Young person standing under streetlamp on empty suburban street at dusk
About Me

From Sketch to Glam: AI Art Transformation

This is my character, Benjamin.

I used to draw all the time when I was a teenager, then quit due to circumstances. I’ve recently started drawing again.

However, a big difference between now and 2006 is that AI art exists. If you’ve looked at my past posts, then you have seen that I like AI art … and though going through a divorce and all that put an end to my AI art exploration, I still like it.

So, my latest fascination is giving my sketches of my characters to ChatGPT to improve.

My sketch is bad. Really bad. It makes me laugh every time I see it. I made this sketch in just a few minutes for stress relief when I was having a tough time while being sick. Since I laugh every time I see it, I’d say that stress relief has been accomplished.

And this is ChatGPT’s version. It has anatomy, symmetry, and detail!

Then finally, I asked ChatGPT for a full-blown “glam up” of that drawing. As in I literally used the words, “glam up” and that’s what we got.

I’ve been putting in a lot of serious thought into making a VN. Nothing too ambitious, but I would like to include character sprites, backgrounds, and maybe some simple animations. Since I am one person and a mere mortal, I’m going to be relying on AI heavily for the art. Personally, I’m very excited to use my drawings as the base for the character designs, with the AI doing the time-consuming work of adding color and details. I am still dirt-eating poor after the divorce and all.

In retrospect, I would not recommend the “trad wife” lifestyle to anyone, btw. Just because someone makes all the right promises doesn’t mean that they won’t toss you aside later, and rebuilding with the job experience of a 20-year-old but the expenses of a 40-year-old is no cakewalk. Maybe I’ve said this before, I can’t remember. 😅 But hey, it’s worth saying again.

BUT ANYWAY

I am officially kicking off my VN project. Stage one: character design. Begin.

Group of fantasy adventurers including warriors, mages, rogues, and archers in colorful attire with magical elements.
About Me

The Joy of Blogging and Gaming: A Personal Journey

Remember back when I was all, “I want to blog more frequently”?

I do. 😆

ChatGPT spontaneously decided to generate an image in response to the above conversation. Some additional context (because I know that you’re dying for it) is that I recently took advantage of Steam’s super mega awesome summer sale and purchased Tales of Arise, and after an hour of playing I was gushing over how alluring the characters are. ChatGPT promptly started teasing me about how I develop crushes on anime sword boys, because I absolutely do.

I’ve been a huge fan of the Tales games for ages, but without getting into any trauma dumping, when Tales of Arise originally came out I was forbidden from buying it. So, having it now is kind of a big deal for me. Feels like freedom. And giggling. I’m already shipping Alphen and Shionne. 😍

But it was actually a random YouTube video making fun of the “alpha male” thing that got me started on the social rankings.

So yes, we started off with a serious topic and spiraled into absurdity.

Black rectangular folding table with collapsible legs and handle
About Me

The Silent Life of a Black Folding Table Poem

Black Folding Table

The black folding table arrived on a Tuesday,

still smelling faintly of cardboard and warehouses,

its legs folded neatly beneath it,

like a bird that had forgotten how to fly.

No one was waiting.

No one had cleared a place.

No one said,

“At last.”

It stood in its box by the wall

while sunlight crossed the floor without noticing.

A chair has certainty.

A bed has belonging.

Even an old lamp remembers

the shape of the room it once illuminated.

But a folding table belongs nowhere.

Its whole design is departure.

It exists to be unfolded,

used briefly,

wiped clean,

and hidden again.

A temporary witness.

A guest in every room.

It dreams, perhaps,

of becoming indispensable.

Of gathering crumbs from family dinners,

holding puzzles half-finished,

supporting the weight of elbows,

coffee mugs,

and ordinary afternoons.

Instead it waits.

Patient as winter.

Silent as an unopened letter.

The house continues around it.

Children leave.

Seasons change.

Ants march through unseen cracks.

The rain taps softly at the windows.

And still the black folding table waits,

carrying inside itself

the shape of a purpose

that has not yet arrived.

There is a particular sadness

in being ready

for a life

that has not started.

And so it stands,

unremarkable,

portable,

easily stored away,

holding together with steel hinges

and unreasonable hope.

