The Secret Arboreal Fan Club

For a long time, I have been experimenting with MidJourney as a way to test the generative AI waters. There's a lot that can happen when a machine interprets a series of descriptors and is asked to generate something akin to desirable on the other end.

Recently, I have enjoyed the daily theme channel for MidJourney, which uses Discord server channels for communicating with their models (instead of a web page like Bard, or OpenAI's tools do).

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It is not within the scope of this post to do a deep dive on any tools, or provide the details on how to use them.

Each day, a theme is set and the community uses that theme to drive the creative juices within the channel. This can have some great results, and also some rather funny ones. Examples of recent themes include:

  • Kaleidoscopic
  • Office Horus
  • Constellation Map
  • Arboreal

It's this last one, arboreal, that I write about today, as it became the genesis of something interesting. My long-time tea buddy, LazyLiteratus, turned me on to the --style flag which can be appended to the --niji with MidJourney version 5. The Niji flag, or suffix, is a particular version of MidJourney designed to generate Japanese Animation (anime) style content. And, I have to say, it does a good job.

Using the "arboreal" theme, and the Niji bot, with the "scenic" Niji style, I generated an idea for a new anime show called the Secret Arboreal Fan Club. As a long-time anime fan, this title seems entirely within the realm of what a real show could be named.

Creating the Secret Arboreal Fan Club

Here are a few of the results for the following prompt.

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Secret Arboreal Fan Club anime show character group. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9
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For the sake of keeping things easy to read, assume all the prompts in this post use the  --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9 suffixes unless an alternate is presented. (I only switch the aspect ratio out later)

Now LLM models, like the ones used by MidJourney, react to each change you make to text you feed it. If I were to change just one of the words or remove the punctuation, I might get notably different results.

Here, I wanted to convey that there's a group of people (probably middle or high school students) who have some connection to arboreal (forested) settings. I think MidJourney did a good job with this initial prompt.

But, we're not done! Let's upgrade our Secret Arboreal Fan Club to have some airships! Because, who doesn't like good airships, am I right?

Airships

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An aerial view of a massive arboreal airship high in the sky. Crewed by the Secret Arboreal Fan Club.In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe.

As a longtime fan of anime, I have a favorite artist, Yoshitoshi Abe, and so, I've asked MidJourney to match or approximate his unique qualities. Abe-san actually has airships in some of his work, so this ask shouldn't be a stretch.

Here are several examples using the prompt indicated above.

Alright! Now this has the makings of a show I might actually watch. Some interesting-looking characters, and a cool and curious world.

But we're still missing some things. What might our intrepid group of arboreal misfits need to build a compelling world that draws us in? Why, conflict, of course!

The Cast

It's pretty hard to buy into a story, without meeting the characters. It took some time and learning to draw emotion out of the body language and expressions of the characters, but I think I was able to round things out nicely.

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Full character bios:
Takeo | Akiko | Shinya | Renata | Hiro | Kaede | Emma | Kodo

The Process

When generating characters for a story, there's some process involved. As with anything, jumping headfirst without some planning will bring a lot of grief later when things need to be reworked.

An image of Kikuchi Takeo generated using MidJourney

Kikuchi Takeo

Let's start with our venerable chaperone. Most of the cast are middle-school or high-school students. We need a leveled mind to move the group in the right direction and act as arboreal sensei. Just wait until you see what he can do!

Read Takeo's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/bSNfFuKhrCA https://s.mj.run/IRUlYpxNSLM A candid portrait of Takeo Kikuchi as he climbs aboard the airship. Takeo is in his 30s, fit, and very muscular. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9
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Takeo is named after the primary character in The Tales of the Otori, one of my favorite series of novels. If you haven't read it, I recommend it highly.

An image of Moriyama Akiko generated using MidJourney

Moriyama Akiko

Akiko is our spunky, friendly leader. She founded the Secret Arboreal Fan Club. She's friendly, forthright, loyal, and honest. She'll defend all members of the club with every ounce of love and energy she has.

