As a writer, I like to create visuals of my characters. I enjoy seeing them, and it helps me as a writer too. At first I engaged in a private game of casting, using photos of contemporary actors and performers, to envision my characters. For example, Parsifal the Elf Clown was deeply inspired by Puddles, the Sad Clown with the Golden Voice. Parsifal’s daughter, Breadcrumb, was inspired by Angela Mae, a clown bellydancer who performed with the punk clown band, Gooferman. I kept charts of the images, and often changed them if I saw a person closer to my own conception.

Human Hermits & Elven Mentors

These are the most up to date images of my main human and Elf characters, as of July 26, 2026. What you see below are the humans paired with their Elven mentors.

Using HeroForge Avatars to Create Character Visuals

Yes, the above images are created by AI. But years ago I began using HeroForge to create 2-D and 3-D avatar versions of everyone in my books, playing with individual and group images. I even paid to create a few small figures, but these types of custom avatars are expensive! You can see examples, below.

Using Generative AI to Create Character Visuals

Then came AI imaging. Yes, I have a love/hate relationship with this tool. I have written extensively about the impacts of AI on human relationships, and somewhat less extensively about environmental impacts, deployment dangers, copyright infringement, and other industry harms. I never use it for writing. But I have often used AI to create illustrations for articles in publications that require them, along with my written work, but don’t give me a budget for artwork (and artists).

However, I just started using AI as a tool for visualizing my characters. I am now able to take my HeroForge images, load them into Ideogram.ai, and turn them into more realistic versions. You can compare the difference in the pictures above and below.

Aware of the Backlash, But DIY Must Needs

I’m quite aware of the backlash against using AI. As a writer, I despise the competition as well as the copyright infringement and outright theft of creative work. I understand the artists as well.

However, as an under-employed sexologist and financially struggling writer, I have to do everything myself to create and advance my projects–from writing material, to publishing it (in most cases), marketing, and keeping my websites attractive and up to date. Because I’ll be self-publishing The Guild of Ornamental Hermits series now–in the not too distant future–I also have to design covers. I can’t even afford pre-made covers that are offered for sale. Plus, none of the ones I’ve looked at work for this kind of material. Everything is either too dark, too sword-and-sorcery, and too European. Take the example of castles vs. tropical beach huts… I can find plenty of castles and dungeon walls–which I can only use those for the fourth book–but no tropical imagery at all.

I hope readers will forgive my use of this controversial tool, and that I will gain enough of them so that I can afford to hire human artists.

Thank you!