for other pieces of the series to fall into place. I could have made things happen differently, but this romance made it undeniable. That's the only hint you'll get. No more spoilers.

Nevertheless, this picture will spoil book 14 for anyone who hasn't read it yet. I fought and fought and fought to get the details at least close in Midjourney, and I still had to tweak in Photoshop for tiny details like eye, skin, and hair color. I still can't get the skin to be colored quite right, but I was able to give the ears the kind of point that I imagined for L'Ni. It's actually barely there. It was never meant to be long pointed ears the way some artists exaggerate with elves, but more like the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movie elves or Vulcan ears.

Working with AI is tricky and frustrating, but once you learn to use it and refine it, you learn that you can get close. Nevertheless, it's never going to be exact, not like working with a human artist. But there are few artists with a style that's suitable and who are available, much less affordable. These images are for my own gratification... and for the hope of developing trailers for the series that are more like movie clips. We enjoy visual stories, and creating snapshots of those stories makes the characters come alive in a different way than mere words.

Truth be told, it helps and hinders me. It's fun to see them come to life, but it also takes away the ambiguity and focus on the internal character that drives me to write them. At least for me, it works that way.

Anyway, here is the image I manipulated in MJ that is a spoiler of Book 14, UNBROKEN BONDS:

My input wasn't for this, but getting characters to look right, much less look at each other is nearly impossible and requires a LOT of work with the AI. But when I saw the expressions on this, it was something else. To me, it seems to be her telling him she wants to help him with whatever it is that troubles him, and L'Ni has a lot on his mind in the series, as Book 13 reveals. Nya is the only person who comes to understand the depth of emotions he feels, which he doesn't typically reveal externally.

I love this wounded and loving connection between the characters. It reveals so much to me.

And I put a watermark on because I did the work with the AI to get this and then still altered it in Photoshop to make it unique and more specific to my characters by touching up certain features.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Nya

I didn't like the original version of Nya from my early time with Midjourney, so I went back and fiddled with it some more. I like this much better.

She's not a fierce warrior type but has a gentler demeanor about her, which I used in my description this time. I also had to add the crystal, since I would never get that detail added the way I want in Midjourney. Instead, I had MJ render the necklace separately and layered it in with some blending techniques. Technically, her eyebrows should be silvery white also, but that seems to be more than MJ can handle.

I like this version of Nya much better.

Crystal Keeper Paveiros Nyalin as she appears 

through most of the books of Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds, 

without her wings.

I should get back to writing, but I want to create images of the characters that I can use in a promotional trailer video. That is my ultimate goal in making all these (aside from enjoying seeing my characters in a way that I've only wished--as more real).

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Zaer

I'm playing with Midjourney again. Unfortunately, it seems that the stealth function is not working. I can see others supposedly in stealth mode and they can see my work (made apparent by the fact that someone used one of my renditions). Frustrating to say the least as these are my characters.

But, I worked on details and details and details and finally have a version of Zaer that I can be satisfied with. It has the coloring pretty close and the expression exactly as one would imagine--the confidence and almost a sort of scolding you could expect from her. She knows she's in charge and doesn't take an argument from anyone. She might be a bit over half the height of an average human male, but her demeanor is like she's much bigger. She's tough as nails but can have a very maternal side to those she feels need her, like Nya and the others. She also tends to assign nicknames to those whom she sees as being beneath her in some way (Nya, Nik, Ann). Individuals she respects more tend to be called by their name (L'Ni, Vel, Shen, Seska).

I found that a foxlike look was more appropriate for her. And I never pictured her with a human feminine figure, so this is quite accurate. (Midjourney isn't very good about centering a main image. It always wants to put the main piece towards the bottom.)

Now to tackle Shen... oh, boy.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - L'Ni in his hooded coat

Concurrently while I guided Midjourney to produce a suitable Vel image, I worked out the details of L'Ni in his long coat.

It wasn't easy. Midjourney wants to embellish such a coat. However, L'Ni's coat was made by the natives of Kurtuz. (See book 4, IN DARKNESS, LIGHT) They trade with outsiders, but it's mostly simple goods and useful items. There were forced through natural disaster into a simpler lifestyle. Their animals provide the hides that become leather. Although they would be capable of some fancy leatherwork, L'Ni isn't someone who wants to stand out. In that, I wanted a simple coat that fastened from neck to waist but had a loose bottom for freedom of movement but coverage. His coat also has some wear in it, so when I got a bottom that was uneven, I liked it. That's how I picture his long coat. Many of the options were open or had a cross-body strap. They also eliminated the gun holsters. And then they made the coat too long, but that was an easy adjustment once I got the style that worked. I had some nice results from different styles but finally settled on what seemed appropriate.

So, this is what I finally managed to obtain from many iterations and adjustments. Not quite as plain as I wanted but suitable. And the boots should have straps around them, not be plain like this. I'll take what I can get from Midjourney.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Vel

After getting some good work on editing yesterday, I decided to reward myself with more playing on Midjourney. I actually got a twofer today. I concurrently worked on a hooded L'Ni and also Vel. I'll post that version of L'Ni after this.

For Vel, I wanted him working on some project. As a physicist/engineer type in a futuristic setting. I wanted to demonstrate that level of intelligence he has. Although his emotional intelligence is a bit on the immature side, his IQ is quite high. It would have to be to understand the calculations for creating portals instantly anywhere in space without using a Starfire crystal like a Crystal Keeper could. He was influenced by the Starfire, but he was also chosen by them for his high intelligence.

