Here's one thing that's interesting to note: MS Paint is likely going to be better in 2024 than Adobe Photoshop was in 2022.
I know, I know: it's not apples to apples, but if you asked 10 artists/designers which was more powerful back then (assuming you had PS without generative AI), I wonder how many would say "Paint." This was simply unthinkable for the last 25 years.
Yeah your 2022 reference didn't escape me, and you're absolutely right. I'm shocked Paint is even chugging along at all...and now that it's getting DALL-E 3 powers, it'll continue for a while!
Hi Daniel -- new to the page -- being completely AI illiterate, myself, I appreciate the guidance. I did sign up for Midjourney a while back, when it was free, and I see it is not anymore. Do you still recommend using this platform, now that it's paid, or are there better alternatives these days? Thanks for your help! - Greg
In my book, Midjourney is still the best all-around platform out there, especially when it comes to photographic images. I made a comparison against SDXL a while back: https://www.whytryai.com/p/sdxl-1-0-vs-midjourney-5-2
But when it comes to prompt adherence, price, and ease of use, DALL-E 3 is the current winner for sure. You can use it in Microsoft Bing for free or pay $20 for ChatGPT Plus which gives you DALL-E 3 and a lot more. (https://www.whytryai.com/p/chatgpt-plus-upgrades-review)
Yeah I'm not sure why they don't offer the option to e.g. use your email if you don't have/want a Google/Discord account. Considering they used to be Discord-only until recently, having a website is already a huge step forward. But I agree that they're likely losing a chunk of customers.
The counter-argument is that many of these AI startups are doing quite well *despite* the friction. Midjourney is *still* only available via Discord for any new customer, yet they're still profitable. Maybe they're comfortable with the added hurdles, which allows them to manage the influx of new users and the bandwidth? I'm purely speculating, assuming there's a business decision behind this at all.
PS: Note that Pika Labs until now haven't been "selling" anything at all. They were a 100% free-to-use "research preview." Which might help to explain the decision: Maybe they intentionally wanted to limit the sign-ups to those people who really wanted to go through it.
But now I'm noticing they're starting to offer optional credit packages (you still get 30 daily credits for free), so perhaps it's time to think about streamlining the user experience.
Here's one thing that's interesting to note: MS Paint is likely going to be better in 2024 than Adobe Photoshop was in 2022.
I know, I know: it's not apples to apples, but if you asked 10 artists/designers which was more powerful back then (assuming you had PS without generative AI), I wonder how many would say "Paint." This was simply unthinkable for the last 25 years.
True, AI is a massive boost to what's otherwise one of the most basic drawing tools out there.
But Adobe's been incredible at incorporating AI into every one of its offerings, so it'll still be no contest, even with DALL-E 3 in Paint.
100% agree - this only applies if you compare the "before times" Adobe products to the current Paint.
Yeah your 2022 reference didn't escape me, and you're absolutely right. I'm shocked Paint is even chugging along at all...and now that it's getting DALL-E 3 powers, it'll continue for a while!
Hi Daniel -- new to the page -- being completely AI illiterate, myself, I appreciate the guidance. I did sign up for Midjourney a while back, when it was free, and I see it is not anymore. Do you still recommend using this platform, now that it's paid, or are there better alternatives these days? Thanks for your help! - Greg
Hey Greg, welcome!
In my book, Midjourney is still the best all-around platform out there, especially when it comes to photographic images. I made a comparison against SDXL a while back: https://www.whytryai.com/p/sdxl-1-0-vs-midjourney-5-2
But when it comes to prompt adherence, price, and ease of use, DALL-E 3 is the current winner for sure. You can use it in Microsoft Bing for free or pay $20 for ChatGPT Plus which gives you DALL-E 3 and a lot more. (https://www.whytryai.com/p/chatgpt-plus-upgrades-review)
Here are my Midjourney pieces: https://www.whytryai.com/t/midjourney
And here are ones about DALL-E: https://www.whytryai.com/t/dall-e
Hope you find something that works for you!
Thanks man, this is awesome!
Yeah I'm not sure why they don't offer the option to e.g. use your email if you don't have/want a Google/Discord account. Considering they used to be Discord-only until recently, having a website is already a huge step forward. But I agree that they're likely losing a chunk of customers.
The counter-argument is that many of these AI startups are doing quite well *despite* the friction. Midjourney is *still* only available via Discord for any new customer, yet they're still profitable. Maybe they're comfortable with the added hurdles, which allows them to manage the influx of new users and the bandwidth? I'm purely speculating, assuming there's a business decision behind this at all.
PS: Note that Pika Labs until now haven't been "selling" anything at all. They were a 100% free-to-use "research preview." Which might help to explain the decision: Maybe they intentionally wanted to limit the sign-ups to those people who really wanted to go through it.
But now I'm noticing they're starting to offer optional credit packages (you still get 30 daily credits for free), so perhaps it's time to think about streamlining the user experience.
Damnit, I was 100% with you up until "turn yourself around 8 times." I'm likely to pass out after the 6th turn. Sorry!
Now that we're on the topic, the very first image generator that I tried when I got into generative AI was this: https://www.craiyon.com/
Nice to see them still going strong, and they seem to fulfil your criteria of no-signup, no-pay generation.
You're welcome!
Consider this comment my 7th and 8th turn.