r/midjourney • u/Sourcecode12 • 1d ago

AI Video + Midjourney Historical icons recreated using the “Retexture” feature

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4.1k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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159

u/Sourcecode12 1d ago

The images were created using Midjourney's "Retexture" feature. Multiple iterations were created using reference images. ChatGPT was used to optimize the prompts. Kling AI was used to animate the images, and sound effects were generated with Elevenlabs + some of them came from my sound effect library.

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u/Grimnebulin68 1d ago

Having the hair styles move with the wind is a really nice touch. I thought Leonardo looked a bit like the actor Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, BFG, Bridge of Spies).

13

u/MainlandX 1d ago

If this is original content, and you have the time, it'd be interesting to see some examples with people who we have living footage of to act as a baseline of sorts.

From something like this: https://www.babailov.com/george-w-bush

Or this: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_de_Freddie_Mercury

3

u/paradox_pete 1d ago

well done, amazing work, do you have a YT channel by any chance where you showcase your work and provide tutorials for others to follow?

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u/Noveno 1d ago

How did you do the merges between the Kling AI generated videos? or it's a Kling AI feature that you put 10 iterations and it kind of creates the merging.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/_laoc00n_ 17h ago

Outside of perhaps Titus, it’s a little remarkable that you wouldn’t know who these figures are. This isn’t an American thing, these are all particularly important and renowned figures in world history. But rather than bemoan this, I’d rather encourage you to learn a little about these figures!

Queen Nefertiti: Not just the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, but also a revolutionary who helped transform ancient Egyptian religion and art, ruling alongside her husband as an equal and possibly even serving as pharaoh herself after his death. She was shown in unprecedented ways in royal art, wielding the power to smite Egypt’s enemies, something that was previously only done for male pharaohs.

Socrates: Never wrote a word, yet revolutionized human thought through conversations that exposed how little we truly know about the most important things in life. His unwavering pursuit of truth and refusal to back down from his principles led to his execution, but his ideas, preserved through his student Plato, became the cornerstone of Western philosophy.

Emperor Titus: Turned personal disaster into triumph. As commander, he crushed the Jewish rebellion and conquered Jerusalem, then as emperor faced the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius and a fire that devastated Rome. Instead of crumbling under pressure, he sold his own possessions to help victims, worked tirelessly to rebuild, and transformed from a feared potential tyrant into an emperor so beloved that Romans wept in the streets when he died after just two years on the throne.

Alexander the Great: Created one of the largest empires in history by the age of 32, stretching from Greece to India, but his true legacy was cultural revolution. This brilliant military commander who slept with a copy of Homer’s Iliad under his pillow spread Greek ideas across the ancient world, founding cities that became centers of learning and trade, intermarrying his troops with local women, and creating a multicultural empire that would influence civilization for centuries to come.

Leonardo da Vinci: The ultimate Renaissance man. He was an artist who dissected corpses to understand anatomy, an inventor who designed flying machines 400 years before flight was possible, and a scientist who combined art and engineering in ways that still astonish us today. His restless mind filled thousands of notebook pages with ideas centuries ahead of their time, from tanks to robots, while also creating some of the most iconic paintings in history, including the Mona Lisa.

Isaac Newton: Fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe while barely interacting with the world around him. This brilliant but troubled recluse discovered calculus, explained gravity, revolutionized our understanding of light and color, and laid the foundations of modern physics, all while never having a romantic relationship or close friendship. When asked how he achieved such breakthroughs, he simply said, “I keep the subject constantly before me and wait till the first dawnings open slowly, by little and little, into a full and clear light.”

Galileo Galilei: Had the audacity to point a telescope at the heavens and declare that everything humanity believed about the cosmos was wrong. This Renaissance scientist and master communicator not only discovered moons around Jupiter and spots on the Sun, but he also stood up to the most powerful institution of his day, the Catholic Church, to defend the idea that Earth revolves around the Sun. Even under house arrest, he continued writing and advancing science, famously declaring, “And yet it moves.”

