An AI Comic: Princess Penelope and Millie: The Adventure Begins

One more quick fun post about OpenAI, then we’ll get back to more serious stuff around development, I swear :D

I wanted to see if OpenAI: ChatGPT and DALL-E 2, could create a comic book. How did it do?

If the below is hard to read/see, download the full size here.

If the above is hard to read/see, download the full size here.

Here’s what I did:

• I asked ChatGPT for a comic book story, I provided some basic guidance with characters and a story. ChatGPT transcript is below.
• I included an ask to describe the artwork for each panel
• I took the artwork description and fed it into DALL-E 2
• Then I pieced it all together into the above!

This was an exciting experience, one that shows some of the power and limitations of AI:

• AI is excellent, but not perfect. If I was an illustrator, I could certainly have made better art. I could have expanded and made this story SO much better. I was tempted to expand on this, but for the sake of this example, I didn’t. Maybe I will later for my kids.
• DALL-E 2 doesn’t have the idea of context between requests. I had to keep describing the characters. The artwork description provided by ChatGPT was a solid start, but I had to tweak some things to get images that resembled what I was looking for. Also, DALL-E has a text limitation, which was challenging as well.

The human touch is so important. AI can certainly help augment what we do, but it can’t replace us yet. It’s far from replacing everyone at their job but it can remove some boring, tedious, redundant tasks so we can focus on our creativity:

• Seen in the comic book example, AI could spark some creativity in us by giving us ideas.
• ChatGPT can help us consider things through a different lens. Just talk to it about what you’re working on and ask it questions, it’s remarkable the conversations you can have with it.
• It can even support difficult tasks like providing corrective feedback to a colleague (shhh).

Learning how to best leverage AI within our workflows and processes is paramount and will make us even more successful, without a doubt. Give it a try, just start talking to ChatGPT and see what it can do!

Ok, back to more serious work posts… for now ;)

Below is the ChatGPT transcript for the above comic book.

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Write me a script for a comic book that is a family friendly story about a princess named Penelope and her flying white with black spots unicorn, named Millie. The comic book should be an exciting adventure across their kingdom. There is an evil witch that should be part of the challenge the princess has to deal with. Also include the princess’s brother, Prince Calvin and his noble steed, Cooper, the brown pegasus. include a detailed description of each panel’s artwork so an AI can generate the images.

Panel 1: Artwork: A large castle can be seen in the background, with lush green forests and rolling hills surrounding it. In the foreground, we see Princess Penelope and her unicorn, Millie, standing outside the castle gates. Penelope is a beautiful young woman with long, flowing blonde hair and a regal purple gown. Millie is a majestic white unicorn with black spots, and she has a pair of delicate wings on her back.

Penelope: “Millie, we must embark on an adventure to save our kingdom.”

Millie: “I am ready, my princess.”

Panel 2: Artwork: Penelope and Millie are seen flying through the skies, with Penelope sitting on Millie’s back. The wind is blowing through Penelope’s hair, and she has a determined look on her face. In the background, we can see the kingdom below, with small villages and farms dotting the landscape.

Penelope: “We must stop the witch who threatens our land.”

Millie: “We will not rest until she is defeated, my princess.”

Panel 3: Artwork: The scene shifts to an ominous looking forest, where an evil witch is brewing a potion in a cauldron. The witch is an old, wrinkled woman with a pointed hat and a crooked nose. She has a wicked look on her face as she stirs her potion.

Witch: “My potion is almost ready, and then nothing will stop me from ruling this land.”

Panel 4: Artwork: Penelope and Millie are seen flying into the forest, with Penelope holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. They are determined to stop the witch’s plans.

Penelope: “We are here to stop you, witch!”

Millie: “Your reign of terror ends now.”

Panel 5: Artwork: A fierce battle ensues between Penelope, Millie, and the witch. The witch is using magic spells to try and defeat our heroes, but Penelope and Millie are able to fend them off.

Witch: “You will not defeat me, foolish princess!”

Penelope: “We will not rest until you are defeated.”

Panel 6: Artwork: Prince Calvin and his pegasus, Cooper, are seen joining the fight. Calvin is a brave young man with short, dark hair and a suit of armor. Cooper is a brown pegasus with a white mane and tail. Together, they help Penelope and Millie defeat the witch.

Calvin: “Sister, I have come to aid you in battle.”

Cooper: “Let us show this witch the power of true heroes.”

Panel 7: Artwork: The witch is seen lying defeated on the ground, with Penelope and Calvin standing victorious over her. They are smiling and holding their swords high in triumph. Millie and Cooper are also seen in the panel, looking proud and happy.

Penelope: “We have done it, the witch is defeated and our kingdom is safe.”

Calvin: “Indeed, our victory is complete.”

Millie: “We couldn’t have done it without each other.”

Cooper: “I couldn’t agree more.”

Panel 8: Artwork: The final panel is a shot of the entire kingdom, with Penelope, Calvin, Millie and Cooper flying in the sky, to show that the kingdom is safe and peaceful again. The sun is setting in the background, casting a warm, golden glow over the landscape.

Penelope: “Let us return home, our adventure may be over but our bond will always remain

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