How the machines work

Member lesson

The seed, and what determinism buys you

Lesson 7 of 13 in How the machines work.

Stable Diffusion - Quick tip for using seeds when you want somewhat minor image adjustments · Scott Detweiler
Lesson

Generation starts from noise, and that noise comes from a number. Fix the number and the same prompt on the same model with the same settings usually gives you the same image again, on many tools down to the pixel. Let it float and every run is a fresh draw.

seed fixed · one word changedthe difference is the wordseed free · same promptthe difference is the dicelock the seed and a prompt becomes a variable you can testleave it free and every run is a fresh draw
The same seed producing identical images, and free seeds producing different ones.
A single die held still in a small vice on a table. Next to it are two identical prints of a jug, a cloth and a piece of fruit. The only difference between them is that the pear on the left has become a lemon on the right.
Hold the dice still and only one thing changes. Now you can see what your edit actually did.
Member

The rest of this is for members.

You have read the opening of this lesson. The rest of it comes with a membership.

One membership covers all four courses and Brands.

  • All lessons in the four Learn courses
  • All brand breakdowns in the Brands section
  • All quizzes, flashcards and crosswords
  • An AI teacher on every lesson, for up to 60 questions a day
  • All course material published during the membership

Price

Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.

Check what stuck

Members only

You can't take this check yet.

Members answer these 3 questions and keep the ticket for this lesson. Every lesson has one.

  1. Question 1, locked

    Which of these words means this? “The property that a run can be repeated exactly. Worth more than it sounds.”

    • Conditioning
    • Scheduler
    • Determinism
    • Weights
  2. Question 2, locked

    Which of these words means this? “How far a new run is allowed to move from a fixed seed. The dial between a tweak and a different picture.”

    • Token
    • Context window
    • Memorisation
    • Variation strength
  3. Question 3, locked

    Which of these words means this? “Several seeds run at once against one prompt, so you are choosing rather than rerolling.”

    • Unit economics
    • Head
    • Vision model
    • Batch

Elsewhere in the library

Hear about new courses.

Leave an email and we will tell you when something new lands. We do not write often.