What is the seed value in AI images and how do you use it?

Have you ever wondered how AI keeps surprising you with new images even when you use the same prompt multiple times? Or how some people manage to generate images with consistent characters, even when the setting changes? The answer lies in something called the “seed”, a random number that’s doing more work than you’d think! to determine the outcome of images created by AI.

Let’s break down what a seed value is, how it influences the pictures AI creates, and how you can use it to make cool consistent images.

What is a seed value?

A seed value is a number that influences how the AI interprets your prompt and generates a picture. Think of the seed as a unique number that influences how random the image will turn out.

If you use the same seed with the same prompt and settings, the AI will produce the same image every time. But if you change the seed, even if the prompt and settings stay the same, the image will be different. Most AI tools automatically pick a random seed, so you get something fresh every time.

How does the seed value work?

The seed value acts like a fingerprint for the randomness behind the image generation. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

1. Interpreting the seed value

The AI takes your seed value or the auto-generated seed value if you didn’t provide seed value and it then uses this number to make choices about things like shapes, colors, textures, and how everything is arranged in the picture.

2. Mixing the seed with the prompt

Your prompt gives the AI an idea of what you want to see, like “a house on a small island.” The seed value, on the other hand, influences the specific details, such as the design and the position of the house. If you change the seed you’ll get different details, even though the house will still be on an island.

3. Variation and control

If you use the same seed with the same prompt, the AI will give you an identical image every time. Changing the seed, however, will produce different versions of the image with new details.

Example process

• Prompt: “A cat chilling on vacation on a tropical island.”
• Seed 1234898912: The AI generator might interpret this seed to influence the exact colors of the cat, the face of the cat, the positioning of the subject on the image, and the background. Another seed could change these details but still generate a “cat chilling on vacation in a tropical island.” as instructed by the prompt.

What does the seed value control?

The seed influences a lot of things in an image, but not everything. Here’s what it can impact:

• Colors: Different seeds can change the shades and tones.
• Textures: The seed can decide if surfaces are smooth or rough.
• Layout: It even controls where things are placed in the image.
• Lighting: The brightness or shadows can vary depending on the seed.

However, the seed doesn’t control everything. For example, it won’t change the entire image style or adjust the resolution and aspect ratio.

Why use seed values?

Using seed values gives you more control over your creative process. If you generate an image you like, you can save the seed and use it again to create similar images with minor changes. This is helpful when you need a series of images with consistent composition or characters.

Here are a few scenarios where seed values can be really useful:

• Refining Designs: Use the same seed but make small prompt adjustments to improve your design without losing its core elements.
• Collaborating: Share seed values with other artists so they can build on your work.
• Before and After Scenes: Use the same seed to create a “before and after” version of a scene (like a park in summer and winter).
• Creating Variations: You can create variations of the same image by using the same seed and tweaking the prompt to change small details like lighting.

See also: Lighting ideas for better AI images

How to use seed values

There are a few ways to use seed values with AI image generators:

1. Random seed: Generate an image without setting the seed value. Once you get an image you like, copy its seed and reuse it with a modified prompt to create a variation of the image.
2. Copying someone else’s seed: You can take the seed value and prompt used to generate an image by another AI artist, change the prompt a bit, and reuse their seed value to make your own version of the image.
3. Manual seed entry: Some tools allow you to manually include a seed in the image generator settings to use in the generation process. You can take advantage of that and set your own seed and if you don’t like the outcome, just tweak the seed or adjust the prompt until you’re satisfied.
4. Including seed value in the prompt: In some tools like DALL.E-3 or Midjourney, you can include a random seed in your prompt. If you don’t like the result, change the seed or tweak the prompt until you’re satisfied. Once you get an image you like, reuse the seed to create variations with tweaked prompts.

When you set the seed value yourself make sure it’s long but not too long (around 10 digits). This is because seed values need to be long enough to give good randomness, but not too long, as very long numbers can take up more memory and require more processing time.

Seed values in popular AI tools

Different AI tools handle seeds in their own ways. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Midjourney: You can set a specific seed using the parameter (like -seed). If you keep everything else the same, you’ll get similar images every time.
• Stable diffusion: Seeds are crucial here for consistency. You can play around with the seed to generate different versions of the same image.
• DALL·E: While DALL·E doesn’t explicitly show you the seed for generated images, it still uses seeds behind the scenes to control randomness.

Wrapping it up

Understanding seed values is like knowing a cheat code for AI image creation, which gives you more control over creating, recreating, and modifying images while maintaining consistency between the original image and its variations. Knowing seed value work can help you manipulate and experiment with images effectively.