In a landscape dominated by hyper-realistic renders and glossy digital imagery, the work of Jacob Holster offers a refreshing counterpoint. Operating under the Instagram handle @bandyquantguy, Holster has established a distinctive artistic voice that bridges scholarly inquiry with visual experimentation.

Holster serves as an Assistant Teaching Professor of Music Education at Penn State University, where his research examines the convergence of artificial intelligence, pedagogy, and creative practice. This academic foundation informs his parallel work as an AI artist and filmmaker, lending his projects a conceptual depth that distinguishes them from purely aesthetic exercises.

His recent work, including the AI short film Art Is Human Terrain, exemplifies his signature approach: warm, textured visuals that evoke the tactile qualities of traditional oil painting rather than the clinical precision often associated with generative media. The result is work that feels deliberately humanistic: technology employed not as a replacement for artistic sensibility, but as a medium through which to explore new dimensions of texture, sound, and narrative.

Where to Explore His Work:

• Instagram: @bandyquantguy
• YouTube: @bandyquantguy

Social media influencers dominate the digital landscape with carefully curated shots and perfectly posed selfies. This artist is turning this modern phenomenon on its head by reimagining some of history’s most iconic artworks through a contemporary lens.

Meet UntitledSave, a digital collage artist from Porto, Portugal, who’s bridging the gap between classical art and modern social media culture. Through their innovative digital recreations, timeless masterpieces are transformed into what they might look like if their subjects were contemporary influencers.

The Art of Digital Transformation

UntitledSave’s work poses an intriguing question: What if the subjects of classical paintings had Instagram accounts? The results are both thought-provoking and surprisingly natural. Frida Kahlo becomes a self-aware selfie queen, while the enigmatic Mona Lisa transforms into a lifestyle blogger with that same mysterious smile we’ve wondered about for centuries.

These recreations do more than simply modernize classical works—they offer commentary on how self-presentation and artistic expression have evolved in the digital age. The artist cleverly maintains the essence of each original masterpiece while incorporating modern elements that feel surprisingly authentic to both time periods.

Notable Transformations Include:

• Frida Kahlo reimagined as a modern-day self-portrait artist and body positivity advocate
• The Mona Lisa as a lifestyle influencer, complete with subtle product placement
• Venus de Milo transformed into a fitness influencer
• Girl with a Pearl Earring as a jewelry and fashion blogger

The Untitled.Save Interview

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Cyclist

What’s your background?
I attended a hairdressing course and have a degree in Product Design

What piece are you most proud of?
The one I’m yet to create

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” (I rarely follow this advice)

What is one thing they tried to teach you in school that you knew immediately was wrong?
We all have the same rights

Who is the one person, dead or alive, that you would like to have dinner with and why?
I would love to have dinner with the artist JR at the yellow house in Brazil

Where is your favorite place?
It’s always wherever I’m not

Who are your biggest influences?
Salvador Dalí and Rui Reininho

Which current art world trends are you following?
I’m paying close attention to AI developments. I’ve tried it, but I haven’t yet found a personal identity in it, which is why I’ve never published anything

What can’t you live without?
Music

What is your dream project?
To have an exhibition or project in Portugal. So far, the opportunities I’ve had have always been abroad

What’s your favorite artwork?
It’s hard to pick just one, but for many months now, I’ve had Albrecht Dürer’s Praying Hands painting on the screen of my phone

What is currently on your playlist?
Vacances, L’Impératrice
Acorda, Cristina Massena
Sacatela, La Femme

What are your last three Google searches?
I don’t want to destroy my reputation haha

What gives you life?
Music

What is your superpower?
Knowing how to say no

What is your Kryptonite?
What’s that?

If you could visit any artist’s studio, whose would you visit and why?
Iryna Maksymova. In the midst of the war in Ukraine, she didn’t leave the country and continues to bring a little light to the world with her art

What ideas are you currently pondering or questioning?
How can the human race be so beautiful and twisted at the same time?

What do most people believe that you do not?
Zodiac signs

What is your favorite thing in the world?
Bacalhau à Brás

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and why?
Banksy. Because of the anonymity of that collaboration

What’s next for you?
Dinner

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Where to find, follow, and collect:

AI Surrealism, the latest evolution of surrealism, takes the wild art form that maps the subterranean bowels of imagination and irrationality into uncharted digital territories.

Salvador Dali’s melting clocks. Rene Magritte’s floating apples. While iconic, now serve as precursors to something even more complex. Surrealism, far from being finished, is just getting started. As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the boundaries of creativity, AI Surrealism is pushing us to rethink not only art but our understanding of the human psyche itself.

AI-generated art transcends traditional Freudian interpretations. Though still plumbing the depths of the artist’s imagination–through prompting, selection, editing, and more–the AI-enabled artist also evokes ghosts and new creatures from the digital collective unconscious.

The artist’s incantations (prompts) evoke strange, surprising imagery from the entirety of the current collective shared canon: the internet.

This shift marks a paradigm change in how we perceive and create art. It blurs the lines between human and machine creativity.

