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Each of those AI generated cats reminds me of one of my cat figurines. I'm not quite sure what that says about the AI models, or my cats for that matter

Doing It Wrong On Purpose: Episode 1 - The Un-Ship

Today's experiment: What happens if I prompt for something, and then negative prompt all the main keywords, plus various synonyms and related words?

The answer: Some gloriously weird stuff.

For example, let's look at a negative cat:

Positive prompt: A cat on a windowsill during a storm

Negative prompt: Cat, feline, felidae, kitty, kitten, animal, pet, windowsill, window, glass, pane, house, storm, rain, water, lightning, thunder, clouds, torrent, downpour, snow, blizzard, wind, windy

Interesting! Let's get a little more fantasy with it and try for an anti-deer:

Positive prompt: A deer in a peaceful flowery meadow, crystals, midnight, fantasy, colorful

Negative prompt: Deer, cervidae, animal, elk, moose, stag, doe, fawn, reindeer, antelope, cervid, antlers, flowers, night, dark, trees, foliage, bloom, stars, night, tranquil, fantastic, vibrant, cool, magic, blue, moon, sky, crystal, stone, statue, topiary, floral, blossom

Between these two experiments, including a few dozen other generations that remain unposted, one thing I can say for sure is that for living subjects, it's a great way to get the kind of anatomical wonk that older models are (in)famous for - and it makes sense why, the model is trying to make something that looks like a certain subject...but once it starts to look too much like it, well, shit, we told it NOT to do that! Break something up! Given that I love that kind of wonk, I think I've found a useful tool for myself.

One more living subject, and let's get even more abstract with our direction here:

Positive prompt: mind horse

Negative prompt: horse, equine, colt, filly, mare, stallion, bronco, pony, mind, brain, thought, essence, psyche, intelligence, consciousness, imagination, dream, soul, visualization, intellect, wit, cognizance

Now let's try something that isn't alive. One thing I love AI for is surreal settings and landscapes - lets try one now!

Positive prompt: A magic palace garden made of crystal and gold

Negative prompt: Palace, magic, crystal, gold, fantasy, castle, estate, stronghold, temple, garden, flowers, plants, blossoms, bloom, blooms, trees, grass, stems, foliage, leaves, greenery, branches, bush, bushes, hedge, hedges, metal, luxury, stone, glass, brass, rose, polished, jewel, prism, courtyard

I then tried to see if, learning from the animal subjects, I could make it more likely to return one of my favorite "mistakes" - making it impossible to discern the point where a water area ends and a sky area begins. I wasn't immediately successful, but I came up with some results I found pleasing regardless-

Positive prompt: Secret hideout in a cave behind a waterfall in the foggy forest on a floating sky island in fluffy clouds

Negative prompt: hideout, camp, campsite, home, abode, house, dwelling, rest, shelter, waterfall, water, cave, grotto, forest, woods, woodland, trees, fountain, cascade, pond, stream, lake, river, brook, puddle, creek, pool, beach, ocean, sea, cloud, clouds, sky, cumulus, cirrus, nimbus, fog, storm, rain, sunshower, falls

It seems that with landscapes it's got a much clearer and more specific "idea" of what a [SUBJECT] without [SUBJECT] looks like; it's more inclined to invent very specific, very consistent unasked for related elements. With the animals, I was tweaking the weight on the positive prompt to avoid getting straightforwardly just what I had positive (and negative) prompted, but with landscapes, I just get... almost something else entirely.

So how about inanimate objects? Let's try a ship, perhaps?

Positive prompt: A huge sailing ship with brilliant prismatic crystal sails on a stormy, turbulent sea of sunset clouds

Negative prompt: ship, boat, sailboat, sailing ship, pirate ship, galleon, ketch, schooner, sloop, cutter, sail, sea, ocean, storm, wind, rain, water, waves, cloudy, clouds, fog, sunset, dusk, dawn, sunrise, twilight, evening

...okay, I'm in love with the un-ship. It truly does manage to consistently give me results that look like, yet entirely unlike, a ship. It is everything I love about AI as a medium. More than that, it is my friend.

At lower positive prompt weights, they only get even more beautifully chaotic.

I want to live on one of these (in an alternate universe where they're geometrically possible and structurally sound, that is).

Failing that, I will be featuring them a lot from now on.

All images generated using Simple Stable, under the Code of Ethics of Are We Art Yet?

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For sale at goodwill with mama

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Did you know they made a 9/11 beanie baby?

One versions of this Beanie Baby had the flag on the left leg, and others had the flag on the right leg

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A phone that's shaped like a pair of lips

If you have a lip phone, you might also want a lipstick phone to go with it

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A Zenith BT055S portable TV

I found an advertisement for it in a 1985 newspaper for the town of Niles, which is north of Chicago

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Siamese cat salt and pepper shakers

Theres a salt and pepper shaker museum in Tennessee

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A chicken that lays a glowing egg (if plugged into USB power)

At least this one isn't made out of a real, taxidermied chicken

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A Siamese cat TV lamp. If only it wasn't $79. I forgot to get a picture of the bottom, so I have no idea what year this was or what manufacturer made ir

Siamese cats in particular were a popular subject for a TV lamp, maybe because their light colored coats allowed more light from the bulb to shine through.

This link has more information on the history of TV lamps and why people used them

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Quacks when it rings. The date code stamped on the bottom said 91

Apparently, they had one of these things on Jersey shore

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Made in Japan carved wooden figurine. Its a kangaroo mouse bobble head! Kind of regretting not buying this one

The kangaroo mouse is a real thing, but they're not like that

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The Circlite

Once upon a time, 22W for a 60W equivalent was impressive. If the light this gave off wasn't so awful, I would have got it. Spotted at a thrift store

I learned about this from technology connections:

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Sleeping Kitty

A sleeping Japanese ceramic cat, I don't remember where I got it

Nemuri-neko

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A funky little sunflower salamander, spotted at a flea market

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A mouse toothpick holder, spotted at a flea market

Did you know there's a National Toothpick Holder Collector's Society?

http://nthcs.org/pages/home/1

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Hawaii Lucky Cat

Spotted at a thrift store

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Northwestern Bell Phones model "Favorite", seen at a flea market

A link to a forum thread about this model of phone