Hello
(firstly I'm sorry if my English is particular, I'm French and I help myself as best I can with tools to transcribe my thoughts)
I'm Hugo a frenchguy behind Frenchiart, a solo aventure into the fascinating world of visual creation through artificial intelligence. After eight months immersed in this wild project, I wanted to share a bit of my story with you, and who knows, maybe some of you have bright ideas to contribute.
A brief overview of my project:
If you have a moment, I invite you to check out Frenchiart, my little corner of online creativity. It's more than just a website; it's a visual experience that has come to life over the months. I've infused life into every corner with MarIAnne, an AI inspired by the French Marianne.
(I recommend viewing it on a computer if possible, certain features are not yet encoded for mobile, and keep in mind that I am not a wed designer but just an enthusiast... so please don't be too mean to me =s)
website : https://frenchiart.com/
A solitary journey to development:
When I started this adventure, I didn't know much about website creation. Learning on my own was quite a challenge, a bit like juggling with knives, but it allowed me to master some essential skills.
In a market already dominated by a well-known company that I won't name, offering up to 10,000 visuals, often created by dedicated artists, artistic diversity is somewhat limited. With the rise of AI image generators, new opportunities emerge, allowing everyone to personalize their space and unleash creativity, even without in-depth artistic skills.
I'm considering starting with recycled metal plates, magnetic and easy to attach to the wall with adhesive. This approach offers easy installation on any flat surface, allowing for quick visual changes according to preferences. Although this idea draws inspiration from existing concepts, it's important to stay in tune with current trends.
Currently, my skills enable me to generate over 35,000 images per day, categorized into 50 different categories. If successful, I plan to expand this range to over 100 categories.Obviously all the images present in FrenchIArt belong to me in accordance with the term and use of midjourney on commercial uses, no images have been taken from other midjourney users.
My ultimate goal is to modernize the interior design domain by introducing new possibilities. I firmly believe in my ability to bring this vision to life.
Presently, most digital visual art providers face production constraints and limited diversification in terms of content. However, this limitation is largely overcome by the work of AI image generators, producing an endless abundance of visuals in each style, offering unmatched quantity and diversity.
AI and image categorization:
Generating images was already cool, but it was also necessary to organize them for visitors to navigate. So, I implemented a small AI with Python and Torchflow, a somewhat crazy experience for me at first, but it eventually worked.
Commercial value and small financial issues:
To achieve what I had in mind, I contacted several companies for SEO, visual creation, animation, Python scripting, AI training, etc. I got numbers that made my head spin. What could I do? Learn myself... I didn't think I could, but well, I tinkered, and of course, it doesn't compare to what a professional would do, but it stands for now.
Initial passion:
I discovered digital art thanks to my father when I was little. He had fun swapping the heads of my sister and her husband for their wedding, and it made me laugh. I thought, in fact, I could create anything with this.
Here a look where I was working during few months for the curious ^^
Why am I doing this project?:
Let me share a bit of my personal story. I'm currently 31 years old (I just had my birthday), and I was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome six months ago. Since childhood, I felt a bit different, and this diagnosis only confirmed what I suspected. Passionate about editing and graphics, I explored Photoshop self-taught since I was 17. "Frameworks" and formalities have always been a challenge for me, but my love for visual creation was unwavering.
Over the years, I found refuge in jobs that didn't really fulfill me. I went through administrative roles, temporary work, and even an experience in a psychiatric hospital. These experiences often confronted me with authority, strengthening my desire to find my own path.
However, everything changed when I discovered the world of alternative education. After three years as an educator, I became a home teacher, an experience that brings me great joy despite the long hours of work. But eight months ago, as I pondered the loss of artistic values from that famous plate distributor, the idea of Frenchiart emerged thanks to my discovery of Midjourney. In eight months, this project has become much more than just an idea.
Why Marianne?:
For the French present, you'll understand the symbolism, but for the uninitiated, Marianne is the symbol of France, representing the Revolution and aligning with liberty, equality, and fraternity. I want FrenchIArt to convey this message; we need it in a world that continues to divide and suffer.
Personal challenges:
Working 85 hours a week (my teaching job and Frenchiart project) was extremely challenging for me, and also for my supportive wife. Yes, there were fears in our relationship, but I want to give her a better life than the current one.
Long-term goals:
I won't lie to you; I'm an ambitious person, and I embrace it. I want Frenchiart to take its place and open up the art creation scene to as many people as possible, by reducing prices (market price $50 for A3 format, Frenchiart price €35, and with some adjustments, I could go down to €30). Based on this optimal adhesive magnet technique, combined with quality and varied visuals, I want to break the exorbitant prices set by certain companies that think they are alone in the market...
Commitment to the Community:
I'm tired of seeing all these companies full of pretenses, giving us a treat to pull money from us afterward. It drives me crazy. I want to involve the future Frenchiart community, if I succeed in this project, in the continuous creation of Frenchiart. You can propose visuals without restrictions (except for the usual sexual, racist characters, etc.). I plan to run 5 contests per day on my account X to give you visuals, and many other cool things just for you, because, of course, a company needs to make a profit, but there's no need to be vultures.
Technologies Used:
To be transparent to some extent, here are the technologies briefly used for my project:
Midjourney
Python v3
TorchFlow
PHP
Java
CSS
Json
CSV
WordPress
Photoshop
After Effects
Media Encoder
Chat GPT 3.5
Various APIs
Future Collaborations:
Limited by image rights and royalties, I can't generate certain images with reserved rights. So, yes, I hope in the future to collaborate with several brands to expand the range of choices and creations for FrenchIArt.
Next Steps:
The continuation in all of this? That's the subject of my post. I don't know... I need feedback because I'm in touch with an association in France that's helping me put together a financing dossier, but currently, I'll only have a "mere" €15,000 in bank loans, and it's not certain yet because I'm a teacher but at home, I don't declare my income. Yes, I'm honest; I have nothing to hide. In addition to that and my 3 years of savings, I can add €10,000. So, I'll have a starting capital of €25,000.
In the €25,000, I'll spend €12,000 on the printer "Mimaki UJF-3042 MKII," which is a basic printer for what I want to do.
https://www.mimaki.fr/products/archives-de-produits/serie-ujf-mkii/
With the remaining €13,000, I'll have €2,000 for office supplies.
With the remaining €11,000, €3,000 for the lease deposit for the premises.
So, with €8,000 remaining, €3,000 for raw materials.
Then, with the remaining €5,000, €3,000 for Google Ads advertising in the first month.
And finally, €2,000 in cash...
But you understand that FrenchIArt will require more than that. I was thinking of business angels in exchange for a % of shares in my company or crowdfunding, but the problem with the latter is having a community that already follows me in this project, which is not the case.
I'm not necessarily here to create it; the project can be launched with the €30,000 base, but many things will be unfinished, and that bothers me a lot, like the site.
I would like to see it completed in its entirety. What do you think?
I'm simply asking for your point of view, and if you want to support FrenchIArt, you can find us on X, which I just created today. In any case, I thank all those who have read me to the end, and I thank you in advance for your time. Kisses!
Thank you for your future feedback, and if you like the idea, don't hesitate to talk about it around you; it would be the best thing to help me in the coming months.
PS: IF EVER (YOU NEVER KNOW), YOU WHO READ THIS MESSAGE, WANT TO HELP ME DEVELOP THIS PROJECT AND YOU HAVE SKILLS IN MOTION DESIGN, DIGITAL CREATION, PYTHON LANGUAGE, OR IN WEB DEVELOPMENT, DON'T HESITATE TO LET ME KNOW! :)
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