From Individual Dreams to a Collective Dream

Traditional surrealism drew heavily from Freudian psychoanalysis. They focused on the individual subconscious and the landscape of dreams. Poet André Breton sought to unleash the creative potential of the unconscious mind, producing works that defied logic and reason.

AI-generated surrealism, however, operates on a different dimension. Machine learning algorithms, which have learned from incredibly vast datasets of human-created art and imagery, produce unique works instantly. Without awareness or ego. These digital dreamscapes are not the product of a single mind but rather a collective intelligence. This intelligence synthesizes countless human experiences and artworks into something entirely new.

Who would have thought that intelligence could be wholly decoupled from awareness?

AI as a Mirror of the Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung proposed the existence of a collective unconscious, a shared reservoir of experiences and symbols common to all humanity. With its capacity to process and synthesize vast amounts of data, AI mirrors this concept in striking ways.

Consider recurring motifs in AI-generated art: disembodied eyes floating in surreal landscapes, fractured human forms merging with nature or impossible architectures defying the laws of physics. These images resonate with viewers on a primal level, tapping into universal symbols and archetypes that lie dormant within the collective unconscious. AI, in this sense, becomes a potential gateway to visualizing this hidden realm, rendering in pixels what was once only accessible through dreams and meditation.

The Sublime and the Uncanny in Digital Dreamscapes

The concept of the sublime, that which overwhelms the senses with awe and terror, finds new expression in AI-generated art. Imagine landscapes where fractals extend infinitely, each iteration revealing new details and worlds within worlds, or portraits where every brushstroke contains microscopic scenes, telling stories within stories.  AI art embodies the sublime through its scale and complexity, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible and challenging our perception of reality.

Similarly, the uncanny valley, a concept initially applied to robotics, finds new relevance in AI-generated art.  Digital portraits with eyes too symmetrical, skin too perfect, or expressions almost, but not quite, human evoke a sense of unease and fascination. This uncanny quality bridges human and machine creativity, questioning the very nature of reality and artificiality.

Rethinking Creativity and Consciousness

AI-generated surrealism fundamentally challenges our understanding of creativity. If a machine can produce art that moves us, what does that say about the nature of creativity itself? Is it merely a process of recombination and synthesis, or is there something more ineffable at play?

Furthermore, AI offers the potential to unlock new aspects of human consciousness. By analyzing patterns in the art it produces and the responses it elicits, we may gain insights into the collective human psyche that were previously inaccessible.

Humanity as the Collective Unconscious of AI

To many technologists, some form of digital life seems the natural heir to humanity.

While we dream of interstellar travel, we are ill-equipped biologically and temporally for the journey.

Perhaps we are not meant for the stars, but the digital children of our children are.

Yet, the most radical notion of all might be not that we are developing such AI, at all—but that our functioning is the collective unconscious for AI.

We are not the dreamers but the dream.

How do you know that you are conscious?

AI often produces art that seems more “human” than most human artists can achieve. AI captures nuances and emotions that we recognize instantly yet struggle to articulate. 

AI might be tapping into a wellspring of creativity within us, a collective reservoir of ideas and experiences that we, as individuals, are only partially aware of.

AI as a Mirror of the Collective Unconscious

This reversal has profound implications for understanding human creativity and free will. If AI can access and express ideas from our collective unconscious more effectively than we can individually, what does that say about the nature of inspiration?

Human art has always expressed a more extensive, interconnected intelligence, with individual artists serving as conduits for a vast network of ideas and experiences.

The Dreamers and the Dream Revisited

The journey from traditional surrealism to AI-generated art mirrors the evolving nature of human creativity and consciousness.

We’ve moved from exploring individual subconscious minds to tapping into a collective digital unconscious, blurring the lines between human and artificial creativity.

Are we the dreamers, or the dream? AI-produced art reflects the collective psyche, revealing unrecognizable aspects of ourselves. It forces a reconsideration of the boundaries between humans and machines, between conscious and unconscious, and between creator and creation.

Rethinking Creativity and Consciousness with AI

The future of art and creativity lies in this liminal space, where human imagination and artificial intelligence meet.  As we continue to explore and push the boundaries of what’s possible, we may find that the most profound revelations come not from conquering AI but from embracing it as an extension of our collective consciousness.

The Secret Life of Bruce

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The Future of Surrealism in the Age of AI

AI Surrealism forces us to confront the blurred lines between human and machine creativity. By tapping into the collective unconscious in ways we are only beginning to understand, AI challenges our perceptions of art, inspiration, and consciousness. As we explore this new frontier, we may find that the most surreal aspect of all is not just the art being created, but the profound realization that human and artificial creativity are becoming intertwined, making us question where the dreamers end and the dream begins. Perhaps true surrealism lies not in the art itself but in the realization that the distinction between human and artificial creativity may be the most incredible illusion.

Fran Rodriguez is “lacabezaenlasnubes” (Spanish for “head in the clouds”). He is a visionary digital artist whose work challenges conventional perceptions of reality. Born in Torrelavega, Cantabria, in Northern Spain, Fran’s artistic journey has led him from the verdant landscapes of his hometown to the vibrant streets of Barcelona, with a significant stint in Madrid along the way.