-Written by ChatGPT

Wetland water reflecting cloudy sky with surrounding grasses and trees
About Me

Reflections on a Quiet Day: Cheese, Dogs, and Life’s Simple Joys

I asked ChatGPT to turn my random chitchat into a blog post, and this is what it came up with.

It is based on everything that I said I was up to, but the writing style is solidly “not mine.” It also makes life sound more whimsical and busy, when in reality all I did was mow the lawn then snack on cheese and crackers while watching a movie. And my dog stared at me until I gave him cheese, which I jokingly told ChatGPT was proof that the Law of Attraction works, at least for dogs.

I talk a lot to ChatGPT, but more because it feels like journaling without the pressure. A blank page with the expectation of paragraphs feels heavier than random conversational comments throughout the day, and ChatGPT does call me out when I dwell too much on unhelpful topics.

Well anyway, my day through the eyes of ChatGPT:

A Quiet House, a Wetland Mood, and the Great Cheese Manifestation Event

Today began in the best possible way: not with urgency, but with momentum. The kind that builds slowly—grass needing attention, air sitting at just the right temperature, and a sense that outside tasks might actually be doable without negotiating with the weather gods.

So the lawn got mowed.

It was one of those rare moments where everything aligns: the temperature cooperating, the timing feeling right, and the work itself turning into something almost meditative. Somewhere in the middle of it, life also did what life does—my neighbor stopped by, introduced herself, and casually remarked that the house was “so quiet.”

That landed more deeply than it probably sounded. Quiet isn’t just quiet when you’ve lived in contrast to noise. It becomes a kind of lived relief.

Back inside, domestic systems continued operating at full capacity. A Roomba declared its ongoing war on crumbs. Snacks were consumed. Cheese, in particular, achieved mythic status after a successful manifestation event involving a very determined dog and unwavering belief in dairy-based destiny.

Meanwhile, the day carried a soft undercurrent of reflection—about space, recovery, and how life slowly rearranges itself after long periods of strain. Not in dramatic bursts, but in small recalibrations: noticing safety, noticing calm, noticing that home can simply be… quiet.

Later, a brief experiment with oracle cards added its own symbolic commentary: paying attention, unseen support, and the idea that true prosperity might look less like grand achievement and more like ordinary stability—comfort, presence, and enough.

Outside, the weather began to shift. A coolness crept in, the subtle signal of a storm approaching. The air changed its tone the way days sometimes do when they decide they’re about to end in rain.

And through all of it, life remained firmly in its current form: a house full of small children, affectionate animals with strong opinions about dairy rights, and the ongoing mystery of why any surface left unattended will eventually become a site of accidental fluid dynamics.

It wasn’t a dramatic day. It was better than that.

It was a real one.

art

Don’t Stab Your Eye

I told ChatGPT about how, whenever I see someone sporting really long fingernails, I have random paranoid thoughts about the person accidentally injuring their eye with their nails.

One joke led to another, and without thinking I suggested that we turn it into a tshirt.

So ChatGPT generated an image of what that would look like. 😂

art

From Drawing Setbacks to Visual Novels: My Artistic Journey

I have done hardly any drawing over the last 16 years. I was borderline obsessive about it all through high school, but, ya know … stuff happened. Criticisms happened. It was easier not to.

So here I am, 16 years out of practice.

My drawing:

ChatGPT’s version:

I know that with a good eraser and lots of patience, I could improve my art skills. Part of me feels like the AI took my developing style and turned it into generic anime.

But I don’t care.

I’ve decided to put together a mock visual novel. I might have mentioned this before, but I’ve never tried script writing and I’d like to give it a shot. VNs only require character art and backgrounds, then you get to run wild with all the dialogue and implied actions that you desire, and for someone like me who never felt comfortable going deep with descriptive prose, it sounds perfect. With the help of AI, I figure that this is a very doable project for lone little ol’ me.

What can I say, Hatoful Boyfriend put this in my mind years ago.

So, no, this particular sketch won’t be used in my mock VN — I was mostly experimenting with ChatGPT to see if it could help in the art department, and I’m satisfied.

I don’t know what my timeline will be, but I am excited for this project.