Using An Algorithm to Create Art

Recently, art created by computers has become a major debate. Software that can create art from minimal information has become much more sophisticated and is better able to replicate the style of known artists. While there are some issues with the art produced, it is generally pretty good and the art produced is capable of winning art contests. While some really great art has been produced, there are some interesting glitches that have shown up, and so the art ranges from gallery quality to downright nightmare fuel. Suffice it to say that there is plenty to talk about.

For The Non-Illustrators

Without getting too much into the details, AI art is able to take the prompt given to it by someone and use it to create a piece of art. The only major limits on the software are those imposed by programmers, the access the software, and the art produced by the software previously. This means that someone can create art to order that fits certain parameters for almost any situation and that the art produced should generally work.

From a non-illustrator perspective, this means that art can be produced relatively cheaply, quickly, and as needed. Most of the software packages are currently free (albeit with a license) or for a monthly or annual fee. The art can be produced can take less than an hour to produce, so multiple attempts can be made in a short period of time rather than having to wait for an illustrator to make another attempt. This also means that the art can be produced whenever needed rather than having to go through the process of finding an illustrator, describing the project, and then waiting for the illustrator to get done.

However, there are two major drawbacks: randomness and licensing. The first is that there is no real way to predict what the AI will create; the software can produce anything from something really great to something that is really scary. This also means that consistency can be a problem; if you require a specific character or design, that can be a problem. This also means that replicating something specific can be a problem. Licensing can also be a problem, as a number of free versions prohibit commercial use and even ownership of the art created under the paid license can be a little murky.

For The Illustrator

Ignoring the debate on whether or not the art created is actually art, it can get interesting for the illustrator. The first is that the illustrator is going to lose some jobs as others use the software for their projects. However, the illustrator is unlikely to lose any real work from the software; it's only going be good for one-offs, such as promotional materials, covers, and maybe backgrounds; the lack of consistency is the major problem here and is currently not really useful for some projects, such s art or animation, that require consistency throughout the project.

The other is that AI art has some hurdles to jump over. The first is that there are some legal issues: As AI art is the synthesis of a wide range of different images, there is a legitimate question of whether or not the art can be copyrighted, and some of the licenses make commercial usage either impossible or at least difficult. The second is that AI art cannot currently replace the creativity and intent of a human illustrator; that is, while the software can give a non-illustrator a lot of options, a human illustrator's training and experience can eliminate a lot of options that just don't work.

So while some non-illustrators may use it for specific uses, illustrators do not have to worry about being replaced any time soon.

The Verdict, For Now

As it currently stands, AI art is great for one-off art but may not be good for long-term work. While it can be used to save time and money, the lack of consistency and inability to properly predict the outcome of a given prompt make it unsuitable for some projects, such as comic books. Throw in the legal issues, and there are some legitimate reasons to limit its use, or even debate its use altogether if you have access to a human illustrator. AI art has a long way to go before it will replace human illustrators.