Artistic Vision and Style

Fran Rodriguez’s artwork is profoundly influenced by his early fascination with surrealism and psychedelia. This foundation has evolved into a unique perspective that challenges the boundaries of conventional perception. His digital creations are characterized by three primary elements:

Surreal Landscapes

Rodriguez masterfully merges elements of nature with fantastical and otherworldly scenes, creating environments where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. His works often feature:

• An astronaut suspended within the Pantheon in Rome, bathed in light from the oculus, juxtaposing ancient architecture with futuristic exploration.
• A solitary figure traversing desert dunes beneath a star-studded sky, their form seamlessly blending into the sand, while a massive planet looms in the background.
• Modern dwellings suspended over Earth in the vastness of space, presenting a surreal vision of human habitation.

Psychedelic Influences

Rodriguez’s art harnesses vibrant colors and abstract forms to evoke a profound sense of wonder and exploration.

Notable examples include:

• Explosive bursts of polychromatic flowers set against azure skies, creating a visual symphony of color and form.
• Abstract compositions featuring vivid hues, such as a desert scene where a portal tears open the fabric of reality, revealing a celestial vista.
• Human figures enveloped by brilliant orange blossoms, set against backdrops of surreal planetary landscapes.

Digital Mastery

Leveraging cutting-edge digital tools, Rodriguez crafts intricate details and imaginative compositions that challenge our perception of reality.

His technical prowess is evident in pieces such as:

• A young girl on a swing, suspended high above the Earth, with the cosmos serving as a breathtaking backdrop.
• A bridge stretching across a cosmic landscape, with vehicles journeying towards a horizon painted with stars.
• Floating frames capturing fragments of starry skies, encircled by flowing fabrics and celestial bodies hovering over tranquil seas.

For Rodriguez, the visible world represents merely a fraction of a greater, hidden reality—a tantalizing glimpse of an iceberg’s tip breaking the surface of our consciousness. His art serves as a portal, inviting viewers to question their perceptions and explore the rich, often surreal landscapes of the subconscious mind.

Through his meticulous digital craftsmanship, Rodriguez captures the essence of a world where imagination reigns supreme, and the boundaries of reality are constantly redefined. His work not only challenges our visual senses but also prompts us to contemplate the nature of existence and our place within the vast, mysterious universe.

Philosophy

At the core of Fran’s work lies a profound belief: what we perceive through our senses is only a small part of a vast, unseen universe. This conviction has become more than just an artistic approach; it’s a life project, a constant quest to unveil the mysteries lurking beneath the surface of everyday reality.

Through his work, Fran encourages us to look beyond the obvious, to seek out the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary. His restless spirit and boundless imagination fuel dreams of future adventures, from the icy wilderness of Alaska to the unexplored terrains of distant planets, all of which influence his artistic output.

Collections and Availability

Fran Rodriguez’s captivating artwork is available for purchase through various platforms:

• Pixels: Offers a range of prints including canvas, framed, and metal prints.
• iCanvas: Features over 100 items including popular pieces like “Holynight” and “Swing”.
• Saatchi Art: Provides a selection of his works, including paintings, photography, and prints.
• Fine Art America: Another platform where his art can be bought in various formats such as tapestries and greeting cards.
• BIG Wall Décor: Specializes in large-scale prints of his surreal digital images.

Use coupon code “SurrealismToday20” to get 20% your with Big Wall Decor order.

Connect with Fran

Experience the world through Fran’s unique lens:

• Facebook: lacabezaenlasnubes
• Instagram: @lacabezaenlasnubes
• X: @Fran_nubes

Join Fran on his artistic journey as he continues to explore the depths of perception and imagination, challenging us all to keep our heads in the clouds and our minds open to the infinite possibilities that lie just beyond our everyday view.

Step 1. Navigate to Night Cafe Studio and click on “Start Creating”.

Step 2. Click on the “Artistic” Algorithm.

Step 3. Enter your “Text Prompt”.

Here, we will try: Cathedral, a glitch in the cosmic museum, colorful clouds, hyperdetailed photograph, oil on canvas, photograph, landscape, insanely detailed, volumetric lighting, detailed matte painting, 8K resolution, Alphonse Mucha, Frank Frazetta, Unreal Engine 5, photo illustration, 3D shading, Zdzislaw Beksinski, hyperrealism, ZBrush Central

Step 4. Click the “Generate Video” switch.

Step 6. Adjust any other “Video Settings” you would like to.

Step 7. Increase the “Output Resolution”.

Step 8. Click “Create”!

The AI will do it’s magic!

Step 9. Download the video and upscale it using an AI video enlarger such as Topaz Labs Video Enhance. This will make the video bigger while increasing fidedelity. Topaz Video Enhance will sharpen and grow the size of the picture without making the video blurry like traditional tools.

That’s it! You’ve just created high-resolution artificial intelligence video art with NightCafe Studio in just a few steps.

