Weird Beauty AI by Alex Khokhlov

We learned a long time ago that creatives create. It’s a tap that can’t be turned off. Alex is one of these people; a highly accomplished and technical photographer who is also an excellent retoucher. As things were a little quiet for him in 24/25, Alex turned to AI asking himself the question: how can AI improve my existing photographs in a useful way for me and prospective clients?

The process began with a moodboard based on his original photographs from the Weird Beauty project, combined with monochrome Rorschach test patterns and a selection of sketches inspired by his daughter’s kaleidoscope that helped convey the core concept. All of the above was fed to Midjourney (v7) with Alex’s customised profile to generate highly realistic images with rich, detailed textures.

For the animation stage, Alex developed prompts in ChatGPT and adapted them for use in Kling AI (versions 1.6 and 2.1). While version 2.1 delivers impressive results in terms of prompt interpretation and realism, it currently lacks the ability to create transitions between images or extend generated video sequences. So Alex used the previous version to create an effect like a pattern moving across the face or the face turning 360 degrees.

His aim was to do more than simply animate the inkblots; he wanted to introduce subtle head movements, camera shake, and the effect of ink dripping across the face. He experimented with a wide range of prompt variations in Kling, ultimately producing around 70 unique video sequences. The final edit was assembled using the InShot app on an iPhone, which provided a convenient way to export the footage in high quality.

Tools used: Midjourney v7 (moodboard, style training, still image generations), ChatGPT 40 (animation prompt drafts), Kling AI v1.6 and 2.1 (image animation), InShot (editing, video effects).

Our biggest takeaway from this test project was the importance of time. Over a 2-week period, Alex created these extraordinary animations by training and prompting models based on his own meticulously crafted photographs – produced in collaboration with brilliant make-up artists and models.

From speaking with clients, friends and colleagues, the perception of AI is that it is a silver bullet; there to solve your problems in a nano-second. Alex is a highly skilled creative and AI operator. To craft in AI takes time.