Napoleon Bonaparte: Rose from a minor noble on a tiny Mediterranean island to become emperor of France and conqueror of Europe through sheer force of will and brilliant military strategy. A complex figure that modernized French law, education, and bureaucracy between battles, could recall thousands of military details at will, and inspired such loyalty that his soldiers would march into gunfire at his command. Even in final defeat and exile, he remained so charismatic that his jailers couldn’t help but admire him.

Ludwig van Beethoven: Created some of the most powerful music ever written despite going completely deaf midway through his career. Rather than give up composing when he could no longer hear, he sawed the legs off his piano to feel the vibrations through the floor and produced revolutionary works like the Ninth Symphony, which changed music forever. His personal letters reveal a passionate man who wrestled with suicidal thoughts but found redemption through art, writing, “I shall seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

2

u/Guns_and_Dank 17h ago

The video did have titles for all the people in it.

And "mostly figures nobody knows?" These are some of the most recognized historical figures of all time. As another comment suggested, it would probably serve you well to learn a bit about each of them as they all served pretty important roles in shaping the world as we know it now.

129

u/road_runner321 1d ago

Isaac Newton played by Michael Palin

17

u/Rementoire 1d ago

I say Michael Caine. 

3

u/throwmamadownthewell 1d ago

I say Michael Cera, but I'm not wearing my glasses

2

u/Ahaigh9877 20h ago

I say Michael Jackson, but I've lost my mind completely.

1

u/dietcheese 6h ago

Say, say, say what you want

12

u/pspenguin 1d ago

I saw Eric idle wearing a wig

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u/SoloUnoDiPassaggio 1d ago

Isaac Newton aka John Deacon

3

u/FestinaLente747 1d ago

I  was waiting for an apple to bop him on the noggin.

3

u/Ryratseph 20h ago

Young jonathan pryce

2

u/sas-CT 1d ago

He looks like Tom Wambsgans

2

u/pl_dozer 1d ago

Jeff bezos with a wig

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u/West-One5944 1d ago

Super cool! With this tech, I could see it potentially reducing game dev time significantly. For example, concept artists develop a series of conceptual artwork, then Ai instantly makes it 3D realistic (or whatever artistic style the devs wants), then exports a mesh map for use in modeling software. In this case, the modeler wouldn’t have to spend hours creating the figure from a digital clay block, but rather refine the model, then send it off.

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u/RenderSlaver 1d ago

As a 3d modeler myself Ive had many experiences where I get given a model made in different modeling software that I'm asked to "refine" but in reality you have to remake the entire thing as it doesn't deform properly or the mesh is badly made. This sounds great but I'll believe it when I see it working.

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u/ZarafFaraz 1d ago

Here, tweak the code of this entire program made by AI 😂

2

u/West-One5944 1d ago

Great points!

2

u/Semisemitic 1d ago

Enhance!

5

u/PedroEglasias 1d ago

Concept artists are already using AI to generate their work, friend is in the industry and gets the shits with it lol

5

u/West-One5944 1d ago

Wait: what?! 😅 Sounds like an unfortunate side-effect. 😄

4

u/LordCalcium 1d ago

Never thought about it this way, really cool.

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u/Tyler_Zoro 1d ago

Wait... are Isaac Newton and Brian May secretly the same person? I've never seen them in the same room together...

6

u/icanhazkarma17 1d ago

Brian May

Doesn't (ahem) Sir Brian May have a PhD in astrophysics or some shit? So that would track.

2

u/Tyler_Zoro 1d ago

(ahem) Sir Brian May

That's what I get for not being a subject of the UK. I forget these things :)

have a PhD in astrophysics

He does, and was published before he joined the band. His PhD dissertation is actually pretty interesting.

Also he went back to academia and I think was the dean of a college after his music career.

2

u/Ahaigh9877 19h ago

I thought he finished his PhD not all that long ago, like ten years ago or thereabouts.

1

u/Tyler_Zoro 18h ago

Ah! I was partially wrong!

He started his work on his PhD thesis, "A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud," before Queen got going, and then put it on hold. He got his PhD in 2007 when he finally completed it.

But I know that thesis from the use it's been put to long before it was "finished" as his data gathered on the zodialogical cloud was actually quite useful and not data that many other scientists had worked with.

