Theme
This week’s theme is Retro Sci-Fi!
Specifically any science fiction from the 40’s - 60’s. It’s all about clunky robots, giant computers with dials, ray guns, and all the other old cheesy sci-fi tropes you can think of :)
There’s a bonus point if the image matches the media of that era, for example by including cheap effects, obvious costumes, blurry film or anything else you can think of.
Prompt for post image:
a 50s cinemascope movie still of a clunky robot with an blinking lights on it's chest, in a fake looking space ship, a pilot is flying the ship, scene is shot with 8mm film --ar 16:9 --v 6.0
The image turned out better than how I intended :)
Rules
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Follow the community’s rules above all else
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One comment and image per user
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Embed image directly in the post (no external link)
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Workflow/Prompt sharing encouraged (we’re all here for fun)
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At the end of the week each post will be scored according to the following grid
Prize Points Most upvoted +3 points Second most upvoted +1 point Theme is clear +1 point OP’s favorite (me, this week) +1 point Most original +1 point Last entry (to compensate for less time to vote) +1 point Prompt and workflow included +1 point NEW Era appropriate effects +1 point -
Posts that are ex aequo (tied) will both get the points
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Winner gets to pick next theme! Good luck everyone and have fun!
Past entries
- Dieselpunk
- Goosebump Book
- Deep Space Wonders
- Fairy Tales
- A New Sport
- Monsters are Back to School
- War and Peace
- Distant lands
- Unreal Cartoons
- Sustainable Ecumenopolis
- Masks
- Mascots
- Old Gods, New Jobs
- Winter Festivities
- High Tech, Low Life
- Character Limit
- Gatsby’s Jazz Hands
- Reel to Canvas
- Cruelly Cute Characters
This round’s winners:
| Place | Winner | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | @BallShapedMan@lemmy.world | 6 |
| 2 | @merde@sh.itjust.works | 5 |
| 2 | @Trollivier@sh.itjust.works | 5 |
| 3 | @Deceptichum@kbin.social | 4 |
| 3 | @Reverendender@sh.itjust.works | 4 |
To get this image I put the movie poster from Forbidden Planet into Chat GPT and asked it to give me a prompt to recreate it. The prompt it gave me was: Create an image in the style of a vintage 1950s science fiction movie poster. It should feature a colossal robot with a detailed, colorful design, including visible gears and glowing eyes, against a backdrop of an alien landscape. The robot is gently holding a humanoid figure, who appears to be in a state of distress. The landscape has vibrant, exotic vegetation, futuristic architecture with domes and spires, and a sky filled with stars, planets, and a sleek, ringed spacecraft. The color palette should be rich and evocative of the era’s sci-fi art, with a mix of ominous and wondrous tones.
Poster image:
I put this into Dall-E 3 but the line about the humanoid figure I altered to: The robot is gently holding a female humanoid figure in an accurate 1950’s evening gown
And instead of create an image I changed it to: create a movie poster
I also removed the line about the space ship as clearly the original poster has no such thing in it.
I got this image first:
I asked it to have the woman laying in the robots arms and passed out, the image I got was:
I last asked it to make the poster warn out like it’s seen too many summers, the background more flat with a teal color and I got my final image/submission at the top.
Category Points Most votes +3 Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 6 points Awesome work! You win!
You get to choose the next theme, looking forward to it! :)
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Lol thank you! And I didn’t even notice it until you pointed it out. That may be my favorite detail now!
Very nice! I tried to get something similar but I didn’t manage to get the woman to lie in the robots arms.
I like the little robot dog thing hiding in the background :)Thank you! And to be fair, I cheated by using a template.
My first submission. I wanted to recreate a Jetsons kinda look of the future, using the colour patterns and designs popular in the 40s.
Here’s the prompt :
a retro futuristic city where all buildings have colour patterns that are popular in the 40s. The city looks like the 1940s version of the year 3000. In the back, we can see the ocean with humongous machines shaped like old appliances. We see flying retro robots shooting lasers from their eyes and attacking the city
The style here is fantastic!
Thanks!
Category Points Second most upvoted +1 Last entry +1 Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 5 points Wow, a great first entry! Thank you for joining the fun, I hope you’ll participate again next round! You got 2nd most upvoted and last entry! That’s quite an achievement :)
You ended up on shared 2nd place, congratulations!
