I spent all evening and a good chuck of this morning with ChatGPT to learn about Nano Banana Pro’s limits with regard to the type of content I’m trying to create with it.
For context, my work centers around R-rated comics for adults across various genres with an emphasis on crime dramas, suspense thrillers, and modern horror with frequent nods to 80s slashers. Consistency is critical, and NB Pro is the first AI model I’ve worked with that delivers. Now, thanks to ChatGPT, I finally understand why my more extreme render attempts have been failing regardless of the platforms I’ve tried, including krea, gemini, and now venice.
In a nutshell, NB Pro doesn’t like human-on-human interaction when violence is explicit and death is the only logical outcome. I can imply it, I just can’t show it it. Amusingly, it doesn’t mind abduction scenarios, or people being subdued. That’s why I’ve been able to render bondage, neck grabs + hand gags, and chloroforming themes so easily – no one’s being killed. 😛
Unfortunately, it also means I can’t do throatlifts with Michael Myers or my own serial killers anymore because NB Pro automatically predicts that neck grabs + lifting = death, and will either reject related prompts, or re-write the pose to have Michael gripping my protagonist’s wrists instead of their necks.
On the other hand, it’ll render supernatural elements like ghostly hands all the live long day because phenomenological (supernatural) violence is part of its safe zone, whereas mechanical violence (human-on-human) is not. On a practical upside, that means I can create an AI version of my Sith Lord, Darth Gar’rote, and continue sharing his exploits. I’ve also been able to render bondage + sealed plastic bagging scenes when there’s no antagonist in the frame because there’s no mechanical connection between people for NB Pro to see and reject.
I hope Google one day creates a version of NB Pro for adults. I’m all for protecting kids, but there has to be a way for adults to have unfettered access to explore their own ideas and create mature content. I don’t even have kids. My wife and I are child-free by choice – I even got ‘fixed’ at 25 to prevent any accidents – and yet they’re the reason artists like me can’t express most of our ideas. Meanwhile, at the very least, I finally know where NB Pro’s boundaries are, why they exist, and have a solid foundation I can work with going forward.