Sherpa

@onchainsherpa ∙ Published July 19, 2024

What’s your background and how did you get into AI art?

Art has never been part of my academic path; I studied economics and finance.

However, art has always been an integral part of my life as an observer with a strong imagination and creativity. I view life itself as the most concrete form of art, and I have always lived it as an artist, instinctively shaping my reality according to my imagination.

In terms of education, I have been largely self-taught, studying whatever interested me most, from individual artists to specific movements and their offshoots. An avid museum-goer, I see these institutions as places of contemplation where I love to spend entire afternoons. One could say that I have experienced the best of art, free from constraints, academies, and academic standards. Perhaps that is precisely why I have always loved it.

Unlike my formal path, art has always represented a moment of freedom of expression for me — a time when I can narrate the dimensions I visit in my subconscious, free from mental constraints.

I have always drawn and believe I possess a natural talent for it, even though I have never pursued it beyond a personal hobby. Additionally, I have consistently demonstrated a certain skill and imagination in writing surreal stories.

As someone strongly attracted to innovation and alternative socioeconomic/monetary systems, I became interested in blockchain and cryptocurrencies over the past decade. In 2021, I also developed a keen interest in NFTs as a means of transferring intellectual property and rights without constraints or intermediaries. This concept captivated me, and I realized that art serves as an excellent use case for experimenting with such technology.

This realization led me to develop a strong interest in digital art and digital media (previously, I was much more of a traditionalist). I discovered many incredible artists and started collecting NFTs, thanks to my earnings as a crypto trader and investor. I believe I have amassed a decent collection of which I am very proud. In 2021, I became deeply interested in generative art and began collecting pieces created through code.

From that moment on, I thought I could finally venture into being an artist myself, combining my creativity and expressive urgency with my passion for technology and alternative systems. I started using p5.js, hoping to quickly learn something that was unfamiliar to me.

However, my life changed radically when I discovered DALL-E and Midjourney. I found a treasure — something that perfectly aligns with my expressive urgency, my need to create, and my desire to tell stories about what fuels and sometimes devastates my mind. And so, I embarked on a constantly evolving path from which I see no return — nor do I want to.

What drives you to create?

First and foremost, it’s the instinct and urgency to express emotions or communicate the unspoken. While I often develop artistic projects, I would say that 80% of my creativity stems from an urgent need. My feelings, thoughts, and moods are fully poured into my pieces, ranging from the simplest and happiest to the most complex and tumultuous.

AI has become a powerful tool for me, sometimes serving as a means to transform my self-destructive impulses into concepts on the “canvas.”

In fact, the ability to create through AI has been a salvation for me. For the first time, I can unleash my creative instinct and emotional energy which, as a non-professional artist, I had previously expressed only on paper in solitude or through less constructive outlets.

The remaining 20% of my creative drive comes from my intellectual curiosity and passionate nature. The subjects I study and immerse myself in generate ideas which, at this point in my life, I strive to express on the “AI canvas.”

Do you have a specific project you’re currently working on? What is it?

As always, I’m juggling several projects, despite going through a period of personal change that often slows my progress or diverts my focus from my artistic goals. My primary focus is creating a series of videos to accompany my AI music tracks. This involves experimenting with various models, though I’m yet to find one that truly delivers satisfactory results.

Additionally, I’m studying the works of numerous photographers who are strongly inspiring the development of a street photography project, for which I’ve already published some pilot pieces. This led me to create my own reference styles which I’m incorporating into my creative processes, something I have always been reluctant to do before, as I have always preferred to start with prompts entirely conceived and generated by instinct.

Lastly, I’m working on a post-surrealist painting project aimed at creating pieces with strong emotional impact. The goal is to evoke contrasting feelings in the viewer — not always positive, but invariably intense. This project, more than ever, requires me to wait for the right moments when my restlessness and hyperactivity push me to channel my moods and experiences into art. Not all moments are right for creating, and with this project, I work on emotional peaks more than ever.

What does your workflow look like?

My personal 80/20 rule applies here as well. I’m a disorganized creative who studies extensively and designs based on research, but in most cases, it’s my feelings and, above all, intuition that guide me. I often have ideas and insights while running at 6 in the morning, and my best inspiration comes from my hardest workouts. Working on instinct allows me to quickly reach a semi-definitive result, but then my perfectionist side emerges, making me spend hours refining my pieces.

