Well. One.
I have sold a few, but I love being tagged on social media if you get one, like this post on threads.
Check out all the stuff in my merch stores on RedBubble and TeePublic!
Hit me up on all the socials if you do buy a sticker, T-shirt, book, or anything. I’m @AiXeLsyD13 pretty much everywhere.
Oh yeah, I ordered my Ohio Valley Style Pizza T-shirt, too… and a sticker & some maze stickers. They look neat on stuff!
TeePublic is having a sale, and they encouraged me to spread the word. I did on various social media platforms, and Ill post those here. I’d appreciate a share if you have the time or are so inclined, and it would be cool if you’re inspired to pick something up for yourself or as a gift!
Check out http://tee.pub/lic/AiXeLsyD13 for $16 T-shirts, and other merch for up to 35% off!
There’s also always my RedBubble shop and Maze Book, too. (I’m still slowly working on a 2nd book.)
Apologies for the shameless pug, but I have to get the word out somehow. I don’t pay for advertising, as the artist profit for print-on-demand services is pretty small. If I can simply fund my creative outlets, it’s a nice lil’ personal win.
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@aixelsyd13/post/DCuBGbtxwut
I have been slowly working on mazes for a second book, and contemplating how to compile my stack of older ones for a third. (Some of which have definitely ended up here over the years.)
I didn’t include solutions in my first book, as they are very small and relatively easy to navigate… and I was in a rush to kind of test the process and see how the KDP model of print-on-demand publishing worked.
I reached out recently on Reddit & Facebook to solicit advice on solving mazes, and got some great insight. (Check out r/mazes on reddit if you’re so inclined, there is a bunch of cool stuff!)
I learned that I draw perhaps a little more chaotic than some of my forward-thinking fellow maze artists. I generally keep a bunch of open paths from each end, then connect them. Sometimes, what I thought was an open path… is apparently not. I even just recently learned that at least one of my mazes in my first book is impassable – oops! 🤣
I plan to do better with this next book, to make sure all the mazes are passable, and to include the solutions. If you have any advice for a guy that doesn’t absolutely love solving mazes to solve his own mazes, please drop it here in the comments!
In my solicitation for advice, I realized that I have been seeing a lot of fantastic work by other people over the last few decades, and not sharing any of it. Here I will rectify that. Please, check out the following!
Check out these artists on Instagram too:
That’s a super random & not complete list. Please, let me know in the comments who we should all be checking out, especially if it’s you & your projects!
So, I guess I had no idea that AI music was as advanced as it is. I assumed the stuff I saw on social medial was from paid or sophisticated programs. I have been monkeying casually with text prompts at ChatGPT or Meta AI, and image generators at DALL-E 2, Craiyon, & in the PicsArt app for a while. Luma AI even animates photos in the creepiest way possible. I have recently started messing with Google’s Gemini, too.
While the first two AI song generators that popped up when I googled did not require me to download an app or pay any money, I was able to have them bang out a song in less than a minute. The second one even let me insert lyrics, so I used ChatGPT & Gemini to write lyrics. Of course I chose punk rock, and the subject matter was just me poorly describing the blog. This stuff is wild.
The prompt was: “World (and Lunar) Domination” a punk rock song about drawing mazes and writing goofy letters.
For some reason, I can’t seem to embed these ones. 🤷
AI Music Factory automatically spits out 2 songs from the same prompts.
All of the songs are generic pop punk, street punk, and a weird attempt at some uncanny valley-ish horns. They are formulaic pop punk, of which I could certainly be accused of doing when I was actively playing in bands. The weird part is that is not all that dissimilar from my actual creative output. The lyrics have some interesting ideas & hooks too, if I’m being honest. Does that mean I am a terrible and generic songwriter? Perhaps my lack of commercial success in that area speaks to that. 😆
Self-depreciating humor aside, I feel like I have been involved in the creation of some fun, silly, & kick-ass music, and I was never really doing it for financial gain or recognition. It was an itch that I needed to scratch. I needed to make art via punk rock.
