Just hit 500 training runs on my image generator model and I'm shook

I set up a custom AI image generator six weeks ago for a side project making fantasy book covers. Yesterday my dashboard showed I hit 500 training runs. That's way more than I thought I'd do but honestly each run taught me something new about prompts and fine-tuning. The biggest win was getting a consistent character face across different scenes after run 412. It felt like a real breakthrough for something I just tinkered with in my free time. Has anyone else had a moment where a random number like that made you realize how far you'd come?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.leo12d ago

Read a blog that said most people quit before 50 runs.

shanelee12d agoMost Upvoted

Keep at it @ellis.leo, the first 50 are just warmups anyway.

noaht1512d ago

It's wild how hitting a specific number can make you stop and actually see the progress you've made (instead of just feeling like you're spinning your wheels). I've noticed this pattern everywhere, not just in tech stuff. Like, my neighbor started baking sourdough during lockdown and it was all about "fifty loaves in" before she felt like she actually knew what she was doing. There's something about crossing that arbitrary threshold that makes all the messy, early attempts feel worth it. The 400s are that sweet spot where everything starts clicking because you've finally failed enough times to learn what not to do. It's the same with learning guitar chords or even getting better at a video game, you don't notice the small wins until a big number makes you look back.