AI in art & ads: a creative tool
AI is reshaping art and visuals. Learn about real-world applications and how Muru Studios leverages this innovative tool.
2 minutes read
Artificial intelligence (AI) has burst into numerous industries, but its influence in the art world is especially notable. Leaving aside more or less ethical business issues, as is the case of the use of copyrighted images to train AIs (among others), at Muru Studios we believe that far from being a dehumanizing force, AI has become a unique creative tool that complements and enhances our human capabilities. In this post, we will explore how AI is being used in both the artistic and professional fields, creating truly unique visuals.
In just one year the generative art AI models have come a long way, but it has been fun to watch the improvement process and enjoy the mistakes it generated. You can see more weird examples here.
Complementing photography and CGI
AI is not coming to replace traditional tools and techniques, but rather to complement them. When combined with photography, CGI, or video, it opens up a range of possibilities that were previously unthinkable.
For example, in visual projects, AI can help generate complex textures and patterns that would be incredibly difficult to create manually. We can also generate details that we incorporate into larger compositions, or just the opposite, we can introduce photographed or CGI-created subjects into AI-generated environments.
Artistic cases at Muru Studios
In the artistic field, AI has been used to create works that are both technically impressive and deeply emotional. With the help of algorithms, it is possible to explore new forms and styles, resulting in creations that transcend traditional boundaries.
One of the most prominent examples of our work at Muru Studios is, in addition to series of imaginary objects from other galaxies with photorealistic results, a series of AI-generated portraits. These images, at once familiar and strange, play with perception and offer a new perspective on what it means to be human in the digital age.
Professional client applications
In the world of advertising imagery, AI offers some unprecedented possibilities for those who know how to take advantage of it (which takes time to learn well, as with all techniques). At this moment and while it develops much further, it allows to generate ideas and visual concepts that help to think "outside the box" and that can be presented to the client at an early stage of the project, shortening the distance between the idea and the result and with greater creative freedom.
In one of our recent projects for a brand of cosmetic products made from algae and seaweed, we used AI to generate more or less realistic visual concepts, which were very valid as "sketches". These were used by the art director to guide the subsequent studio shots with the real product.
The symbiosis of human and machine
The most exciting thing about AI is how it empowers conceptual creativity, i.e. ideas. The fact that anything can be created spurs the imagination and makes us strive to "think different."
In short, AI is not an isolated force, but a tool that, in the right hands, can unlock unprecedented creative potential. In our case we have experienced first-hand how this technology, in combination with photography and CGI, creates something truly unique and exciting. AI is here to stay, and its future in the world of art and advertising is promising, although it will need to play fair with all other techniques and technologies, and therefore be regulated in some way.
