Alright, let me tell you about this “chief mascot” thing I messed around with. It’s kinda fun, kinda dumb, but hey, that’s what side projects are for, right?
So, the idea popped into my head after seeing a bunch of these AI image generators. I was thinking, “What if I could make a silly mascot and then use AI to put it everywhere?” That was the starting point.
First, I needed a mascot. I’m no artist, trust me. I can barely draw a stick figure. So, I started messing around with some free online drawing tools. I fiddled, and tweaked, and eventually came up with this goofy-looking bird thing. It’s got big eyes, a weird beak, and kinda looks like it’s perpetually surprised. I saved it as a PNG.
Next up, I wanted to see if I could stick this bird into different scenarios using AI. I tried a couple of different image generation platforms. You know, the ones where you type in a prompt and it spits out an image? I started with simple stuff. Like, “goofy bird mascot in a forest,” or “goofy bird mascot eating pizza.”
The results were…mixed. Some were hilarious, some were terrifying. The AI definitely struggled with the bird’s specific features. Sometimes it’d give it extra heads, sometimes it’d turn its beak into a banana. But every now and then, it would nail it. I’d get an image that actually looked like my goofy bird was hanging out somewhere, doing something.
I kept experimenting with different prompts. I tried to make the scenarios more and more ridiculous. “Goofy bird mascot piloting a spaceship,” “Goofy bird mascot giving a TED talk,” “Goofy bird mascot arguing with a cat.” The weirder the prompt, the funnier the results.
Then, I thought it would be fun to try to put the mascot into real-world photos. I used some basic image editing software to cut out the bird and then pasted it onto pictures of my office, my kitchen, even my dog. It was pretty crude, but it worked. My dog was not amused.
To automate this process is the main target, I used Python and Automate the Boring Stuff with Python. I wrote a super simple script to run the tedious tasks like, bulk renaming the files, folder creation for a mass of images and basic file operations.
It was all just a bit of fun, really. A way to waste an afternoon and make myself laugh. But it got me thinking about the possibilities. Imagine if you had a real mascot, and you could use AI to generate endless content for it. Think of the marketing potential! Or, you know, just the endless supply of silly memes.
Lessons Learned:
- AI image generation is still kinda janky, but it’s getting better.
- A goofy mascot can make anything funnier.
- My dog hates being photobombed by a poorly-edited bird.
It was a blast, and I might revisit it someday. Who knows, maybe my goofy bird will be the next big thing!