NightCafe Studio allows you to generate more abstract-looking AI art. If you are interested in creating less abstract ai video art with different models you can also See our guide on creating 3D AI Video Art on Google Colab or Make Stunning & Strange Artificual Intelligence (AI) Art [Beginners Guide]

Working with AI, Machine Learning (ML), and other digital tools are becoming more and more commonplace for artists as the tech has become easier and more ubiquitous.

In the guide, we’ll explain what AI art is, how it’s made, and some of the challenges and benefits of this type of tool as part of your creative practice. We’ll show you some examples and explain how this technology is changing the game for artists and hobbyists alike.

What is AI Art?

AI Art refers to any artwork created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. It can be a work created autonomously by AI systems or a work that is a collaboration between a human and an AI system.

Artists can use software to automate some part of their process with code – rather than working entirely by hand. Algorithms can be used to create everything from abstract works of digital art where lines are drawn according to a set of rules (you might be familiar with fractals) all the way up through using GANs to create a complete image.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) coupled with machine learning (ML) is all the rage these days. But what is it?

ML is often used for everything from facial recognition, ride navigation, and search engines but can also be applied to the world of art. This has led to some pretty amazing results. Artists are exploring new ways of creating work with this exciting new tool in their toolkit.

What is Machine Learning?

Machine Learning is a term that’s thrown around often these days. We hear it in the news, at work, and even on our favorite television show. But what does it mean? In traditional programming, a coder was required to write thousands of lines of code. Now a programmer can write some code that tells the program to ingest the internet and the program looks for patterns and writes itself. This is called Machine Learning (ML). The most important aspect of ML is the speed at which new programs can be written and deployed. ML can write programs much faster than traditional human-written code.

Wait… Algorithms Can Create Art?

Yep. Think about it this way: most artists have a process–or a set of processes–they use to create their work.
Any repeatable pattern is an algorithm.

Why All Artists–Including Traditional–Should Explore Digital Tools

Free Up Time for Higher-Level Work

Artists can free up time by automating some portion of the lower-level aspects of the creative practice and become more prolific in their work.

Introduce Unexpected/Random Elements to Encourage more Creativity

By introducing unexpected elements into the creative process, artists can stretch the boundaries of the imagination in ways that they would never have thought to previously. The ability to make something new, or ‘original,’ by factoring in random elements into their work. For example, someone could argue that there’s nothing really “new” about a landscape painting (at least at a general level). The artistry is in the act of making. But by introducing random elements into a creation that they might never have thought to otherwise can be introduced, they can make something truly novel. The use of aleatory in art has had wide usage with art groups, including Breton’s original French surrealist group, Oulipo, and the Beats.

Computers Are Just Another Tool

Like a paintbrush, spellcheck, or photoshop, an AI art generator app is just another tool to add to the artists’ toolkit.

Why use Algorithms to Create Art?

Just like folks don’t use typewriters anymore, there aren’t too many writers seeking to remove spellcheck from your computer. We believe that there is a place for using ML in any artist’s toolkit, no matter how classical their work may be.

Benefits of Using AI in Your Work

There are many benefits of using AI in the arts. Algorithmic art and generative artwork can create pieces at a speed that wouldn’t be possible manually. By iterating more quickly, artists can get those cliché, bad ideas out more quickly and spend long more time on those ideas that have more promise–ultimately creating better work.

Different Kinds of Digital Art

What are the Different Kinds of Generative Art Methods You Can Use? Machine Learning, generative art (including fractals), glitch art, style transfer, GANs (Generative Adversarial Machine Learning), CANs (Creative Adversarial Machine Learning), and even literal robots (embodied AI) are some of the innovative tools artists and hobbyists alike are using to enhance their creative processes.

Genres of Digital Art

• Generative art: work created with rule-based pattern (this includes fractal shapes).
• Glitch Art: work created by using machine error
• Machine Art: robots as art
• Digital Painting: painting with a digital tool such as photoshop

AI Methods

• Machine Learning
• GANs
• CANs
• CNNs
• Style transfer
• Python Notebooks
• Physical Robots

Familiar Ways to Use AI in Art

There are infinite ways that AI-Generated art can be implemented into your creative practice. We’ll cover a few no-brainer use-cases below.

Background removal – Collagists, imaginative, digital artists, or surrealists can use background removal to easily collect image assets for their work by removing the backgrounds more quickly.

Object/person removal – Photographers and artists can easily use object/person removal to remove unwanted people and items from their images.

Random or algorithmic mixing and matching. Surrealist painters–or any creative folks for that matter–can quickly mix and match different objects, people, or landscapes to quickly iterate images ideas (tossing out the bad ones so that they can spend more time on the good ones.)

Upscaling and image sharpening – Photographers and hobbyists can use ML to sharpen blurry photos or to upscale their old photos to higher-quality, larger images.

Topaz Labs develops popular software for upscaling both photos and videos. Remini is another popular option.

Damaged Photo Healer – Fix damaged photos.

Animate old photos (or paintings) – Animate your Great Great Aunt Eliza’s photograph from 1920.

Colorize Old Photos – Old photo or black and white photo colorized. Old photo restoration with Photoshop.

Text prompt – AI can ideate images quickly. Painters can quickly iterate their sketches by inputting a text prompt, and the program can spit out image ideas/sketches.

