Honoring My Late Mom with the Help of AI Generated Images
Can Artificial Intelligence generate images for my mom's unpublished primary reader?
The first commandment with a promise is about honoring our parents (Ephesians 6:2-3). Can artificial intelligence(AI) help me honor my late mother? You see, my late mother was a teacher in the Philippines who went up the ranks. Before she died, I discovered an unpublished primary beginning reader draft. That was seven years ago. I always felt guilty not doing anything about her draft because I know how to publish books through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). This year, for her birthday, I created her book cover with the help of AI in honor of her birthday a few days ago.
AI Prompts for Children’s Book
My mom created a primary beginning reader in Tagalog or Filipino, the official language in the Philippines. I decided to create an English-Filipino version of her book to reach more people. Below is the first cover draft.
I used Digital First, a marketing AI app that also generates images using Stable Diffusion and Dall-e 3. I got a lifetime subscription of Digital First through App Sumo and was still learning how to use it so I asked Google’s Gemini to list common art types used in children’s books plus tips on prompt engineering them to generate better images. Gemini gave me five styles and prompt structures:
Classic Cartoon - Prompt: "A cheerful cartoon squirrel with a bushy tail gathering colorful acorns in a sunny forest clearing. Style: children's book illustration, classic cartoon."
Soft Watercolor - Prompt: "A group of diverse children, laughing and holding hands, skipping through a field of wildflowers. Style: children's book illustration, soft watercolor.”
Detailed Realism - Prompt: "A wise old owl perched on a branch, with large golden eyes and ruffled feathers, gazing at a starry night sky. Style: children's book illustration, detailed realism."
Pop Art - Prompt: "A playful puppy with mismatched polka-dotted ears chasing a bright yellow butterfly through a pop art cityscape. Style: children's book illustration, pop art."
Minimalist - Prompt: "A lonely robot sitting on a hilltop, gazing at a single shooting star against a vast starry sky. Style: children's book illustration, minimalist, flat design.”
I chose soft watercolor and used the following prompt: “simple detailed farmhouse in the Philippines showing a vegetable garden done in soft watercolor type.” I admit, it did not follow Gemini’s recommended prompt to the letter. Nevertheless, it generated one out of four images that passed my taste.
Feedback from Friends and Family
I shared the cover I made to family and friends through Facebook during my mom’s birthday. They loved it. However, a friend of mine pointed out it is a Japanese house, not Filipino, because of its irimoya (hip-and-gable) roof! She suggested that I edit the roof and retain the picture. Actually, this is a common error of AI-Generated Images - hidden errors that can be discovered after looking closely. I once asked AI to generate a Philippine carabao and it gave me a 5-legged animal. I had to edit out the extra leg. All in all, in spite of the error, AI helped me start honoring my mother by helping me start publishing her draft.
If you want to learn how to self-publish books via Amazon’s KDP, here is a post that can help you start from Teacher Career Change.