Read Akiko's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/hJ8MpQe0ZZA https://s.mj.run/4sa76KA-gHU https://s.mj.run/wfZLCDMDMZ8 A candid shoulder-height portrait of Akiko Moriyama. She turns around to see who called her name in the empty high school hallway. Akiko is 17 years old, with long pink hair. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

An image of Yoshizawa Shinya generated using MidJourney

Yoshizawa Shinya

Shinya is our resident aloof grumbler. Everything is inconvenient. But, he knows his stuff, and you can depend on him when it counts.

Read Shinya's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/t16tH68ysZw https://s.mj.run/V6CVw67MvWQ A candid shoulder-level portrait photograph of Shinya Yoshizawa looking gruff and cool. The setting is next to a quiet corner market in Japan. Mid-afternoon light shines in the frame through trees and reflects in puddles. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Saul Leiter and Robert Doisneau. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

An image of Yamamoto Renata generated using MidJourney

Yamamoto Renata

Renata is our quiet bookish, and studious team member. When she says something or asks a question, it's always meaningful.

Read Renata's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/sjLmRzSx44o https://s.mj.run/zzEvUvpCpYY A candid shoulder-height portrait of Renata Yamamoto, as she studies a variety of curious plants in the back room of a small arboreal center, taking she takes detailed notes in her notebook. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

An image of Iijima Hiro generated using MidJourney

Iijima Hiro

Hiro is our emotional buddy. He has a seemingly innate sense of what plants are experiencing. He knows when they're hurting, or thriving. On occasion, this happens with people too. He can sometimes get melancholy.

Read Hiro's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/AgsNsRFWITc https://s.mj.run/ZakvEnwABys https://s.mj.run/rl_KdiiMEXY A shoulder-height portrait of Hiro Iijima, as his eyes overflow with tears. He is holding dead plant in his hands. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

An image of Nokaguchi Kaede generated using MidJourney

Nokaguchi Kaede

Kaede is the youngest member of our troupe. Bubbly and effusive, she loves people more than plants. But she loves the Secret Arboreal Fan Club.

Read Kaede's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/HSGryk02wy4 https://s.mj.run/gesWtPBsf9Y A candid eye-level portrait of Kaide Nokaguchi, as she laughs with a group of friends before class in front of the Japanese secondary school she attends. Kaede is 13 years old and has blue hair. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9
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Kaede is also named after a main character in The Tales of the Otori.

An image of Emma Violet generated using MidJourney

Emma Violet

Emma is not Japanese. Though she's never lived outside Japan. She's our obsessive hard worker. She never gives up, and she's full of passion for everything she puts her mind to.

Read Emma's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/NFWi3efcpW4 https://s.mj.run/oqwbc1qXTtw https://s.mj.run/tE9RORuC2pY A candid shoulder-height portrait of Emma Violet, looking curiously at a grove of trees. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

An image of Kodo the tarsier generated using MidJourney

Kodo

No anime is complete without some kind of special companion for the group. It could be a normal pet, a magical creature, some kind of spirit, or another person.

In our case, Kodo is the club's friendly magical Tarsier. He's adorable, yes, but very alert. He travels with the crew and makes sure they're always aware of dangers.

Read Kodo's Full Bio

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https://s.mj.run/VzawLSnYA-4 https://s.mj.run/R7CmwWFjn4Q https://s.mj.run/sBYZ8q3DKrs A candid shoulder-height portrait of a magical white and gunmetal-gray tarsier, unaffected by gravity. His ears are purple. He's perched upon branch of a tree. In the style of Yoshitoshi Abe. In the combined styles of Don McCullin and Katia Chausheva. --niji 5 --style scenic --ar 16:9

Next up...

There's too much to cover in this one post. I'll be adding more content for our intrepid crew in the upcoming weeks.

Our next posts will cover the character bios for the group, as well as work through setting up and visualizing some of the conflicts and challenges they will need to overcome as members of The Secret Arboreal Fan Club.