I'm asking this because I've recently begun buying commissions, as though I do draw, I'm not good at drawing people, and have lots of OCs as a writer for years now.
I've never given an AI art reference (I usually just show what I have written about the character in question), but this question popped up in my head recently, as there have been so much talk about AI being used to make art, or potentially replacing commissions for people who don't draw, so I wondered how a kind of middle ground would be taken? Not replacing a commission, but AI still ultimately being used at some point in process.
I'd love if you were an artist you could elaborate in a comment or a reblog or something on how you would feel if someone sent you a picture reference as an artist for you to draw, and it were clearly made by AI.
Hi there Choijesoo, So as an artist who's currently developing their skills in the hope of one day opening commissions, i thought i'd make this reblog to explain why, atleast for me and some artists, using AI even just to make a reference for a commission is a bad idea. First, im going to define something. When i say 'artist', i mean those trained either by class or by self, to create works of art with their own hands. traditional, digital, or otherwise. Opposing this, anyone who actively participates in the creation of AIs and the process of feeding these machines content to reproduce is an AI Supporter. This is just to define the terms going forward. Back to the point: Right now, the problem itself isn't using AI art as a reference, it's how AI art is made and what using it means. Ai Art is made by companies who scrape the internet in large batches, scooping up THOUSANDS of pieces of art to put into the ai to train it. this results in the AI mimicing these pieces, only changing small bits to fit whatever prompt is put in. The inherent problem here is the companies do not ask the artists who own the original works for permission to scrape their art. They just do it. So when that AI churns out a piece, it's often a very close replica to an existing artwork someone spent hours on already, taken without their permission and used without giving credit back to them. it's essentially theft of their work, even if the final product is somewhat different. Think of it like you made up a character, and i came along and saw that character, copied it, and only changed a few small details like the shape of their nose, then posted it without crediting you or getting your permission. It sucks to say the least. So for those who think and feel like i do, the concept that the work made by AI is stolen content makes it feel dirty, unclean, and sacrilegious to the very core of what we know as artists about making art. So the idea of even handling AI art as a reference for a commission is... unappealing. And this is just the art on its own. There's a second problem to consider: The threat AI poses to our livelyhood. Beyond just stealing the work of an artist, supporters of AI content have begun to intentionally use it to copy specific artists styles to circumvent commissioning them. There's plenty of cases you can google for this, but what it boils down to is this: An AI art supporter will intentionally fill an ai with specific work from one artist in order to reproduce their style and parts of their work to obtain a piece they wanted without the paying the artist or asking for permission. Now im not going to pretend that that supporter would have paid the artist for the commission in the first place, so the artist didn't technically lose profit on this. But what it means going forward does. Others will see that reproduced piece, and instead of paying the artist say, 40$ for their work, will pay the ai supporter $5. not only does this impact the original artist by stealing potential customers, but it reducing the value of their original work to the populous. And as more people use AI content, it gives these AI supporters the message that what they are doing is acceptable. The very use of it furthers their belief that this is not only a good thing to do, but the next step in the 'evolution of art'. Specifically, look to companies. the more Ai content is used, circulated, and supported the more companies look to it as a cheaper alternative to paying artists, something they already are notorious for not wanting to do. So to many artists, those better trained than i, it's taking their very jobs. For a recent turn of events, look to Riot Games, who just laid off a dozen of their talented concept and splash-art artists in favor of using AI assisted work.
So the very use of AI to make art, whether for reference or just a fun little tiktok filter, is an act that perpetuates a decline in our future as artists. Noting all that, i do want to say that the idea of being able to make a reference image using AI art does have its appeals. It is nice to be able to take some of the mental load off from the design to let another handle it and get a decent starting point to springboard off of. But by now, you can see where the problem lies. So atleast for me personally, and many artists that i follow who've been vocal on the subject (ex: Subjectively over on youtube), Ai art isn't something we want to touch. When i am able to take commissions, i would rather receive a detailed description and sit down with you for a quick concept sketch session then even think of touching an AI piece for reference. So to end off, im not saying you cant. It's your choice what you want to do moving forward, but i want to help you understand where some artists come from, and should you decide to make ai references for commissions, it is my hope this will explain why some artists might turn down the references. I hope this helps! If you have any questions about what i said, please feel free to reach out. (Minor note: To any Ai Supporter who wants to come onto this post and try to debate, argue, slander, or otherwise engage with me, I only promise to attempt to engage with you. if it becomes apparent quickly you aren't interested in discussion or debate on good faith, you will be blocked and ignored. I like to atleast try.)