So, here is Svosted Vellin in his element, thanks to Midjourney. Getting the expression, hair, and facial structure (especially in light of his age) to come close to what my impression of what he should be was a challenge, but I'm getting better with Midjourney.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Seska

I didn't think I'd have as much trouble as I did figuring out Seska, but Midjourney wanted to keep giving me someone too young looking.

Seska has quite the personality, but as a trained Paxon special agent who embeds herself into planetary governments where she stirs up suspicions and hostilities, she has a lot of skills and wears a lot of faces. Her job was to bring down the stability of societies so the Paxons could come in as saviors, but at a cost. Those who request their help come under their control as a protectorate. Special agents know how to manipulate others and blend in. But, like Ann, Seska has an added gift because of being the result of a secret Paxon experiment in their breeding program, one that has made her more successful than most special agents.

Putting a face to her was a bit harder than I expected. I never really pictured the face of Paxon Special Agent Seska Levat (to those who know her true identity), but now I have it. One of the big problems with Midjourney is the way it wants to make women super thin. Well, that's not only unrealistic in the real world but especially wrong for Paxons who are bred to be warriors, both men and women. This image of Seska is a woman with that fuller body, although I would have preferred smaller breasts.

GHOSTS (Starfire Angels: Forgotten Worlds book 16) will be out around February-ish 2024 at my best guess (preferably sooner, but it depends on how writing Book 18 goes). You'll find out then what happened to her.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - Nik

I took a break from Midjourney yesterday to finish the latest round of edits on BENEATH THE SURFACE. It'll go through a couple more before it's done, but the major work is done. Now, it's more into subtle things and catching the little details that might have slipped past.

Today, I let myself play with Midjourney again, and it FINALLY started giving me what I wanted for Nik, the prince who prefers to be recognized as a doctor and who has the skills to be respected as such. The face isn't exactly what I'd imagine, but it's pretty darn close. You'd be amazed at the subtle changes MJ makes with each iteration. His was a tough one to pin down--I've tried on several different occasions since I started playing with MJ--along with a gray and red uniform that was anywhere near what I had in mind for his work as a medic on an Ethalian starship. Like with Ann's armor, this uniform isn't perfect but it's pretty close, maybe even better than what I could have imagined. (When I "see" my characters, it's not actually as specific as readers may think. I generally leave a lot for readers to interpret for themselves.)

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with this, except for the eyes. It's a glassy stare like they're zoning out.

But, I have my Lord (and doctor) Ivandru Nikkolas. He has a princely charm about him, wouldn't you say?

ps--I still prefer actual artists. This AI is hard to work with and leaves a lot lacking, even as I learn to use it more effectively.

more rounds of Midjourney - Forgotten Worlds characters - the Black Dragon (Ann)

I'm still trying to get more characters to turn out with Midjourney. This took me over an hour to get right. But this is the face of Ann nearly identical as I see her and nearly perfect in the armor she would have worn in the battle games. The worst is the phoenix head, or whatever it's supposed to be, instead of a proper dragon head that MJ put on this. It takes forever for the AI to bring all the pieces together, but it can be done!

I present to you Andretta Draksten, Captain of the Paxon Dominion battlecruiser Predator as her secret alter ego battle games persona The Black Dragon:

The problem with using this face is the near impossibility of being able to get it to match with any other design for her that I'd want to play with. I really like this, though! It is so her.

Edit: I like the background below better, but the original arm was a mess. MJ makes changes you don't want to get changes you do want at times. Very frustrating. But I Photoshopped it with the correct arm from the above image.

Playing with Midjourney - including Forgotten Worlds characters Nya and L'Ni

I signed up yesterday on Midjourney, against the advice of my artist oldest child. I finally bit the bullet and paid the pro fee so I could keep my images private. Except I'll share them here.

First off, I wish I'd had this fourteen years ago, when I released Starfire Angels, the book that really started my writing career to the point of meeting the indie requirements to join SFWA, although I've quit that organization after just a few years since it wasn't serving me.

Anyway, Midjourney gave me Elis (pronounced EE-lis, not El-lis) after all this time of wishing I could get a good picture of him. The fans back then swooned over his description. I made this promo for the series with the image Midjourney gave me:

And for Legend of the White Dragon, I managed to get princess Istaria with the white dragon, even though he should technically be a ghost:

Last of all, I started my dive into the AI with Forgotten Worlds characters. They're not quite right but as close as I could get Midjourney to give me so far. I also haven't played with all the characters yet. I think readers can figure out who these are meant to be.

(See my post from October 15, 2023 for a better rendition of Nya.)

And he looks an awful lot like Henry Cavill's Witcher, imo; but it's as close as I could get when the AI made hair grow out of a hood on the pictures that would otherwise be perfect:

Of course, I started with Nya and L'Ni. I've tried Zaer, but it comes out as an anthropomorphic cat with a tail. The cat I can live with, but she doesn't have a tail.

Unfortunately, the more iterations one does of women, the less clothes they end up wearing on Midjourney. I'm not crazy about that. 

ps--I may keep trying for a better version of Nya and L'Ni, but these are good starts.