If you were not familiar with the videos or my YouTube channel as an additional teaching and learning resource for Generative AI. Here are the last few educational videos (all under 15-minutes) and packed with clear instruction, inspiration and entertainment. Enjoy!
– Brian Sykes
Midjourney 101: A Non-Intimidating Guide to Your First AI Image. Brian Sykes, A.I. Explore. Ep 8
Dive into the world of AI image generation with this friendly, approachable guide to Midjourney! 🔵
If you’ve been itching to get started with AI in the creative industry but felt held back by fear or intimidation, you’ve come to the right place. In this tutorial, we demystify the process of getting started with Midjourney, taking the fear factor out of the equation and replacing it with excitement and confidence.
We’ll walk you through the process of setting up a Discord server, applying Midjourney, and exploring the platform’s basic features. But we don’t stop there! We’ll even guide you through your very first prompt – “imagine/ a little boy playing with a blue ball”.
This video is designed for absolute beginners, ensuring a non-intimidating and empowering experience. We believe in the creative potential of AI, and we want you to experience it firsthand, without fear or confusion.
By the end of the video, you’ll not only have your feet wet with Midjourney but also feel ready to dive deeper and explore more complex prompts. This is just the beginning of your AI creative journey, and we can’t wait to see where it takes you.
Explaining Generative AI, Using Gen. AI for Creatives | AI Explore: with Brian W. Sykes Ep. 9
Join me, Brian W. Sykes, as we delve into the fascinating world of Generative AI in this episode of AI Explore. In this video, I use Midjourney to create a unique AI character, use D-ID to make it talk, and Adobe Photoshop beta to enhance the aesthetics. Watch as I demonstrate how these advanced AI tools can revolutionize tech and creativity.
Unleashing the Power of Creative Disruption in Your Business | A.I. Explore with Brian Sykes. Ep. 10
Welcome to a unique blend of AI technology and innovative business thinking. In this video, we dive deep into the world of Generative AI while discussing how to ignite creative disruption in your business environment.
The video unfolds with an intriguing question: “What could we possibly do to make our client retention even worse?” Seemingly counterintuitive, this question is the catalyst for our exploration into creative problem-solving and forward-thinking business practices. Join us as we challenge conventional ways of soliciting feedback, and foster a more engaging, solution-oriented environment in our hypothetical agency, “CreativeCo”.
While you delve into the concepts of ‘devil’s advocacy’ and ‘Inversion Thinking’, witness the power of Generative AI in action. We’ve created a dynamic experience so that as we navigate through the discussion, enjoy a real-time editing session in Adobe Photoshop Beta. We’ve created an extended backdrop, added elements to it, and recorded the whole process with Loom. This gives you a glimpse of how AI and creativity combine to create compelling digital environments.
In the final section of the video, we reveal the behind-the-scenes magic. You’ll learn how we seamlessly integrated different tech tools – Adobe Premiere, Photoshop Beta, Midjourney, Loom, Riverside.fm, and Epidemic Sound – to bring this multifaceted experience to life.
Unleashing creative disruption is about breaking barriers and thinking outside the box. This video not only discusses this concept but showcases it through the use of AI in content creation. So buckle up and get ready to rethink, reimagine, and revolutionize.
Video From Generative A.I. Stills: Using Midjourney + Adobe PS (beta) + Ae + Pr | Brian Sykes Ep. 11
The created video is only a few seconds long, but I wanted to quickly put something together to show you possible image transitions from a set of still 2D images generated in AI. I used Midjourney to create the images used. For consistency, they all have a similar base.
• photograph of a young [ hair color ] [ male / female ] named [ give your character a name ] in downtown Detroit. [ Name ] has [ describe the hair ].
[ Name ] is wearing a [ describe the visible outfit ]. [ Name ] has [ describe their body posture – how they are standing, what they are doing ]. The background of downtown Detroit suburb is old homes, street lights, small trees, blue sky. golden hour –ar 16:9
This structure kept the visuals in the same family. In this short video, there are 7 segments. I will explain what I did for each character in the text below – but watch the video to see it all come together!
1 • The first is simple. The image appears zoomed in, and the camera pulls out. In Adobe Premiere (Pr) I start the image at a scale of 112% and at 00;00;00;15 I have the scale set to 100%.
2 • For this image I used VolumeMax 7 – Portrait, to manipulate the head position. I had cut the image from the background with Photoshop, and used Photoshop beta to fill in where the woman was. This gave me 2 layers to work with – background and woman. These 2 layers were brought into VolumeMax thru After Effects (Ae). Panning the camera with the 2 separate layers created a greater sense of depth – especially with the woman’s face moving, and eyes tracking the camera.
3 • I scaled up the basket baller to 103%. This subtle size increase provided just enough edge overlap, so that I could change the horizontal position from 750 to 707 in Pr.
4 • With the brunette, I am modifying the scale (100 – 116%) and position in Pr. Position I adjusted to try and keep the eyes in the same horizontal plane as it “zoomed in”.
5 • The soccer player was manipulated in VolumeMax 7 – Portrait, but this time I worked with just one image, not one with the Portrait separated form the background.
6 • This image is a scale change (100 – 107%) with a horizontal shift (728 – 674) in Pr.
7 • The image was separated in Ps Beta – with generative fill used for the background to fill in where the redhead had been. I brought both layers into Pr. Both layers were scaled (100 – 113%), but I used a Gaussian Blur on the background that went from 0 to 25% blurriness.
I overlaid all the images with a sequence inspired by Blindusk with split cells, cellophane tape, light leaks, dust and scratches, etc – on which I used the Blend mode of “Screen” so it would overlay the images. This whole sequence was actually inspired by an email I received from Blindusk for their video transitions.
Generative AI Recolor Inside Adobe Illustrator | A.I. Explore with Brian Sykes. Ep. 12
In this video, I’m going to show you how to use the Generative Recolor feature in Adobe Illustrator to quickly recolor your artwork. With just a text prompt, you can define the color set you’re going for and the tool will generate options for you to choose from. I’ll walk you through the process using some of my own illustrations and a vintage pattern I created. Keep in mind that the tool applies to everything you select, so if you want to keep certain colors the same, you’ll need to deselect them. Enjoy!
Private Discord Server for Midjourney | A.I. Explore with Brian Sykes. Ep. 13
In this short video, I want to introduce you to how to set up a Private Discord Server for Midjourney. The steps are simple and easy to set up, and will make your prompting experience with Midjourney MUCH more enjoyable and manageable.