Unfortunately it does require a ChatGPT Plus subscription (and I think they’ve temporarily stopped accepting new subscriptions). Eventually I hope to build one that doesn’t rely on the subscription.
The tool can flesh out project details and show you a DALL-E picture. Here are some examples of the pictures:
I completely agree! I think real art has to come from people.
On the other hand, it’s good to get more people involved in art, by providing some ideas for people who are weak in imagination. (Me for example!) That in fact is the purpose of many popular art books.
You’re really just getting a concept here. It’s a fair amount of work to turn these ideas into actual artwork and designs that can be physically made. (The time will sadly come when the AI can do that too. Not too long from now, is my guess.)
From these theme words, “Marker” stands out as the most concrete and easy to visualize. So, let’s construct a design based on these parameters.
Design Concept:
A Fretwork/Filigree Lamp Featuring Marker Motifs
Imagine a lamp, crafted with intricate fretwork, showcasing an artistic array of marker motifs. The base and shade of the lamp are made from high-quality plywood, with delicate cut-outs forming various types of markers - from classic highlighters to elegant fountain pens, each detailed and recognizable. The fretwork allows light to filter through the shapes, casting playful, pen-like shadows on the walls. The lamp’s stem, also adorned with etched designs of pen nibs and ink splatters, adds to the creativity-themed ambiance. This piece would not only provide a cozy light source but also serve as an inspiring decorative element for a writer’s desk or an artist’s studio.
Now, let’s create a visualization of this design using DALL-E.
Simple Design Concept:
For a simpler version, we could create a smaller lamp with a straightforward circular shade. The shade features a single, elegant fountain pen silhouette cut-out, surrounded by smaller ink droplets. This minimalistic approach keeps the charm of the original idea but makes it more accessible for beginners or those looking for a quick project.
I will now create visualizations for both of these designs.
Here are the visualizations of the two lamp designs for your Glowforge project:
Intricate Fretwork Lamp with Marker Motifs: This design showcases various types of markers with intricate cut-outs, casting playful, pen-like shadows.
Simpler Fretwork Lamp with Fountain Pen Motif: A more minimalistic design featuring a silhouette of a fountain pen, perfect for beginners or quick projects.
Would you like to explore different visualizations, modify these designs, or discuss another creative idea?
Did you autotrace it? I’ve found autotracing to need so much touch-up that it’s faster to trace the design manually with a vector pen. Though this particular image has very clear edges…
It spelled “History” wrong. The lamp is impressive, and I really like the ornament tree. Pretty impressive, but AI is just something I don’t really want to start playing with. I keep having visions of Terminator III in my mind! I don’t even play with the Magic Canvas here in GF. I definitely see the advantage to giving ideas though, especially when you have a concept in mind but can’t quite put it together. So yeah, it definitely has its place.
I use Affinity and it doesn’t have auto trace…which has always been a disappointment to me…otherwise, it’s a great app. I’ve had to ‘make do’ by hand tracing things…which I just did last night with some snowflakes. Symmetrical things are easier to do that with since I can do a portion then duplicate and mirror.
Snowflakes are fun — I hope people try out the idea. It can be as simple or complex as one wants. And peace-symbol snowflakes are particularly appropriate this year.
I’m already working on a trio of designs myself. Here’s the actual prototype for the first one. It’s a start, but I’m not quite satisfied; I’ll have to work on the design some more. (I’m already overcommitted on projects for the holidays, so not sure I’m going to finish it in time.)
It may be worth installing Inkscape just for this purpose?
Then when you get an image you want to trace you can just pop into inkscape, do the trace, save it SVG and then import that back into your affinity design?
When I first started all of this, I did begin learning Inkscape. When it just didn’t seem to fit with me, I began looking at other apps and ended up going with Affinity. I may take your good suggestion someday down the line, but right now I don’t have a need for the trace feature often enough to do that.
I’m just OCD enough that hand tracing with the pen tool is rather therapeutic for me, anyway.
Exactly. I can appreciate it as a tool for things like this.
I have a strong preference for tracing in Silhouette Studio. It might not be worth the investment for you (you have to pay for the business edition), but I also use Affinity Designer for everything else. Inkscape has somewhat better controls for tracing, but Silhouette Studio is so easy and fast. It works for 99% of my projects and I teach it for making die-cut stickers because it’s so simple.
The lamp is impressive, and I really like the ornament tree. Pretty impressive, but AI is just something I don’t really want to start playing with. I keep having visions of Terminator III in my mind! 
I don’t even play with the Magic Canvas here in GF. I definitely see the advantage to giving ideas though, especially when you have a concept in mind but can’t quite put it together. So yeah, it definitely has its place.
