AI generated images are not my taste at all, but I have been experimenting with ChatGPT lately. Precisely, I used it on my aurochs reconstructions with the prompt “make it photorealistic”. The results were not always perfect, but some are quite good I think. The AI tends to make the trunk longer and the legs shorter, which is probably because of the cattle photos it was trained with, so I had to correct some of the results for the proportions, but not all. Today I want to share some of the results. Note that I neither claim AI generated images are "art" nor that I acclaim any copyright to these results. I merely attempt to create the perfect aurochs reconstruction.
-) based on my Vig aurochs painting
Readers of my book "Breeding-back wild beasts" will know my painting of the Vig bull. I uploaded it to GPT and prompted it to make it photorealistic. As you see, it made the proportions a bit more domestic and I had to restore the dorsal stripe, but overall I think the result is ok.
-) turning Lamarck into an aurochs
I modified a photo of the Taurus bull Lamarck from 2013 and gave it more aurochs-like horns plus the curly hair on the forehead, then I prompted GPT to make it photorealistic. The result is quite good I think, although I am not 100% satisfied with the horns.
-) the “Augsburg aurochs” scenery
I did a painting with acrylics that is supposed to reconstruct the oil-based original of C.H. Smith’s “Augsburg aurochs”, with the landscape based on the 19th century one. Smith reported the original showed a sooty black colour with a white chin and coarse hair. I uploaded the painting to GPT and prompted it to make it photorealistic, and I think the result is really, really good. It looks a lot like I imagine a European aurochs bull to look like, and captures the “Augsburg” essence well.
-) painting of the Stuttgart skull
The skull exhibited at the Stuttgart museum am Löwentor is a very interesting one, as it has quite wide-ranging, almost banana-like horns. I did a 3D reconstruction of those horn cores and sculpted a sheath over them, so that I have an idea what they might have looked in life. I used them as template for a painting, and uploaded the painting to GPT with the usual prompt. I really like the result, I think it gives a good impression of what that skull might have looked like in life.
-) Store-damme bull with Holstein bulls as a template
This is based on a sketch of the Store-damme skeleton that I reconstructed in flesh and blood looking at Holstein bulls – whether this breed is the best comparison is very debatable, I was just curious on what it would look like. Then I uploaded it to GPT with the prompt “paint it photorealistical like a Sayaguesa bull” because when I prompt it using the word aurochs it often results in bulls with a colour saddle.
-) Store-damme bull with young Lidia/Sayaguesa as a template
This is a sketch from a little animation I did a while ago with the same prompt as above. I am very satisfied with this one, I think the result looks very realistic and is also very aesthetically appealing to me.
