Dear Reader,
I’m coming to you from my little corner of the world today in an effort to champion my fellow creatives and for once share my thoughts on a topic that weighs on me daily, AI.
Jumping to the forefront of an argument isn’t exactly in my comfort zone, I’m often too nervous to say my piece, but this isn’t just about not liking AI or thinking that a robot is stealing my job. Generating a profile picture with AI may seem like harmless fun but it’s also one step towards normalised complacency in soulless media. I’m hoping this telegram might explain what we as creatives really feel is at threat.
For decades I’ve been honing my craft, I’ve explored traditional mediums, photography, graphic design, wood cut art pottery… the list goes on. Was I some sort of child art prodigy? A star student? Artistically talented beyond belief? No! I found a love in expressing myself visually, a love in visual communication, in connection and most importantly a love for making people smile. I’ve woken up every day for the last 20ish years in search of new inspiration, new tools, in search of a style that felt like an extension of me. Every piece of art and design I’ve made captures my understanding of the world in that moment and, like me, that style will continue to evolve and change.
The gallery below showcases my creative journey, the framework to every piece of art an artist creates. It’s not 3 hours of drawing, but 30 years of trial and error. AI can never replace this, it can’t hold a candle to what truly goes into the movies, designs, art and entertainment you love.
AI ‘Art’; An Insult To Creativity
Earlier this month, Ben Templesmith, Migzy Co and I sat down with Aami from The New Indian Express to chat about AI image generation, creative expression and how we yearn for the days when Ai meant Adobe Illustrator.
A large part of my week is spent listening to chatter about how the world is falling apart around us or how creatives need to accept that their years of skill development and dedication can’t rival an algorithm that in fact doesn’t work without their years of skill development and dedication— make sense of that.
I’m tired of being told that my skills are worthless, that because a program can generate an image that it’s of the same quality as the images it’s stolen from and that every one should be entitled to access art as though $20 art prints don’t exist. The notion that artists are hiding some big secret to talent is absurd— It’s exhausting, entitled and is breeding laziness that I fear we won’t come back from.
Aami asked us some thought provoking questions before writing the article and I wanted to share my answers and broader thoughts on generative AI and creative expression as a whole.
1. What is art to you, and how has your definition evolved over the years?
To me, art is human expression, a vessel for us to connect with each other and share our perspective on the human experience.
2. As an artist, what is your thought process when creating? Do you follow intuition, structure, or a mix of both?
For me, it’s a mix of both. Working in Adobe Illustrator definitely adds structure to my process, but the process is driven by intuition. Years of developing designs and illustration skills have taught me to trust my intuition—you only add to your understanding of the medium as you continue to create.
3. The AI Ghibli trend has gained massive traction. How do you feel about AI-generated art being so widely shared and consumed?
This Ghibli trend is both a testament and insult to the incredible body of work that the studio has produced. Honestly, it saddens me. Reducing everything down to “content” has taken the value and perceived value out of what so many artists have spent their entire lives learning how to do—refining their skills, their craft, their taste. I don’t think the average person understands that ripping off an artist’s style in the way that this trend—and generative AI in general— has done is not complimentary to the creator—it’s exploitative. I hope this can become a teaching moment, Studio Ghibli have certainly spoken out and their message will reach millions more than the average illustrator. I hope that people who haven’t quite understood or listened to the small guy discussing the impacts of AI images might now listen when one of their favourite creators speaks up and explains how it impacts our industry.
Consumers need to stop and realise that if we don’t push back on these companies now, AI will come for every job, every last bastion of expression, all in the name of efficiency and “content.” Profile pictures and generative images that are deemed “harmless fun” is where the normalising and acceptance of all this begins. The late stage capitalist society we have bred only values money. Artists are on the front lines to a battle most people don’t even see coming—but its coming for them, too.
4. Do you think AI-generated art threatens or complements human creativity?
AI generated images are an insult to creativity. There is nothing creative about a program that mashes stolen images together to generate a “new” image, there is no expression in this, no message and no heart. Creativity is about expressing yourself and saying something— as soon as you are allowing AI to generate the end result you strip the image of any true meaning.