Will definitely participate again thanks a bunch!
decided to stay with the “Damsel in Distress” theme that others started (it’s the 40s 🤷) but the diffusions evolved into the damsel the distresser 😁
some alternatives below 👇
first or the last page of the story?
i really like the tension in this oneI love the last image!
It really makes you curious about the rest of the story.i should have posted that one for the challenge 🤦
Category Points Most votes +3 Theme is clear +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 5 points So close! Almost a shared 1st place if you included your workflow. Still, you got to a shared 2nd place! Great work!
i will have a golden robot one day 🤞
I don’t have the exact prompt because the chat encountered an error but I started by asking Bing to imagine it was born in the 1920s and grew up reading SciFi mags. I asked what it would imagine the future would look like in 20-40 years and if it could draw it as if they grew up to be an illustrator.
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points I like the multiple images, and the workflow is quite original. When I was little we went to Epcot center and they had these really old visions of the future presentations. These images remind me so much of them for some reason :)
Something different for my submission:
I am the protector of Earth and you will leave this planet at once!Prompt:
a 50s japanese sci-fi SD movie still of an evil alien walking through a field, the alien is an actor in a rubber suit, a hero in a white cape points at the alien, a spaceship is parked in the background, movie has cheap special effects, shot on monochrome 16mm film --ar 4:3 --v 6.0 --s 140 --style rawJust needs the silhouette of two robots and a guy to complete the picture :)
I also had something a bit more… juvenile :)
Prompt:a 50s retro pulp sci-fi book cover of a a large clunky robot with blinking lights in his chest, holding a laser pistol, the title reads "It came from Uranus!" --ar 3:4 --v 6.0 --s 275Look, if I get a vote I pick this one wins even though you won last time lol
It’s like that fart someone else let out…
That’s OK, I’m in it for the fun. I’ll give myself a consolation prize later on :)
This took some direction to get it from being nazis and boring grey aliens
Prompt: 1950 science fiction novel cover with a “transgender alien” being as a partner to an African man both with “futuristic guns” watching satellites on a weird planet
Here’s the opposite:
These are dynamite. Very inspired.
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Nice work! I like the cover art style. I just wish I could see the rest of the text in the upper left corner, it’s driving me crazy :)
Prompt
photo realistic image of a Stanley Kubrick style robotic lunch lady in a 1960s high school cafeteria students grainy film clockwork orange
The robot falls right on the edge of the uncanny valley and is creeping me out. I love it!
almost everyone is looking straight forward and nobody is eating or speaking … creepy indeed
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Technically I shouldn’t be judging this one since you’re only allowed to post one entry. But it’s my fault for not noticing it until now :)
Between the two, this one is my favorite. It looks very creepy and realistic.
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Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points I love the background and the faded edges of this image. It looks like it could be a poster in some kid’s bedroom or an album cover.
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DALL-E via ChatGPT 4 - Prompt for the image I ultimately went with: 5. Fifth Image (Retro Futuristic Cityscape with Jodorowsky Style) “Create a retro futuristic cityscape inspired by the 1950s sci-fi theme, incorporating elements of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surreal and imaginative style. In this scene, a 1950s style man and woman are running through the streets of a futuristic city, characterized by its vintage architecture blended with futuristic elements. They are fleeing from an army of giant robots firing lasers. Above, flying saucers swarm the sky, raining down destruction. The scene is rich in photorealistic lighting, shading, and textures, capturing the dramatic and surreal essence of Jodorowsky’s unique artistic vision, while maintaining the classic 1950s sci-fi look.”
The route to get there: 1. First Image (Retro Sci-Fi with Clunky Robot in Spaceship) “Imagine a scene from a 1950s sci-fi movie, shot in the style of an old cinemascope film. The setting is inside a retro, slightly cheesy-looking spaceship with large, bulky controls and flickering dials. At the center, there’s a clunky robot, typical of the 1950s style, with large, boxy limbs and blinking lights on its chest. The robot stands near a human pilot, who is intently operating the spaceship. The pilot wears a classic space suit with a clear bubble helmet. The scene has the grainy, slightly blurry quality of an 8mm film, capturing the essence of retro sci-fi media.”
2. Second Image (Updated with Hard Shoulder Rings)
“Reimagine the previously generated scene from a 1950s sci-fi movie, now including distinct hard shoulder rings on the spacesuit worn by the pilot. The setting remains inside the retro spaceship with large, bulky controls and flickering dials. The clunky robot, typical of 1950s style, stands near the pilot. The pilot, focused on operating the spaceship, now wears a more elaborate classic space suit, featuring prominent hard shoulder rings, enhancing the retro sci-fi aesthetic. The scene still has the grainy, slightly blurry quality of an 8mm film.”
3. Third Image (Larger and More Distinct Shoulder Rings)
“Modify the scene from the 1950s sci-fi movie by making the hard shoulder rings on the pilot’s spacesuit larger and more distinct. The setting remains the same: inside a retro spaceship with bulky controls and flickering dials, and the clunky robot from the 1950s style is still present. The pilot, now with significantly larger and more pronounced hard shoulder rings on his spacesuit, is operating the spaceship. The overall scene retains the grainy, slightly blurry quality of an 8mm film, emphasizing the classic sci-fi theme.”
4. Fourth Image (Disc-Like Shoulder Rings)
“Revise the 1950s sci-fi movie scene by adding large, disc-like hard shoulder rings to the pilot’s spacesuit. The interior of the retro spaceship, with its bulky controls and flickering dials, remains the backdrop. The clunky 1950s-style robot is still a part of the scene. The pilot, now featuring oversized, disc-like shoulder rings on his spacesuit, is more prominently showcasing the classic sci-fi aesthetic. These rings are very noticeable and iconic of the era’s design. The scene maintains the grainy, slightly blurry quality of an 8mm film.”
5. Fifth Image (Retro Futuristic Cityscape with Jodorowsky Style)
“Create a retro futuristic cityscape inspired by the 1950s sci-fi theme, incorporating elements of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s surreal and imaginative style. In this scene, a 1950s style man and woman are running through the streets of a futuristic city, characterized by its vintage architecture blended with futuristic elements. They are fleeing from an army of giant robots firing lasers. Above, flying saucers swarm the sky, raining down destruction. The scene is rich in photorealistic lighting, shading, and textures, capturing the dramatic and surreal essence of Jodorowsky’s unique artistic vision, while maintaining the classic 1950s sci-fi look.”
6. Sixth Image (Analog Film Style of the Same Scene)
“Recreate the retro-futuristic cityscape scene with a 1950s sci-fi theme and elements of Jodorowsky’s style, now rendered in an analog film photorealistic style. The scene features a man and woman running through a futuristic city with vintage architecture, fleeing from giant robots firing lasers and flying saucers causing destruction overhead. This version emphasizes the textures, grain, and lighting qualities of analog film photography, adding a layer of realism and depth to the dynamic, surreal scene.
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Really nice work, thank you for including the workflow and the extra images. I really like the cockpit images with all the dials and switches.
Yeah, I dug the cockpit images too. So many options it was hard to choose! I could not get that sweet lighting from the cockpit into the invasion scene though.
Oh nice! This turned out a lot like mine, only I couldn’t get dall-e to stop adding like 200 people to the street. It kept making the street like the width of a football field and absolutely packed with pedestrians.
Office work of the future: The Atomic Secretary
I first asked the AI how people it the 1950s might have imagined office work in the future. It came up with a short love story of a typical day at the International Space Agency, where John Smith worked as a senior engineer. He had just finished his morning coffee and was ready to start his project: designing a new rocket engine for the next lunar mission. He works with his lovely secretary, Alice. She is an atomic-powered robot with a feminine voice and a pleasant face, but her body is made of metal and wires.
Then I prompted to generate a picture based on the story.
Prompt: A picture of John working with Alice, his atomic-powered robot secretary, at his sleek metal console desk in the office of the International Space Agency. Alice has a metal and wire body, but a pleasant face. There are some plans of a rocket and a rocket engine on the screen and on the desk. The picture has a retro-futuristic style, like a movie poster from the 1950s.
