AI can help you bring book characters to life.
The results can be terrible or good based on how much detail you add to your prompt. That's why I used ChatGPT to generate a detailed description of Harry Potter characters and then I gave those descriptions to Midjourney to see what they would look like in real life.
Here are the results.
Note: Click here to see similar images but with 7 Game of Thrones characters. To learn how to create AI art as shown in this article, check this guide.
Harry Potter
I asked ChatGPT to give me only facial features for this first character. Here's what I got.
a small and skinny boy with a thin face. He has round glasses, untidy black hair that is perpetually sticking up, bright green eyes, and a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead
The description that ChatGPT generated of Harry as a kid was good. Midjourney did also a good job generating the face overall, except for the scar. I'm not sure whether those things on the cheeks are supposed to be the scar, but, in any case, there's no scar on the forehead.
Besides the haircut, I think the boy would be a good Harry. He even reminds me a bit of Daniel Radcliffe when he was a kid.
Ron Weasley
Now let's go to the next level and, besides facial features, let's add body features and also clothing based on what ChatGPT suggests.
a tall and gangly boy, with bright red hair and a smattering of freckles across his face. He has a long nose, lanky limbs, and a slightly awkward gait. He wears his school uniform, which consists of a black robe, white shirt, and striped tie
I liked the way Midjourney generated that Hogwarts uniform. It's not as I remember it from the movies but it's exactly what's described in the books (according to ChatGPT): black robe, white shirt, and striped tie.
The facial features were OK. I wonder how it will look if we bring this image to life by using AI tools to create a highly-customized AI animated avatar as I did in a previous tutorial.
Hermione Granger
I tried to add more details as I did with the image of Ron Weasley, but the results weren't as good.
a girl with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and prominent front teeth wearing her school uniform, which consists of a black robe, white shirt, and gray sweater
Now, this looks like a Pixar character.
No matter what keywords I added to the prompt, I couldn't get Midjourney to generate a very realistic image of Hermione Granger.
Anyway, the image generated still has the facial features and the clothes described. We just would never know if she has "prominent front teeth" with this picture. Anyway, I don't remember Emma Watson with prominent front teeth, so we can say Midjourney didn't disappoint in this one.
Rubeus Hagrid
a big man almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild–long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face. He often wears a moleskin overcoat and a pair of leather boots that come up to his knees
This image is one of my favorites. It's like a badass version of the good Hagrid from the movies.
Everything looks neat. The height, size, beard, clothes … except for the hair. I was expecting more bushy black hair that hides most of his face. Still one of my favorites.
Professor Severus Snape
Besides the facial features and clothing, let's add the personality of the character in the prompt.
a tall and thin man with greasy, shoulder-length black hair and a sallow complexion. He has a sharp nose, dark eyes, and a thin mouth that is often set in a sneer. He wears long, flowing black robes that sweep the ground, and his voice is described as cold and silky, with a slight hint of malice that adds to his ominous demeanor. His physical appearance is often described as being intimidating and somewhat unpleasant
He looks intimidating to me! I'm not sure about unpleasant though.
ChatGPT described Snape's voice as cold and silky, with a slight hint of malice. We will never know if our character has that voice, but feel free to add it yourself using Elevenlabs as explained in my step-by-step tutorial. It'll be fun!
About the facial features and clothing, I think we don't have anything to complain about.
Professor Albus Dumbledore
an old man with long silver hair and a beard that tucks into his belt. He has a crooked nose and bright blue eyes. he is tall and straight-backed. He wears a long, flowing robe that is decorated with starry patterns and glittering embroidery, and he carries a wand that is made of elder wood and contains a phoenix feather core. he has an air of wisdom
This one is fine, but it looks like from a fairy tale or more like one of the paintings I remember seeing in the Harry Potter movies.
Bonus: Lord Voldemort
I knew this one wouldn't end well beforehand, but I did it for the fun of it.
a tall and thin man with chalk-white skin that is stretched tight over his angular features. He has snake-like slits for nostrils, and his eyes are described as red and snake-like, with cat-like pupils. He has no hair or eyebrows, and his fingers are long and skeletal, with nails that are described as being like claws. He wears long, flowing robes in black
And that's it! 7 Harry Potter characters reimagined by ChatGPT and Midjourney. What's your favorite?
Note: To generate images like these you need to use Midjourney. Check this step-by-step tutorial for more info. In the prompts add keywords like "realistic portrait" or "live-action" to avoid generating cartoon images.
Artificial Corner's Free ChatGPT Cheat Sheet
We're offering a free cheat sheet to our readers. Join our newsletter with 20K+ people and get our free ChatGPT cheat sheet.
If you enjoy reading stories like these and want to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It's $5 a month, giving you unlimited access to thousands of Python guides and Data science articles. If you sign up using my link, I'll earn a small commission with no extra cost to you.