Existential Ink

However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.

-Stanley Kubrik

Flight of the Crane (Existential Ink Style)

Ever wanted to create your own art style? Artificial Intelligence can help. In this post, I will briefly discuss one way to do this, using my "Existential Ink" style as an example.

Not long ago, I started a conversation with ChatGPT. I told it I wanted to create my own unique ink style. I had two main ideas for the style: I wanted it to be based on the Japanese ink style of Sumi-e and I wanted it to explore existential themes. From there, ChatGPT and I began to explore different approaches, techniques, and possibilities.

Whether or not we can truly collaborate with an AI, I don't know how else to explain what we did. Much of our discussion was me asking ChatGPT to tell me more about Sumi-e and other ink styles, specific ink techniques, types of ink, existential themes, and so on. ChatGPT provided me with a rich source of information and, at various points, also made suggestions and offered its "own" ideas. In other words, ChatGPT not only provided information but also steered the conversation in a different direction, much like a collaboration partner would.

I could have come up with a description of an "existential ink" style without using ChatGPT, but it wouldn't have been the same description.

Another useful feature of using ChatGPT was that it was easy to occasionally stop and test what we were discussing with an image. Based on the results, we then adjusted the style to better fit our "vision". I say "we" instead of "me" as I involved ChatGPT in the critiques. If you haven't used ChatGPT to critique an image, I highly recommend trying it. Simply upload an image or use one that ChatGPT has generated, then ask for a critique. For the best results, provide context—such as assigning ChatGPT the role of an art critic and specifying the aspects you want to be analyzed. While its assessments can sometimes be amusingly off the mark, more often than not, they are (seemingly) insightful and genuinely informative. I also say "our vision" because my own understanding of what I wanted evolved throughout this process—and ChatGPT had more than a little to do with that.

In the end, this is what ChatGPT and I came up with for Existential Ink.

Existential Ink (Black and White)

The black and white Existential Ink style is characterized by its fusion of modern European ink art, existentialism, and expressionism. The style is deeply atmospheric and emotionally charged, emphasizing awe, beauty, nature, and vastness, often with subtle undertones of resilience and optimism.

Core Stylistic Elements

1. Expressive, Chaotic Brushstrokes

   • Quick, sweeping, gestural strokes evoke raw emotion and movement.

   • Ink splashes, drips, and feathered edges contribute to a natural, spontaneous feel.

   • Dry-brush techniques create rough textures, reinforcing themes of impermanence.

     
     

2. Balanced Ink Contrasts

   • High-contrast black-and-white compositions maintain expressive power while allowing for atmospheric subtlety.

   • Deep blacks and soft grays dissolve details into surrounding areas, creating poetic transitions.

   • Shadows and forms may blend into the background, reinforcing a dreamlike quality.

     
     

3. Layered Washes for Depth

   • Multiple transparent ink layers build atmospheric depth and texture.

   • Some areas are solid and defined, while others dissolve into abstraction to suggest fluidity of meaning and perception.

   • Wet-on-wet blending creates organic transitions and unpredictable effects.

     
     

4. Textured Handmade Paper

   • The grain and imperfections of handmade paper enhance the tactile quality of the artwork.

   • Irregularities in ink flow, pooling, and textured designs add uniqueness.

   • Negative space is used intentionally to integrate the paper’s texture into the composition.

     
     

5. Deliberate Use of Negative Space

   • Large untouched or minimally detailed areas emphasize themes of awe and contemplation.

   • Negative space functions as an active compositional element, reinforcing existential vastness.

   • Figures and objects appear suspended, neither fully grounded nor entirely lost.

     
     

6. Fragmented Yet Resilient Subjects

   • Figures and objects appear broken or dissolving, yet also emerging, suggesting quiet resilience.

   • Reflections are warped and disjointed, reinforcing transient identity.

   • Elements of nature (like birds) subtly hint at hope within the existential landscape.

Themes and Symbolism:

• The vastness and beauty of nature and existence

• The fragility of identity (distorted reflections, dissolving forms)

• The impermanence of reality (fading landscapes, shifting structures)

• A quiet resilience within the void (subtle symbols of life and emergence)

Final Aesthetic:

This approach results in artworks that feel both haunting and poetic, capturing the grandeur of existence through bold ink work, expressive abstraction, and layered depth. Every stroke, imperfection, and area of empty space contributes to an overwhelming sense of awe, contemplation, and the quiet possibility of meaning within an infinite universe.

