Learn how to interpret stories through narrative art.
#Tip 16 – Illustrate your stories with AI art
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In this tip we will look at how you can create illustrations by using key elements of a story in your prompts. We will test some flexible art styles to see how they work with narrative direction.
Do you know who “Jack O’Lantern” was? Look to Irish folklore for the original story of Jack of the Lantern. Gather round the fire while we summarize the tale!
Originally, Irish Jack O’Lanterns were made from turnips or beets and were rather unsettling. Here is an approximation of the traditional item: “a turnip. a face carved on a turnip. turnips. irish. Stingy Jack invited the devil for a drink. in a turnip field.”
Notice the repetition of the turnip keyword. That is a method called goal reinforcement, encouraging the AI to put extra weight on the repeated cue. The prompt includes the line, “Stingy Jack invited the devil for a drink.” That is the beginning of our tale!
A man called Stingy Jack invited the devil for a drink. The devil shape-shifted into a coin to pay for the drink. Jack trapped the devil by putting the coin into his pocket alongside a small, silver cross to stop the devil from turning back into his own form. Here is “The devil and an Irish man having a drink. Oil painting. 1850.”
Notice that many details of clothing and style are provided automatically by giving the year 1850. The art style “oil painting” is very flexible and fits the tale well.
Jack eventually let the devil go under the condition that he wouldn’t bother Jack for a year and wouldn’t claim Jack’s soul once he died. The next year, Jack tricked the devil again by convincing him to climb up a tree to fetch a piece of fruit. When he was up in the tree, Jack carved a cross into the trunk so the devil couldn’t come down until he swore he wouldn’t bother Stingy Jack for another ten years. Here is “The devil climbing a tree. watercolor illustration.”
“Watercolor illustration” is a very flexible style that often gives a contemporary look to your art. We kept the subject simple, just mentioning the devil climbing the tree, because adding more goals might confuse the AI, reducing the chance of getting a coherent solution. If we wanted to show Jack on the ground below, we could add him using outpainting.
When Jack died, God wouldn’t let him into heaven and the devil wouldn’t let him into hell. Jack had to roam the earth for eternity. He’s a lonely figure walking at night, with a burning coal inside a carved-out turnip to light his way.
The Irish began to call this spooky figure “Jack of the Lantern,” which then became “Jack O’Lantern.” Here’s Jack on a cold autumn night, walking with a carved-out turnip containing a burning coal to light his way.
Here is “a spectral figure of the night walks holding a carved-out turnip with a burning coal inside to light his way. art deco illustration.”
If we want a darker interpretation of that prompt, we can keep the text the same but try “dark steampunk” as the style rather than “art deco illustration”. Here is “a spectral figure of the night walks holding a carved-out turnip with a burning coal inside to light his way. dark steampunk.”
