How to Use AI to Create Digital Art 

Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the environment for graphic designers, and artists alike, making it possible for amateurs and professionals to create amazing and inspired works of art with minimal technical experience. Using artificial intelligence, one can create unique and complex graphic designs, often by simply inputting text prompts or using user-friendly graphical interfaces. The more detailed the prompt, the more the art will resemble what the artist had imagined.

As one uses their chosen platform more often, it gets easier to prompt the AI platform and the platform will “learn” about the artist's aesthetic. Artists and enthusiasts can now harness AI tools to enhance creativity, streamline workflows, and explore new artistic avenues.

AI works by utilizing algorithms and data to simulate human intelligence and perform tasks such as learning, reasoning, and problem-solving. At its core, AI systems analyze large datasets to identify patterns and make predictions. Machine learning, a subset of AI, enables models to improve over time as they are exposed to more data. Deep learning, which uses neural networks with multiple layers, allows for even more complex tasks like image and speech recognition. By processing information and adapting to new inputs, AI can automate processes, enhance decision-making, and provide insights across various domains.

These tools use machine learning, particularly neural networks, to understand patterns, textures, and styles in existing art. Neural networks are a type of artificial intelligence that uses a machine learning process called deep learning to teach computers to process data in a way that attempts to mimic the human brain. By understanding the tools available, defining your artistic vision, and experimenting with various techniques, you can create unique pieces that reflect your creativity.

This allows the AI to produce original artwork that ranges from photorealistic landscapes to abstract expressionism and almost anything the artist can imagine. If the artist wants to get more advanced they can use platforms like ChatGPT or Claude AI to use the language model to create actual coding for art or even an entire website. 

Due to its accessibility, speed, and ability to push the boundaries of creativity, AI-generated digital art has become increasingly popular among graphic designers. Artists are now able to explore new techniques and styles that would have been hard to learn on their own. Normally, a new style or technique would take weeks for artists to master, but now a simple or detailed prompt can bring their work to life with minimal effort. 

AI allows for a combined process between the artist and the AI tool, where the human guides the tool to process and advance their work. Whether for professionals looking to easily improve their portfolio or beginners seeking a starting point for their career in the arts, AI platforms can help artists make an easy transition into the graphic design industry. 

Examples of Digital Art that Can Be Created by AI

• Abstract Art: AI allows one to master creating abstract designs with vivid colors and patterns. These images can then be used as digital prints, real world designs and even NFTs.
• Portraits: AI can create highly realistic portraits of humans or stylized versions based on artist’s prompts, often blending multiple styles like cubism, realism, or impressionism. The artist is limited only by their own imagination.
• Landscape Art: AI can generate awe inspiring and realistic landscape images, from peaceful countryside scenes to futuristic style or steampunk cityscapes. 
• Fantasy and Sci-Fi Art: Artists that use AI can easily and expeditiously create entire new worlds, make-believe creatures, or futuristic environments that push the boundaries of traditional graphic design.
• 3D and Sculptural Art: AI can also assist in creating 3D models, sculptures, and digital objects, often used in game design, architecture, or animation.
• Generative Art: AI can create generative art, where the design evolves from an algorithm, producing endless versions of the original concept with random elements.
• Artistic Style Transfer: Using AI, artists can prompt the machine to use styles from different artists like Monet or Van Gough. Using said prompts, the AI will create an abstract work of art in the style of named artists. 
• Motion Graphics and Animations: AI can generate dynamic visuals, including animation or short video loops.
• Illustrations for Books or Games: AI can create illustrations for concept art, which can help develop lore for books, video games, or basic animations. 

Prominent AI Systems Used to Create Digital Art

• DALL-E : Developed by OpenAI, DALL-E  generates art from text prompts. This system uses a transformer-based neural network to make highly detailed or abstract images based on simple text inputs from the user.
• MidJourney: A creative AI tool known for generating amazing and innovative visuals based on user prompts. MidJourney is particularly popular for its ability to generate quality, stylized digital art that spans across multiple genres such as fantasy, sci-fi, and photorealism.
• Artbreeder: Artbreeder allows users to blend and evolve images through AI. It specializes in creating digital portraits, landscapes, and abstract art. It allows artists to create images from text prompts and then combine said images and evolve their artwork through machine learning. 
• DeepDream: Developed by Google, DeepDream creates psychedelic and abstract visualizations by amplifying the features of an image. This AI model is particularly useful for artists looking to explore dream-like, surrealistic digital art, turning ordinary images into intricate, bizarre, and colorful patterns.
• Runway ML: Runway ML is an AI-based platform that provides multiple machine learning models for professional graphic designers. It can be used for image generation, style transfer, and editing videos, offering a diverse set of tools for artists and filmmakers to experiment with AI-powered, prompt driven art.
• NightCafe: NightCafe Creator is an AI app that lets you create and share art using new methods of AI image processing. In the app, you can use a few different styles and methods of creating, like style transfer to transform photos, or text-to-image that creates an artwork from nothing but a text prompt.
• Other image generation tools. Other tools include Imagen 3, Dreamshaper, Canva, Stable Core, DeepAI and more.

Sample Prompts Creating Digital Art

• " A surreal forest where the trees are made of crystals and the sky is emerald green and the clouds are cotton candy":

• "Steampunk cyberpunk robotic renaissance era woman":

• "Moonlit night with extremely realistic portrait of a tiger in the jungle":

• "The city of Atlantis underwater with mermaids and fish and a coral reef in and about the city":

• "Dreamscape of a backwards world where there are buildings in the sky and the tide comes in backwards from the sea":

Summary on AI and Digital Art

AI has dramatically changed the way digital art is created, offering powerful tools that make generative art accessible to everyone, regardless of their experience or background in graphic design. Through platforms like DALL-E, MidJourney, NightCafe, Canva, and DeepDream, one can create images and animations that would not have been possible only a few years ago.