Canva Escapades

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   Will Apseposted 2 years ago

   Recent HP email got me over to canva.com
   
   It is pretty remarkable.
   
   Want  a pic for an article about Bob Dylan or Taylor Swift?
   
   These are originals:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Writing a hit piece on Rishi Sunak (UK Prime Minster),.. Here he is playing poker gangster-style.
   
   
   

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   1. 92

      SerenityHaloposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      If using for articles, I would stay away from famous people. There aren't a lot of AI laws yet nor clear copyright rules, but celebrities would be the ones to push back. Also, if it looks weird, it won't help your article to look legit.
      
      It's fun, but AI is basically pulling from databases of art and photography... and that could mean those are stolen images at the root of it all.

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      1. 90

         Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         It depends how creative the AI is. A human illustrator may look at a few photos of a celeb and knock up a graphic. Is the AI doing more or less? Can an AI image be traced back to a specific copyrighted image?

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         1. 92

            SerenityHaloposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            If it doesn’t already exist, I assume one day it will be possible to trace back any AI images. Just as you can Google reverse images.
            
            I think we all just have to be smart about what kind of AI images we use and for what purpose. AI can still look deformed, which gives uncanny valley vibes.

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            1. 90

               Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               We can trace back all cultural products. Every writer and every visual artist who ever lived was influenced by every artist who went before them.
               
               To be honest, I suspect you like things to as predictable and normal as possible. That might be a bigger issue.

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               1. 92

                  SerenityHaloposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  No, I don't think you get what I'm saying. I might be explaining it poorly.
                  
                  1.) It's important to be careful with AI images because it isn't clear what will happen with copyrights/legislation. It's new territory.
                  
                  AI images source from actual art and photographs and then manipulate them. Just like AI chatbots are pulling from an already established database of text. Lensa, for example, is essentially stealing people's art and manipulating it.
                  
                  If it's an image already in the public domain, then the AI reimagined pic is fine. But if the AI generator is pulling from something not in the public domain, that's when it could become problematic.
                  
                  This isn't a critical theory session about how to trace back art and cultural products. My concern, not necessarily for you, but writers in general, is that someone could accidentally use stolen work because they didn't know what was the primary source AI used.
                  
                  I just received an email from Shutterstock that my images will be used by AI, and I'm not really sure how to feel about that. I'll get compensated, but it's also weird, and I didn't give permission for the images to be manipulated.
                  
                  2.) AI images often look unusual, which can make your writing content as a whole look fake. This could have an effect on your authority as a writer--sites are ranked for authority.
                  
                  It's important to evaluate an AI image and make sure it doesn't look clumsy. It needs to serve a purpose. A high reliance on AI images could potentially make you look like a scammer. It's hard to say because, again, this is new territory.
                  
                  There are plenty of sites with safe ways to find photos that will cover your needs, and those sites are free to use. I sometimes use Google's reverse image option to check to make sure the photo I'm using comes from a secure source. It's really easy to accidentally use a photo that isn't free to use and then get sued.
                  
                  3.) No one has ever called me predictable or normal, so if I'm passing for that, I have succeeded at something new.

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2. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   Hmm, interesting... It's not always easy to get usable photos of famous people.

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3. 90

   Will Apseposted 2 years ago

   This took 5 minutes...
   
   
   
   
   You can add text like "ingredients for great pizza", but I can't see how to save it. I imagine there is a way.
   
   These were my instructions for creating the image:
   
   seen from above a table with blue check table cloth and on the table a plate of chopped tomatoes, a plate of grated cheese, a bowl of flour, a bottle of olive oil and a packet labelled yeast
   
   I didn't get exactly what I wanted, obviously. But you know, five minutes...

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4. 90

   Will Apseposted 2 years ago

   This a view only link a book cover mock up. I think you need to buy "designs", ie images with texts.
   
   https://www.canva.com/design/DAFVEegXm0 … esign_menu
   
   The instruction I gave for the image was "kandinsky style palm tree".

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5. 80

   SweetiePieposted 2 years ago

   This is a great resource for people who might enjoy using canva, but I had some cheesy and non-topical images added to my article. One was clip art of a dog painting on an article that had my original painting showing how you might be inspired to paint a dog. So I guess I see the value in Canva if you want an image of a specific person, but I prefer my own art and photography in my articles.

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   1. 90

      Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I am guessing anyone with genuine graphics skills will hate canva but for me it is fun.
      
      Here is Al Pacino on a night out with Queen Victoria.
      
      
      
      
      
      Tatyor Swift and Jane Birkin
      
      
      
      
      A rather aggressive toy dog
      
      
      
      
      I got these images after an hour of messing about and I have no artistic skills at all.

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6. 94

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   Is this something like DALL E? Where you give it a string of text and it creates an image? I asked for an impressionist painting of power tools and got this disturbing creature.
   
   Images that you generate using DALL E are free to use in any way you want, but anyone else can use them too, so there's no point trying to commercialise your creations. So I guess they have a sort of public domain licence. If the created images are derived from photos of people, I'm not sure what the situation would be.
   
   

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7. 90

   Will Apseposted 2 years ago

   Looks similar to DALL E. I am so far behind on these AI innovations I wouldn't have known they were publicly available without HP's latest email. At least I know where all the odd, arty illustrations on so many online articles are coming from on.

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8. 94

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   King Charles doing some repairs around Buckingham Palace.
   
   
   

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   1. 90

      Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Or trying to open his Mum's safe...

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         PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         That looks more like Margaret Thatcher to me.

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         1. 90

            Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Couldn't restst Margret Thatcher.
            
            A mixed bag:
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            She appears to have a stake through her heart in that last one. It wasn't me!

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            1. 84

               bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Looks like a fun way to pass the time. Better than playing Solitaire!

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               1. 90

                  Will Apseposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  It also eases the irritation of the fact that I could never draw.
                  
                  It is a little like photography in the sense that you selecting images and perhaps manipulating them, rather than directly creating them.
                  
                  About 1 in 5 images from canva are sort of interesting (to me at least) and the rest can be instantly discarded.

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