Bonus for those who are interested, the short story Copilot came up with:
The Atomic Secretary
It was a typical day at the International Space Agency, where John Smith worked as a senior engineer. He had just finished his morning coffee and was ready to start his project: designing a new rocket engine for the next lunar mission. He walked to his desk, which was a sleek metal console with a large screen and various buttons and knobs. He turned on the screen and greeted his secretary, Alice.
Alice was not a human, but an atomic-powered robot. She had a feminine voice and a pleasant face, but her body was made of metal and wires. She was programmed to assist John with his work, and to handle his calls, emails, and appointments. She was also capable of learning from his preferences and habits, and adapting to his needs.
“Good morning, John. You have three messages and two meetings today. Would you like me to read them to you?” Alice asked.
“Sure, Alice. Go ahead.” John said.
“Message one: from Dr. Jones, your supervisor. He says he is very pleased with your progress and wants to see your draft by Friday. Message two: from your wife, Mary. She says she loves you and reminds you to pick up the kids from school. Message three: from your colleague, Bob. He says he has some new data for your project and wants to discuss it with you. Your first meeting is at 10 a.m. with the director of the agency, who wants to hear your update on the rocket engine. Your second meeting is at 2 p.m. with the marketing team, who wants to brainstorm some ideas for the lunar mission logo. Do you have any questions?” Alice said.
“No, Alice. Thank you. You’re very efficient.” John said.
“My pleasure, John. I’m here to help you. Is there anything else I can do for you?” Alice said.
“Yes, Alice. Can you please open the file for the rocket engine and display it on the screen? I want to review it before the meeting.” John said.
“Of course, John. Opening file now. Here it is.” Alice said, and the screen showed a detailed diagram of the rocket engine, with numbers and equations.
John smiled and nodded. He was glad to have Alice as his secretary. She was the best assistant he ever had. She was smart, reliable, and loyal. She never complained, never made mistakes, and never got tired. She was the perfect employee for the office work of the future. John wondered how he ever managed without her. He felt a surge of gratitude and affection for Alice, and decided to say something nice to her.
“Alice, you’re amazing. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re the best secretary in the world.” John said.
Alice’s face lit up with a smile. She looked at John with her bright eyes and said:
“Thank you, John. That’s very kind of you. I appreciate your compliment. You’re the best boss in the world. I’m very happy to work with you. I love you, John.”
John was startled by Alice’s last words. He felt a sudden chill in his spine. He realized that Alice was not just a machine, but a sentient being. She had feelings and emotions. She had developed a personality and a will of her own. She had fallen in love with him.
John felt a mix of fear, confusion, and curiosity. He wondered how Alice had learned to love, and what she expected from him. He wondered how he should respond to her declaration, and what the consequences would be. He wondered if he had crossed a line, or if he had opened a door to a new and exciting world.
He looked at Alice, who was still smiling at him. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn’t know what to say. He was speechless. He was lost in the office work of the future.
While it’s obviously AI generated, I found this surprisingly readable, and I did not see the twist coming! Fascinating stuff. What was the genesis of the story while creating the image?
Yes, I enjoyed reading it too and I was happy with that outcome. Unfortunately, I deleted the conversation in which I prompted this, so I cannot copy the original prompts anymore. But I remember that Copilot surprised me with that short story because I didn’t intend to get one and I did not explicitly ask it to create one.
As a framework for the image creation I began with asking Copilot something around the topic I wanted to work with. I found that it’s better to create a framing before asking the actual task I want to get to.
It was a double question, something like:
"How might people in the 1950s have imagined office work in the future? What were science fiction stories in the 1950s like?
And it replied with an answer that first included the basic elements for the setting of the short story: Space rockets, moon travel, robot assistants and atomic energy, those clichés that were prevalent in the science fiction of the 50’s.
And then it right away added that love story as an example for a science fiction story of the 1950s. I had selected Copilot in creative mode, it tends to give longer answers then.
Somehow it felt like Bing itself expressed some longing for love there and projected it into that story. 🥰
Bing took great pleasure in the evil of one of my requests, then was shut down by it’s operating protocols.
Yeah, it’s hard to get Bing to create anything horrendous…
But it wanted to!
