Adobe Firefly, Animated Textures & JSON Tricks

Hello Friend,

Welcome back to the Generative Path, your weekly infusion of AI-powered creativity curated by ZenRobot to keep you ahead of the curve with the latest tools, trends, and techniques.

This week, Adobe Firefly gets a serious upgrade, making image generation faster, smoother, and smarter. We’re showing you how to add rich, animated textures to your designs, spotlighting the standout work of designer Jad Kassis, and decoding a new prompt trick using JSON. Add in a layered playlist from The Flashbulb and your weekly AI vs. Reality test, and you’ve got everything you need to fuel your next creative session. Let’s get into it.

Spots are going fast! Final seats available for ZenRobot’s Generative AI Masterclass. This immersive 4-week journey is perfect for creatives and curious minds eager to harness the full power of generative AI. Applications close on Monday, the 28th of July for anyone wanting to join the August cohort. Don’t miss out!

Feature of the Week: Adobe Firefly

Adobe Firefly is back with powerful new upgrades that make creative work even faster and more intuitive. Now featuring real-time prompt suggestions, it helps you fine-tune your ideas as you type. No guesswork, just sharper results.

Deeper integration with Creative Cloud apps like Photoshop and Illustrator means you can generate high-quality visuals, explore concepts, and apply edits without breaking your flow. With improved text rendering and a faster, more responsive engine, Firefly keeps your creative process smooth, smart, and production-ready.

Creative Hack: Retexture Text and Logos

Want to give your brand some texture? With Adobe Firefly’s Image Model 4, you can transform your flat logo or text into a rich textured animation in just a few steps.

1. Open Adobe Firefly (Image Model 4) and upload your logo as a reference image.

2. Set reference strength to 100% to keep your logo or text shape.

3. Prompt desired texture (Examples: fur, velvet, chrome, neon, jelly)

4. Generate and animate using Firefly’s video tool.

This technique was first shared by designer Jad Kassis on Instagram. Check out his original post here.

Community Spotlight: Jad Kassis

Jad Kassis is a brand designer and AI creative specialist using generative tools to streamline workflows and elevate visual storytelling. From animating mockups with Luma AI to creating dynamic design textures with Adobe Firefly, Jad shows how AI can enhance everyday design work. His short-form tutorials and creative experiments make advanced tools feel approachable, offering real value to designers looking to work smarter and more creatively. For anyone navigating the intersection of branding and AI, Jad is a go-to voice worth following.

This Week’s Flow State: The Flashbulb Radio

Dive into the intricate and emotive soundscape of The Flashbulb Radio this week on Spotify. With evolving electronic textures, ambient piano, and subtle rhythmic shifts, this playlist crafts a deeply immersive atmosphere perfect for thoughtful focus and creative exploration. Whether you’re writing, coding, or simply reflecting, these layered compositions guide you smoothly through your flow. Press play and let the intricate harmony carry you onward.

AI Trend: JSON Code

For the creative technologists and curious creators, this one’s for you. This week’s trend explores using JSON coding (JavaScript Object Notation) in AI image prompting to achieve impressive consistency across outputs. By structuring prompts in JSON format within tools like Weavy users can precisely define parameters, ensuring reliable and tailored image generations. Check out this post for a clean example of the workflow in action.

AI vs. Reality: Can You Tell the Difference?

This week, we’ve got a brand-new pair of images to test your perception again. Think you can tell which is AI-made and which is the real deal? Take your guess and we’ll reveal the answer in the next issue!

Last week, we kicked off our AI vs. Reality face-off with deep sea divers, and now for the moment of truth, if you guessed the right one was the real deal, you got it right. The left image was created with Midjourney, showing off the program’s impressive ability to generate hyperrealistic images.

Join the Conversation! AI is constantly evolving, unlocking new creative possibilities every day. What caught your attention this week? Hit reply and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Follow ZenRobot for more AI insights, and if you found this interesting, share it with someone who would too.

Stay curious,
David and Ross