That said, I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised—we live in an era of shortcuts where everyone wants everything right now and feels entitled to it. Why spend countless hours honing and refining skills to get really good at a craft when you can just hit a button and have a machine make a thing for you? It’s sad, honestly.
5. Have you faced any personal challenges or opportunities due to AI-generated trends in illustration?
At this point it’s mostly just people who don’t understand my job telling me I can take shortcuts to produce sloppy, generic designs.
6. In your experience, do brands now prioritize AI efficiency over human creativity, or is there still a strong demand for original, handcrafted design?
I think there is a share of both, though I don’t think they are prioritising efficiency but attempting to save money. Companies willing to use these kinds of images were never going to invest in an artist, they don’t value our time or skills. An artist’s value is in our perspective and the filter that we see the world through, taking all of our lived experience, our fears, our joys, our anger, our passion, and filtering through that. As I said before, it’s about an expression of the human condition. So, the optimist in me knows that that part of it all, the algorithm will never be able to replicate.
But back to your question about demand for original, handcrafted design, I hope there will be a demand for it—and the optimist in me believes there will be, to some extent. We see in everything from the music industry to film/TV and especially comic books, there is a demand for physical media and original pages. A lot of people are waking up to the realisation that we live in a world where most of the things we think we own—digitally—are merely only rentals. The resurgence in demand for physical media and the continued demand for original comic book pages gives me some bit of hope.
7. How do you think artists can future-proof their careers in a world where AI is rapidly evolving?
Ultimately, I’m still searching for this answer. I think continuing to discuss the impacts of AI on our process and industry is important— having meaningful discussions with political leaders, unions and boards to put contracts and laws in place to safeguard our careers and skills is definitely needed. If governments don’t regulate AI and protect jobs, they will find cities worth of people unemployed and there won’t be new career paths or jobs to replace what AI has taken in the timeframe needed.
It’s also important to continue to educate people on what is actually happening when they hit that “go” button to generate an image. There are environmental, moral, ethical and artistic costs to all of this.
8 . Have you personally incorporated AI into your work in any way, or do you see it as something to avoid?
No, I haven’t. It doesn’t interest me. And until the technology companies prioritise ethics, I won’t have any interest. I also have to add that program tools branded ‘AI’ that are just tools are not what I think the concern is, I avoid any kind of generative tools added to my programs, I don’t want or need the program to make creative decisions for me.
9. In your opinion, what remains uniquely human in art that AI can’t replicate?
Expression and further development. AI can only spit back what has been put into the machine. It has no ability to grow, no ability to understand emotion and expression. We are drawn to images and words that offer a shared experience, that make us feel understood.
10. If AI-generated illustrations become more refined and accessible, what do you think will define an artist’s value in the future?
An artists value is in true expression and understanding of the human condition and that can not be taken away by AI. I believe this will come full circle, our instinctual need for connection will reward projects that embrace it and value the human expression.
I don’t think the battle against AI is even half way done, but if there is one takeaway from this telegram may it be that AI will not stop with creative jobs. It will come for everything, no matter how prestigious the position. Doctors are just as easily replaced as artists— an algorithm can assess your symptoms, order tests and look over the results for a diagnosis. The bottom line is all about corporations saving money, each penny they save chips away little by little at our humanity. Artists are on the front line of this battle and we are doing our best to raise awareness to the bigger issue.
Earth Day
Upcoming Events
Free Comic Book Day, Ventura CA | May 3
Comic Con Revolution, Ontario CA | May 17-18
Pasadena Comic Con | May 24
Free Comic Book Day
This year I’ll be heading to Arsenal Comics in Ventura CA for Free Comic Book Day! There will be raffles, giveaways and of course, free comics!
Comic Con Revolution
On a much more exciting note, I’m delighted to be heading to Comic Con Revolution in Ontario CA on May 17-18. I’ll be hosting my very first Bad Blood panel at 2:30PM on Saturday. We will walk through the game and unpacking how the project came together!
