Sometimes, I used to wish I could press a button, and my artwork would instantly appear on my blank canvas. However, the emergence of AI-generated art has made me realize that the satisfaction gained from completing a piece of art through my own efforts far surpasses any quick fix that AI-generated art can offer. In addition, the benefits of creating traditional art, such as reducing stress and feeling a sense of accomplishment, outweigh the speed of creating.
In truth, the struggle, the process of figuring things out, and the ultimate feeling of calm and peace that comes with creating something myself is a truly meditative experience.
AI art vs. traditional art has been a hot topic in the art world for the past year, with people arguing both sides. My personal belief is that creating AI-generated art does not make someone an artist. Someone may be a great prompt writer. However, the sense of satisfaction that comes with creating something by hand cannot be replicated. Additionally, AI art doesn’t truly add anything new to the creative world. It simply recombines existing work. As humans, we have the potential to connect with something greater than ourselves. We can also create something entirely new.
At first, I felt a huge disappointment that two of my favorite styles of drawing, Manga and Anime, were used to train some of the first AI. As a result, generating these types of images is very easy, no matter your skill level. It feels that something that took me years and years of practice is now accessible to anyone. All one must do is log onto a program and add some text prompts.
AI Art vs Traditional Art
Last year, I decided to experiment with AI art generators to form a fair opinion. I quickly discovered that they could produce a wide variety of styles. Moreover, generating an image is especially easy when working with a single character.
However, creating scenes with multiple figures was often unpredictable and chaotic. Here are some common mistakes AI art generators often make: extra limbs, empty eye sockets, extra fingers, multiple heads, and heads on top of heads (what I call hat heads). Also, for some reason, AI has difficulty generating realistic hands.
Surprisingly, mastering the art of crafting prompts for AI generators was a relatively simple process. I followed these steps:
- I read some tutorials
- Looked at other people’s prompts (which you can see in many of the generators)
- Made a list of both the positive and negative attributes I wanted the program to use in its generation.
Soon enough, I created visually appealing works that could serve as references in the future. But, while the experience was fun, it didn’t replace the sense of accomplishment that comes with traditional art creation.
I saw a video on YouTube where an artist completed a drawing. At the same time, his brother generated images from the same prompt. In the time it took the artist to complete his sketch, his brother generated over 15 well-drawn pictures of a similar likeness.
The Art of Prompt Writing vs. Traditional Artistry
While prompt writing can be considered a skill, creating AI-generated art does not equate to being an artist. Both AI art and traditional art require discernment. But the similarities end there. If anything, prompt creation falls into the writing skill area. Thus, when there are art shows or competitions, it’s only fair that traditional art, digital art, and AI-generated art should have their own categories. In addition, AI-generated art should also be labeled as such.
All this is not to say writing prompts that get high-quality results is simple. For example, look at the face of the dog in the image below. And also the right eye of the girl walking the dog. While most anyone can quickly generate attractive faces, a talented prompt writer can rerun and fix these mistakes when working with more complex images.
As a traditional artist, though, if I were to draw or paint the image below, I would be fine fixing the errors myself as I drew. I’d consider the generated image as a reference the same way I do with photos.
AI-Generated Art: Recombination, Not Innovation
Contrary to popular belief, AI-generated art does not introduce groundbreaking concepts. Instead, these programs analyze existing creative works and recombine them. They are learning and starting from scratch in a cyclical manner. This process results in countless unique combinations but does not generate anything new or innovative. But it is also not stealing directly from artists, as many in the art community believe, because of the large number of images in the data set.
On the other hand, humans can tap into a deeper creative well and originate new ideas. Our potential to connect with something greater and take the next leap is what distinguishes human-created from AI-generated art.
The Quest for Instant Gratification in Art Creation
However, when it comes to commercial art and graphic design, few people care who created the logo on their jar of peanut butter. I explained this to my teenage son recently. He is interested in an art career. We talked about the idea that companies and studios may look for artists who can both draw and create art themselves, but in addition, be familiar with prompting and how to generate images using AI-art technology because they will be able to produce faster results and save the studios money.
When comparing AI art vs. traditional art, AI art wins in a fast-paced world where time is of the essence. The allure of instant gratification has found its way into the realm of art. AI-generated art promises an immediate result that is hard for hiring managers to resist.
The Role of AI-Generated Art in the Future
It’s up to us, the artists and collectors, to determine the role of AI art in the future. AI art-generating tools such as Midjourney and Playground.ai can be useful tools for making art references or photo-realistic blog images without copyright concerns. However, it is important to be aware of a recent decision by the U.S. copyright office. This decision announced that AI-generated works cannot be copyrighted. This could lead to the unauthorized use of your creations.
The fusion of AI-generated art with traditional human creativity may provide an exciting avenue for exploration. However, as humans, our ability to connect with a deeper source of inspiration and develop truly unique ideas sets us apart. Furthermore, no matter how fast AI’s learning ability or how elevated its intelligence becomes in the future, I don’t believe it has a spiritual connection to the divine that so many great artists through the centuries talk about, regardless of their spiritual tradition or culture.
In conclusion, the journey of learning to draw and create art may be time-consuming, but it offers invaluable rewards that AI-generated art cannot provide, such as stress reduction and a deep sense of accomplishment.
Please note, the artworks in this post were made using a combination of AI art generation and Photoshop. I will always try to label images on this website when they are made with AI.