
Ready for another Spies, Lies & Digital Skies (SLDS) art challenge? Or are you wondering what the hell SLDS is all about?
Well, here’s a quick explainer if you’re curious: Each week, I share a prompt for artists of all skill levels (and non-artists like me) to create a spy and/or romance-themed image. You can use PhotoShop, ArtRage, Procreate, DALL-E, MidJourney, Microsoft Edge’s CoPilot, etc., to conjure up your masterpiece.
How To Join In
- Create and Share: Craft an artwork inspired by the weekly prompt. Use any digital tool that inspires you.
- Share Your Creation: Post your artwork on your blog and link to this post, or share it on Instagram using the hashtag #SLDSart and tag me @susbraithwaite. Make sure to do so before next Friday!
- Engage and Inspire: Join our community of artists and spies. Your work might be featured in our intelligence brief (blog post) and my monthly newsletter.
Last Week’s Highlights
I’m still stunned by the relative ease of last week’s prompt, ‘Hacking into a secure network.’ I wasn’t alone in finding the task a bit easier than in previous weeks. Both Jez and Kevin found the same while coming up with their creations.
Jez Conjures Up a Treat
This time, Jez used Hot Mods (a version of DALL-E) to transform a couple of base images of, well, our electrics to create his images. Admittedly, that doesn’t sound like it’s going to produce great things, but it’s amazing what he can do with a photo and some creative prompting.

But Jez can’t leave things alone. He must go the extra mile and mess with themes and time periods. This one below is my favourite! Remember to check out Jez’s post to see the rest of his creations.

Kevin Sweats the Details
Kevin’s early images were right on the prompt, but he didn’t feel the result was quite right for what he wanted. So, he chipped away at it, coming up with some great images along the way until he nailed it (check out his post to see them). The addition of sweat on his hacker amplified the tension in the scene and made it breathe.

Not content with this image, he decided to spice things up by adding his trademark character… ?

This Week’s Challenge: A Tense Standoff at a Border Crossing
Our prompt this week is “a tense standoff at a border crossing.” Okay, after last week’s less nightmarish creation time, I’ve got everything crossed that it’s the same this time.
Forming the Scene
So, before opening ChatGPT and clicking on DALL-E, I like to come up with some semblance of a scene in my head. I try not to have a whole story to go with it, but I want to have enough that I can describe it to the AI. Granted, that has gotten me into trouble in previous weeks. I hope I’ve learnt from those mistakes. Let’s find out if I have.
Create with Me
The mini-scene in my head is set in one of those wee border crossings that don’t see too much through traffic. Something in a wooded area, maybe. That will likely restrict the number of people the AI will insert in the scene. We’ll go with night-time to boost the drama.
On to the first try.
PROMPT: Create a widescreen aspect ratio of a small, secluded border crossing in a wooded area. It’s nighttime, and the moon is full. A small unit of soldiers is under fire, taking cover as they return fire on the four-man team in civvy gear attacking them.

It’s not too bad, but it’s a bit dark. And it’s unclear where the battle is. Nah, I think we can do better.
A Little Light on the Subject
I’ll keep the change straightforward and simple.
PROMPT: Let’s add some floodlights to the scene, please.

Hmm. Interesting lights ????
Fiddling with The Prompt
I think that stating that the moon was full and then adding the lights confused the poor AI. It happens, especially when it’s a detail it might have added on its own.
Let’s go back to the original prompt, remove the moon, and see what happens.
PROMPT: Create a widescreen aspect ratio of a small, secluded border crossing in a wooded area. It’s nighttime. A small unit of soldiers is under fire, taking cover as they return fire on the four-man team in civvy gear attacking them.

Yay! Now we can see more of what’s going on, and the AI put the moon in on its own! Though it looks like they’re having a standoff. Oh, I think I know what the issue is.
My Final Shot
I think the problem is down to my use of the word civvies for civilian clothing. There’s a chance the AI doesn’t know military speak and just skipped over that.
PROMPT: Create a widescreen aspect ratio of a small, secluded border crossing in a wooded area. It’s night-time. A small unit of soldiers is under fire, taking cover as they return fire on the four-man team in civilian clothing attacking them.

I love this image! Is it what I asked for? Not quite, but it’s pretty cool. I love the rocket rounds the AI added and the vehicles storming toward the gates. It’s a keeper.
I don’t want to jinx next week, but that’s two weeks on the trot that I haven’t had to pull my hair out to come close to an image I wanted. I’m hoping this is a sign of easier times to come ??
If you want to try text-to-image prompting, use Microsoft Edge’s browser, click on the wee CoPilot symbol, and play around with it. It’s free to use, too!

If you do, post it on your blog and drop a link to your response post in the comments. (See top of post for “How to join in”)
Till next time, stay awesome,
Susan x
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