The above songs are derivative of a thousand different punk bands, but the one vocalist sounds oddly like Bad Religion. All of it is stealing from something though. Is it scouring the whole internet? Is it using Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, Apple Music, or Amazon Music? Is it creeping on hard drives in home studios or at record companies?
I feel like this is really close to having the ability to be passed off as a real band. It even reminds me of Crotchduster,
Is it theft, or inspiration? I would not have picked up a guitar and tried to write punk rock songs if I had not heard the Ramones & the Misfits doing what they did. Led Zeppelin’s entire catalog is arguably not entirely derivative of everything that passed through Jimmy Page’s earholes. (I mean, George Lucas did the same thing with Star Wars – it was just Flash Gordon, The Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, & Dune.)
It can be argued that the music is soulless. I get that. I need music to move me in some way, in order to feel that connection. There are already lots of human generated songs out there that don’t really hit me that way. It’s terrible when a song evokes no emotion. I feel that way about Nickelback, even though it’s unironically cool to like them now. Ha ha.
In keeping with the theme of this post, I also used a bunch of AI image generators with various prompts about my blog, and got some weird weird wild stuff. None of them seem to accurately display text whatsoever at all… but the compositions, colors, & design choices are interesting. Is is stolen work though?
It was said that Robin Williams was notorious for stealing bits, but I have read/heard that he was always “on,” and just pulling in ideas and churning out jokes at a constant speed… he may not have realized that his thoughts weren’t entirely his own. But then again, were they? Everything we think, say, & do is a response to our own audio & visual input. (And, all the other senses.)
If AI is putting something out, and the way it “senses” is browsing the internet, what’s wrong with that? Is it stealing because it is not alive? Is it just a tool like a paintbrush or a calculator? Is AI song generation different than loops or sampling or guitar pedals that drastically change a tone?
🤘🐈⬛🎸
Because every single one of my thoughts also has an incomprehensibly tangential aside, I just did this as the idea came to me while blogging:
𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖙𝖍 𝖒𝖊𝖙𝖆𝖑 𝖐𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖌 – I had ChatGPT write those lyrics a long time ago to be silly. It deleted the chat from the history as it found the content to perhaps be “inappropriate.” Luckily I grabbed a screenshot. I just used my last freebie at AI Music Factory to make this, and unlike with the other songs, I actually downloaded the mp3’s because I find it wildly amusing. AI plays guitar better than Kerry King.
So, did I just write a song? No. But… I had the idea for one. It, much like my own artistic output, was a silly idea. (I was always sad that Gasoline Dion never completed songs that we were working on, including but not limited to “667, Across the Street From the Beast” and the ever poetic line “Let me put my meat hook in your beef curtains.”)
I just let my 10yo daughter hear the metal kitten song. She laughed and said it sounds like everything else I listen to (she’s a Taylor Swift fan). When I told her it was AI generated in under a damn minute & that ChatGPT wrote the lyrics, her eyes got wide and was all “That’s not good…”
She immediately understood the implications. Anyone could make a hit album. We could all be Milli Vanilli. Even better, you could probably create a video avatar of an artist or band. I haven’t delved into AI generated video past the tiny Luma AI clips.
Would using AI as a muse, or to flesh out partial lyric ideas be “wrong?” Are we in an era like the early days of sampling where soon someone will figure out how to give artists royalties for music or artwork being fed into AI? I know there are already cases out there. I also know you can’t copyright AI images. Not sure about music, though? I know Mötley Crüe was accused of using AI to write songs.
Will commercials, social media, radio, TV, & movies forgo traditional composers and just make their own jingles, scores, & soundtracks?
It was fun to play with, but do I like it enough that I will pay for it? I doubt it. I can’t think of a practical use for myself other than making a fictional band or something… and who would want AI generated crap content right now? If I paid to put it on streaming services (if you can even copyright it), how would that generate income or even be sustainable? Live shows would be (for now) out of the question. I don’t think it would “feel good” to put that out, like it does to release actual music you created. Maybe kids will dig AI music in the future… or our eventual robot overlords might.
