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Posted on 11/04/25 08:17:21 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 6990 Reply  |
Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Following on from last week's safe cracking, here's another room in the same hotel. This used to be the council chamber when it was a town hall, and it's where wedding ceremonies now take place. To my mind, though, this looks like a courtroom. Could the miscreant who tried to blow the safe face justice here? High res is here.  |
Posted on 11/04/25 1:48:54 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3121 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Getting the courtroom ready for the start of tomorrow's trial... 
Not animated. |
Posted on 12/04/25 1:21:45 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 871 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Nice quicky Lloyd. I wouldn't bother cleaning for my mob. They're all corrupt...lol I'm definitely introducing AI to my workflow...and I thoroughly enjoyed trying to manipulate the AI prompt in the direction I wanted. This is a great tool for pro graphic artists. We're going to see a lot of it. I can't wait for the professional able digital artists to see the worth in AI. Then we'll see some great mixed media. I would like to add, that apart from cutting the AI images out, I have not touched anything else. I haven't added reflections and shadows or toned the image to lessen the contrast etc. I will fiddle with it later should there be free time. The reflections and shadows should marry this mix of media nicely together and settle the images into the scene in a more convincing manner. 
_________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 13/04/25 09:07:58 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3006 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
The worth of AI as a major artistic tool is undeniable. Even I, a stick-in-the-mud, have been affected by it. I use Affinity Photo (to avoid the Adobe upgrade money grabbing trick). In the latest version I noted a new icon in the tools panel. It is called the "Oject Selection Tool". Of course I tried it out and magically it cut out a difficult and complicated human figure for me, with very little edge fuzziness. It took about twenty seconds to do that, and if I had cut it out using my normal tool (the pen) it would have taken maybe fifteen minutes. Surely that was AI at work. I was amazed, and have used the tool since to save a great deal of time. Why? Because I know it's there. Now here's the rub. I am retired, live in a village, and often have time on my hands, so the Friday Challenge is a weekly pleasure which I stretch out for as long as I can. Even a boring subject like a museum piece, a shop front, or a motor vehicle can be turned into something interesting after some thought and planning, which is all part of the fun. So, looking into the near future, it is conceivable that on a Friday morning I will describe what I want to my Alexa and then say "Alexa, do all that and leave the image in the Friday Challenge directory on my computer. You have 30 minutes to get it done". Then I could spend the rest of the week wondering what to do with myself. While I am on this rant I would like to mention that now AI can be used to make money it is probably not possible to put the cat back in the bag. If I were an alien from planet Zog, part of my cunning plan to conquer Earth would be by donating AI to all humanity. People would have little or no work and might start wars out of sheer boredom. Good idea you say? Reduce the surplus population? There might be something in that. |
Posted on 13/04/25 2:12:46 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
I am inclined to agree Mariner. For the grunt work it's great but for the rest the question is "where's the satisfaction?". It's a while since I used Affinity Photo but it has a couple of machine learning models which, I think, are not installed automatically. It is left up to you whether you want to install them or not. You will find them in Settings > Machine Learning Models. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/04/25 3:29:43 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Not very happy with this. Couldn't really find anything but the obvious. FOLLOWING THE BEDLAM MOB'S BOTCHED THEFT THEIR LEADER, PIANIST AND SAFE-BREAKER, "KEYS" CAPLIN TRIES TO WRIGGLE ON THE HOOK.  _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/04/25 3:32:53 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3006 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Thanks David, but I think I will give them a miss. It could be the start of a slippery slope. Affinity Photo is fine except for a few of bugs which can be worked around. It tells you when an update is ready for download and doesn't charge anything for downloading it. |
Posted on 13/04/25 3:36:59 PM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3006 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Very good entry David. How long did it take you to put the human figures together? |
Posted on 13/04/25 3:47:56 PM |
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Frank
Eager Beaver Posts: 1733 Reply  |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Agree with Mariner David. I see we have a couple of the same jurors.  |
Posted on 13/04/25 5:00:08 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3121 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
"No cameras in the courtroom...!!!!!" 
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Posted on 13/04/25 5:20:48 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Thanks Frank and Mariner. I felt it to be weel made but rather dull. Very nice Frank. I like the stripes and mask in court! Mariner it took a while. One thing I spend a lot of time on is trying to find exactly the right images. Blending them in to matc the mood and light takes a little while sometimes but that's the bit I enjoy. Loyd. Great subtle movements. A human to replace your usual mutts! Made me laugh instantly. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 13/04/25 8:58:56 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Steve this is very long and could be deemed off topic. But since it is in direct reply to a contribution to this challenge I think it's legitimate. However I am not sure it should be expanded here. If anyone wants to take it much further then I suggest it be moved as a new topic to "Off Topic".
I fully appreciate what you are saying Dennis and my comments to follow are taking into account that you haven't attempted to do any proper blending. No amount of superb blending would change the fact that the moment I saw this image it instantly screamed AI at me before I had even looked to see whose contribution it was. It's not the grotesquerie's, they are the whole point, they are clearly what you wanted. That's fine! In that respect the image is (presumably) exactly what you are seeking and does it beautifully in many respects. It's the clean faultless plausibility of the execution that is so offensive. I use the word plausible deliberately because there's something so soulless and empty about this ersatz art. There's something so obviously, tangibly missing. It's not coffee, it's instant granules and, sadly, tastes like it. That's hardly surprising. It's not the work of a creator, it's the work of a copyist. Sampling and copying is exactly how AI produces its images without actually knowing or properly understanding what it is really doing. Art by clone.
