AI: Is it art? Choose Your Fighter
In my last video I said I had a topic. And this little something is about a topic I’ve wanted to talk about for a while. AI. Artificial Intelligence.
You’d think they could have named it better, right? If you need a qualifier to the word “intelligence” it seems like it might not be a good thing. But I digress.
For months now I’ve participated in countless discussions about AI. Some with those vehemently opposed. Others who are AI-curious. Each person with justifiable positions on AI. I can see all of it, and have pondered how it fits in with my own perspective on what makes something an “art” piece.
AI is by no means new right now. It’s fall 2024, and it’s been taking the world by storm. It seems I run into it in every aspect of life, expecially on the web – every plugin, every website, every search engine – it’s all powered by AI. All the first Google suggestions are AI compilations from what it THINKS is the best answer. (I scroll past that to get the REAL answer to my questions!)
And with customer service turning increasingly to AI to respond to us, the world is feeling less in-touch, less human, by the day. Very depressing! I can promise you that on my blog, in my newsletters, on my Art-Classes site – there’s nothing you should run into that’s AI-powered. If you get an email back from me, it’s going to be me writing it. (Thus the typos!) My newsletters could be AI generated – but I’m refusing to click that button.
And with AI trying to get into art…well, it’s about time I put some thought into what *I* think about it. I’ve had many a discussion with other artists, and find all sorts of opinions, though most are worried about where it’s headed. Visual models are based on the art of people who were never given an opportunity to opt out – no one whose art is utilized gets a penny from usage of their work, and there’s no credit given.
So I’ve put my thoughts into a video while creating a cute piece of art – and would love to know YOUR thoughts on AI after you watch. What’s your experience been?
Video: Is AI art? Choose Your Fighter
Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!
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Black and white original drawing:
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- TWSBI Eco fountain pen medium nib
- Hahnemule Hand lettering pads
- Platinum Carbon Fountain Pen Ink
Color drawing, printed in a tint:
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Pen and ink drawing
After a relatively detailed sketch of the shapes, I dove in with my Eco Twsbi (medium nib) Eeep! It’s been a while and I’m out of pen and ink practice. Inktober’s coming up, I need to get back my skillz.
Then the pen and ink drawing…the Hahnemule lettering paper does the least feathering, so when I’m going to create something that might end up as a printable, I use this to be sure I get the best lines with the least fraying.
The pen did a nice job of it since I was working so large; it’s always hard to tell what thickness will shrink down well. I’d recommend not making this an A2 card size, it’s got a lot of small bits! Originally I had planned to add a lot of crosshatching and shading in pen and ink – but I wrecked it in that phase so totally that I was VERY glad I captured the drawing before I added all of that so I could both shrink it down for me to color and still offer it to you.
Another note: I had originally hand-lettered the text. But not only did it end up not centered, it just looked a mess! So using graphics programs I replaced it with real text, and centered it up. #graphicdesignnerd !!!
Derwent Lightfast, 12 color set
Since these pencils aren’t cheap, I decided to see what I could do with the set of 12 colors – and that way if you wanted to see what you think of them before a bigger investment, you could start with something smaller. It’s a relatively good set? I felt like I’d have preferred a medium blue rather than the lightish blue, because this one won’t darken (though light pressure lightens any color). And they had 3 browns, so I can only guess what they thought folks buying this set would be drawing with it. (Coloring books? uh no!)
I’m in progress on the 100-pencil hex chart, but one assessment I can tell you is they have far more darks than lights, likely for the aforementioned reason; if you’re not used to / or don’t like working in soft layers, try a different line of pencils. They have an exorbitant amount of blues though, and some dark greens that are going to be delicious for plant subjects. A decent range for skin tones and fur. It’s just not a “brights” line of pencils – which might tell us also why other lines of pencils are less lightfast: perhaps the darker colors are more fade-resistant by nature. I’m hoping to do more pigment research soon and figure this out.
But nonetheless, the 12 pencil set IS decent, and you can see what it does here with these critters.
Lines or implied lines?
I had some challenges with printing – not ones anyone else will have! My printer is on its very last legs, it’ll only print in the faint lines you saw on my printout. So basically everything I do right now is implied lines, though not by choice.
An attempt to take the file to print at FedEx didn’t help as their printers were down. I drove all over town til I was too exhausted to try further, and just printed it light!
In the printable PDF, both the heavier and lighter lined versions are included, you can see which you prefer; I lost track of where my lines were since they were so faint. Which was a challenge to say the least. A sharp pencil was a MUST.
Color it yourself!
You can pick up the printable yourself – it’s a PDF with 2 versions to try as well as a resizeable JPG.
Print it on your favorite paper for whatever medium you want to use, and have fun with it. Frame it and hang it up in your workspace to remind you to choose a fighter – and get out there and save the world with your art!