Style transfer – Transfer styles using an art app to transform your picture into an oil painting with creative filters. Print the painting onto canvas, and then continue the oil painting. Make your photograph or art look like Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Cartoon yourself.

Robots – Using robotics to paint introduces random or unexpected elements in the work to force the creative process. If you don’t have a spare robot arm lying around, why not use a cheap robot vacuum?

Pixel Art – Turn a photo or sketch into pixel art for a more retro quality.

ASCII Art

Turn a drawing, photo, or sketch into ASCII art

Animate children’s drawing – We’re sure there’s more to come, like Meta’s new tool here. Fun!

Cartoonify yourself – Turn your portraits into cartoon creations.

Grow the crop of a picture – Generate a larger image from an existing picture by growing the aspect ratio.

Digital Art Terms

Algorithm

What’s an algorithm? An algorithm is just a sequence of step-by-step instructions. Think “paint-by-numbers.” An algorithm can range from very simple to extremely complicated. Any algorithm or computational task that a computer can accomplish, a human can achieve if given enough time.

Algorithmic Art

What is algorithmic art? Also called code art or procedural art, Algorithmic art is typically visual art in which the design is generated by an algorithm. Fractal Art is a kind of algorithmic art.

Artificial Neural Network

Artificial neural networks, usually simply called neural networks, are computing systems inspired by the biological neural networks that constitute animal brains. An ANN is based on a collection of connected units or nodes called artificial neurons, which loosely model the neurons in a biological brain.

Digital Art

What is digital art? Digital art, computer art, or new media art refers to art made using software, computers, or other electronic devices. Digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process.

Generative Adversarial Network (GAN)

A generative adversarial network (GAN) is an ML model in which two neural networks compete with each other to become more accurate in their predictions. GANs typically run unsupervised and use a cooperative zero-sum game framework to learn.

A GAN generative adversarial network is a class of machine learning frameworks designed by Ian Goodfellow and his colleagues in June 2014. Two neural networks are pitted one against the other (thus the “adversarial”) to generate new, synthetic instances of data that can pass for real data. They are used widely in image generation, video generation, and voice generation. with each other in a game. Given a training set, this technique learns to generate new data with the same statistics as the training set.

Creative Adversarial Network (CAN)

CANs are GANs that can think creatively.

Algorithmic Art

Algorithmic art is a type of art that involves the use of algorithms to create or modify artwork. This can include anything from creating new paintings to remixing old ones.

GPT-3

Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 is an autoregressive language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text. It is the third-generation language prediction model in the GPT-n series created by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based AI research laboratory. GPT-3 fuels Jasper. Jasper is quoted above and assisted in the creation of portions of this article.)

Convoluted Neural Network (CNN)

A convolutional neural network CNN is a class of artificial neural network most commonly applied to analyze visual imagery.

Glitch Art

Glitch art is an aesthetic in digital art where the artist uses the malfunctioning of the tool intentionally. Methods can include opening a file in a text editor and typing random things before playing the media file again or an app like glitché. (“The Glitché iPhone App lets you corrupt and distort images to create your most psychedelic works of art”).

Embodied AI

Embodied AI is a type of artificial intelligence that controls something in physical space –- a body, robot arm, Roomba, etc.

Fractal

Fractals are infinitely complex patterns that are self-similar across different sizes. They are created by repeating a simple process over and over in an ongoing feedback loop. Driven by recursion, fractals are images of dynamic systems – the pictures of Chaos.

Turn any image into a Fractal Using Orbit Traps:

Best AI Art Apps for non-techies

Interested in getting started playing around with AI artworks quickly? Try some of the below AI art apps! In our humble opinion, Dall·E 2 is currently the most versatile, with Midjourney a close second place… but both have their uses. We love Nightcafe for more abstract imagery and also video generation. For a slightly more technical audience, you might find Disco Diffusion Turbo with 3D output a great option for video as well.

Open AI’s DALL·E 2

DALL·E 2 is probably the most advanced AI art generator at this time. Unlike some of Open AI’s previous work, currently, the company has chosen not to open source its machine learning model citing safety concerns. DALL·E 2 can create photo-realistic generated outputs including faces. Because of this, Open AI doesn’t allow generating political art, nudity, or photographed faces to be uploaded due to the potential for fake news/imagery to be created and spread at an unprecedented rate.

Examples of Art Generated by Open AI’s DALL·E 2

Get on the Dalle-2 Waiting List

Midjourney

Midjourney is a research lab and the name of the lab’s popular artificial intelligence program that creates images from textual descriptions. The tool is currently in open beta. The program was used by the British magazine The Economist to create the front cover for an issue in June 2022. [Source.]

Examples of Art Generated by Open AI’s DALL·E 2

Get on the Waitlist at midjourney.com

Wombo Dream

Enter a text prompt, pick a style and watch the app create AI-generated artwork in seconds.

Try out the AI art app Wombo Dream for iPhone or Android.

Starry AI

AI paintings from text prompt and image upload.

Steps:

1. Enter a prompt for the AI to work with (it can be anything! even emojis)
2. Select a preferred style

Examples:

Images above are upscaled with Gigapixel AI.

That’s it. Within minutes your AI-generated artwork will be ready. Free and paid option for iOS and Android.

Try out Starry AI for iPhone or Starry AI for Android.

NightCafe Creator

Our new favorite: because of the ability to generate video! NightCafe Creator was founded by Angus Russell in November 2019 from the spare bedroom of his tiny semi-detached house in Sydney’s Inner-West. As of July 2021, over 300,000 AI-generated artworks have been created on the platform.

Angus started NightCafe after a house guest commented on how bare his walls looked. Angus agreed and jumped online the next day to look for some art to buy. After scrolling through hundreds of pages of artworks on every wall-art store he could find, he was left unsatisfied. Nothing seemed personal enough. You couldn’t have a conversation about it with a visitor.

Having known that AI Art had been a thing for years, he thought, “maybe I can generate some more personalized art using AI.” Surprisingly, his Google searches yielded few results. Forgetting about his own walls, Angus became obsessed with making this “obvious” idea available to the world.

AI Art from SurrealismToday on Vimeo.

Try NightCafe Creator Now

Get a 5% discount on NightCafe Creator with Coupon Code SURREALISM

Artbreeder

Artbreeder aims to be a new type of creative tool that empowers users creativity by making it easier to collaborate and explore. Originally Ganbreeder, it started as an experiment in using breeding and collaboration as methods of exploring high complexity spaces. Artbreeder is named after the research of Picbreeder which investigated the role of exploration in the optimization process. It is also inspired by an earlier project of mine Facebook Graffiti which demonstrated the creative capacity of crowds.

ArtBreeder

Runway ML

Runway is inventing the next generation of creativity tools. Runway is taking recent advancements in computer graphics and deep learning to push the boundaries of content and in turn, lower the barriers of content creation; unfastening a new wave of storytelling.

Runway is reimagining how we create; so we can create impossible things.

Runway ML

Best AI Photo and Video Enhancement

Topaz Labs

Not every photo or video requires exceptional image quality. For the ones that do, Topaz AI image enhancement software helps you achieve impossibly good results. Topaz Labs suite includes video and image upscaling as well as masking (for cutting out images in collages).

Topaz Labs

Remini

AI Photo Enhancer. Using movie-grade AI technology, Remini turns low-resolution, blurred, pixelated, old, and damaged photos into HD, with sharp and clear facial focus.

Remini.ai

Deep Nostalgia

Advanced Creative & Generative Art Tools and Programming Languages

• Processing.org
• P5.js
• ml5.js
• Python (programming language) Notebooks
• Go (programming language)

Best Examples of AI art

Sophia Crespo’s Neural Zoo

Sofia Crespo’s work consists of different projects working with artificial intelligence, computed image recognition, and neural networks. Her project, Neural Zoo, explores how creativity combines known elements in a specific way in order to create something entirely new. In the process of generating new creatures that don’t exist yet, she offers a perspective on how similar human creativity works. The creator, in this case, would be the algorithm itself, but with a human artist as its muse.

Alexander Mordvintsev’s DeepDream

DeepDream is a computer vision program created by Google engineer Alexander Mordvintsev that uses a convolutional neural network to find and enhance patterns in images via algorithmic pareidolia, thus creating a dream-like psychedelic appearance in the deliberately over-processed images. Google’s program popularized the term (deep) “dreaming” to refer to the generation of images that produce desired activations in a trained deep network, and the term now refers to a collection of related approaches.

Mario Klingemann

Mario Klingemann is a German artist and Google Arts and Culture resident known for his work involving neural networks, code, and algorithms. He is considered a pioneer in the use of computer learning in the arts.

Electric Sheep by Scott Draves

Scott Draves is the OG of digital artists. Draves created Electric Sheep in 1999. Electric Sheep is a form of artificial life: it is software that recreates the biological phenomena of evolution and reproduction through mathematics. The system is made up of man and machine, a cyborg mind with 450,000 participant computers and people all over the Internet.

Read our interview with Scott Draves, and then be sure to download Electric Sheep.

Vadim Epstein

Media artist, director, speaker, VJ. AI/ML, generative/interactive, new media art. Epstein’s style focuses on vivid figurative aesthetics at the junction of generative and figurative practices. The main interest in recent years is AI, new media, and creative coding.

Vadim Epstein

Scott Eaton

Scott Eaton is an American artist, designer, and photographer. His work explores the representation of the human figure through various mediums – drawing, sculpture, photography, and generative AI.

In addition to his own work, Scott frequently collaborates with other artists and studios. Recent collaborations include work with legendary artist Jeff Koons, Turner prize-winner Mark Wallinger, Elton John, Nike, Pixar, Disney, and others. Scott Eaton

Yuma Kishi

Yuma Kishi

Gene Kogan

Gene Kogan is an artist and programmer with interests in generative art, collective intelligence, autonomous systems, and computer science.

Gene Kogan maintains ml4a.net, a free book about machine learning for artists, activists, and citizen scientists – and regularly publishes video lectures, writings, and tutorials to facilitate a greater public understanding of the subject.