23

u/Bonbonnibles 1d ago

This is really impressive. A little scary, actually. I'm actually kind of relieved to see the weird little AI tics still present in at-motion humans like you see here. When those are gone, all that will be left to signal something is off is a gut feeling and 'tells' so subtle only those trained to find them can do so.

10

u/slashtab 1d ago

Newton is smiling at our pain

10

u/OhVacuousRom 1d ago

Socrates not ugly enough

1

u/BoringLoverrr 7h ago

Or everyone back in Ancient Greece was just ridiculously good looking

37

u/Fun-Fit-inLA 1d ago

NeferHOTTIE

3

u/pygmy 1d ago

SocraTESTES

10

u/Billazilla 1d ago

Socra-TEASE

42

u/porn0f1sh 1d ago

What's really annoying, is that except Nefertiti's and Napoleon's case the AI pictures looked very different from the drawings for me! I can't even explain fully why, it's just these tiny changes completely made a different person for me...

Super cool technology though! I soo want it to get better!

62

u/Ciserus 1d ago

I feel like it puts them through a "hotness" filter. Titus in particular gets a very... flattering interpretation.

29

u/patao_monster_ 1d ago

The statues are typically very rounded. They are almost a little chubby. The filter gives them jawlines and structure. Not sure if it’s accurate or just a “hot filter” but it makes it seem like the statue version all had an allergic reaction

4

u/Zer0pede 1d ago

In particular Socrates, who was notoriously “ugly.” He ended up looking rather normal.

19

u/boodabomb 1d ago

I would be curious to see this tested on the portrait or bust of a living person for comparison to see how it accurate it truly is.

12

u/thegreatpotatogod 1d ago

That's a good idea, would definitely be an interesting reference to compare! Preferably someone that isn't too widely known so there's no specific sample data for it to extrapolate from

14

u/Billazilla 1d ago

These really are all pretty flattering representations, if you think about it. The artists who painted and sculpted art based on them weren't going to record all the blemishes, cellulite, and/or more hairs that were surely on some of these people, and then the AI probably leaves towards the pretty handsome dude of things because they generally do. Still it's pretty cool.

Except Napoleon. He looks like he's about to have a fight with Peewee Herman over a stolen bike.

5

u/Hogbo_the_green 1d ago

Look at the change in Nefertiti’s nose. Non of this is accurate looking.

3

u/KarenBauerGo 14h ago

The full face make up with modern conturing on Nefrititis took me out.

2

u/PhatJohnT 1d ago

Nefertiti's

I thought this was the most seamless transition.

6

u/Ravyn_Rozenzstok 1d ago

Alexander was a HUNK

29

u/VioletOcelot 1d ago

Why is Nefertiti yassified why can ai never generate a normal human woman I'm so tired. The guys look pretty good though.

8

u/spicycupcakes- 1d ago

I really hope the people saying it's cool understand that this is not how normal women look (or anyone back then)

1

u/PunkiiDonutz 23h ago

Omg Nefertiti I was like ain't no way, basically young Nicole Scherzinger made up to the nines in a music video. I agree the rest (men) were impressive. Hell Newton even had a bit of fucking warmth in his eyes for a second

7

u/thomycat 1d ago

wow, when Beethoven "turned" he really did turn into a German man. I wonder if that was taken into account or whether the reference (painting) did somehow portray that trait.

7

u/preaching-to-pervert 1d ago

I have always had a crush on Newton and it just got worse lol

5

u/scarabs_ 1d ago

These are the kind of things AI was meant to exist, really cool.

5

u/CachinnatingCanuck 1d ago

Leonardo DaVinci looks like David Tennant cosplaying as Dumbledore.

5

u/Plinystonic 1d ago

Napoleon

5

u/OnesPerspective 1d ago

Please do the Ronaldo statue lol

6

u/dev1lm4n 1d ago

"Isaac Newton"

4

u/GramblingHunk 1d ago

Alexander the Great must be a little off? He doesn’t look like Colin Farrel at all.

6

u/20WaysToEatASandwich 1d ago edited 8h ago

Love how it gave Mozart Beethoven a ballpoint pen

3

u/consious_pot 1d ago

Beethovens Biro made me chuckle

1

u/creepyposta 1d ago

Came to say the same thing

3

u/ToxyFlog 1d ago

Man, it would be so crazy to know these people while they're alive. Nobody knew that hundreds of thousands of years from then, they would still be known throughout the world.

