8 Comments

Your artwork is very well done. Is it DALL-E?

Expand full comment

Thanks, yes it is! I use a combination of DALL-E to generate images and Canva to stitch things together/add titles. I took descriptions from my stories, fed them into DALL-E, tweaked them until I found something I liked.

I was planning to pursue an artist to make something similar, but nobody really seems to mind that they're mostly AI generated. How do you feel about it?

Expand full comment

I would prefer to work with an artist but there’s been issues of availability mostly and style. My brother generated an image through Midjourney that I like and ended up using as a banner image for a story universe. I use stock images but would honestly like to photograph my own. It’s tough being the writer and artist, though.

Expand full comment

Yeah I feel you there. I have a lot of fun making images with DALL-E, it gets easier once you get a feel for how it will respond to certain things, what it does and doesn't do well etc. Here's a good article I found with solid tips: https://zapier.com/blog/dall-e-3/

It's easily worth $20 to try it out for a month, you can generate up to 50 images every 3hrs or something. Sometimes it takes me that many to find what I'm looking for. But in a month you can get a lot done.

Expand full comment

I appreciate the tip. I’ll try it out.

Expand full comment

Personally, I don't use any AI generation for any of my work or its artwork-- my opinion on AI/LLM artwork generation is a strong antipathy. I'm glad I feel that way, too, since it's lead to some pretty neat pieces, this page has one of my favorites: https://www.waybound.space/p/start-here

Expand full comment

👏👏Thanks for speaking up in support of the anti-Nazi side of this - notable that Margaret Atwood has added her very considerable & considered voice AGAINST platforming Nazis & Nazi adjacent content & rewarding them with $$$ from subs (not to mention taking a cut from the Nazi $$$ subscribers/enablers/sympathisers/adherents) I have also read some very good articles from people I don't know, but seem, like you, uncomfortable with the rationale of the owners here - after all they don't have trouble blocking porn etc. & isn't THAT "censorship"? Many are looking to leave here & find other homes...

I am very sad 😥- Substack seemed like the ideal platform to let people just share their writings, and create a community of subscribers who CHOOSE to interact and/or read and share. Some I know have been able to build enough of a following to become full time writers, so the thought of this place going the way of all the others is heart-breaking. I haven't read your fiction (no offense - just can't fit everything into my day already so trying not to find NEW rabbit-holes!) but your original article about discovering the Nazis here, and this one, demonstrate you have the gift of communicating thoughts & ideas.

I don't know if it is already too late for the owners of Substack to prevent the exodus of the ordinary folks who don't think white supremacy etc. should be rewarded😡 , and will investigate the Kofi option for direct donations. 👍

Expand full comment

It really wouldn't take much for Hamish and co. to at the very least cut off the revenue stream. But perhaps they're making too much money off having them here.

Expand full comment