The careful reader might notice that Sumi-e ink is not directly referenced. This was done purposefully, to minimize the red seals, calligraphy, and poems that Dall-e3 often adds to Sumi-e images. Interestingly, at this time, telling Dall-e3 to omit these things only seems to make it worse.

Into the Unknown (Existential Style)

I have created a project in ChatGPT and stored the description of Existential Ink as an attached file to the project. ChatGPT references this file in conversations within that project. Attaching the description as a file in a conversation or copying and pasting the conversation into a conversation are additional ways to provide your AI chatbot of choice with this style.

Existential Ink - Variation #1

Although I am partial to black and white, I decided to make a color variation of the Existential Ink Style. Working with ChatGPT 4o as before, we "collaborated" on what this version might look like, coming up with a color scheme and a few slight adjustments for this first variation. Later on, after repeatedly running into moderation issues, we modified it further, adding in elements from American Tonalism. After much deliberation, we called this version of Existential Ink "Color Existential Ink".

Tea (Color Existential Ink)

Color Existential Ink Style

The Color Existential Ink Style evolved from the original Existential Ink Style, introducing a carefully curated color palette while maintaining its core themes of awe, beauty, impermanence, and quiet resilience. This adaptation emphasizes the melancholic yet poetic nature of existence, incorporating subtle hues to enhance depth, contrast, and atmosphere without overpowering the expressive ink work.

Core Aesthetic & Philosophy

The Color Existential Ink Style remains true to the philosophy of Existential Ink, where figures, landscapes, and objects dissolve into vastness, fragmented yet quietly enduring. It explores themes of:

• The fragility of identity (distorted reflections, dissolving forms)

• The impermanence of reality (fading landscapes, shifting structures)

• A quiet resilience within the void (subtle symbols of life and emergence)

• Awe in the vastness of existence (negative space reinforcing grandeur and solitude)

While the monochrome version focused on stark contrasts between presence and absence, the color adaptation introduces tonal harmonies that reinforce both the vastness and beauty of existence.

Techniques & Mediums

1. Expressive Color Washes

• Instead of pure monochrome, the ink is layered with translucent washes of color, creating a more subtle, dreamlike depth.

• Wet-on-wet blending is used to create ethereal transitions between forms, allowing the ink to breathe and expand naturally.

• The paper’s texture influences pigment diffusion, ensuring some areas remain raw and undefined.

  
  

2. Balanced Contrast and Subtle Highlights

• The style retains the high contrast of black ink, but color introduces more delicate tonal shifts rather than stark separations.

• Dark blues and rust reds provide contrast while maintaining the poetic, atmospheric quality of the ink.

• Soft highlights emerge through variations in saturation, rather than through harsh brightness.

  
  

3. Fragmented Yet Harmonized Forms

• Figures and landscapes remain somewhat undefined, allowing them to dissolve into their surroundings.

• Negative space remains a key compositional element, reinforcing the contemplative, existential nature of the work.

• Birds and natural elements occasionally appear as distant, fragmented symbols, hinting at quiet resilience amid impermanence.

  
  

Color Palette

The Color Existential Ink Style utilizes a palette that enhances melancholy, beauty, and depth, without disrupting the ink’s organic expressiveness.

Primary Colors:

• Deep Indigo & Midnight Blue – Forms the backbone of shadows, evoking vastness, distance, and contemplation.

• Burnt Ochre & Rust Red – Provides a subtle, earthy contrast, grounding the image in warmth and fleeting memory.

• Ash Gray & Smoky Lavender – Used for misty transitions, softening edges and reinforcing a sense of ephemeral presence.

Accent Colors & Effects:

• Subtle Metallic Silver – Used sparingly to suggest hidden dimensions or quiet luminescence within dark regions.

• Pale Cyan & Faded Rose – Occasionally employed in reflections and fragmented figures, reinforcing themes of identity and impermanence.

Final Aesthetic & Thematic Focus

The Color Existential Ink Style remains poetic, atmospheric, and deeply contemplative, but it introduces a sense of quiet beauty amid existential uncertainty. Instead of letting stark contrasts dominate the composition, the hues interact subtly with ink layers, enhancing presence and contemplation while leaving room for interpretation.

This style does not shift toward hope or transformation (as in Invincible Summer Ink) but rather deepens the sense of vast, fleeting existence.

Vintage Typewriter (Color Existential Ink)

Existential Ink - Variation #2

As it turned out, even with the adjustments we made, this version is still plagued with moderation issues. Even with seemingly benign prompts, Dall-e3 will often refuse to generate an image because the prompt conflicts with OpenAI's content policies. Problem-solving with ChatGPT 4o has not been particularly helpful to date.

