Fan art has flourished in the social media age, but not everyone is blessed with the skills to turn their ideas into spectacular — and disturbing — visual creations.
The worst offenders hang in galleries of horrors across Reddit and Twitter. Visit them if you dare, but be warned: these cursedimages will be forever imprinted on your brain.
Fearful of joining these walls of shame, fan artists are turning to a new AI app for help. Known as Wombo Dream, the software converts text into computer-generated paintings.
The app was built by the company behind Wombo AI, the popular deepfake singing tool. To use it, all you need to do is type a prompt, like “Mortal Kombat’s Sub-Zero,” and pick an art style that you like. The AI will then bring your idea to life.
The Wombo gang hasn’t said much about how the app works, but experts suspect it uses the VQGAN+CLIP architecture. We’ve asked the team for further details and will update this piece if we hear back.
Whatever powers the system, one thing remains apparent: it can produce some truly arresting images. Within days of its launch, fan artists had shared numerous striking characters from movies, bands, video games, and comic books.
Hulk art that I generated from Wombo Dream pic.twitter.com/81jy4QbalJ
— Hulk Archives (@hulkarchives) November 23, 2021
The system seems best-suited for fantastical characters. But it also works on realistic subjects, like my role model — Patrick Bateman:
Professionals have also been impressed by the tool. Saïna Seedorf, senior designer at TNW, could imagine artists using the app for assistance with colors, lines, shapes, and stylistic choices:
It’s very easy to use from a UX stand point; clean and simple interface. It can definitely help any creative when they’re lacking inspiration.
Indeed, the app can serve a medley of creative endeavors, from mimicking famous artists to generating landscapes. But it may prove most popular as a tool for producing fan art. And, hopefully, making the genre just slightly less cursed.