Why Tess?

I learned about the Tess.design AI generator from a Reddit post, when I did a search for "ethical AI." I am writing this page after experimenting off and on for one week.

I paid $20 for a monthly subscription, which allows me to do 40 generations. Exactly what constitutes a generation is unclear. Tess is fairly new, and although the steps to USE the generator are fairly simple and intuitive, I have not found good reference materials for questions such as what constitutes a generation?

100% Digital ATCs? An Experiment

September 20, 2024

This is the first ATC that I've ever made using only my iPad. It started with an AI image, but not an unethical image. I used an AI generator called Tess. (https://www.tess.design )

Six days ago I created an account on Tess. I uploaded images of thirty of my own paintings. Obviously, Tess needed additional images operating along with mine, but these images were sourced ethically. I am paying $20 this month in order to experiment with this new-to-me technology. I've played with AI in the past, but decided not to use NightCafe.com any longer, due to the fact that the models were trained using images stolen from artists all over the world.

I won't go any further on that topic just now.

ONE: I created a model on Tess. I played with the generator for a few days.

On Friday, September 20, I fed this text into the model: "Elderly woman arising from armchair."

Tess generated the following four images:

TWO: I downloaded the second image to my iPad. I used Procreate in a very simplistic manner to change the image a bit.

I wanted the legs placed evenly apart, the way I place them when I'm trying to get up. So I selected the right leg, copied and pasted it to another layer, then flipped it and moved it.
I wanted bangs, so match my current hairstyle. So I tried drawing them in with the Apple pencil, but the drawing didn't match the style of the "painting." So I used the same select/copy/paste method. I used warp tools to make the copied bit of hair look like my bangs.
I wanted text. I'm not very good with text (yet) so that part took a long time and several versions.

These changes took me a couple of hours. The resulting image is far from perfect. But for a first attempt, it was OK.

The first Procreate file had sixteen layers and a lot of mistakes. Eventually, I duplicated the file four times before arriving at the final version.

THREE:

Digital ATC

It was an interesting experiment!

The blog post above relates just the basics of the process.

When generating the original image on Tess, there is also a step that allows you to change the face. I wish I had saved the first generation of the image. The face we see here used a photo of ME to replace the original face. It's not a great likeness, but it's close.

There is SO MUCH more to learn.

Will I continue to pay $20 a month to use the Tess AI generator?

No. That's a little pricey for my budget.

But was it worth the money to give Tess a test run?

CERTAINLY.

And will I make and trade digital ATCs in the future?

CERTAINLY.

October 27, 2024

I am updating the new web site and this article about Tess needs a conclusion.

I never found out just what a "generation" meant. I ran the program a total of 65 times. Only once did I use a model other than my own.

Each generation yielded four images. (The user has no choice in this number.)

However, I generated images following two different processes.

The first process was simple text. Here's how it looks when you choose to enter text:

And here are the images that were generated:

The OTHER process is to run the generator against one of your own pieces of art work. I did this several times, with interesting results. The prompt for this kind of generation looks like this:

In this case, I used one of my ATCs that was made with white ink, a dip pen, and black paper. Since the Pepperwood2 "Model" was based on PAINTINGS, Tess generated my drawing so that it looked more like a painting:

Generating Images based on my OWN images

The second method was by far the most fun for me.

In one of the ATC groups, there are weekly prompts. One word on the first week, two words the second week, etc.

One week the prompts were: Hippo, Mop, Straw Hat, Bucket

I drew a black and white image on my iPad, then ran the black and white image in Tess. I was surprised that it made no attempt to add color.

I wish I had kept better notes. I think that I ran the next generation just with text prompts:

Another "Type 2" Generation

The Type 2 generation was my favorite, but I didn't have very many images that were appropriate to use.

Since the model is trained on a set of 32 PAINTINGS that I fed into the generator, any of my cards that were painted would not be good candidates. Now that I am finished with my test, I wish I had run a few of them through... but I didn't.

The generator tried to create a painting from this mixed media jack-o-lantern.

Dragon Drawing to Dragon Painting

I found it particularly interesting to see how the generator handled drawings.

Changing a drawing into a painting could be a valid and ethical use for AI, particularly for things like printing greeting cards!

Doodle Cat

Tess seems to have a bit of a problem with any of my black and white drawings.

Since I didn't feed any black and white images... OR any drawings, I seldom got a good result when I used black and white drawings.

Doodle Cats

Again, Tess tried to make this into a painting.

It was interesting what the generator did with the colors, too.

Doodle Ghosts

The limited color range made this one a little easier.

Again: the drawing becomes a painting.

Fun.

I will probably buy another month of Tess later, to do further experimenting.

Shapeshifter

Another of my new "hybrid cards," drawn on the iPad and designed for COLORING.

I wish I had generated a second set of images from a colored version of "Shapeshifter."

Add it to my list of things to try again next time I buy a month of Tess.

One more Halloween ATC, converted to new images by Tess:

Next, I tried generating from a photo. I wish I had spent more time exploring this option. The faces shown here are in the same pose as the person in my photo, but they do not resemble the person at all.

The review of Tess continues here.