The Experimental Zone: AI, VR, AR, Code Art

Custom AI Model: The Photographer

Since late 2022, I have been focused on developing a custom AI model for use in Stable Diffusion or any platform that supports 'safetensors' files. The model, called The_Photographer, has been designed to produce photo-realistic images of a diverse range of models. The goal is not simply to create photorealistic images, but to replicate the framing, composition, and style that a professional photographer would create when capturing an image with a camera.

So far, the model has the capability to produce a wide range of ethnicities, body types, clothing ensembles, backgrounds, facial features, natural-like imperfections, and physical poses. Additionally, The_Photographer can imitate various photo styles, such as old film, monochrome film, digital, depth of field, bokeh, wide shots, close-ups, low light, high key light, moody lighting, and shadowy elements.

ThePhotographer_v1.00 was made with a mixture of custom training and checkpoint mixing.

  • Images come out best in 512 x 512 but can produce really good results at resolutions exceeding 712 x 712.

  • Use the sampler DPM2 Karras for more photo-realistic results.

  • You can use popular camera and film types as descriptions for corresponding results.

  • It's capable of producing nsfw results.

  • Released under the CC-SA 2.0 license.

ThePhotographer_v1.00 is available for download here:

Images generated with ThePhotographer_v1 with no additional post-editing.

Continued AI Research

I'm absolutely in love with the new AI technology hitting the digital world and spend many days and nights experimenting with it. As an artist I don't feel threatened by AI at all, I actually feel creatively enriched by it. I don't have access to a lot of extra capitol and can't afford to hire a studio full of people to work around the clock and help me create all of my weird ideas, but with some of these AI tools I can level up my individual productivity.

Currently I'm experimenting with:

  • Training AI Image Generation Models
  • Training AI Voice Manipulation Models
  • Exploring AI Text Generation
  • Exploring AI Sound Generation
  • Exploring AI Audio Manipulation
  • Building Automated AI Tools
  • Using AI to replace certain steps in my workflow

Metaverse Experiment: Virtual Art Galleries

Over the pandemic during the whole "metaverse" craze I experimented heavily with blockchain technology and several metaverse-friendly creative tools. My plan was to build somewhat of a virtual amusement park with a variety of galleries, experiences, virtual shops, and games. So far I've created about 4 virtual galleries and 1 little metaverse experience for a company in Europe. 2 out of 5 experiences are still available online. The other 3 either started to break because of blockchain platform errors or disappeared because the company hosting it failed.

 

I'm still experimenting with this idea and am working towards building more virtual spaces but don't expect anything to pop up in 2023, unless I get a burst of inspiration or a custom commission.

BLKMRE Voxels

TWO-D Token Vault

The Temple Void

Metaverse Experiments

Space Description Availability
The Temple Void A Virtual Gallery displaying NFT Artworks hosted on Hic et nunc, a platform hosted on Tezos. Available for Mobile, Desktop, and VR CLOSED due to HEN closure
TWO-D Token Vault A special vault containing Blackmoore's first collection of hand-drawn NFTs minted to various blockchains. Available for Mobile, Desktop, and VR OPEN
BLKMRE Voxels Gallery A gallery hosted on the Ethereum Network highlighting various high-end NFTs by Blackmoore. This space is located in the ONE/OFF district. Available for Mobile, Desktop, and VR OPEN
Socialogue Metaverse Experience A side metaverse experience that users of the blockchain platform Socialogue could explore. CLOSED due to Socialogue closure

Alternate Reality reactive Physical Art

I see myself as a 'phygital' artist, meaning I love diving into both physical and digital art forms. Mixing the two is what I like to do! Whether it's merging a physical object with a digital twist, like a cassette tape with electronically made tunes, printing out digital art, or painting something that comes to life digitally through a phone scan, I'm all about that fusion.

Over the last few years I have been experimenting with AR reactive prints and paintings as a way to add more interactivity to art events and exhibitions. I typically use 3rd party apps to host my AR experiences but I'm in the process of creating my own AR viewer that will be accessible from this website.

Examples

In this video I show a few examples of AR reactive art that I've made using 3rd party apps and tools like Meta's Spark Studio.

 

  • The first clip shows the AR layer to a poster I made of Vincent Van Gogh in a straight jacket during my residency at Lighthouse Immersive for the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. This is a "pop-up" style animation that happens when the poster is scanned. This one is currently available on my Instagram in the filters.
  • The second clip is another pop-up style action that happens when my Paulie Walnuts poster is scanned. This one has an audio layer.
  • The third clip shows an animation that happens when my "Red" poster is scanned. This one is also available on by Instagram profile in the filters.
  • The fourth example shows a painting called "Glitch Girl" that has 2 different AR layers: one that shows a glitch animation and another that shows a pop-up with transparent lenses. This piece was featured in the Padzieski Gallery during my Tead One residency. This effect is also available on my instagram profile.
  • The final clip is a pop art inspired poster that has an AR animation layer.