Almost one year later (since my last comic/cartoon) and I’m a grandmother, and retired. So in some areas of life I’m morphing from Geek Mum to Geek Nan.
AI has also improved greatly – especially Nano Banana, aka Gemini. So let’s try out Gemini, instead of ChatGPT, to make new cartoons.
I thought I’d create three separate cartoons, to illustrate how my life has changed, from childhood to grandparenthood, in terms of discipline.
I was a nerdy child. Then a modern-ish tech mum. Now a nerdy grandma. Always with poor eyesight. Two boys, and now one granddaughter.
At the bottom I will put the exact prompts that I used.
Yup. I was a nerd. Books were sacred. I loved vegemite. Mum had cats-eye glasses and I had little gold wire-framed glasses.
Then I had kids. They loved Runescape. And yes, router control was king. (I had contacts, then lasik to briefly fix my eyes).
And now we all have phones, smart speakers, and instant answers. Is this how we’ll discipline?
Here are the exact prompts I entered into Gemini. The only tweak was to change the clothing (Gemini liked showing nudie echidnas with breasts….).
The Prompts
I’ve been enjoying the graphics being produced by Gemini/Nano Banana.
So I’d like to create three 3-panel cartoon to illustrate the graphic capabilities.
The story behind the cartoons is how discipline has changed over the years, for me (a geek)
The three cartoon periods are: me as a child, me as a mum, me as a new grandma.
I’d like to use three different art styles, illustrating the improving drawing capabilities over the years.
I’d like to use echidnas for the characters. No clothes, but using body shape/attitude and accessories to indicate age.
Target audience is smart parents, IT-savvy.
Cartoon 1:
Art style: slightly whimsical, thin outlines, moderately cheerful colours, watercolour wash
Mum echidna is slightly chubby, old-fashioned, cat-eyed glasses.
Child echidna (me, a quiet nerd, little round gold-rimmed wire glasses, always books nearby).
Title: When I was a kid, discipline was:
(panel 1) Go to your room (showing mum echidna pointing to the bedroom, 1 girl echidna hanging head in shame, walking towards bedroom, holding book)
(panel 2) No vegemite for you! (showing mum echidna in kitchen with arms folded, 1 girl echidna sitting at kitchen table with sad faces and a plate with plain bread on it)
(panel 3) NO BOOKS (showing mum echidna with arms on hips, 1 girl echidna with absolutely distraught face)
Cartoon 2:
Art style: modern, thin outlines, moderately-cheerful full colours (not watercolour wash)
Mum echidna (now me), fit, modern, no glasses but still a geek
Child echidnas – two young boy echidnas, always a laptop nearby, blond hair
Title: When I was a mum, discipline was:
(panel 1) Go to your room (showing mum echidna pointing to the bedroom, 2 boy echidnas handing heads in shame, walking towards bedroom, holding laptops)
(panel 2) No runescape (showing two boy echidnas sitting at desks with laptops showing runescape scenes, boys have shock look on faces)
(panel 3) I’LL DELETE YOU FROM THE ROUTER (showing mum echidna with arms on hips, 2 boy echidnas with absolute horror facial and body expressions)
Cartoon 3:
Art style: stylised 3D, moderately cheerful colours, modern tech home
Grandma echidna (me, with granny glasses sliding down nose, older body stance but still trim – can you show my hair in a granny chignon?, wearing black shorts and gray singlet top, smart watch)
Child echidna – little granddaughter echidna with pink ribbon
Title: Now I’m a grandma, I think I’ll use:
(panel 1) Go to your room (showing grandma echidna pointing to the bedroom, little granddaughter hanging head in shame, walking towards bedroom, holding smart phone)
(panel 2) I’m turning off Alexa/Siri/Gemini (showing grandma standing using her phone to change settings, with granddaughter trying to talk to smart tablet on table, looking in shock at no response)
(panel 3) I’ve set AI to “extra slow thinking mode” (showing granddaughter lying on ground in shock, arms out, with night sky and stars visible outside)
I hope you enjoy it. If you do, feel welcome to: