Describing People Who Don’t Exist

Writing descriptions of people that are actually fun to read and not just a list of features can be tough.

So let’s practice writing some together, using the website of robot-generated photos: This Person Does Not Exist!

During the last stream, a subscriber requested that we write descriptions of people based on the images generated by the artificial intelligence at This Person Does Not Exist.

(You can check out This Person Does Not Exist here.)

Watch the process here or scroll down for highlights.

We concentrated on writing descriptions that combine the physical appearance of a character, along with their personality, and the feeling they give off too. Using more than one sense can help to do that, as can hitting the reader with a powerful image.

Here’s what we came up with, with some of my favorite lines bolded:

AI-Generated Person #1

Melissa’s kindness beamed out of her cheeks. That was why she said she needed to keep her dark bangs long, dangling even below her eyes, or else the brightness would blind people. But the dark stare of her eyes, a constant no matter how much she laughed or how much joy she exuded, told a different story.
—Me

Her soulless eyes highlighted by the sacks of sleeplessness bore into me. A feigned smile trying to hide the lack of care she really held when greeting people at the customer service desk.
—Dragonflyghter

Julie’s long bangs hid her kind eyes, almost like she was trying to shy away from the often-cruel world. Her soft smile, though, showed her empathetic nature: pursed with self-consciousness, her dimples peeking through as if pressing on a soft pillow.
—EricaDeel

AI-Generated Person #2

Paul’s only defining feature was the same thin glasses he’d worn since high school. The rest of his pasty face was like droopy Play-Doh, with a perfectly round cut of black hair on top — of course the same hairstyle he’d had since high school too.
—Me

Mister Yung put forth his best impression of a consummate professional, confident, well-dressed and tidily groomed, and he expected his co-workers and business partners alike to treat him with the same respect.
—cozyrogers

Freddy lived for work. This man practically slept in a two-piece business suit. Robots were less stiff than he was.
—Joe_g89

Bolin Sho’s stern eyes pierced through his glasses. Frames as wire-thin as his patience towards his peers. His round face a mask to his sharp superiority.
—Dragonflyghter

Richard may have forgotten it was corporate-headshot day at his company, but it didn’t matter. He took great pains to maintain his appearance every morning: from his perfectly coifed hair, all the exact same length, to his eternally clean-shaven face, and even down to his groomed eyebrows, meant that he was picture-perfect ready every day. What he didn’t have, however, was a face that conveyed well to the camera. He was forgettable—bland, plain bread in a platter of french toast. People perusing through the company website were destined to scroll past his photo again and again, not even noticing he was there.
—EricaDeel

AI-Generated Person #3

Even when Miranda smiled, you could see the tension in her cheek muscles, ready to snap back into her perpetual glare. Her auburn-brown hair was built like a hut around her head, with stray strands and fibers sticking out. She didn’t have time to tame it in the morning, and she didn’t have time for you.
—Me

Melinda was a stubby little middle-aged tiger mom, with a bushy brown shrubbery of hair growing atop her head, and eyes that seemed to change color according to how fed up with your bullsh*t she was at any given moment.
—cozyrogers

She won’t admit it. But Martha’s time expired a decade ago. Always lounging around bar counters at the age of 52, waiting, like some Black Widow in a web of lies and failed marriages. No amount of eyeliner and blush covered her orange, leathery face. Lucky for her, her mop of brown hair covered just enough to trick young guys into thinking she was still 21. From behind.
—Joe_g89

Time had taken its toll, cracks were forming at her foundations, but she was still putting up a fight. Her frosted berry mouth danced with a thief’s smile.
—authorJeMac

A sunburnt apricot. She seemed to never learn to smile until her fortieth birthday. Worry: another feature of her face.
—JebusDota

She had never been young. Her expression betrayed her, etched with a quiet, grim determination. She had been thrown into the lion’s den long ago, and the lines on her face were the scars of her fight, never healing, always deepening.
—gameon12321

AI-Generated Person #4

The sharp frizzy edges to Emily’s hair were the fires of her mind, lapping at her scalp to break free. Her pale, smooth skin made her seem young and innocent, but her eyes were wide-open windows into the terrible thoughts that smoldered within.
—Me

People always told Trish that she’d look right at home in prison. Her defiant eyes and windswept hair had earned her the pseudonym ‘Mug Shot’, which is exactly what you’d receive if she caught you calling her that.
—cozyrogers

Beatrice was a robot, born without a single emotional bone in her body. In fact her bones were probably stone cold and plated in steel.
—Justintoonz

Alexis posed for her mugshot as if modeling for Cell Block Magazine. Burnt chocolate eyes daring the onlooker for a challenge. Hair scrunched in maddened curls slicked back, a half-assed comb through before the crime had been committed.
—Dragonflygher

Becky used to smile. She used to laugh and joke. She used to wake up next to me in the mornings, and rub her messy hair on my shoulder to wake me. But something in her snapped. She became a religious fanatic, putting Bibles and crosses in every room. Our son had messy hair like her too. So we asked the mortician not to touch it.
—Joe_g89

If you want to join us and help write a story by trolling in chat, or share your own writing for feedback, then we’d love to have you join us on Twitch.

And you missed the stream, you can still watch them on the YouTube channel or watch the full stream reruns.

Hope to see you next time, friend!

Featured image: Pakutaso