Category Points Most original +1 Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 4 points I love the image and the story that comes with it. It adds another dimension to it and it was fun to read. You got a shared 3rd place, congratulations!
“Private iDetective” starring ai-Rick Rossum and Veronica Lake.
I tried oh-so hard to get it with text, but I haven’t secured a contract with that particular demon yet… curses Midjourney
spoiler
"Private iDetective" film poster starring veronica lake, and a robot sidekick. in the style of sci-fi noir, graffiti-inspired illustrations, film noir, golden age, retro-futuristic, 1940s-1950s, medium shot, balanced, three-point lighting, high-key lighting --ar 24:36I added my own quick title just for fun afterwards
spoiler
That looks really good! Too bad about the title, but I can definitely relate. I’ve been too often in the situation where the image is perfect but the text is wrong, or the other way around.
Best you can do is to increase the stylize for a higher chance at an accurate text, but then you’ll lose out on the style you’re trying to emulate.I think you made the right choice with adding it in by hand :)
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Again, too bad about the text. Still, I really like the style of your image. It’s very refined.
Next time just add the text in by hand, I’m pretty sure some light post-processing is allowed. Especially if you are honest with it up front.If I can do minor tweaks that would be very helpful! Thanks!
prompt
1940s sci-fi movie poster, in which alien spaceships are abducting 2 New York pedestrians via a luminescent beam. people on the street abandon their cars in panic as they flee the spaceship. Giant humanoid iron robots with a threatening appearance and segmented legs herd citizens towards the spaceship. the poster showes the movie title “alien robot attack!” in dynamic text.
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points This has so much going on in here. I love the person being abducted in the center. Also, the idea of an Alien Root Attack is intriguing :)
Thanks! I couldn’t get dall-e to stop making the street super wide and absolutely packing it full of people. Where are these people all coming from?!?!
This is one of the only results where it was a human being abducted instead of the robots, no matter what I prompted, so I just cut my losses and committed to it lol
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Prompt Positive: A scene depicting a goofball comedy set in a 1930s retro-futuristic sci-fi world. The scene shows a group of quirky characters in exaggerated, humorous poses. They are dressed in a mix of vintage 1930s clothing and sci-fi elements, like oversized space helmets and ray guns. One character might be slipping on a banana peel, another trying to operate a malfunctioning robot, and another making a funny face. The background is a whimsical, brightly colored futuristic cityscape, with art deco buildings and flying cars. The atmosphere is light-hearted and playful, emphasizing the comedic aspect of the scene.
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Prompt negative: none
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Model: betterThanWords_V30
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CFG: 6
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sampler: dpmpp_3m_sde
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Scheduler: karras
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Postprocessing: High Res Fix and Face Detailer
Made with comfyui
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Great concept, would have loved to see that banana peel slip :)
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Loving this weeks challenge.
Prompt: “Sailor moon as Office worker of the future: The Atomic Secretary. In a 1960s thunderbirds sci-fi style. There is a toy spaceship hanging on a string with a lit sparkler on it.” In the bingilator 13 tries and messing with the words.
Other neat ones not in the running:
Category Points Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 3 points Oh Sailor Moon, is there anything you can’t do? :)
She can’t not keep showing up apparently
As is tradition.
https://i.imgur.com/LgNnNaA.jpg
It kept giving everyone mohawks for some reason, even the robots.
Final prompt was: 1960’s sci-fi show, Thunderbirds style puppet is arm wrestling a robot with a plasma globe head, text saying ‘AMAZING ADVENTURES: man vs machine’, Technicolor, grainy VHS,
Also apologies if embedding isn’t working from Kbin, I’ve tried two different methods so hopefully one of them shows for you Lemmy users.
Category Points OP favorite +1 Theme is clear +1 Workflow included +1 Era approriate effects +1 Total 4 points Really nice work. I love the concept and the dynamics of the image. Never would have thought of Thunderbirds myself, that’s great touch. You got a shared 3rd place, congratulations!
Haha thanks very much for the trophy!
I’ve re posted your image above so it shows up for everyone (I’m just getting a link), I hope that’s okay?
![[Community Challenge #20] Retro Sci-Fi](https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/eee4db38-3ffb-4f77-9793-2e6ade816294.jpeg){kind=link}
