Finding Peri
Using AI through the years to find that Perfect Image
When you are struggling as a writer with a budget that is no better than a Starbuck’s Coffee twice a week, you have to be careful with what you invest in and budget. I’ve been serious about my stories and world for many years now. It was only a couple of years ago that I put myself out there to share my vision and life of my heroine and her story. As of this article, I’m still pretty much an unknown. That’s ok. Gives me plenty of opportunities to correct mistakes without anyone realizing what I did wrong.
One of the big things I am invested in is Gencraft.AI. I use it a lot for concept art, action ideas, and just some general fun when I am looking for inspiration to spark some life into my creativity. As time went by, you can see my book setting and style evolve and mature.
Western Era
In the very early days, Peri Blackwood was a blond woman. More daring and stylized after my wife with the manners of Annebelle Bransford from the movie, Maverick. Full of energy, charm, a little bit of daring, and a whole lot of mischievous feminine cunning, taking advantage of men that are weak against the attention of a pretty woman. This was one of the first images I made with AI. I was pretty happy to have a visual of a woman that would make my hero regret running into her. Back when I created this image, Peri was just reincarnated in her new life. Formally known as Lady Elsbeth in my grounded fantasy world, Peri’s role was to come into the hero’s life and disrupt it in all sorts of manner. Part of that idea carried forward. But ultimately, life and my stories had a different plan for Peri.
Steampunk Era (shoot me now)
Peri’s purpose and role started shifting gears (pun) when I started modernizing or changing the aesthetics of the world I am writing about. The Edo Cowboy Civil War look gave way to a more steampunk look. The change naturally happened when I wanted to involve more tech instead of fantasy/western type setting. I also realized that I wanted Peri to stand apart from those around her. I remember seeing a woman at some comic con years ago dressed as Malcomb Reynolds from Firefly… her outfit was shiny. Except for the hair color, which was more of what you see here, sort of. That stayed with me and thus inspired this look. My steampunk phase was thankfully short, and I shifted to another era.
High Fantasy LOTR Style
I love the model for this image. This is the one that sealed the deal for how Peri would look. The blue eyes and copper color hair was now a staple. For a brief moment, I wanted this world to be more fantasy than modern… or modern with fantasy elements. Hard to really explain what I was trying to do. What I took from it is: Peri was now my star, she was determined, and very capable of what she set her mind to. It was this image that I rebuilt my story to shape around her.
Futuristic | Urban Style
As I started finalizing what the world was and the year the story was being told in, I realized it was difficult to have a high fantasy grounded tale set in the year 2191. I wanted to explore a more modern landscape and talk about things that people may remember or find interesting. In this image, Peri is still the same person in more modern clothing and setting. I was narrowing in on the setting while finalizing who Peri is and the story I wanted to tell.
Modern Action (Final)
We finally came to this image last year. This is where I landed right before I published Wilted Crowns. This changed the way how I envisioned the world and what it would look like. Peri is pure action here; the image screams her wanting to move. Kind of amazing how one person (fictional) can evolve and change so much over time. She now leads my books; her journey will be worth the read. I promise.
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Thank you for making it this far… enjoy one more, just made today.
Action Star
For those wondering, the opening image was created with ChatGPT (my favorite). The last image was a combination of Gencraft AI and Grok. Just for fun comic book style.
Peri’s Adventures are in Wilted Crowns.
Find more at https://bloodandsteel.netlify.app or at Blackwood Press (blackwood.press)
Thank you.
JT
