Stepan Kovalev

Russia

AI Art experience

It serves as both a collaborative partner and a tool that pushes the boundaries of my imagination. AI allows me to generate and visualize ideas at an unprecedented speed. What might have taken hours of sketching or digital manipulation can now be produced in minutes. This rapid feedback loop helps me explore a vast range of possibilities quickly. The AI often produces surprising juxtapositions of elements that I might never have considered. In this piece, for example, the interplay of the stark geometric forms with the soft, atmospheric lighting creates a tension I find captivating. As someone without formal training in architecture or photography, AI enables me to create complex, technically precise images that would be challenging to produce manually. It's like having an expert collaborator who can fill in the gaps in my technical knowledge. Working with AI is a dialogue. I can start with a rough concept and progressively refine it through multiple generations, tweaking prompts based on what I see. This iterative process often leads me down creative paths I hadn't initially envisioned. AI excels at synthesizing diverse influences. In this piece, I was able to blend elements of minimalist architecture, abstract art, and dramatic lighting techniques to create something that feels both familiar and entirely new. AI allows me to create spaces and lighting conditions that couldn't exist in the physical world. This opens up new realms of artistic expression, allowing me to visualize concepts that transcend physical limitations. Working with AI challenges traditional notions of artistic authorship. I see myself more as a director or curator, guiding the AI's output towards my vision. This collaborative aspect fascinates me and makes me reconsider what it means to be an artist in the digital age. AI democratizes certain aspects of art creation. It allows me to produce high-quality, complex images without needing years of technical training or expensive equipment. However, it's important to note that AI also presents challenges. Ensuring originality, navigating ethical considerations around AI-generated art, and maintaining a unique artistic voice are ongoing concerns I grapple with. Overall, I find that AI enhances rather than replaces my creative process. It's a powerful tool that expands my artistic possibilities, allowing me to explore new realms of visual expression and pushing me to constantly evolve as an artist.

Personal experience

My personal experiences, cultural background and artistic vision significantly influence my work, even when using AI. This might manifest in choice of subjects and theme, The prompts I craft to guide the AI, how I curate and edit the AI's outputs, the conceptual framework I build around the generated images. My unique perspective often shapes how I interact with and direct the AI, resulting in work that reflects my personal artistic voice despite the use of AI tools.

Unexpected thought

Working with AI has been a transformative experience for my artistic practice. One of the most striking revelations has been the sheer unpredictability of the creative process. Often, the AI generates combinations of elements that I never would have conceived on my own, pushing me to think beyond my usual artistic boundaries. This collaboration has fundamentally changed my perspective on authorship and creativity. I've come to see my role not just as a creator, but as a curator and director of the AI's output. It's a dance between my intentions and the AI's interpretations, resulting in artwork that feels both familiar and alien to me. I've been particularly fascinated by how the AI interprets abstract concepts. When I input ideas like "solitude" or "entropy," the resulting images often provide new visual metaphors that expand my own understanding of these concepts. It's as if the AI is offering a fresh lens through which to view the world. Technically, I've discovered new approaches to composition and color theory through observing the AI's outputs. Some of these insights have even influenced my traditional, non-AI artwork, broadening my artistic toolkit. Ethically, this process has sparked deep reflections on originality and authenticity in art. I constantly grapple with questions about the value and meaning of AI-assisted art in relation to traditional forms. It's challenged me to reconsider what makes art "valuable" or "authentic." Perhaps most profoundly, working with AI has expanded my sense of what's possible in visual art. The ability to realize complex, surreal visions – like the architectural abstraction in this piece – has opened up entirely new avenues for expression that I'm eager to explore further. Lastly, this process has fostered a more collaborative mindset in my approach to art. I've come to see creativity not as a solitary pursuit, but as a dialogue – in this case, between human and machine. This shift has made me more open to collaboration in all aspects of my artistic life. Each piece I create with AI, including this one, feels like stepping into uncharted territory. It's an exhilarating journey of discovery that continually reshapes my artistic vision and practice.

Prove you are human

You know, I have this quirky habit - I always drink green tea when I'm working on a new AI project. It started by accident - one night I spent hours experimenting with prompts, and tea was the only thing keeping me awake. Now it's become a sort of ritual. I even have a special "lucky" mug with glitch art on it - I feel it brings me good fortune in creating truly surreal images. I also collect old computer mice. It all began when I found an Apple Lisa Mouse from 1983 at a flea market. Now I have a whole shelf full of mice from different eras - from ball mice to modern optical ones. Sometimes I look at them and think about how far technology has come - from these simple devices to the AI I work with now. Oh, and here's a fun fact: I once accidentally used a prompt that included the phrase "in the style of spaghetti" for an architectural piece. The result was so bizarrely beautiful that it ended up being featured in a digital art exhibition. Now, I intentionally include random food items in my prompts occasionally, just to see what happens. I know this might seem odd, but these little quirks make the process of working with AI feel more "grounded" and personal to me. They remind me that even in the world of high tech, there's room for human foibles and eccentricities.

Published in >

The AI Art Magazine, Number 1

Edges of Light and Shadow, AI generation, April, 2023.

Stepan Kovalev, Edges of Light and Shadow, AI generation, April, 2023

Description

I aimed to capture the striking interplay between light, shadow, and geometric forms in architectural spaces. The composition juxtaposes stark contrasts - a vivid yellow glow against deep blacks, smooth white surfaces beside textured shadows. The rectangular openings create a sense of depth and mystery, inviting the viewer to contemplate what lies beyond. The sharp angles and clean lines evoke a feeling of modern, minimalist design while the dramatic lighting adds an element of drama and intrigue. I sought to explore how light can transform and define spaces, creating new geometries through illumination and shadow. The title "Edges of Light and Shadow" reflects this core theme - the boundaries where light and darkness meet, shaping our perception of form and space. This piece challenges the viewer to see familiar architectural elements in a new way, appreciating the abstract beauty that can emerge from thoughtful framing and lighting of everyday structures.

Process

"Edges of Light and Shadow" is part of a larger series I've been developing that explores the intersection of architecture, light, and abstraction. The minimalist aesthetic you see here - with its emphasis on clean lines, negative space, and bold contrasts - has become a signature element of my style. I find that this approach allows viewers to engage more deeply with the fundamental elements of form, light, and shadow.

Tools

For this piece, I primarily used Midjourney v5, which I've found excellent for creating abstract architectural compositions. My prompt was quite detailed, including key phrases like "minimalist architecture", "interplay of light and shadow", "geometric forms", "vibrant yellow light", and "high contrast lighting". I started with a base resolution of 1024x1024 pixels to ensure high detail. After generating several variations, I selected this one for its striking composition and dramatic lighting effects. Post-processing was minimal, but I did use Adobe Lightroom to slightly enhance the contrast and fine-tune the color balance, particularly to accentuate the yellow glow against the stark whites and blacks. The creation process involved multiple iterations. I refined my prompts based on initial results, gradually steering the AI towards the aesthetic I envisioned. I drew inspiration from minimalist photographers and abstract artists, incorporating style cues in my prompts to achieve this specific look. Hardware-wise, I run Midjourney on a high-end PC with an NVIDIA RTX 3090 GPU, which allows for quick generation and iteration. This image is part of a series I'm working on, exploring the boundaries between architectural photography and abstract art through AI generation. I'm constantly amazed by how AI can create these surreal yet strangely familiar spaces.

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Published in:
The AI Art Magazine, Number 1,
Dezember 2024

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Stepan Kovalev

Russia