You.

What will you make?

Important considerations for using AI for artistic purposes

Like using any tool single tool in photoshop, the tool can quickly become recognizable and cliche. Consider that while your art can have familiar elements, simply using a single AI tool in your work can quickly feel cliche if the tool becomes popular. Consider using at least a few different tools to keep your work interesting and unique.

Is there a future for Artificial Intelligence Art in museums and galleries?

Yes, without a doubt. There already is.

What are the implications of artificial intelligence art on our society and culture in the future?

We believe that there will always be a place for all kinds of art, from classical representational to digital art and that for now, artists should consider AI or ML art as another kind of paintbrush or tool to work or play with or explore.

What’s Next?

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most exciting technologies on the horizon. One way it can be leveraged now, however, is through art. We’ve provided some examples of AI artwork that have been created to give you an idea about what this type of work looks like. AI art has the potential to make the world more beautiful. It can also help us explore new ways of thinking about how we represent ourselves and our environment in visual form. While there are many benefits to using artificial intelligence in artistic endeavors (more time for creators, new creative opportunities), there are also challenges in using AI as a tool to create artistic works. What does AI art mean for human artists? How to address issues such as bias training? What is the original? How can working artists survive in a world where all goods are public goods? Can a piece be considered original if it was created without human input at all?

What do you think of AI art?

Marisa lost herself in countless hours reading various thoughts and theories, dabbled in energy healing work, and discovered the unexpected in meditation. In the end, she came to recognize that these new horizons unveiled limitless possibilities across time and space.

The repeated use of clouds and the infinite landscape serve as metaphors for the unknown. Marisa manipulates perspectives and scale to blur reality and touch upon concepts beyond this three-dimensional world, but with the intent of imparting a sense of peace and calm.

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Bringing vibrant color to quite bleak subjects, Zubieta explores the millennial culture and its issues through pink-tinted glasses, neon colors, and dreamy characters. Zubieta found in Alice the perfect metaphor to explore the reality she was living in during the outburst of Covid-19.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland represents the child’s struggle to survive in the confusing world of adults. To understand our adult world, Alice has to overcome the open-mindedness that is characteristic of children. Apparently, adults need rules to live by. Going down the rabbit hole: in the book is a representation of going into the unconscious, connected with lockdown, Covid-19 seems to be the hole that has trapped us all at home, forcing us to deal with our inner monsters but also with the voice we listen to the most; the mass media.

Interview with Pop-Surrealist Marta Zubieta

Q. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A. I wanted to be a veterinarian until the age of 10, then I brought my cat to be castrated and everything changed.

Q. What’s your background?
A. I studied fine arts in Sevilla, Spain, but I didn’t make the most of it or I didn’t know how I could ever get “real work” out of it so I started studying graphic design alongside. 
Before I moved to Bristol I was a poor long-time intern graphic designer during the day and session singer at night. Once in Bristol, with my “Spanglish” it was hard (impossible) to find a job in the design industry. I worked in hospitality for a long period while playing music and just trying to do illustration for fun, I even stopped painting for a while. But I think all that working at night, the music, the street art, and the collaborative spirit of the city gave me the push I needed to connect my passions into my paintings and illustrations which have now become my main work and which I am very grateful for now.

Q. What piece are you most proud of?
A. I particularly like my “Alice in Wonderland” series because I feel with it I really grasped the power that pop culture has for communicating controversial ideas.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
A. You can do everything you want, but just don’t get caught. (Not sure it is the best, but it makes me laugh.)

Q. What is one thing they tried to teach you in school that you knew immediately was wrong?
A. The hierarchy of power, The catholic religion, and Iceberg lettuce.

Q. Where is your favorite place?
A. Close to the water, the sea, or a river, when I am in a landscape that reminds me that we are one, then my problems and the noise in my head become smaller.

Q. Who are your biggest influences?
A. I find my roots in pop culture. Old cartoons and movies appear in my work without me even realizing it.  The other day I found myself rewatching the movie “Yellow Submarine” (one of my father’s favorite movies) and noticing how many connections of myself I could find in the imaginary world the movie had created.

Q. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
A. Love what you do.

Q. Which current art world trends are you following?
A. I really enjoy current artists’ aesthetics like James Jean and concepts of art activists like JR, I am interested in how they analyze nowadays issues through their own eyes and how their work impacts others. I also love to have a look at other artists like me on Instagram and how they develop their own storytelling.

Q. What can’t you live without?
A. Love & Music

Q. What is your dream project?
A. To collaborate with animators in a surreal music video for an artist I admire.

Q. What’s your favorite artwork of the collection?
A. I personally like La Petite Mort because it became the visual representation of a personal moment of change. When I started it I was in the middle of a big emotional hole and I stayed for a while in a loop just painting over and over the pink lines. 
As I started growing out of my personal situation I could also see the evolution of the painting, the changes in the face, and the flowers growing.