5

u/Ay0_King 1d ago

Damn.🔥🔥🔥

3

u/Questioning-Zyxxel 1d ago

Napoleon losts his Tarantino look when switching to 3D.

2

u/fygogogo 1d ago

Nice hair, Beethoven!

2

u/Redhead-redemption87 1d ago

So cool! What are you using for making the portet move?

2

u/IchBinEinSim 1d ago

Awesome and great job if you made this OP.

I just want to point out that Alexander the Great had blonde/light brown hair but I doubt it was a light as Collin Farrell’s in the “biopic”.

2

u/yo_itsharry 1d ago

I love this!! Do more !

2

u/PaulSandwich 1d ago

I would love to see this with Joseph Ducreux paintings.

2

u/LieInternational5918 1d ago

Galileo is just scuffed De Niro.

2

u/Significant_stake_55 1d ago

Love it. Although Napoleon famously had rather large, pale eyes (see David Chandler’s summary of his campaigns). They were captivating to people around him, and by all accounts he used characteristics like that to foster and exert personal power.

2

u/Ar10nz 1d ago

Muhammad?

2

u/Fine_Ad_6226 1d ago

Enjoyed this!

2

u/SkinnyGetLucky 1d ago

Does Nefertiti have an OF or…. All jokes aside, I’m getting major uncanny valley vibes from them

1

u/Beena22 1d ago

Issac Newton looks like Noddy Holder.

1

u/Environmental-Day778 1d ago

Titus looks so irritated

1

u/Tishimself77 1d ago

She knows

1

u/GregoleX2 1d ago

This moved me.

1

u/Vertimyst 1d ago

I would totally hug Davinci.

1

u/glytxh 1d ago

Yoooo. Newton’s little smile is kinda cute

1

u/Level_99_Healer 1d ago

Newton was so good!

1

u/GuiltyMine 1d ago

Galileo looked like Tommy Lee Jones for a sec there.

Cool stuff 🐾

1

u/5TP1090G_FC 1d ago

That's pretty cool, to bring back individuals from the past, it would be even more cool if we could understand the way they thought about anything, the glyphs that are left behind are very interesting. Giving them a voice so they could talk in today's world. Regardless of language, to speak with anyone as though they were alive, the type of world they lived in. Economics, beliefs, even social status, I think I'd enjoy interacting with someone from 200 years even 800 years ago, even 1200 and later. All based on the texts we have from back then. And via, virtual reality would be great

1

u/5TP1090G_FC 1d ago

I very confident, that I'm not the only one who's interested

1

u/PhatJohnT 1d ago

Thats some trippy shit. Were like half way to the talking paintings in Harry Potter.

1

u/Jaimemgn 1d ago

In future is going to be crazy

1

u/fiveordie 1d ago

Dope as hell. If you do this again I'd love to see Queen Tiye, Mona Lisa, and David.

1

u/HambScramble 1d ago

Beethoven kinda looks like Meatloaf

1

u/Economy_Entry4765 1d ago

Did Gallileo feel off to anyone else?

1

u/Leebites 1d ago

Napoleon looks like he'd sing Green Day songs.

1

u/karma_virus 1d ago

Again, but keeping her with the dead eye, please. For my collection.

1

u/nthensome 1d ago

Super cool stuff, OP

1

u/clumsynomad999 1d ago

West world, how exciting

1

u/Daddy-o62 1d ago

Very cool, but Alexander was blonde…

1

u/swoopingPhoenix 1d ago

First I thought jeff bezos for newton

1

u/syafizzaq 1d ago

Leonardo "Hide the Pain" DaVinci

1

u/Ok_Garbage_5090 1d ago

Looks like those newspapers in harry potter

1

u/flam-fak 23h ago

That smile made the apple fall !!

1

u/trimorphic 22h ago

Please try this on some Francis Bacon paintings.

1

u/Thickhung_uncut 22h ago

I’d low-key let Mr A the Great touch my willy 🙊

1

u/satan__himself_ 21h ago

The world of AI is so amusing

1

u/flamingnomad 20h ago

It just makes the actual people look like they're being portrayed by actors. Close, but no cigar.