Under the assumption that the issue might be with some of the "darker" elements of Existentialism that were originally incorporated into the style (impermanence, dissolution, despair), I made another version based on my interpretation of Camus' works. According to this interpretation, yes, we still must face the absurdity of a life without a pre-determined meaning, but that simply means we can write our own meanings. This is ultimately an optimistic interpretation that emphasizes making beauty and seeing and enjoying the beauty in the universe, even while not turning a blind eye to the darkness.

Here is this version of Existential Ink. This time I came up with a name I rather like.

Invincible Summer Ink Style

The Invincible Summer Ink Style is an evolution of the Existential Ink Style, shifting its thematic focus from impermanence and transience to possibility and quiet resilience. While still rooted in expressive abstraction and ink-based techniques, this style emphasizes becoming rather than fading, transformation rather than dissolution. It retains the core techniques of Existential Ink but alters its compositional philosophy to reflect emergence, quiet strength, and awe in the face of the unknown.

Core Aesthetic & Philosophy

The Invincible Summer Ink Style reflects the paradox of fragility and endurance, embodying Albert Camus’ concept:"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

Unlike its predecessor, which emphasized fragmentation, dissolution, and existential solitude, this style:

• Highlights transformation and resilience – Figures and landscapes emerge rather than fade.

• Embraces organic, fractal-like abstraction – Instead of chaotic dissolution, forms take on an intricate, evolving structure.

• Depicts vastness without emptiness – Negative space remains integral but feels expansive rather than isolating.

• Hints at guidance and quiet hope – Birds, light, and directional movement suggest a path forward rather than an abyss.

Though not optimistic in a traditional sense, this style presents a world in motion, where beauty and endurance coexist with uncertainty.

Techniques & Mediums

1. Expressive, Controlled Abstraction

• Ink brushstrokes remain fluid and organic, but they now emphasize growth and movement rather than dissolution.

• Wet-on-wet blending creates soft transitions, reinforcing the natural flow of change.

• Fractal-like patterns emerge within washes, reflecting the hidden order within vastness.

  
  

2. Balanced Ink Contrasts with Soft Transitions

• The classic black-and-white contrast remains, but edges dissolve more naturally, reinforcing a sense of emergence.

• Dark areas flow rather than consume, ensuring that figures feel like they are becoming rather than being erased.

  
  

3. Layered Depth with Fractal-Like Texture

• The handmade paper plays an active role, featuring embedded fractal-like designs that subtly reveal themselves as ink thins.

• Textures mirror organic structures—roots, veins, currents—symbolizing persistence and adaptation.

  
  

4. Negative Space as Possibility, Not Absence

• Large untouched areas remain, but now they evoke vastness rather than loss.

• Figures feel connected to their surroundings, no longer suspended in isolation.

  
  

Color Palette & Emotional Tone

The Invincible Summer Ink Style retains the tonal melancholy of Existential Ink, but it introduces hues that suggest endurance, transformation, and subtle light.

Primary Colors:

• Midnight Blue & Stormy Indigo – Symbolizing the depth of the unknown, used for shadows and expansive atmosphere.

• Smoky Lavender & Misty Ash Gray – Softens transitions, evoking a sense of movement through uncertainty.

• Burnt Ochre & Aged Rust Red – Fleeting warmth, like embers of memory or the promise of renewal.

Accent Colors & Effects:

• Pale Silver & Muted Cyan – Suggests hidden dimensions, guidance, and quiet hope in the mist.

• Subtle Glow Within Darkness – Light is no longer absent but delicately present, often hinted at in the mist’s edge or distant forms.

Final Aesthetic & Thematic Focus

The Invincible Summer Ink Style represents a shift from existential solitude to a contemplative yet resilient state of becoming.

1. Figures no longer dissolve into nothingness—they emerge from the mist.

2. Nature interacts with subjects, hinting at continuity rather than fragmentation.

3. The unknown remains vast, but it is not void—it is alive with possibility.

This style is not optimistic in a conventional sense, but it embraces the quiet, unwavering endurance of the soul, where beauty, struggle, and transformation exist in harmony.

Crane (Invincible Summer Ink Style)

Existential Ink is a fairly simple, conventional ink art style. It is a small pebble thrown into a vast still pond of possibilities. We'll see where the ripples go. In the meantime, I will continue to work on new styles and occasionally report back.

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“I saw that my life was a vast glowing empty page and I could do anything I wanted.”

-Jack Kerouac