A fan of the Pokemon Trading Card Game has extended the artwork of some cards using an AI image generator. Images generated by algorithms from text prompts has become a recent internet trend lately due to the fact that fans who may not be too versed in art can use it to create concepts they couldn't without it. Many gamers have decided to have fun with the generators, like how a fan used it to create a Red Dead Redemption 2 and Metal Gear Solid crossover.
AI image generators are a relatively new invention in which users can give the algorithm a small prompt to generate an image from. These can range from something entirely new, or use something that was there previously to give the AI something more visual to use as a reference. In this case, Reddit user WholeGarden5504 gave the application ten different Pokemon Trading Card Game illustrations to "expand," drawing in the rest of the background that was cut off by the card's moves and stats.
The versions that WholeGarden5504's image generator of choice, Dall-E 2, created are incredibly faithful to the cards that it was given to follow. Dall-E 2 is a more improved version of the first text-to-image AI program created by the same developers at Open AI. Even though Dall-E 2 has bettered itself than what came before it in many ways, there's still room for a few errors.
While the AI followed the illustrations rather closely, a few mistakes can be seen and some are larger than others. For example, Jigglypuff's right ear seems to have been lost due to a glitch of some kind, whereas the illustration for Dialga has the Legendary Pokemon look as if its legs have been weirdly extended while the freely generated background it's in looks incredible.
Even with some mistakes, some of these trading card illustrations have been made even more stunning to look at with Dall-E 2's help, as seen with the Totodile and Snorlax cards. For WholeGarden5504, it's turned out to be a rather fruitful experiment, and they've said they plan on extending more Pokemon trading cards in the future. Despite the faults in the images generated, other fans are enjoying the results and even making jokes about the errors.
However, as AI image generators become more and more popular, a conversation has arisen about professional artists being worried that algorithms like Dall-E 2 may make their jobs obsolete in the future. There may be some merit to the argument as the tool can help fans create anything they want, including zany concepts like Danny DeVito as an Animal Crossing villager. While these text-to-image programs are controversial at the moment, at the very least, WholeGarden5504 found a way to help Pokemon Trading Card Game art shine instead of erasing the work of the people who made the illustrations happen.
Source: Reddit