Seeing videos made with Grok made me want to start creating AI content.
I had used Unstable Diffusion’s online generator previously [https://www.unstability.ai/]. And I thought it was an interesting gadget to play with, but I didn’t see it being viable as a mean of creating anything of substance. There were two big limitations: the inability to consistently create photorealistic imagery and the lack of any video generation.
And so Grok was pretty incredible, given what I was coming from: it created very realistic looking images and it had native video support. [480p and the ability to upscale]. The content limitations didn’t really bother me – I wasn’t trying to create explicit pornography; I wanted to create softcore stories.
And I’ve been pretty happy with it.
But I am always curious about what else is out there.
I do utilize other models through Atlas Cloud [https://www.atlascloud.ai/]. I’ve written a bit about SeeDream as an image generator and I think it’s pretty good, particularly it’s sequential edit functions.
But there’s always that search for the elusive “best” model.
And a lot of people talk about Perchance [https://perchance.org/ai-character-generator] as a great free platform to make images. I’ve recommended it to people.
But I’ve never actually sat down and done a comparison between Perchance and Grok, so I thought now was as good a time as any.
So let’s start with the prompt:
A highly detailed and realistic analog photographs, 85mm lens aesthetic, Leica camera aesthetic, 8k, UHD, vibrant colors, natural lighting, old stock film. A nude 28 year old looking woman with blonde and pink hair styled in side swept bangs, an athletic and curvy body, and wearing thick tortoise shell eyeglasses. She is standing in a park at night.
Round 1:
PERCHANCE:
So here’s the first image that Perchance generated with that prompt.
It’s not bad. It did not get the “side swept” bangs correct. And the image has a plastic quality that AI images typically have.
But I think the color palette and the background are well done, particularly for something that’s free.
GROK:
And this is the first image that Grok generated with that prompt.
And it’s okay. It also did not get the “side swept” bangs correct.
I think the pose is better than what Perchance generated. And the figure itself looks more natural.
What’s odd about this is the background – I actually think Perchance rendered this better as something about the blurry background in the Grok image feels off – like she’s standing in front of a greenscreen.
Round 1 Winner: Grok, but it’s a close call
Although I dislike the background, at a glance, the Grok image is passable as a real person; I think the Perchance model looks “AI” in a way that is subtle, but still detracts from the overall image. Perchance admittedly does have better use of color.
Round 2:
PERCHANCE:
This image is more stylized and there are some things I like about it; the skin texture; the color tones; the out of focus background; the hair texture.
But I think the face is such a classic example of “AI girlfriend” that it just ruins the image for me. There’s also some strangeness going on with the lower body which doesn’t look anatomically correct.
I realize that’s a matter of subjective taste, but to me it’s not “realistic” enough. Which is a shame becasue I think the overall composition and use of color is really well done.
GROK:
I like the pose and the face, and this actually did do the bangs correctly.
But, I think compared to the Perchance generation, it’s a bit boring.
It’s definitely more realistic in terms of the face and the anatomy. And I think the background looks better than in the first iteration.
But comparing it to Perchance I am starting to see that the colors don’t quite work. I get what it’s going for wit the orange and yellow tones [presumably from the lamplight], but the color palette doesn’t really capture the feeling of “night.”
Round 2 Winner: Grok
This one’s not really close, and it just comes down to the ability to produce an image that looks convincingly human, and Perchance just failed to deliver that on this round.
Round 3:
PERCHANCE:
So what’s striking about this round is how both Grok and Perchance produced images that are very visually similar and how both have been fairly consistent in the type of female that’s presented.
Perchance seems to tend towards more doe-eyed and cherubic.
Of the Perchance images we’ve seen so far, I think I like this one the most. The face is well done and I like the hair texture and the overall pose and colors.
The body still feels a bit plastic, but it’s also consistent with the kind of airbrushing you’d seen in certain glamour shots.
GROK:
I think the overall composition of the photo is better, particularly the positionoing of the arms and the way she appears to be looking at the camera. Perchance tries to do that as well, but its model comes off a big dead-eyed. Part of that has to do with the emphasies on the eyes in Perchance, versus in Grok where the eyes are less detailed, but that adds to the realistic aspects of the photo.
I like the background colors in this and we’re getting closer to that feeling of night time, although I think the main subject is still too well illuminated.
Round 3 Winner: Grok
It’s a tough call because in some respects I think that Perchance produces more visually interesting images, and I still think that Perchance has a better grasp of what colors to use. But to me it really comes down to the eyes in this and knowing what to emphasize and what to leave less detailed.
Round 4:
We’re going to start looking at multiple images now that we’ve seen generally what each AI is doing with the prompt.
PERCHANCE:
I really like this batch of images. The hair in the first image looks amazing and I love the tanlines and the pose and facial expression; the skin texture looks great and in terms of realism, this is pretty good; the only criticism I have is that it’s not night time. The second image is also very well done in terms of the lighting and skin texture, although there’s a bit of weirdness with the hand fusing into her leg near the bottom of the picture. And the third image, while I think it kind of alls apart past the face, I do like the pose and attempt at a more dynamic presentation.
GROK:
This is a pretty good batch from Grok as well, and I appreciate that we’re finally starting to see some variation in terms of the girls. The second image is my favorite in terms of the aesthetic of the girl and the colors; I think that one actually looks very close to what the prompt suggests. The first first image is actually the best in terms of the subject and the background – it really does look like an image shot on film at night.
Round 4 Winner: Perchance
Both batches have good images in them, but it really comes down to the first image in both batches. And while I do like the images that Grok produced, that first image from Perchance is very distinctive and really makes good use of the colors in the prompt, whereas the Grok images are starting to feel very generic in comparison.
Round 5
PERCHANCE:
The second image is clearly the best of the group; it’s a good pose, the face and hair are well done and realistic, it’s just a shame it’s not a night time shot; the face also looks a bit cartoonish up close. the other images have good color choices but look wrong in other ways, with plastic looking skin.
GROK:
This is a great batch of images. The third image is my favorite for a few reasons: the lighting on the skin and the “flim” look; the bokeh effect on the lights in the background; and the lighting conditions that hint at nightfall.
Round 5 Winner: Grok
As we go through more iterations I think the strengths of both Grok and Perchance become more obvious.
Perchance seems to understand color very well, and I’d be interested to see what it would do with more clear directions as to color. Perchance is also more stylized, which tends to produce more variety of images.
Grok is much more realistic and consistent. You won’t necessarily get a stand out image, but that consistency also makes it easier to adjust prompts to get the desired output.
Conclusion:
It’s hard to pick a winner in this because it really depends on your use situation. If you just want to make some sexy images Perchance is a great option. We didn’t really touch on it here, but it is highly customizable and has a lot of settings that can be tweaked to alter the output in ways that are fun and interesting. If you are more concerned about a realistic look, Grokk is going to give that to you more consistently, but not necessarily always in a better way.
PERCHANCE GALLERY:
GROK GALLERY:
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