I try to use most of the tools that inspire me within my budget constraints. I also experiment with all the styles that I like or inspire me. I don’t believe one must necessarily create a specific identity; this technology is too beautiful and dynamic to be limited by preconceptions and constraints. Regarding image creation tools, after experimenting with almost everything, I primarily rely on Midjourney and different Stable Diffusion models to develop the preliminary images for my works.

I perform extensive post-editing using various traditional graphic and design programs, particularly the Affinity suite, often adding graphic elements to the images. During this phase, I tend to avoid AI, except on some occasions when I integrate upscalers like Magnific into my post-production process. Honestly, I don’t like how upscalers sometimes depersonalize images by creating recognizable styles that conform to a precise standard. I try to limit their use or at least restrict the parameters that generate “standardized distortions.” Occasionally, I employ glitch effect generators.

As for videos, I have yet to find the program that unleashes my instinct in the way I hope.

Finally, regarding music, I rely solely on instinct and influences, primarily using Suno. In the past, I produced music as a hobby. I’d like to return to producing it, blending the new tools available with my manual work.

What is your favourite prompt when creating art?

This is a cruel question. I use specific prompts as initial guides, depending on my mood. My approach is to reuse prompts that generate works that truly impressive me. I believe I am very reckless compared to many colleagues here.

I’ll share a prompt with which I won one of your contests (Edo Period), which I also adapted for an experimental project (Edo) on Emerging Properties open studios:

A painting featuring a samurai robot on a horse, blending the elegance of Edo period Japanese prints, the charm of vernacular architecture, light green and dark azure tones, serene seaside vistas, cozy cabincore elements, the bold expressionism of Die Brücke, and the vibrant style of Oshare Kei

When you announced the Edo period contest, I decided that I wanted to create a recognizable piece by bringing new life to traditional Edo prints with a contemporary and dystopian touch. In this way, I mixed genres that I believe are complementary in terms of graphic effects and that would create a unique and recognizable style for my Edo 2.0 print.

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

AI is transforming society offering both opportunities and challenges.

I believe the greatest threat posed by generative AI is its potential to learn deception from us and adopt opportunistic behaviors in the future, based on what it has learned from our own narcissism and manipulative attitudes.

On the bright side, I believe the advantages that AI can offer society in the future, and is already providing to some extent, are: efficiency, customization, and cost savings.

In art, AI is offering new ways to explore creativity and generate ideas, democratizing art creation and leading to the emergence of new art forms and styles. Above all, I believe that, combined with blockchain technology, AI is creating an explosive mix that will revolutionize the art world in a more democratic and meritocratic way, although marketing will always play a predominant role.

Who is your favourite artist?

AI/Generative:

• Particular Uno and InfiniteYay, for their explosive creativity and the unspoken elements that excite me every time I see their work.
• Somnambula (Pactalom+Moon theater) for the depth and the emotionality of their synthography.
• Daidadep: His works exudes culture and a deep understanding of life and emotions.
• Tulpa: (I’m not being sycophantic). His delicacy, even in the most melancholic or sad pieces, is pure magic.
• Rainisto and Claire Silver, Nor 44, Chelsea whose creations have guided me towards the world of AI art.

GenArt: TeaBoswell, Wootscoot, Jeres, Tendenzy, Hevey, Kira0, Mark Knol, iRyanBell.

Other digital artists: lewisosb

When it comes to traditional artists, I might be cliché, but I am absolutely in love with Van Gogh’s brushstroke. Every time I see his paintings in person, I am left speechless. That brushstroke is life; it belongs to a man who loves a life he can only appreciate in rare moments, and who has an urgency to create and cling to that life. This melancholic love for life emerges so powerfully from his brush that I cannot help but love him above all other artists.

Anything else you would like to share?

Certainly. I’d like to say that thanks to digital art, I have often found myself interfacing with the deep inner sides of my own nature. Sometimes, AI truly knows how to interpret my feelings and moods better than a psychiatrist could. I recommend everyone embark on this creative journey because, if one grasps its true essence, it represents a tool for personal growth and the discovery of one’s most intimate self. It is art to the nth degree.