A new vibrant character driven AI model from Soulaan artist, Lucky Star.
Today, we’re excited to feature a new interview and AI model on TITLES from artist Lucky Star. Her work can be described as Neo-Impressionist Digitalism with a specific focus on representing her Soulaan heritage. Below you can read more about Lucky Star’s background, purpose behind training her own custom models as a way of cultural representation, and learnings working with AI and Ethereum as mediums for creating and distributing her work.
Create with Legend of Sabinenya, here.
Tell us about the story behind your coming of age as an artist?
In the last decade, I restarted my artistic journey after overcoming tough economic challenges that cut short my art education. Eventually I landed in corporate America, grinding up the ladder. I steadily climbed the ranks while studying from college textbooks and doing freelance commissions in my spare time. My passion lies in character design, enjoying the beauty of our human differences which make us unique.
Initially AI-hesitant, I witnessed colleagues and professionals expressing similar concerns quite vocally. Despite this, I embraced the potential of AI to humanize artistry, especially noticing a lack of representation for people that look like me, a Soulaan (Black) woman. This prompted me years ago to integrate AI into my creative process, staying true to my heritage as a Soulaan woman with multiple intersectionalities.
Once I transitioned from my 9-5 career to being a creative full time, I used my previous work as family records keeper to learn about myself as a Soulaan creator, my complicated ancestral origins with guided professional assistance, and apply those learnings in my more recent work with pride and reflection.
What do you think got you past your hesitation against AI?
The inevitability of the technology’s nature and impact on my culture compelled me to ‘Get in the Robot’ so to speak, and dive headfirst into learning how AI is used to render artwork and how models are trained and learn.
What does the name Lucky Star come from?
Lucky Star came about as I was feeling very Lucky and fortunate for the timing of my arrival to the web3/metaverse space with the ability to directly participate. Star, because I love everything astrophysics and astronomy related, and often spend my downtime learning about and researching new astrological concepts and findings that are made.
What are your trying covey through your work as an artist?
I aim to express the beauty and richness of my unique diaspora tale organically using my unconventional method, celebrating our varied stories and origins with a sense of hope, ancestral purpose, and spiritual belonging.
It sounds like having your own model is about cultural preservation and promotion through AI, is that why you’re exciting about extending your work through a model for others to use?
It sure is! Like many individuals of the African diaspora, my lineage is nuanced, my voice part of a bigger colorful song. It took me time to embrace my Afro-Indigenous heritage openly and do the work of studying and tracing back the roads of my birthrights. Extending my work though a model for public use is my answer to the challenge of preserving our culture in a way that is honest as much as it is colorfully grand. The saying, “A rising tide lifts all ships” is what I wish to embody with my work and efforts; I desire others to see what I am doing and see a pathway to their goals with hope for a bright future ahead.
What appeals to you about working with AI to create your art
Working with AI presents challenges as current AI art tools may not always produce the desired results. I often use my own photos and previous illustrations to guide the AI in creating compositions, a process I refine over years of experience. Despite these challenges, I find satisfaction in creating a cohesive body of work that reflects my unique creative fingerprint, expressed through AI mediums.
What does it mean for you to be able to create your own model?
As a Soulaan woman, I recognize I may often be the first or among the first in various spaces I enter. In creating my own model, I envision a tool that simplifies the process of authentically depicting people from our diaspora in art, inspiring others like me to embrace their voices and thrive in this creative field.
What has drawn you to releasing your work onchain versus other mediums?
Understanding the origin and intellectual property (IP) protection of my work convinced me to create digital collectibles and release them on-chain. I am committed to stewarding this technology to showcase its positive impact within my community.
What’s something you’ve found surprising about releasing work onchain?
I was shocked that as a self-identified Soulaan (Black) woman, the type of work I create is currently in the minority of aesthetic and visual representation on blockchain, yet my culture specifically is well-documented and known for trendsetting worldwide across various spheres of influence. It is becoming increasingly easier to release work onchain, so my hope is that my shock becomes a past tense, sooner rather than later.
LEGEND OF SABINENYA ON TITLES
Lucky Star’s new ‘Legend of Sabinenya’ model is available now on TITLES mobile and web applications. At TITLES, we build creative tools powered by artist-owned AI models. We help artists maintain ownership of their likeness in AI by making it easy to train, distribute, and monetize their own custom models. Since launch, TITLES has been used to create over 34,000 creations using artist-trained models each attributing and sharing earnings back with their owners. If you’re an artist or IP holder looking to create your own model with TITLES, reach out to us on Twitter or Farcaster.
Create with Legend of Sabinenya, here.
Much love,
- TITLES