huemin

@huemin_art ∙ Published April 7, 2023

[AI Art Weekly] Huemin, what’s your background and how did you get into AI art?

I have a background in applied physics with two college degrees and work as a consultant. I’ve always been interested in art and have explored various forms, but I’m particularly passionate about 2D still images and technology. In 2021, I discovered GANs while researching generative art, and I was captivated. I invested in a 3070 graphics card to train my own models, and later stumbled upon Google Colab and the VQGAN animation notebook. Since then, I’ve devoted my free time to learning about AI art generators, creating free tools, and minting my artwork.

[AI Art Weekly] Do you have a specific project you’re currently working on? What is it?

I am presently working on a live mint and voice2image interactive installation for Bright Moments Tokyo, taking place from May 5th to May 10th. I’m one of 11 AI artists participating in this gallery event in Tokyo, Japan. My project focuses on generative art within latent space.

[AI Art Weekly] Can you tell me a bit more about deforum?

Deforum was initiated by myself and other prominent AI art community members before the release of Stable Diffusion (check out the interview with ScottieFox in issue #4). Our objective was to collaboratively develop a feature-rich Google Colab notebook that would allow artists to create impressive stills and animations using Stable Diffusion.

[AI Art Weekly] Any advice for people who want to get started building with AI?

There are two great resources for people working with AI in art and development: community groups like the deforum Discord and large language models. Community groups help you learn, share knowledge, and gain ideas about how these systems function. Large language models can help you understand concepts and improve your programming skills.

[AI Art Weekly] What does your workflow look like?

My creative process starts with moments of insight and inspiration, and I’m always on the lookout for new ideas. When I have a feasible concept, I begin prototyping and generating many images. My aim is to create a unique pipeline for image generation, integrating new tools into deforum and adopting techniques from other repositories. For my Braindrops collection, Materia Mania, I generated over 150,000 images using Stable Diffusion and an aesthetics classifier, while incorporating generative art algorithms and fine-tuning models.

[AI Art Weekly] What is your favourite prompt when creating art?

Prompts are not significant or relevant to me. I have my own artistic preferences and use all available resources to achieve my desired results. But I think it’s an interesting exercise to have a few test prompts that you throw into every model to check its outputs. My default prompt for testing a model is untitled abstract futurism.

[AI Art Weekly] How do you imagine AI (art) will be impacting society in the near future?

As AI improves, we’ll be able to generate exactly what we want in the highest quality possible. When the skill barrier for art generation is eliminated and anyone can create any image, what is left and how do we as artist express?

[AI Art Weekly] Who is your favourite artist?

I believe @RiversHaveWings is an outstanding artist who deserves more recognition. RiversHaveWings has undoubtedly had a significant impact on the direction of AI art and empowered countless individuals.

[AI Art Weekly] Anything else you would like to share?

I’m grateful for the chance to share this information. I strive to stay informed about the work of others in the open-source community. Many individuals dedicate their time to creating incredible, free tools that generate immense value, and they deserve recognition for their efforts.