The Succession, Book II

Chapter 1: Star Hopping

[Book II will now get it’s own creative workspace (woohoo!) here!]

As I emerged from the darkest lapse of inter-dimensional travel, I found myself on a desolate beach on a distant planet. The sand beneath my feet was a peculiar shade of iridescent tan, shimmering like stardust. I could feel the ground vibrate; my body shuddered in resonance. After a moment the strangeness of the experience passed. I was quite accustomed to strange new worlds, they would say. I love my job, I remember thinking. Wouldn’t trade this for anything in the worlds. Anything that would tether me down.

The Succession Book II Chapter 2 Star Hopping
© 2023 Jay Schankman

It was then that I witnessed a captivating spectacle. A being emerged from the sand, seemingly growing right out of it. A being of the sand. Its slender white form emerged, unfolded and gestured toward me. There was an intelligence, and the intelligence was communicating through its movement. But I surely could not decipher it. The being then took on a form more familiar to my terrestrial earth sensibilities.

The Succession Book II Chapter 2 Star Hopping
© 2023 Jay Schankman

It developed a slender neck and a rather bird-like beak. The being displayed paper-thin folds of translucent glass, in other instances would show rows of long feathers that grew into translucent, ethereal wings. The feathered body glistened in color and texture; it produced its own light’. I had never seen anything like this on any planet; in any dimension. As it rose into the low-gravity atmosphere, it radiated an otherworldly aura, casting a soft, iridescent glow that illuminated the surrounding landscape.

The Succession Book II Chapter 2 Star Hopping
© 2023 Jay Schankman

If only I knew what shore on which planet in which galaxy. We both pause to observe this strange emergence into the world of another.




This one should be moved over to PROJECTS.

Enter Kaiber

4-2023 A few early experimentations, now realizing that I have tons of musical clips that I made over the years. May as well use them for something. I still, toyed with some plain vanilla public domain music before that revelation hit me.

It would only be a few months later that tools like Suno and Udio put songcrafting in the hands of anyone. And then AI video, it is all pretty awesome
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CTUCLws1X/
Living Compartment

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Ff1ZkeTJC
Plasma Bulb

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EQ4tBN4Nd
A Flower Arranger

This AI animation is wild! Summer 2023, Kaiber would come to define the world of AI animation for the masses.

Confounded Technology

Confounded Technology ©2023 Jay Schankman

“Alas! The battery, that fickle creature, doth drain with great haste, leaving the iPhone bereft of life at the most inopportune times. A lamentable complaint, forsooth, as the charger’s embrace must be sought all too frequently.”

“Verily, the realm of connectivity proves tumultuous. Wi-Fi signals falter, and cellular reception wavers like a tempest-tossed ship. In these troubled waters, communication becomes a perilous task.”

“The enigmatic software, though designed to enchant, oft transforms into a source of vexation. Unwanted glitches and unexpected freezes disrupt the tranquility of iPhone usage, leaving one yearning for a more stable existence.”

“The memory, dear friend, doth vanish like a wisp of smoke. Despite efforts to preserve cherished memories and essential data, storage capacity proves an eternal struggle, requiring constant juggling and deletion of beloved files.” GPT

Just Passing Through – A Study in Herps and High Society

Ahh, more lizards. This is a favorite. I never tired of making them. June of 2023.

Lizards waiting at the train station. Midjourney 5

I realized that I was certainly losing some followers with these experimentations, but I felt I had something to learn, though it seems it was slowly. Just waiting for the next step in the evolution of this technology that can be made artful. Surely, animations and then the creation of video on my cellular phone (early handheld mind-extension/stim device) can’t be too far behind.

Very few of this generation “Gen Z” have the need to think about it. I was at the tail end of the “Baby Boomers” generation, born in 1962. Before the advent of the cell phone, I carried a beeper. Google it. I even remember calling the operator to place a long distance call. People take the handheld device for granted. To have the world of information at ones fingertips and instead to look at pictures of women with Botox enlargements to their lips, breasts and buttocks. When humans look back, I hope some will stumble upon this.

To you I sayeth! Remember This! We were the original Cyborgs. We are the ones who are coming back!

Kabuki

This one comes with an accompanying wiki type entry courtesy of GPT 4. A brief history of Kabuki. It is notable that these images aren’t exactly Kabuki, just Midjourneys’ interpretation. With this I begun to understand the stubbornness of generative ai. I suppose it was not so noticeable before because we expected ai to be nondescript and nebulous. Now we start to expect a reality that it can’t really deliver yet. Also, notice the garbled “signature” that would be the the bane of those who want to claim ai output their own. Not a real signature, but an interpretation of what the AI thought should appear there.

A reminder of where this art may have really originated. If I could just land on an idea that wouldn’t be exploitive of what has come before me. Another from May 2023.

My first failed experiment with the stop motion jittery output of a Kaiber animation will be left behind and notable will just be the time marking the beginning of a commercial AI product used for animation, of sorts.

workflow: Midjourney 5, Kaiber

Emo Kids

By request, Emo Kids. Just as expressive as the Rocker Girls, but darker, moody, Emo!

These Emo Kids can be personalized and printed one-of-a-kind for your child as a gift of wall art, a tapestry, stickers, a coffee cup and so much more. A unique one-of-a-kind gift for that special teen. Emo Kids can be purchased through my store. Contact me directly for licensing information or commissioned work.

Aliens UAPs and UFOs

Midjourney 4 (11-2022) and v5 (3-2023) saw a pair of big advances, locking David Holz Midjourney project in solid with the emerging AI art community. The images I was generating inspired the writing of a sc-fi novel. There was a certain flavor of photorealism that made these fun and appealing.