You don't need gen AI.
Not even if you're not an artist
So, I'm not an artist. I cannot really draw (I can doodle, and that's it). But I’m a real fan of the idea that if someone puts in 101% effort, they’ll eventually come up with something.
So, when I need an image for one of my games and I don’t have the budget to spend on a real artist, what I do is... try hard. And then harder..
In Italy, we have a phrase called “l’arte dell’arrangiarsi” - the art of getting along (we even made a film about it: LINK).
Over the weekend, I wanted to try to create a cover - a proof of concept - for a game I’m working on in my spare time: Eye of the Leviathan.
The cover of Resident Evil Revelation has always stuck in my mind, with that eye staring at you and spreading all the terror in the world.
I wanted something like that.
And so I began to explore a whole new world: macro photography. And I discovered that insects, fruits and vegetables, meat, and reptiles, when photographed really close up, are... scary.
I took some free photos of reptiles, worms, pieces of meat, and a colonoscopy (even the human body inside is very similar to my concept of “Lovecraftian cosmic horror”). I also created a simple cylinder in Blender (following a tutorial I found on YouTube... anyone can do it!) and applied an “organic” texture to it.
Then I started tinkering with everything in Photoshop until I got what I wanted.
Was it easy? No.
Was it quick? No.
But it was SO much fun and satisfying.
I learned new things (which is always a great goal), and I can proudly show off the result.
Seriously, you don’t need Gen AI. You just need will, time, and the knowledge that if I can do it, you can do it too (and probably better).
P.S. Since my friend
always tells me I’m terrible at marketing, please like and subscribe to the newsletter - which I might find the strength to write more frequently than once a year, and when I publish (IF I publish) the game, you’ll be updated (and you can ignore it, but consciously :D).