AI Lego with Goji

While cruising the social media waves, I recently saw some amazing AI work using Lego miniatures in various scenarios. Curious to know the human brain behind it, I found out about Goji. You may be wondering what does Goji mean? “Like the berry ” Replies the artist.

Goji Berries(Lycium barbarum) also called wolfberries are native to Asia.

G: Hi! I'm Goji 🙂 I create bespoke AV experiences for brands and companies - with the help of 3D and AI. At the moment I am exploring the every expanding AI tools and research that's being released on a daily.

AG: Tell us about how it all began? What prompted you to choose this direction?

G: In Oct/November last year I finished a hectic 3D project that resulted in my hard drive crashing - Two years of work was lost. Some of it was backed up on the cloud, but all my resources and files were locked up in the process. This forced me to take some time away and recalibrate, which ultimately led me to AI and experimenting with it.

AI Art created using Midjourney by Goji

AG: What is the process you follow?

G: Most of the process is about evaluating an idea and describing it in the best way possible - finding new ways to describe something is generally the way to go.

AG: What inspired you to combine generative AI and Lego in your artistic process?

G: I tried to push myself to make an artwork everyday - this just came to me one morning as I was going to bed. At the moment Midjourney has two models that they constantly update - one is Niji and the normal MJ model. The LEGO series was made using the v5.1. The hardest part about this piece was to create the images and choose the right one. I also believe that

knowing what to say / perfectly describing your images is the most challenging part.

AI Art created using Midjourney by Goji

AG: How do you strike a balance between the creative input of the AI and your own artistic vision when creating the imagery?

G: Midjourney is a great collaborator once you view it from the collaboration lens - you can guide its vision in the right way using images as well. I feed it my references and use it to guide my generations. Choosing certain parts of your image to switch out is the major problem with MJ, but that can easily be solved with Photoshop. I believe that the LEGO art stands as a testament for allowing your mind to go beyond the realm of bizzareness and run through the "Design Thinking" principles - in order to evaulte your idea at a much faster pace. For me AI aids the traditional notions of artistry and creativity - it feel like a plugin for our existing software

I hope to inspire to people to create - especially ones without a proper design/art education.

I have collaborated with other artists to make some AI art. For this years 36 days of type, me and Devanshu Tak used Blender and Stable Diffusion to create and animated piece which decorated the formation of the letter X.

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A post shared by Devanshu Tak (@devanshutak25)

AG: Do you see generative AI as tools that can democratize the creation of art? How does this impact your artistic practice and the art world as a whole?

G: Yes I believe that AI can give power to your thoughts and help bring them to life - by eradicating the skill barrier it would allow more people to think freely without having to traverse a skill barrier.

AG: How do you envision the future of generative AI and art? What new possibilities or directions do you anticipate exploring?

G: The path of gen AI is kind of uncertain, a lot of different tools end up tying into one another to make new progress in our field of Art, Design and tech. At the moment I am trying to explore video capabilities and build a habit of creating ideas everyday!

AG: Have you encountered any unexpected or surprising results while working with generative AI?

G: Almost every result is surprising! Its still so surreal to experience the process of writing your thought creatively and descriptively and see it form in front of your eyes. I feel the results introduce you to new directions with which you can further develop your prompt.

AI Art created using Midjourney by Goji

AG: What advice would you give to aspiring artists who are interested in generative AI in their own creative pursuits?

G: The main takeaway I have experienced after using these tools is to describe your thought as clearly as possible.

With this tool we are designing sentences and assigning priority to words in a way that the AI understands. At certain times, when we create with AI, we need to stop chasing the image in our minds and just focus on choosing an image that best describes our concept.