Episode 3:

We dialed into the Twitter Spaces from all around the world (Martin in Paris, Gacha in Canada, and Beetle in Singapore), not knowing that Gacha was about to drop a knowledge bomb that would blow our minds. Martin gave us a brief preview of the Gagosian Paris event for starters, and as we got into the main conversation, we were about to be brought into Gacha's "organised chaotic" mind.

Introduction: A Journey That Began With 2017 ICOs and Infographics

M: Can you tell us more about your background? Where are you from and how did you get started in the crypto world?

G: I was born and raised in Canada. I started my crypto journey in 2017 with ICOs, was exploring various ICO projects. That was also how I started my art. I was passionate about spreading information and sharing the value of these coins, so I started creating infographics to visually communicate the key details of these projects.

M: Yes, it's very similar. Like ICO projects, RTFKT also has a ton of information and people don't know where to look for it. So what you're doing is great, to help spread information and contribute to the project. Now, let's talk about your journey in the art world. How did you get started with art?

G: Art has always been a part of my life since I was young. I used to draw anime and had a genuine interest in art. However, due to the influence of my Asian parents, I ended up pursuing a finance background, even in university, but I managed to take a few art electives along the way. The finance background actually helped me appreciate the design of ICOs and tokens, and I was looking at small-cap projects like Quant Network and Power Ledger. That was also when I created infographics that simplified complex information and made it accessible to others.

From Movie Posters to Trading Cards

M: When it comes to trading cards, I'm a big player of Magic The Gathering but not Pokémon. You're known for your trading card art for Clones, so how did you venture into creating these TCG-style artworks?

G: It's a pretty long story. I purchased my Clone in February 2023. Being part of the community, I wanted to contribute in some way, but I wasn't sure how. That's when I noticed some talented creators in Discord. Stoni was creating daily renders of Clones, and Alonearchitect was making cool music and spooky-looking images. I wanted to join in and create more content, so I started exploring AI art.

It started with this Ghost I made on Midjourney. Then I decided to share my creations on Twitter, where I discovered a vibrant community of Clones and all types of commissioned works. This motivated me to dive deeper into AI and immerse myself in the space. I started creating emotes on Discord and making quick renders with AI, sharing them with others while engaging in conversations. For example, if people were discussing blueberries, I would create a render related to that topic. Everyone seemed to appreciate and be fascinated by how quickly I could create these artworks, so I felt encouraged to make more.

One of my early posts that gained a lot of traction was a mock movie poster for Satvrn. I shared it on April Fool's Day as a joke, presenting it as a poster for an upcoming movie, added some Chinese characters. The response was overwhelming, and I took the time to analyze why it worked so well, considering I had only around 400-500 followers at the time. I realized that this approach resonated with people. I wanted to continue creating movie poster-like designs, but with a twist. I aimed for a style that combined characters with informative text, creating a sense of "ordered chaos." This led me to make a magazine cover for Prez.

The magazine covers gained even more attention. And I realised I love doing this, I love showing off, and magazine covers was the way. I got to play around with different fonts and different vibes, and ended up making four covers  for Jnana, Dre, Kloo, and Prez. Then, I asked myself, what's next? What else has characters and also feature a lot of text and information? So I searched on Google and stumbled upon trading cards. I started making a few TCG-style artworks, and soon enough, I began receiving more DMs and requests from people. Trading cards are great as it contains the characters but also characteristics of the individuals and I'm able to combine these alongside the textual elements. 

Creating Art With AI (Midjourney)

M: Posters and graphics are impactful and eye-catching. They instantly grab attention and follow trends. What tools are you using to generate that? How do you configure them?

G: Before diving into TCG art, I primarily used Midjourney and Nijijourney for the magazine covers and posters. I experimented with around 4 or 5 different programs like Photopea and Paint, but mixing and matching these was not efficient. So I decided to fully embrace Photoshop even if it took longer to do something at first because I wanted to streamline and optimize my process. Now, the two main tools I use are Midjourney (MJ) and Photoshop (PS).

