Searching for Tyhry

Fig. 1. AI-generated big hair

 I set out to use the WOMBO image-generating software to make a new image that can depict Tyhry during her upcoming vacation in Alastor Cluster. I've long been reluctant to visually depict Tyhry, but maybe with the help of Mr. WOMBO I can do this. I decided to begin the process of illustrating Tyhry by starting with the image to the right (Figure 1) which shows a blond woman generated by the following text prompt: "photorealism style, pretty woman with long hair, big hair, narrow eye brows, big bright eyes, skinny arms, low-cut pink dress, rich complex weave for the dress, background is a living room".

Having a good hair day. I was actually impressed with the ability of Mr. WOMBO to make "big hair" that I can imagine being generated by the type of advanced hair nanites that Manny likes to use while she is on Earth.

A series of images generated with only the "big hair" text prompt (above) and no reference image.

Manny from the interwebs

The original image (a photograph) that I have been using as a depiction of Manny the bumpha is shown to the left. I used that image of Manny as the initial reference image that got me on the path towards crafting a depiction of Tyhry (Figure 1). It was interesting that Mr. WOMBO does not like to make images of people with their eyes closed.

I had a devil of a time getting any images that did not have big fat red lips. Mr. WOMBO seems to have a real strong preference for ladies with big red lips.

another step towards Tyhry

I altered the text prompt to: "photorealism style, sultry female model, delicate shoulders, slim arms, narrow hips, pale lips, thin lips, narrow waist, big blue eyes, slim waist, long blond hair, blurred living room in background"

It was also a long slog to get Mr. WOMBO to start making some of these images with narrower waists and hips. In my imagination, before her trip to Alastor Cluster, Tyhry does have access to some nanites, but not hair nanites. Without even asking, Mr. Wombo started adding in jewelry to the images, which I did not mind (Figure 2). In the past, I've included in stories the idea that Tyhry likes to design clothing, so maybe she also makes jewelry.

Figure 2. with jewelry

Figure 3. "seamless"

Having a bad seam day. I know that these software programs do not really understand what they are doing, but sometimes the WOMBO software quickly adjusts to something that I include in the text prompt while other times it just seems to ignore me.

Figure 4. dress pendant

I get the feeling that Mr. WOMBO does not understand "seamless" (see Figure 3), so even when using "photorealism style, tanned female model, delicate shoulders, slim arms, narrow hips, pale lips, very smooth seamless dress, narrow waist, blue eyes, complex jewelry, blurred living room background", I usually got images with seams in the dress. Manny the bumpha uses highly advanced nanites for making her clothing and there are no seams. Tyhry is not so lucky, but when crafting her own clothing I suspect that she is careful to avoid ugly seams.

In my imagination, Tyhry was genetically engineered by Manny so that Tyhry has no genetic defects of deficiencies. Also, Tyhry grew up knowing about Manny and having occasional opportunities to meet with and speak to Manny. It is even safe to say that Manny has become an important role model for Tyhry. If something such as clothing nanites are used by Manny, then Tyhry is going to work endlessly to develop clothing nanites for human use on Earth.

interesting hair (no nanites)

Some of the things that Mr. Wombo comes up with are interesting such as the blue stripe and the jewelry hanging from the dress (Figure 4, above). It was amazing how quickly Mr. WOMBO abandoned the blond hair when I took "blond" out of the text prompt. I actually like the transitional redish-brown hair that was in some of the images during the transition from blond to brunette (for example, see the image to the right). 

The various objects that get placed in the background are also interesting and range from potted plants, candles and lamps to windows, bookcases and paintings.

alien fingers

 Bad hand day. Some of the anatomical errors that are made by image-generating software are quite strange. Mr. WOMBO seems to have a real problem with the human hand (see the image to the left). I went out of my way to use a reference image with no hands, so why does Mr. WOMBO insist on inserting its poorly constructed hands into the images?

Sometimes just one of the two eyes is really messed up. Mr. WOMBO needs a lesson in symmetry. A person's two eyes should look similar. Duh.

belt and bracelet

The WOMBO text prompts can only be 200 words long. I really don't know the reason for this limit. As soon as I removed "long hair" from the text prompt, the hair got much shorter. It is annoying to work hard to get desired features in a depiction of a story character and then have to watch them fade away when you start trying to get other additional features.

Below are a set of ten images showing the transition from long blond hair images to shorter darker hair. I was also trying to get a transition to images with narrower waist and hips. I was pleased when Mr. WOMBO began to add fancy belts to the figures (see Figure 3 and the image to the right). 

from pink dresses to white

the transition to shorter hair continues

almost seamless

I finally got some nearly seamless dresses using "photorealism style, photo-real, tanned female model, delicate shoulders, slim arms, narrow hips, pale lips, very smooth seamless dress, narrow waist, blue eyes, complex jewelry, shiny dress, seamless" (see the image to the left). 

