The Medusa Test (Imagen)

Whenever a new AI model comes out. I always like to test it by trying to make an image of Medusa from Greek Mythology to see how well it handles it. You can see both how it handles basic portraits and also what it does with things outside of the basics, like having snakes for hair.

This time it was Imagen's turn. While I wouldn't call this the most dramatic results that AI has come up with on this theme, this may have the most fidelity to the initial prompt. The snakes look like snakes, they replace the hair instead of just writhing on top of it, and the image might have come straight out of the classical painting tradition.

For one of the very first examples of the Medusa test I ever ran, and to marvel at the progress in AI art in two years, see this image from back when I initially joined NightCafe: