Scripture
â€â€Ezekiel‬ â€1‬:â€4‬-â€6‬, â€10‬ â€(ESV‬‬)
"As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.“
AI Prompt
A four-panel illustration featuring dramatic representations of four different faces: a human male face, a lion face, a bull face, and an eagle face. Each panel should capture the unique characteristics and expressions of these faces, with a focus on creating a dramatic and intense feel. The human face should show intelligence and emotion, the lion face should exhibit strength and ferocity, the bull face should display power and determination, and the eagle face should convey sharpness and majesty. The overall composition should be striking, emphasizing the distinct features and expressions of each face.
Process/Reflection
The four living creatures (later identified as cherubim) that Ezekiel sees in this vision are both strange and frightening. These are not your Hallmark card angels. I wanted to create an AI image that focused on the description Ezekiel gives of their four-fold faces. The idea of a four panel illustration seemed like a feasible prompt to feed to AI. Still, the initial images required some tweaking. One variation had two lion heads and no eagle. I have no idea why. I like how the final version turned out. The images seem to blend into one another, which suggests a unity of identity rather than four independent components. The original image (above) was generated in black and white. I added a warm filter to the image in Instagram.