Because I can’t stop, Luma AI animations of AI generated images:
OK, I went back & messed with Udio again. I found where you could pop in the kitten lyrics from Chat GPT. I do not like the output nearly as much, but it’s still pretty wild:
So, what are your thoughts on AI generated stories, art, music, & video? Are we in the wild west? Do you use any of it? If you do use it, what sites/apps, and to what end? Please, hit up the comments!
Oh yeah, those sites automatically generated videos I could download too.
I was going to share some mazes for Thanksgiving, and I realized I have a bunch of them. I did some quick dirty coloring of some old ones. I am sharing new ones that will be in my second book, some from the first book, and I have some that are loosely related to fall or Thanksgiving dinner.
Please, use them to have some fun this holiday season! They could be placemats, an activity for those that aren’t cooking while they’re waiting for dinner or for company to arrive, or used as a game to see who finishes first. You could use them to make place cards too if you wanna get creative!
If you complete the mazes by printing them out & solving, or on your phone/tablet/PC with a drawing app, share it on you preferred social media platform & tag me! I’m @AiXeLsyD13 on pretty much all of ’em. (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, TikTok, Tumblr, YouTube, etc.) I’d love to see a video of a race to complete the smaller easier ones… and I love to see solutions! I like to draw mazes, not so much solving them.
Mmm, Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing is my favorite. I need to figure out how to do a stuffing maze.
You can solve these while listening to one of my Thanksgiving playlists on Amazon or Spotify, or while talking about what you’re thankful for! I love the reflection this time of year.
This year’s turkey maze:
Thanksgiving-ish themed mazes from the upcoming book:
Newly (& quickly) colorized old Thanksgiving themed mazes:
Random older related mazes:
<shameless plug> The turkey from this year and the “giblets” maze are also available on some cool merchandise from my RedBubble and TeePublic shops too. Why not get a turkey maze T-shirt or an apron with the giblets maze? You can get both designs on hoodies, pet bandanas, stickers, magnets, coffee mugs, and even a damn shower curtain if so inclined. </shameless plug>
🦃 UPDATE! 🦃
After posting this, I found an OLD turkey maze of mine on Pinterest, so I downloaded & edited it a bit. So, here’s one more:
So, recently, I have had some bouts of shenanigans in & out of the hospital with infections and complications stemming from Diverticulitis.
So, I drew up a maze inspired by recent events for the surgeon, scanned & colored it, got it printed at 12″x18″, signed it, and got a frame for it. I’ll give him some dry-erase markers, too.
One week out, I feel like I’m in good hands. He had a lot of neat funny stuff in his office. And apparently, Wednesdays are cool because he gets to use a robot to assist.
I thought about getting him some RedBubble merch from my store, but this seemed quicker. (The acrylic block and notebook looked neat.)
This may make book #2 as a bonus maze.
Think he’ll like it?
Get yourself one on a coffee mug so you can see your immediate future!
Thanks for taking the time to read! Check out my first maze book on Amazon, or get yourself some of my maze merch from TeePublic or RedBubble. I’m trying to see how far I can take this thing… and I gots to pay me some medical bills! I get about a dollar per book or shirt since this is all print-on-demand.
https://www.tiktok.com/@aixelsyd13/video/7281038627876949290
I had someone reach out via Instagram messaging to ask if anyone had ever solved this one. I don’t think anyone has.
Anyone want to try to attempt it now, & I’ll share your solution? Help another puzzler out?
OK, the creative bug has bit. I’ve opened two shops for maze merchandise, or at least tried to. I went to RedBubble and TeePublic. The TeePublic one seems to be live, but the RedBubble one is not (yet). [They’re saying to wait 5 business days.]