To speed up my art creation process, I rely on various shortcuts within MJ. For example, pressing "Up + Enter" allows me to auto-prompt the previous input. MJ also allows you to store different sets of prompts into shortcuts. I also use a macro keyboard to handle repetitive tasks such as creating text boxes and borders. By simplifying complex tasks that require multiple keystrokes into a single key, I'm able to save a significant amount of time. This optimization of the process enables me to create art at a rapid pace.

B: Before you reached the stage of automation, how did you determine what prompts to use? And how did you achieve consistency in your art?

G: In MJ, the first words of the prompts carry the most weight. So, I prioritize placing important elements or concepts I want in the images at the beginning of the prompts.  For example, if I were to create Beetle's Clone, Top Hat will be the first, and it'll be easy as the MJ library has a lot of previous examples. However, Martin's flower hat will be less common, so I have to use prompts like "cap with flowers on it" or "flower cap" to try to find something close. 

B: What would the prompts for Cleg's card be like?

G: With the DOB hat, I imagined a hat that resembles a bear. Since it has some mouse-like features like Mickey Mouse, I also tried incorporating elements of a bear or beast. With the Final Form series, I got creative and tried to make a final form where the head takes over the body, so instead of simply rendering "a rainbow bear hat on a person", I described it as "a vicious bear with a long tongue", and added prompts like "rainbow pastel colours" and "white fur". I tried to visualize what I had in mind. If I notice that certain prompts are working well, I'll include them in my repertoire, and if they don't yield the desired results, I'll refine or eliminate them, or specify certain features like the eyes. 

Back to the point on consistency, I wouldn't attribute it solely to prompts. Instead, I generate hundreds of images and handpick the ones that align with my taste. The secret sauce lies not in the prompts themselves but in the sheer volume of renders and my personal selection process.

One tip for anyone looking to try the same. The better you become at prompting exactly what you want in terms of character traits, such as consistently generating a person with a top hat and a mask, the faster you can get. Once you have a particular character, just hammer out hundreds of renders and select the ones that match your style.

M: So what I gather is that it's easy to generate individual images, but it's challenging to generate exactly the one you're envisioning.

G: Exactly. Another useful feature in MJ is that if there are specific elements in an image that I don't like, I can use that image as a prompt and replace certain aspects with other prompts to refine it.

M: How do you utilize MJ and PS together? What's your workflow like?

G: In the beginning, I used to draw the initial image and pose, which I then used as a prompt. I would prompt various elements, make edits in PS, and then feed the image back into MJ as a prompt. However, now I can create entire characters solely using MJ, with minor adjustments made in PS, such as changing colors or adding tattoos.

M: Thank you for sharing the creative process. AI artists all use different ways and it's really interesting to hear that your prompts are strategic, you generate hundreds of them and then narrow them down. So with the trading cards, where do you see the collection of cards going? Is there any game you are planning given how big our Clone community is on gaming? I noticed some attributes on the cards, is there any gaming mechanics you have planned?

On Playability And Collectability Of TCGs

G: My ultimate goal is to develop a game around these cards. However, my focus right now is on honing my skills as an artist and refining my style, for example how to incorporate color theory and design principles into the card designs. I can see improvement in my work every week so i feel there's still a lot I want to learn to reach the level of creativity that truly matters to me.

B: Indeed, the community consists of both collectors and players, so I'd like to invite the audience to share their ideas for this TCG. Speaking from my personal experience with WWE cards, what stood out to me was how the card game mimicked the actual wrestling matches. You would build up energy and execute small maneuvers leading up to the big moves. The round ends with a victory or defeat, which then prompts you to optimize your deck to improve your gameplay. I'm curious if there are any similarities or inspirations from other card games like Pokémon or F1, which perhaps Ambered can share with us.