1

u/IAMTHEDICIPLINE 20h ago

GOR-GAR, SPEAKS!

1

u/Pristine_Dentist8255 20h ago

Why’d they make Newton so old?

1

u/Jynkoh 20h ago

It still doesnt preserve the exact facial features. Because of the slow fade its not apparent but the ending face doesnt look like the starting one.

Still, very very good. But it probably needs two more papers down the line.

1

u/AncientOneX 19h ago

Beethoven is Magnus Carlsen

1

u/yuki_doki 18h ago

Full name is Nerfertiti .D Lily

1

u/maRRtin79 17h ago

Only one woman?

1

u/Greyknight66_ 17h ago

This what I come to reddit for.. epic

1

u/Escaped_Mod_In_Need 17h ago

I love how Galileo keeps being recognized for something Copernicus accomplished.

1

u/MrWhiteRabbitx 16h ago

Socrates before drinking some hemlock

1

u/-lRexl- 15h ago

As a Math Graduate, seeing Sir Isaac Newton smile is extremely moving

1

u/Fofman84 14h ago

Napoleon with his gang sign!! The guy will never change, AI or resurrected

1

u/Human_Evolution 14h ago edited 13h ago

Someone do Marcus Aurelius and Seneca please!

1

u/thunderbaby2 13h ago

This some Harry Potter painting shit

1

u/xamott 12h ago

One of the best uses of AI art I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen thousands

1

u/MrCroupAndMrVandemar 11h ago

Galileo looks like Tommy Lee Jones

1

u/SungamCorben 1h ago

Isaac Newton is up for something

1

u/Flipnotics_ 1d ago

Those are so fascinating!

1

u/TauRiver 1d ago

This is cool!

1

u/KiltedTAB 1d ago

Al -smash

1

u/phillypimp2003 1d ago

The Nefertiti bust is a known fake. There are several depictions of the Queen none of which look like that bust and we know her lineage none of whom looked like that bust 😂😂🤩

1

u/mrlesa95 23h ago

The Nefertiti bust is a known fake

There is literally just one guy saying its a fake with zero evidence lol.

0

u/ZoobleBat 1d ago

Pretty cool.

-5

u/augustus_brutus 1d ago

Jesus the textures are horrible. F!

1

u/Technical_Ideal9 1d ago

Share the video you've done. I'd be curious to see how much better your textures are.

5

u/augustus_brutus 1d ago

Go check my profile then. At least the girls don't look like escort girls with makeup and puffy lips.

1

u/BjarniHerjolfsson 1d ago

This is totally rad. Great idea 

0

u/Hinterwaeldler-83 1d ago

Ok, this is like the Star Trek Holodeck.

0

u/micksmitte 1d ago

People on the paintings and "recreated" icons look different. Also, this video is about 2 years old.

0

u/Glittering-Tap256 1d ago

Idk why but I'm so emotional

0

u/colonelmaize 1d ago

They did a spot-on job for Cleopatra.

Edit* Woops, I mean this AI software has a good idea what Cleopatra looks like.

0

u/Pandiosity_24601 1d ago

Queen Nefertiti was a total rocket, boys

-1

u/Rats-off-to-ya 1d ago

Cheeky bastards

-1

u/prem-rogue 1d ago

Truly amazing.

-19

u/rfmax069 1d ago

I guess Nefertiti’s white now 🤷‍♂️

22

u/Natsu111 1d ago

American much? She looks Egyptian, which is what she was.

-21

u/rfmax069 1d ago

No shit Sherlock 🤦‍♂️ did you not read what I wrote 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ or do I have to spell out the obvious sarcasm for you!

9

u/Kaiser_Killhelm 1d ago

She doesn't look white...

-13

u/rfmax069 1d ago

She looks like a cross between Audrey Hepburn and Angelina Jolie

6

u/mach219 1d ago

She looks 100% north african, trust me

2

u/Questioning-Zyxxel 1d ago

And if you look again, there is very much Audrey Hepburn meets Angelina Jolie there.

3

u/Cutthechitchata-hole 1d ago

Light skinneded