In the above image you can see how the researchers have attempted to render three photographs in the style of Lichtenstein, Rouaul, Monet, Munch, and Van Gogh. The effects are pretty dramatic. Each pastiche looks remarkably like both source images. One of the coolest things about the research paper is that it contains the detailed replicate-able process so that you too can create your own pastiche producing software. While photo editing apps like prisma seam to be doing a little more than just a single pastiche, my gut tells me that this process or something similar is behind much of what they are doing and how they are doing it so well.
So looking at the artificial creativity behind these pastiches, I like to ponder the bigger question. How close are we to a digital artist? I always ask this 'cause that is what I am trying to create.
Well, as cool and cutting edge as these pastiches are, they are still just filters of photos. And even though this is the state of the art coming out of Google Brain, they are not even true pastiches yet. While they do a good job of transferring color and texture, they don't really capture the style of the artist. You wouldn't look at any of the pastiches in the second column above and think that Lichtenstein actually did them. They share color, contrast, and texture, but thats about it. Or look more closely at these pastiches made from Edvard Munch's The Scream (top left).
