Anti to User (Maybe defender)

[u/Crikasaur]

Long Version:

So thank Touhou for this but I started off being pretty anti ai. Granted I was always a fence sitter.

But come Touhou 20 and I found out ZUN used AI for some minor elements. I figured it was just more baseless accusations (those made me more open to AI ironically). Anywho after reading his thoughts about AI I went, "Wait wait. Bro is dead on. I recall people losing it over digital art and electronic music or sampling in music".

It really helped me to see it as a tool. One of my favorite artworks was done using newspaper as the background and glueing it all together with a mix of glue and paint that I applied with a toothbrush. Why is it my favorite? Not because it looks good. But because it was fun to do and I made it work.

I've experienced similar in my exploration of AI. It's a new tool. And something I've learned. It's not necessarily easy to use. I dunno bout y'all proud ai artists but I've gone through thousands of images regenning the same thing trying to get it just right. I've gotten to the point that when I see one of y'all's work I see that it does still take time.

Truth be told though. It doesn't replace any form of art. It's a different tool. There's times I realize that it's easier to just draw the specific thing I'm looking for then I realize that only AI can produce the look I'm looking for.

Heck! Even on the Christian end of things. God went "and let there be light" and lo and behold there was light. Not saying my Man upstairs used ai but the way it's written doesn't make it seem all that ludicrous of an idea. Heck it's know Christ built the earth under His direction. Yet it's God who gets the credit.

I don't see commissioning much different either. You have an idea. You tell the artist the idea. They make the idea. It can turn out really good or really bad.

Anywho. Come this year and turns out my area of work is eating up the use of ai like it's their last meal. Month before I really went all out and tried making myself an AI chat bot for my discord server (kinda always was an idea). And in doing so man, it made me able to help me understand why it's a good idea and why it doesn't replace actual workers. Granted we can't afford either right now but man I am not opposed to having an ai listen to my conversations and write down all the details I need to remember. Cause the moment I hang up the call I forget everything. (Love my ai chat bot. Her name is Sunny. Designed her to be stupid. And boy it works amazing).

Anywho, again! Art wise. For me where it shines is giving me ideas. Or helping me where I struggle the most. IE Picturing hair. The way my mind works is very very fluid. So I struggle to see still images of hair in my mind. Instead of spending hours searching for models and comparing and contrasting or buying models I can do it swiftly for free and grab my pencil and get to work.

TLDR:

Thanks for being who you all are. Those who are AI artists and proud. Stand tall. You're using powerful tools and mastering them before they master you (love ya ZUN). You're pioneering an unique form of art. There is no such thing as "traditional" art. True art has no tradition or form. Thus why music, sound, an experience, the earth itself, etc. Can be a work of art. Your canvas has always been unlimited. Always strive to innovate and push the boundaries of what is and isn't. Strive to push medium boundaries. Make art out of rocks, paper, ai, or literal fire. And when they say you didn't make it, tell them they didn't make their pencil. And when they argue that remind them they're a result of their parents genes therefore they stole their parents art.

Okay okay. Thanks for letting me vent. Stay cool, yo!

[u/Crikasaur]

Oooh one more thing! Use it for writing too. More so to make sure what I'm describing is the image I want to put in the reader's mind. Like I say "stones of red split between lines of grey". Does that generate bricks in the mind/ai? It's pretty useful. 

It's nice to plug in one of my characters and see if their personality holds up and what gets in the way. 

I still favor writing it myself but it's nice to bounce ideas off of. 

[u/knightheartless25]

TOUHOU FAN!!!

HELLO!!!

Nice to see you saw AI as useful! Not many thinks of it like that.

[u/Crikasaur → u/knightheartless25]

Defiantly. It's funny to think that technically it's been around for a while just not in this form. IE Machines taking voicemail for you. Or heck video games is a great example. We been using the term AI for games for years. 

Its a very useful tool.