Red Cat Series, AI-based character development
- 4 minutes read - 677 words
Table of Contents
Midjourney, an AI artistic tool, creates stunning portraits but avoids full-body images where the face is visible. The Red Cat Series investigates this limitation using images of red cats representing different professions, against neutral post-industrial backdrops.
The tension and storytelling in each image are achieved through outpainting, problem-solving, and prompt engineering.
While the reason for Midjourney’s limitation is still unclear, the Red Cat Series highlights the versatility of digital media in producing realistic textures on clothing and backgrounds. Midjourney Version 5 can now produce full-body portraits, but the Red Cat Series was created using version 4.
Understanding Midjourney’s limitations
The Red Cat Series was created to determine why Midjourney can create stunning portraits but avoids creating full-body images where the face is visible. Midjourney created a series of images that characterize different professions or types of people by using outpainting, creative problem-solving, and prompt engineering. The neutral, post-industrial setting in which the red cats are placed creates an arc of tension reinforced by each cat’s red dress. This series allows us to understand better Midjourney’s limitations and what she can accomplish through her artistry.
Because Midjourney Version 5 can now produce full body portraits, these images were created with Midjourney Version 4.
Experiments to render fully-body images with faces
The Red Cat Series is a collection of portraits created with Midjourney. Each cat represents a different profession or type, and the series was designed to determine why Midjourney can create stunning portraits but avoids creating full-body images where the face is visible. By placing the cats in neutral, post-industrial settings and using a red dress to reinforce the tension between them and their surroundings, Midjourney created an arc of tension evident in each portrait.
It is unclear why Midjourney avoids creating full-body images with faces visible. It appears that there is a logic in place, which is estimating the quality of looks and choosing an output where the face is not visible.
While outpainting may seem like a simple technique, it can be used creatively for problem-solving. To create realistic textures on clothing and backgrounds alike.
Finally, prompt engineering is another important aspect of the Red Cat Series that needs to be discussed. Often when we see beautiful works of art like these, we assume that they were simply composed flawlessly - but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Many iterations are needed to achieve a certain level of quality.
Each red cat characterizes a profession or type
The Red Cat Series was created with Midjourney as an experimental project. Each red cat in the series represents a profession or type, like a realtor or idealist.
The cats are placed in neutral, post-industrial settings to create an arc of tension. The red dress reinforces the tension between the cats and their surroundings.
Ultimately, the goal was to figure out why Midjourney is able to create stunning portraits but avoids creating full-body images where the face is visible.
In some cases Midjourney created cat faces, but with a reduced quality, with outpainting from Dalle 2 the face were improved.