Eathanor's interview — Revel in AI

Eathanor, or @eathanor on X, presents its audience with the essence of dreams and nightmares alike, weaving a tapestry of surrealism, time, and the desolation of a world gone astray. His distinctive style, coupled with a steadfast commitment to a square 1:1 format, renders his illustrative art enchanting, haunting, and consistently mesmerizing. Each piece is a journey into the depths of imagination, where beauty and terror intertwine to captivate us, the viewer. I am honored and grateful to have him join us for this interview.

Let’s discover Eathanor together.

~ Temporal Shoreline ~

Without getting too personal, can you tell us a bit about yourself?:

I'm a man in my fifties who works in IT consulting. I also have a small poetry publishing company. I've been writing poetry myself since I was a teenager. I'm a big fan of music (mainly jazz, metal and techno). When I'm not enjoying my free time chatting to AIs or writing, I read and play role-playing games.

Could you please tell us which country you live in?:

I live in France, in Paris.

What led you to begin working with AI imagery?:

I've always been frustrated at not being able to put all the worlds I have in my head into pictures. Knowing how to write them is one thing. Illustrating them is another, but I couldn't do it, as I'm unfortunately not very good at drawing. It was very frustrating. So, when the possibility of generating images using AI came along, I was immediately hooked.

What AI tools do you use?:

Dall-E, Leonardo, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, that's the quartet I used to play with. These days, however, I only use MidJourney, which is still the most talented in its category, and Stable Diffusion locally to bypass the nudity and gore filters set up on MidJourney.

What inspires you?:

It would be too long and tedious to list all the artists who inspire my imagination. But I've always loved surreal, gothic, mysterious, and dark atmospheres. I thrive in these unreal worlds that question our doubts and fears. This is what I modestly try to reproduce through my creations, injecting them with my own anxieties and obsessions.

~ Twilight Wanderer ~

(One of @revelinai’s favorite images by Eathanor)

In which other medium, if any, do you practice art?:

As I said above, I write poetry and I'm a big fan of role-playing and board games. When I find the time, I also create videos with the help of AI.

Would you consider AI-generated art true art?:

This question is probably easier said than answered... I constantly feel like an impostor in what I do. So, when I look at my visual creations, I don't feel allowed to call them art. After all, they create something new, but they're based on work that already exists. And that's true. But isn't that the nature of any creative process? We never start from scratch. Whether we like it or not, our inspiration is rooted in what has come before. What's more, while anyone can easily generate an image from a basic prompt, succeeding in putting a message, an emotion, and feelings into it is serious work that comes under a real artistic approach.

Please share one or a few of your favorite images with us.:

I’ll share four.

~ Cosmic Consciousness ~

~ Mystic Marsh at Twilight ~

~ Embrace of the Sea Nymph ~

~ Whispers from the Depths ~

Eathanor’s favorite images

Do you title your AI-generated art? If you do, what inspires you to come up with these titles?:

I give my creations a title. I let myself be guided by the inspiration of the moment. In fact, it's highly likely that some of my images will have identical titles.

When do you tend to be the most productive, and do you work in long sessions or short bursts?:

The night has always been the best time for me to create. In the morning, I'm more immersed in my coffee... When I'm in a creative phase, it never lasts less than an hour and can go on for several hours at a time, taking me well past midnight.

~ Spiral of Serenity ~

What type of prompts do you prefer: text or AI-generated descriptions through fed images?:

Most of my prompts consist of text. Sometimes I use a description of an image as a starting point, but I'm always careful to move away from it afterwards.

When prompting with text, do you write simple text-based prompts or complex ones?:

Sometimes, I start off with a very simple prompt, but then it grows and grows as I iterate and iterate.

Do you think text-based prompts should be shared within the AI art community?:

I see some people practicing this sharing, and I can only welcome this generous approach. But personally, I don't share my prompts. They are the very essence of my creative approach. It is these prompts that enable me to propose a vision that is my own and not that of someone else. They are imbued with my sensibility and my intentions in an approach that is unique to me.

What is the most unconventional method you have used to create an image?:

Sometimes, I do what could be likened to letting the AI off the hook. Rather than guiding it and framing it with precise, well-crafted prompts, I take a stanza of a poem, for example, and see what the result is. The resulting images are always surprising, sometimes incongruous and, at times, of high quality.

How many images you have generated using AI technology?:

I have no idea what the exact number is, but I'm definitely over 50,000.

~ The Corridor Between Night and Day ~

Please share your X (Twitter) handle with us.:

@eathanor

Tell us a bit about your X handle and X username.:

Eathanor was the name of the half-elf paladin character I played in a D&D campaign that lasted several years.

How many X followers do you currently have?:

At the date of writing, I have 697 followers to be precise. I can reasonably hope that this number will have exceeded 700 by the time this interview goes online.

How many X accounts do you currently follow?:

Currently, I’m following 682 accounts.

How long have you been on X (Twitter)?:

I've been on X (Twitter) since November 2009, but my account has only really been active in the field of AI Art since May 2023, which is about a year.

~ Window to Antiquity ~

Is there any other online platform where we can view all of your previous work apart from X?:

I am currently sharing my visual creations on two other networks:

I also have a YouTube channel where I centralize my videos made with AI.

In this world of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), are you currently selling your digital art on any platform? If so, which platform are you using?:

I haven't yet entered the world of NFTs, but I'm not refusing to step inside. Before I do, I'd like to take the time to find out more about this world in which I'm still a novice. To convince myself, I need to be able to answer the question: what is the real added value of selling my creations on a digital art platform? For the moment, I'm still searching.

Are you selling tangible AI-generated artwork, such as high-quality prints like Giclée prints?:

Not currently.

Could you suggest some AI artists you like that we could follow?:

There are many talented AI artists to follow. It's impossible to name them all here. But here are a few artists whose world and works speak to me in particular:

But many more deserve to be named...

Is there anything else you would like to add or share with the AI community?:

I've been on X (Twitter) since 2009. I've had plenty of time to observe the verbal violence that reigns on this platform. Clans clash, denigrate, and threaten each other. Everyone sticks to their positions and convictions, comforted by their filter bubble. The AI community is a breath of fresh air. Of course, there are conflicts and attacks from trolls and haters. But mutual support is a strong value and the spirit of sharing and tolerance are tangible facts of life. The existence of this community is a pure joy that motivates me every day to want to contribute to its enrichment. Thank you to the AI community.