AI-generated depiction of Tyhry

I suppose there is always a point when you should just take what the WOMBO software made and go to Photoshop for a cleanup. I did a small amount of Photoshop adjustment to arrive at the image shown to the right.

Make it so, Mr. WOMBO. I imagine that Tyhry is a nerd and a Star Trek fan. I was favorably impressed by the decorative flower-like objects that Mr. WOMBO came up with when I asked for a "starfleet uniform" (see the image to the right). The golden leaf-like object above Tyhry's shoulder began as a starfleet symbol that I inserted into the reference image in an attempt to get something unusual and interesting in the background, maybe a Star Trek poster on the wall of Tyhry's bedroom.

An old depiction of Tyhry

Compare and Contrast. How do these computer-generated images of Tyhry compare to my previously imagined appearance for this Exode Saga character? The image to the left was the first depiction of Tyhry that I ever used to illustrate a story, but that was actually a recycled image which I had originally developed for another purpose. 

This image was made using
"740 nanometers" and
"Commingling of Radiances"
both by Sevenics as well as
"RedHairedBeauty02" by
 Eclesi4stiK under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

The image to the right was a recent depiction of Tyhry during her time on Sermyth when she had been placed into the simulated body of a Hua.

For her mission on Sermyth, Manny provided Tyhry with an eye-catching body. Lucky for Tyhry, she already had experience in deploying anti-gravity nanites on Earth as a way of helping her mother, Zeta, support her artificially enlarged breasts. Zeta has been using high doses of oxypathin and clytykynyn to boost her telepathic abilities, but those sex hormones have also caused Zeta's breasts to enlarge.

During the time period of Tyhry's visit to the planet Sermyth, the Hua have been genetically engineered to have unusually large breasts and they all enjoy the practice of social lactation. Tyhry quickly learns to manage her big Hua-style breasts with the help of Hua anti-gravity nanites.

image source

 Depicting Marda. Going along with Tyhry to Alastor Cluster is Marda. In search of a way of visually depicting Marda, I extended my search for useful illustrations all the way back to Marda's grandmother, Vendela, and her mother, Rylla. 

Figure 5. Vendela

I previously made use of several images that I found on the internet as temporary "place-keeper" depictions for Vendela (see the image to the right). I had depicted Vendela as working in a laboratory where nodes of the Mind Clone Network were being planned, genetically engineered and carefully crafted as human telepaths. Vandela made use of software that could predict the phenotypic features of someone from their genome.

magic hand

I asked Mr. WOMBO to show me a "cloning laboratory" and got the image shown to the left. Look at the hand of the lab tech where it passes right through what looks like a blue metal bar.

a real head-scratcher

 The Road to Rylla. When I combined the "cloning laboratory" text prompt with the reference image in Figure 5, I got the new image shown to the right. 

I commend Mr. WOMBO for providing proto-Vendela with protective eye-wear for use in the laboratory. Maybe she's puzzled by the green thing in the lower left corner of this image.

teratology

I went for some self-referential complexity and used this text prompt: "photorealism style, photo-real, science fiction, cloning laboratory, image-generating software running in the background". I was impressed (not favorably) with the strange image on the computer screen (see the image to the left). I'm imagining that the tryp'At have access to advanced genetic technology that allows accurate prediction of what a person looks like based on their genes. Vendela was concerned about her daughter fitting in with Earthlings. Rylla was given many tryp'At gene combinations, but she needed to look like a human being so that she could live her life on Earth as a tryp'At agent. Lucky for Rylla, the tryp'At were forced out of Observer Base and she was never called on to complete the mission on Earth that had been planned by the tryp'At.

Fig. 6. gene pattern analysis

I confess that the second image generated was not too bad (see Figure 6). Mr. WOMBO was back at his trick of adding in jewelry. Some of the images generated by Mr. WOMBO were disgusting. One had a dog's head on the lab bench and another had blood on Vendela's dress.

Figure 7. no reference image

I expanded the text prompt to: "photorealism style, photo-real, science fiction, pretty woman, futuristic lab coat, cloning laboratory, image-generating software running in the background, another woman's image on the screen". That text prompt alone generated some interesting images such as the one shown in Figure 7.

Figure 8. New reference image.

I began using a new reference image (Figure 8) and got the result shown in Figure 9. Yes, I did some image manipulation to make sure that there were two different computer-generated images on the display screens that could be compared by Vendela while she designed Rylla's genome.

Figure 9. Designing Rylla.

I was satisfied to live with Mr. WOMBO's decision to give Vendela red hair. Also, Mr. WOMBO pretty consistently created images representing Rylla in which she is shown as a blonde.

Fig. 10. image composite

I was curious to see if I could get Mr. Wombo to create an image that included images of human fetuses. I used this text prompt: "photorealism style, photo-real, science fiction, two human fetuses, cloning laboratory, image-generating software running in the lower right, a woman's image on the screen". It was impossible to get Mr. WOMBO to generate such an image. Eventually I had to splice together several of the AI-generated images in order to get Figure 10. Mr. Wombo has a one-track "mind" and can't really do two things at once.