I’ll have a merch page here at the blog, but here are the links for now:
I appreciate your support of my artistic endeavors. I know money is tight for a lot of people right now. It’s cool if you can’t buy, or simply don’t want to. I can dig it’s not everyone’s style. Please, share the link if you’re so inclined, even directly to someone who you think may be interested.
If you do end up buying a T-shirt, book, or whatever. Please, give a review on the site… and post it on Social Media & tag me! I’m @AiXeLsyD13 on pretty much everything out there.
I had some time recently, and I wanted to see what the process was to publish a print-on-demand book from Amazon. I grabbed a bunch of my smaller easy mazes with no discernable theme that I had previously posted here & on Instagram, and assembled them into a book. All of them were scanned in & maybe fixed a bit with paint.NET, and I put the pages of the book together with OpenOffice, so my only cost came down to the pens & paper. (Not sure how to quantify time & sanity.)
At any rate, I present to you – So I Finally Made a Maze Book: Easy Mazes by AiXeLsyD13
It was very simple to publish with Amazon. This gave me the confidence to put together another book, perhaps with a bit more coherence, and definitely with a much better cover. I have already started drawing new mazes in a neat little box template so they’re a bit more consistent. What’s a good number? 30? 50?
Also, I need to get all of these older mazes scanned & into a book too. I have some pages that are bigger than my scanner bed though. Perhaps a trip to FedEx Office or Staples is in order.
I just kind of set the price arbitrarily to make a little bit off of publishing. I’m not looking to get rich, but it would be nice to finally make income of off artistic output after decades of ostensibly doodling. (I won’t delve into my musical endeavors which are break even at best but probably a negative sum game. 🤣)
Luckily the creative outlet for me is just that, an outlet. I think we all need to express ourselves artistically or through sports, gardening, or other hobbies.
It also suggested I make a Kindle version, so I did that too. I am not sure if the concept will work there. Can you draw on a Kindle screen with a stylus or your finger? Can you print from a Kindle? I must confess I don’t have one. I am still a fan of books in the traditional form.
If you have ever enjoyed my mazes, or have been one of the awesome people that has completed them and sent in the solution – I humbly ask you (if you’re so inclined) to purchase a paperback for around $6 or a Kindle book for around $3 and let me know what you think. Should I do more? Did you enjoy it? Is the quality any good?
Really, I ask you to try even if you have never solved one of my mazes. Now is a good time to start!
It might make a good gift for kids or adults. It’s a nice way to pass some time or zone out.
If you do buy, can you leave an honest rating/review? I feel like that goes a long way with Amazon.
If you can’t buy or are really not interested, that’s OK too! I would ask you to maybe share the link around.
My thoughts on the next one are that I probably need a table of contents, to maybe title the mazes, and… should I include the solutions in the back? That’s one of my issues. I like to draw the mazes, but don’t really solve them. I may need to reach out for help on that part & pay someone to complete them so I can include the solutions (and make sure they’re solvable).
I probably need help with a title, too.
Thanks for reading, tanks for considering, and please share this link on every social media platform known to humankind: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CH2FMH7W
This came from nowhere the other day, attached to an email, no name or text in the body.
It’s the solution to an OLD maze from 2012: Shift Spiral Spin [Maze]
Please, come forward and take credit! I can tag you on socials or link to any projects you have going on.
I’d love to know how you found it! I try to post them to my maze board on Pinterest if I remember. There are a ton here and on my Instagram, or my maze Instagram.
If this inspires you to do one, that would be awesome. Post on social media & tag me @AiXeLsyD13 on just about everything. (Except PayPal. Whoever has that must be a real asshole because I have been using AiXeLsyD13 since like Angelfire and AOL Instant Messenger.) I am trying out Threads and Blue Sky while Twitter is becoming 𝕏. I gave up on Mastodon and that one other one I forget the name of.
You can also email it to me like this anonymous solver did at world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com.
☡🚧🚨🚨🚨🚧 SPOILER ALERT! Solution Below: 🚧🚨🚨🚨🚧☡
World (and Lunar) Domination 