Statement on A.I.
The tsunami is coming
This statement was first published in January, 2024.
When A.I. generating art engines started up awhile ago, I watched some of what artists I knew were posting, who were playing with it. And I immediately decided I wanted nothing to do with it, while I pretty quickly understood the tsunami that was approaching my industry. Those first couple of weeks felt like the ocean retreating deeply, unnaturally. And if you know what comes next, you have to act quick.
My own decision was made then, without ever having interacted with Midjourney or any other A.I. art engine. I still haven’t even played with them once. I get it, I don’t need to waste time on it. I added this fact to my bios and profiles everywhere. I’m surprised how few others have.
I got into art to make art, to push myself, to see how far I could take this creative mind. I didn’t begin a marathon to hop on a motorized scooter half way through or cut the course. I will finish or quit on my own feet.
This far into my life and race, I will simply continue. I understand that my industry as I know it is going to be washed away sooner or later, and that it has already begun. Reduced to mere, “Content,” most will not care where their imagery comes from. That shift had begun long before A.I.. This content or that content: my painting or some music or a Twitch stream—it’s all become interchangeable through grouping under the term, “Content,” and for most folks all this content is nothing more than eyeballs and time units for monetization. Infinite scroll, autoplay, algorithm-driven feed. It’s called a feed because you are fed.
I know that my competition will more quickly outpace me. Artists with skill will shortcut their workflow and get improved results, faster, even if it changes their style. Artists you know are already doing this. And if you are one of them, just admit it—plenty will accept you, and many of us see through your work anyway. I’m not going to argue with you. The tsunami is coming—I am running to shore, and will help the friends I can on the way. If you feel like surfing instead, best of luck. Some of you will succeed in the new art economy. I may disappear from it eventually. Oh well. I’ll still be painting even if I get swept away. Maybe my last working years will require me to do something else to put bread on my table—I hope not, but I’d rather do that and keep painting in the way I value, on the side.
There remains one hitch I am working through. Much of the illustration work I do is based on pre-designed characters or worlds, and I contribute to them. So this means if I paint something Star Wars related, for example, I have to abide by pre-existing designs. That’s normal in genre illustration, and historically that is building on the work of other artists. But I suspect that some of this concept art I’m being asked to work from may have been A.I. generated to some degree. It’s still on me to create new imagery using a character or whatever, but this last category is kinda creepy and I’m not sure what to do with it. Prefer projects that don’t have it—that’s one possibility. Ask for assignments that don’t reference those aspects? For as long as I can tell the difference I guess? If it becomes clear that I am just becoming a human face for a robot’s vision, I may have to make some harder choices still.
But I’m just going to continue making art—with paint when I can, digitally when I must, joyfully as I am able. And I will continue doing so without incorporating A.I. into my own creation process. And those that care will follow along and if they support my work, I will be as grateful as always.
I’m not going to tell another artist what to do. We’ve all got lives, families, health concerns and so on. None of us asked for this. The tsunami is coming. Best of luck.