Vendela crafts the Rylla fetus.

In a final step, I put Vendela from Figure 9 on top of Figure 10. Then using that composite image as a reference, Mr. WOMBO was finally able to generate the image shown to the left. These fetuses had to be made with WOMBO's "fantasy" style while everything else was generated using their "realistic v2" algorithm.

text prompt only

 On the Rylla Road to Marda. Rylla has always been a runner. At the time of Marda's and Tyhry's college graduation, Rylla is about 40 years old, but she is still in fine physical condition. The WOMBO text prompt  "running shoes, photorealism style, photo-real, a tall blond woman, she is 35 years old, bare six pack abdomen, complex leather straps for her footwear, standing among small fractal plants, at sunset" by itself generated the image shown to the right. 

In addition to good gene combinations and her devotion to distance running, Rylla has the benefit of exposure to the same medical nanites that keep Eddy and Zeta looking significantly younger than their age.

image source

I used an image of Alisa Hensley  (image to the left) as a starting reference image for generating a depiction of Rylla.   

Figure 11. AI-generated Rylla.

Rylla has a large number of tryp'At gene patterns which gives her some unusual anatomical features. When she arrives in Arizona and stays at the remotely located house of Eddy and Zeta, Rylla makes to effort to hide her non-human anatomical structures (Figure 11). Both rows of Rylla's breasts were generated by Mr. WOMBO in two separate images, but they had to be spliced together using Photoshop. I imagine that Rylla is gazing towards the setting sun.

Marda reference image

Marda is Rylla's oldest daughter and almost exactly the same age as Tyhry. As a starting reference for Marda, I used an image of Renata Notni. I used the reference image to the left and this text prompt: "beach, two women, tanned skin, fractal complex swimsuits, tall women, thin waist, narrow hips, big eyes, small nose, slim legs, slim arms, smiling, woman on the left has back to camera, sun glow".

text only generation

An example of what that text prompt could generate without any reference image is shown to the right.

This was a very challenging scene for Mr. WOMBO. First of all, the computer program can't do sensible shadows. Second, the scene that I wanted includes 4 human hands, and it seems to be essentially impossible for the WOMBO image-generating algorithm to do four sensible hands all at the same time. Also, this challenging scene tended to send Mr. WOMBO either into an infinite loop or towards generating results that ended in a NSFW warning. 

Figure 12. time to Photoshop

However, eventually I got the image shown in Figure 12, which is not too bad. Although Marda is turning her back to the camera, her head is turned. Why Mr. WOMBO inserts sunglasses when I don't want them is annoying.  Photoshop here I come.

composite image

 Marda and Tyhry on the Beach.
The image to the right is a Photoshop composite of two different AI-generated images. I also had to do some work on Marda's teeth and I removed some of the folds and wrinkles from the swimsuits.

Figure 13.

 Figure 13 is as close as I came to replicating the original reference image with an AI-generated image. I tried to do some adjustment of Marda's shadow with Photoshop, but I did not make much of an effort.

Bleached Marda.

Another Tyhry and Marda variant is shown to the right. Maybe this is at the end of the vacation and Marda's hair has been bleached by the sun. When I began this illustration project, I had no preconceived thoughts about Marda's physical features such as her hair. Neither Rylla or Marda was produced in a conventional way. Neither had a single person who might be called "father"; genetic patterns from many individuals were used to craft their special genomes.

Figure 14. Tyhry and Marda

 Figure 14 has one last version of Tyhry and Marda. This is my favorite depiction of this dynamic duo. I'd like to know what they are laughing about.

Manny on vacation.

Maybe this is the day after they meet Manny who has followed them into the Reality Simulation of Alastor Cluster and who intends on enjoying this vacation opportunity herself.

Sadly, discovering how to get the WOMBO software to help me create depictions of story characters is hard work.

Mr. Wombo.

 Fun with Mr. Wombo.

I asked the WOMBO "dream" software to make a depiction of Mr. WOMBO. Text prompt: "photorealism style, photo-real, science fiction character Mr. WOMBO, small chin, hair on his head, habitable exoplanet in background, normal human eyes, he is not bald". It is a good thing that Mr. WOMBO is going along on the journey to Alastor Cluster because I anticipate there will be some hair nanites that he can borrow from Zeta.

The Wombo Council

The image to the right shows the Wombo Council deep into deliberations of interstellar politics and the legality of converting copy-righted images into derivative AI-generated images. Text prompt: "photorealism style, photo-real, alien audience with five humanoid aliens, one human politician from Starfleet, a habitable exoplanet globe above the audience".

See the images below for the continuing adventures of Mr. WOMBO.

Related Reading: more big hair

Next: the nanotechnolgy of hair nanites

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