What Do I Think of AI Art? Is It Art? How Do I Use It?

My journey with AI started around two years ago, when I joined DeviantArt. DA is a social media platform for artists. The platform gives us art people a place to showcase and share our work.

I originally joined to showcase my traditional work and bait making, and then I noticed a button for DreamUp, DA's AI generator. I tried a couple of generations and was hooked. I loved being able to prompt things from my imagination and sit back and wait to see what the model came up with.

After working with prompts and models, I began moving at lightning speed, looking for better and better results, even moving to different platforms like Leonardo AI.

One thing I noticed across all platforms, models, LoRAs, and more was that all the AI results were NOT perfect. If you look at the details and what's going on, they miss a lot! So I began digitally painting over them, adding things, fixing things, and then I decided to incorporate my graphic design skills and start masking and color correcting.

My formula now involves a lot more, but it's still somewhat the same. I use AI as an underpainting to create the piece of art I'm looking for in my mind.

The next thing I noticed with AI and DeviantArt was that if you look at all the art on DA, you'll see probably 99% AI-generated work now. But that doesn't make it all great!

There are some AI artists who stand out among the others. Their work has a style and quality that surpasses the rest, just like traditional art!

Shortly after delving into the world of AI, I also noticed something else. This shit isn't easy!

Yeah, if you're just a machine-gun artist who doesn't care about your output or the quality of your work, then yes, it's easy. But if you put as much time as I do into getting the perfect render, this is incredibly hard, and it takes time.

You need to be able to express what's in your mind in such a way that you achieve the style, composition, color, lighting, and character design you're looking for.

I don't throw up 10 images at a time like some people do. I take my time on one piece and add a lot more to it than what was there when I rendered it.

Let me ask you this.

Let's say there's an amazing, renowned traditional artist whose work is second to none. One tragic day, they're in an accident and left without the use of their arms. But they don't want to stop creating, so they get another person to be their hands.

The ideas are theirs. The style is theirs. Everything about the art being created is still from them. They just didn't paint it with their own hands.

I feel like AI is the same thing.

Truly GOOD AI art comes from the creator's mind and how they curate the design and outcome. It doesn't matter if they did it with their own two hands.

Do I Love AI Art?

Absolutely!

You know, the world is changing at a rapid pace these days, and the way we perceive it is also changing. We need to embrace the change, or I feel like it will steamroll right over us.

Art does a few things for people.

For the viewer, it brings about a feeling. It might be sadness, happiness, anger, or just "That is Fucking BadAss!" Either way, it evokes an emotion.

For the artist, it brings about the satisfaction of creation and the pleasure of other people's positive responses to their work.

For the world, we decorate with it, filling our spaces and lives with what makes us who we are.

AI is just a tool to make great art. It's not doing it for you. In fact, if you let AI write its own prompts and come up with its own ideas, they're quite dull and boring, robotic even.

Is AI Art Truly Art?

Not by itself.

But in the hands of an artist, yes, AI art can be beautiful work, and it takes time, just like hand-done pieces.

I believe one day the world will start to see AI art as it does any other type of art.

For example, if a person builds a sculpture out of garbage cans, is it art?

Absolutely!

That's how they express themselves. That's their medium.

Let me know what you think, and please be kind.

Wicked