A: I started with Pokémon cards, but I didn't play WWE. I spent a year or two collecting and playing Pokémon cards and spent a lot of money in booster packs. The gameplay was straightforward, involving collecting energy cards and engaging in turn-based battles with Pokémons. For me, the motivation behind TCGs was primarily collecting and obtaining rare cards. Recently, I saw my card collection, looked up the prices and realized prices have gone up significantly, which surprised me. So for me, TCGs are much like NFTs in how they hold value. And most recently, I purchased three booster boxes of F1 cards and simply enjoyed opening them. It's more about the collecting aspect than the gameplay itself that excites me when it comes to trading cards.

G: Yes, there are two different aspects of TCG. On one side, you get collectors like me, I was just a collector of Pokémon cards, but I also enjoyed playing Yugioh cards. One idea I had was to bridge both sides with the TCGs. For example, you could have five fire cards that require staking to get a reward, or it could also have HP or Strength attributes, making them usable in a game.

S: Thanks for bringing me up. I've been looking at your cards, and I had a similar thought. For instance, Beb's an Angel Clone, and you could have variations like a Raging Angel, and players could have different versions of their characters with accompanying storylines and the possibilities are endless.

G: Yea, let's say you really like the Beb card. If you stake five of them, you could unlock a holographic version or level up the character, adding different aspects to it. This is definitely achievable with the blockchain aspect.

M: Games often include mini-games and side quests. Having these simple games in a tabletop TCG format is a great way to engage gamers even before the full game is deployed. It doesn't require heavy investment in 3D animation and characters. So, I think tabletop TCGs have a lot of potential.

B: You can consider references like VeeFriends2, MKF cards, and Parallel. CloneXTokyo also did an excellent job with their clone trading cards, which they distributed at physical events. These cards were well thought out to encourage community interaction.

A: Scarcity and rarity definitely play a significant role in attracting people. People love chasing after rare cards. If you have a super rare card that everyone desires, it adds an extra element of excitement.

G: Trading is also a significant aspect of TCGs. If someone can't acquire a particular card, they can exchange it with others. TCGs fit seamlessly into the NFT space, allowing people to collect and trade cards or even entire decks. It's an interesting realm to explore.

S: Do you see yourself making a pack of cards and minting it down the line? For example mint 5 cards and we get to play. We need this, just like how Bicycle collaborated with Apes to create poker cards, but those are just playing cards.

G: Down the line, I definitely want to make some sort of game. One thing I want to make sure of first is the quality of art. Before thinking about how the game works, how to distribute them, whether it's digital, physical, or both, I want to improve my art. I want to build skills that are unreplicable and make something that people truly love.  That's also my current focus – I want to make sure that what I'm putting out there is of the best quality.

Tips For Aspiring AI Artists

M: Your cards are truly remarkable. The colors and motions are captivating. Thank you for sharing your tools and process. I may not attempt it myself, but I find your process very inspiring.

B: To end it off, what are three tips you would give to someone who is trying out AI art or trying to define their art style?

G: First and foremost, don't do something because it's hyped but because you genuinely love it. Prior to this, I have tried a lot of different things. If you can't commit to doing it every single day, you won't progress very far. People who love it will outwork you because they will wake up in the morning for it, sacrifice sleep for it, and naturally they will make more art and get better at it. So, choose something you truly love because if you have that love, you will outwork everyone and become better than everyone else.

Second tip. Be open to feedback when creating art. While your work may initially look good and receive positive feedback, there is always room for improvement. Seek feedback and advice from others so you can identify areas where you can enhance your art.

Third tip. Explore different types of art. Look at my art, pick out three or four favourites, and ask yourself why these particular pieces stand out to you. Is it the color scheme, the sense of movement, or a specific design aspect? Analyze what makes them beautiful to you and try to incorporate those elements into your own work. It doesn't have to be anime, it can be posters or even music, the key is always be studying. Even with music that I listen to on the radio, every time I hear a song I like, I'll ask myself why do I like it? Is it the beat, or the mix of instruments? Dissect it and try to replicate it, and you'll gradually find and develop your art style.