‘Funko Pop’ Mini-Mes Are The New AI Art Craze People Are Toying With
Photo 193394083 © Dontree | Dreamstime.com
Wish you were famous enough to have a Funko Pop character made after yourself? Well, join the club. A quirky, wide-eyed trend sees fans crafting personalized avatars in their likenesses or those of celebrities using Microsoft Designer.
By simply entering prompts into the text-to-image model, which leverages OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, users can dictate everything from hairstyle and wardrobe to quirky accessories, ensuring their Funko-fied digital doppelgänger captures their spirit down to the last pixel.
i made ai create funko pops of the 1975 pls enjoy x pic.twitter.com/Q869Zfngbc
— ☆ HANNAH ☆ (@iliwyslut) December 20, 2023
View this post on Instagram
The trend has taken off on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, with users proudly sharing their AI-generated Funko Pop-inspired creations.
Omg this Funko AI prompt is so fun 😠pic.twitter.com/Xl0nwA23dG
— Carrlyn Bathe Hammer (@CarrlynBathe) December 21, 2023
Ok but my AI Funko is adorable. pic.twitter.com/hBPeZPpEVR
— ð–•ð–†ð–•ð–Ž ð–ð–šð–•ð–Žð–™ð–Šð–— âš¡ï¸ðŸŒ¸ðŸŸ¢ (@companerode5) December 22, 2023
I saw everyone making AI Funko Pops so i wanted to make an AI Funko Pop 🥹 pic.twitter.com/x8KB1QmcYj
— Naysy 🔜 CES (@Naysy) December 22, 2023
However, this phenomenon isn’t exactly child’s play. Microsoft’s Image Creator restricts the use of real names and closely associated brands, so this phenomenon does come with copyright complexities. A previous trend had users turning their pets into Pixar characters, complete with Disney logos on generated faux movie posters, leading Microsoft to tweak the AI tool.
I think the generator did a pretty great job!
— Brandon Connelly 🔜CES #CES2024 (@Brand0nConnelly) December 21, 2023
Now I want one!
Make yours and drop your creation in the comments. I wanna see!https://t.co/ibSFoixE4w
| #Funko #AI #FunkoPop | pic.twitter.com/t5tN8Naksq
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Undeterred, some users have resorted to pseudonyms and nicknames to reimagine famous figures as, well, faux figures.
There is a safe, ethical way to craft your mini-me, which is through the official Funko Pop website, which offers an option to ‘Pop! Yourself’ and turn this customization into a real vinyl toy. So, not only will you get to have a character created in your image but also take it home.
[via Digital Trends and The Tab, images via various sorces]
This article was crafted with assistance from an AI engine, and has been manually reviewed & edited.