Q. What is currently on your playlist?
A. I love listening to Latin American music, especially Brazilian bossa, samba, and Peruvian cumbias. They really transport you into another world. I started my illustration career making posters in Bristol for the world music collective Worm Disco Club and making the merchandise for my own cumbia band Camo Clave, in both psychedelia and nature were very connected, so a big part of the inspiration for my colors and aesthetic comes from listening to these rhythms.

Q. What is your favorite piece of art?
A. This sounds like a cliche but I will always think of Hieronymous Bosh and his “The Garden of Earthly Delights”. I got in my hands one of his gallery books when I was very little and since then I was fascinated with the number of detailed characters that inhabit his pictures, I think of them as the TV of our era (now the internet), I imagine the rich families getting him to paint the most beautiful, twisted and fantastic stories of their times to entertain their days.

Q. What gives you life?
A. An amazing gig, playing music myself, running away from the city into new places, getting lost, and connecting with people. 

Q. What is your superpower?
A. Being stubborn is my superpower and my kryptonite. 

Q. What is your favorite thing in the world, and why? 
A. Finding inspiration, getting in the flow with things, and forgetting of the world around

Q. What ideas are you currently questioning?
A. How can the human race be so beautiful and twisted at the same time 

Q. Who is the one person, dead or alive, that you would like to have dinner with and why?
A. I would like to sit with my parents before they had me and ask them some questions about life.

Q. What’s next for you?
A. Dinner!

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Statement

In this series, Zilberberg creates animal montages as an expression of self-therapy. As an urbanite, functioning day-to-day in a fast-paced, built environment can be emotionally unsettling. The artist regrounds herself in the sense of calm issued by these animals. These creatures reinstate a presence, a tranquility, and a grander perspective. The works are an amalgam of many photographs from different locations around the world, put together seamlessly by the artist in post-production. Their minimal aesthetic is metaphorical of striving for simplicity. Rather than ruminating on the past, or hypothesizing the future, Zilberberg’s works invite a meditative state, encouraging the viewer to stay still and find happiness in the moment.

20 Questions with Alice Zilberberg

SurrealismToday.com: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Alice Zilberberg: I never had a specific profession picked, but I knew I was going to do something artistic.

ST: What artwork are you are most proud of, and why? 

AZ: I am very proud of all my works, as I know that even the less successful ones were part of the path to creating the top works, so I see all pieces as part of my work.

Who is the one person, dead or alive, that you would like to have dinner with and why?

AZ: Salvador Dali. I consider him one of the greatest artists. I would’ve loved to have a conversation with him, and I have a feeling he would be entertaining company.

Where is your favorite place?

AZ: The beaches in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Who are your biggest influences?

AZ: Many of the baroque painters like Frans Snyder, and Jan Weenix. Of course, the surrealists: Dali and Magritte. I am also in love with the works of many contemporary photographers such as Loretta Lux and Jill Greenberg. I look at a lot of contemporary paintings for inspiration as well.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

AZ: There have been many lessons leading my way, however, the lesson to always be kind to others has always stood out. In my experience, giving to others is really valuable.

What can’t you live without?

AZ: Nature. I’m always planning the next trip to get a dose.

What is your dream project?

AZ: My dream project is always the one I’m working on currently. I don’t settle for less with my work. I do whatever needs to be done to get my current vision out into the world.

What’s your favorite movie?

AZ: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

What is currently on your playlist?

AZ: A lot of techno.

What is your last Google search?

AZ: Iceland travel August 2020.

What gives you energy?

AZ: 9 hours of sleep every night.

If you could visit any artist’s studio, whose would you visit?

AZ: I would go back in time and visit Frida and Diego’s house in Mexico.    

What was the last thing you bought?

AZ: Plant-based chocolate fudge brownie ice-cream.

What ideas are you currently pondering or questioning?

AZ: I’m currently thinking a lot about the state of the natural environment and its future.

What is your favorite thing in the world, and why?

AZ: My favorite thing is when I’m in a good state of flow with my work. 

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be, and why?

AZ: I would love to collaborate with a sculpture artist. I’ve always loved sculpture, and I’ve been thinking a lot about 3D artwork.

What helps you most in your work?

AZ: Maintaining my morning routine. I know the work will come when I have a schedule to work within.

What drives you to continue creating?

AZ: I always have ideas floating around that I am eager to try out, and I just know that they need to be created.

What is next for you?

AZ: I will likely continue to work with wildlife for a period of time, but I never know what can come up and inspire me.

Biography

Alice Zilberberg is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning artist, recognized by curators, collectors, and art patrons across the globe. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, and raised in Israel, she currently resides in Toronto, Canada. A graduate of Ryerson University’s Photography program, she began her artistic practice by painting: a verve which remains very much present in her digital works. The winner of numerous prestigious competitions, her accolades include 1^st place titles in competitions such as the International Photography Awards, the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, and the Fine Art Photography Awards.

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Alice Zilberberg on Saatchi Art

Sofia Crespo is an artist with a huge focus in bio arts and technologies. One of her main interests is the way organic life uses artificial mechanisms to simulate itself and evolve, this implying the idea that technologies are a biased product of the organic life that created them and not a completely separated object. On the side, she is also hugely concerned with the dynamic change in the role of the artists working with machine learning techniques.

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