Yes. I totally agree. That's exactly what's needed! But how many real talents are going to find this exciting and attractive as opposed to discouraging? If you want to see some truly astonishing work, and they do exist, try the links at the end of this post. But, sadly, the truly exceptional are few and far between. Laziness will prevail, as we can see already with the web and picture libraries already flooded with indifferent and utterly predictable AI looking like clones of one another. The more we see of it the more people will come to believe that's what art is.
I consider myself to be a creative artisan. I am a what I suppose one could call an interpretive photo manipulator and can justifiably claim to be skilled, but I do not and never have considered myself to be an artist. You are something more Dennis. We have seen your hand drawn artwork and I have seen you develop from a novice Daz user to a very accomplished 3D artist using your knowledge, skills and talent. Looking at your image here today the question I immediately asked myself was "Where's Dennis?" To hear you getting excited about finding the right way to prompt a machine without soul to substitute for your own considerable talents is, to me, rather saddening and diminishing. Sorry to sound so negative Dennis but please accept my remarks are based entirely upon respect. On a more positive note and at the risk of contradicting myself and shooting myself in the foot, you will find this work fascinating. It is so mind bogglingly good it beggars belief but, at the end of day, I start to tire of it. Somehow it's 'skill' without depth. Lots more here on the host site. Some amazing and some just predictable. My difficulty is that all this completely astounds me, but it doesn't really touch me or move me. Basically what AI does best, at least at the moment, is inhuman. I suppose that's to be expected - it's not human and has no understanding of the human condition or emotions. The huge question is, if and when it does, and I suspect the 'if' is hypothetical, should we welcome it or fear it? Given that its learning model is the humanity it culls from the internet, I think that question is moot .............. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 14/04/25 00:23:42 AM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 871 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
David, it's merely a blank canvas. That's what I said. I only cut the images out to fit the brief. I further stated that, in my opinion, reflection, shadows and or....would or could improve the image. Like Daz, if you don't like it, leave it. I'm not selling AI, just expressing myself with it...and with anything else I can twist to please. AI is like a gun. A fool makes it dangerous! I'm not scared of AI, I'm weary of the fool that'll make it dangerous! My statement would go more along the Christian lines and as this isn't a spiritual site, I'll keep my 10 cents to myself...and no hard feeling about the critique at all. For art's sake! _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/04/25 01:49:56 AM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3121 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Kangaroo Justice
Not animated. |
Posted on 14/04/25 02:11:01 AM |
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Mariner
Renaissance Mariner Posts: 3006 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
David. Well written. Metamorphosis (pillart.ai): Amazing. Fascinating. Alien. Pillart's other work, quick scan, seems to follow the same theme. |
Posted on 14/04/25 11:30:32 AM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Loyd, I don't know whether you are just having fun and a giggle with AI as you sometimes do or whether you are fuelling the fire. It's a clever visual pun either way. Since this is a new image I'm keeping my discussion here instead of moving it because it's still totally on topic. But it will be mercifully short. Whenever I see one of Dennis' exquisite 3D renderings I know, without needing to look for the contributor, that the image is his because of its accomplishment and his very personal style. Whenever I see one of your animations or images I know immediately it is yours because it carries your quirky personal stamp. Looking at Kangaroo Court and Dennis' contribution this week I think I could be forgiven, especially if I didn't know, for presuming them to be the same artist. The medium has completely subsumed the creators to the point where they are no longer distinguishable. This is exactly my problem. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
Posted on 14/04/25 2:17:10 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 871 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
HA! Lloyd, you've cracked me up twice this challenge. I love "No cameras" and Kangaroo Court speaks volumes. Well done! Sometimes an artist just wants to portray a 1000 words rather than spell them out...lol. _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/04/25 2:43:12 PM |
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lwc
Hole in One Posts: 3121 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Thanks David and Dennis… just a giggle and actually a bit of plagiarism. When I first thought of a kangaroo court, I did a search and found that many had already been made. I stole the various kangaroos and used the challenge image to make my own version. Some or all of these are probably AI… I did not create any of them from scratch, simply cut-out and modified for my own use.  |
Posted on 14/04/25 4:07:45 PM |
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dwindt
Realism Realiser Posts: 871 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
So, 89 layers later and multiple photoshop techniques, here's my attempt at incorporating AI into a HOTCHIPS Photoshop mix media composition. I'm pleased. If there's no proof in it, eat another pudding. Damn, I sound like Pink Floyd...lol.  _________________ The grass is greener on the other side of the fence because there is more $hit there. |
Posted on 14/04/25 5:23:49 PM |
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DavidMac
Director of Photoshop Posts: 5551 Reply |
Re: Challenge 1049: Justice is served
Loyd I'd guessed as much - they have the look. But it's a great idea! Dennis I understand what you are trying to show and this of course is a considerable advance that ties it all together and gives it focus. But, for me personally, the sterile unmistakeable AI look of the characters still screams out so loud that it leaves Dennis a relative whisper. This takes me back many years when I used to criticise your Daz renderings because, no matter how hard you tried, no matter how carefully you posed, they looked like lifeless plastic dummies. But over the years you got so good at 3D that you left that all behind and started producing really stunning results with real conviction. This is entirely subjective and personal but, for me, conviction lies not in perfection but in imperfection. All the serendipitous accidents of life that get written on our bodies and in our faces. To my eye, the way you made your modern renders so good and utterly convincing was to use the increasing level of your technique and knowledge to counter the perfections and plasticity of the renders themselves by giving them all the tiny scars and bruises of real life. For the first time you gave them humanity. Again this is completely subjective but I cannot but feel that this is what AI needs and so conspicuously lacks. It's just too perfect. Just like good renders, it needs the subtle tiny scars, imperfections and accidents that separate the real from the synthetic. I'd love to see you make that happen. _________________ The subtlety and conviction of any Photoshop effect is invariably inversely proportional to the number of knobs on it ....... |
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