Prompting with Archetypes

Prompt engineering with Brian Sykes

Author

Nejc Susec
June 20, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Hello Visual Veteran

Thank you all who got my latest guide focused on the Concept stage for 2D artists.

I’m glad to see the information I share is helping you embrace AI in your creative work.

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NOW, let’s get to todays post. Written by a Guest.

I love seeing how other creatives use AI in their work and I want to highlight one of them today - Brian Sykes.

He is a Brand Architect and fellow AI educator, who wrote several books on text to image AI software

He has been exploring a lot of prompt engineering techniques inside Midjourney and he is going to share one of them today - Archetypes.

Let’s get to it Brian!

An archetype, in its simplest form, is a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology. It can represent a character, a theme, a setting, or even an entire plot. They are vital tools in literature and, as we're now discovering, in the evolving world of artificial intelligence as well.

In literature, the purpose and benefit of using archetypes are multifold. They provide a shortcut to understanding characters, themes, and narratives, allowing authors to build upon shared cultural expectations. Characters like the Hero, the Mentor, or the Outcast are immediately identifiable, reducing the need for detailed exposition and thereby increasing the efficiency of storytelling.

Consider the common archetype of the "wise old man" or the "sage". Simply by mentioning this archetype, readers immediately understand the kind of character being portrayed – an older, knowledgeable individual, often providing guidance to a protagonist. This use of archetype forms a quick, intuitive connection between the author and the reader, enabling rich narrative development.

the tortured creator tinkering on a revolutionary new product that will add immense value to society. Their dark night of the soul is alienating their friends and abandoning their closest alies, then eventually realizing he cannot accomplish the task without his friends. Background of a science lab that is dark, dimly lit, larger than life, foreboding, --ar 2:3 --s 400 --style expressive

Similar principles apply to the use of archetypes in the context of generative AI. Just as archetypes in literature act as a narrative shorthand, archetypes in AI prompting serve as a descriptive shorthand, facilitating more accurate and effective communication with AI systems.

For instance, if a user wants to describe a character to an AI model, they could say "a woman with glasses, dressed professionally in heels and holding books". While the AI could certainly generate content based on this description, it's not as efficient as using an archetype, such as saying "a female teacher". The archetype condenses the descriptive elements into a single, easily understood term.

A brave warrior sitting in the edge of darkness during a dark night of the soul, facing a crisis of confidence. They fight their inner demons to humble and rebuild their confidence to eventually win the day. Background of a Roman gladiatorial coliseum, dark, foreboding, larger than life. --ar 2:3 --s 400 --style expressive

The advantage of using archetypes in AI prompting is that it simplifies complex descriptions, making them easier for the AI to process. It reduces ambiguity and provides a clearer context for the AI to generate relevant and precise content. This approach also leverages the AI's vast training data, which includes common cultural and societal understandings of different archetypes.

Using archetypes in both literature and AI prompting helps to efficiently convey complex ideas and constructs. In literature, they enable authors to tap into universally understood themes and characters, enriching the storytelling process. In AI, they help users to communicate more effectively with AI models, providing a shortcut to accurate and relevant content generation. The benefits of archetypes extend across both these domains, highlighting their enduring value in our collective storytelling and technological pursuits.

the orphan that goes from obscurity to fame overnight. Along with success comes even greater challenges and their dark night of the soul is fear they do not have what it takes to overcome. The struggle is mostly internal, and the orphan grapples with external validation and approval and a new family. Background of giant castle, the orphan in the shadows looks on at a group of people at a distance. --ar 2:3 --s 400 --style expressive

I love Brian’s unending teaching spirit. He shares insights on prompts and AI techniques daily on his LinkedIn.

I would also highly recommend checking out his books and guides on text to image software.

Today’s post was only a glimpse into his curious and explorative mind.

I hope you enjoyed today’s guest post. I am planning to highlight more creators using AI in their work.

If you have someone you would love to hear from, reply to this message and let me know. I would love to hear from you. 🤗

You can also stop by my website or social media and as always,

Keep creating and don't forget to have fun. ☀