AI Art - my bitter thoughts as handdrawing artist

UPFRONT: These thoughts of mine are a peaceful and philosophical reflection on the upcoming changes in the art world.

I neither am looking for any kind of trouble, nor am I going to participate in any kind of warmonging. While sadness is a driving factor for me here, this does not make me forget the principle of freedom and respectful dialogue.

I live and love peace. And I am at peace with both, handdrawing artists and AI artists.

I've never been able to earn enough money with my artistic profession as to feel threatened personally by that development anyway.

So please stay respectful and maintain dignity when replying to this journal. Thank you.

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Handdrawn art will die out.

That is my conviction and fear at the same time. With AI art flooding the world (at least my deviantart inbox) recently rather uncontrolledly, I'm starting to realize, that my kind of artist - doing actual HANDDRAWN pieces - is going to be extinguished in no time (at least in the commercial world).

It's quickly done to let an AI create a complex artwork, within few minutes. The AI art is amazing, absolute high quality, and - in contrast to handdrawing artists - inexhaustible as it is immune to burn-out and other psychical or physical issues.

[Animated GIF of drawing process - click to watch ->]

15 years ago: Technology leap from traditional to digitally painted art

Already before, since I've changed ages ago from traditional paper/pencil medium to digital drawing/painting on graphic tablet, some people started assuming: I'd be just "cheating using render effects" or "3D rendering everything" or "photomanipulating" my art together - and not drawing.

By them, painting digitally is considered less valuable than traditional art, although it is the identical approach (in my case) and takes just as much time - the only thing I'm saving is costs for painting material and storage room.

I have over 600 XXL sized paintings finished digitally. I'd need an own CASTLE by now to exhibit/store alone my FINISHED art, if it was not digital. And I finish only about 20% of my art.

In particular those visitors on anime/manga conventions I exhibited at here in Germany (mere 3-4 years ago!) accused me of "not being an illustrator but a 3D/photomanipulation artist". Why?

The contrast to (most of) the other artists exhibiting there was so extreme, they saw no other explanation; and in fact I've come to believe, those visitors (and sadly some artists there too) had no clue what digital drawing really was, as many still exhibited with traditional art there.

They simply were not able to grasp, that using the digital medium does not mean, one is putting the drawing pen out of hand and lets the computer do the whole thing for you.

It's the same technique as traditional art: all the envisioning, where is light, where is dark, where are colors, highlighting, shades etc must to be done in your own head - and then it's up to your skill and eye-hand-coordination to paint, what you see in front of your inner vision.

My unchanged work flow

I always start with a white/grey canvas - and work my very lonely (and personally sacred) way of making my inner vision manifest without any outer influences stroke by stroke of my pen.

Sure, my canvas might be a digital one, but I use 100% traditional techniques in creating my art. The pen moves and is being pushed onto the tablet - led ultimately by my subconsciousness. And where it moves and is being pushed, it leaves a stroke depending on how hard I push it down.

I use to 99% a huge smooth round basic brush, or a tiny hard round basic brush. Nothing special. Those 1% of brushes I sometimes use, I have created myself out of those mentioned two basic brushes I generally draw with.

Any lighting situation, any structures, any detail, anything you see - it is there, because I specifically defined it that way by drawing it with my pen. Every single stroke.

The thing about using references

Now, since I guess, some people will wonder, how it is possible to draw those detailed and rather complex anatomical poses in my art gallery without ANY references, I decided to add yet another animated GIF of my most recent artwork: (click to watch)

Here in particular I've had a rather hard time figuring out the right anatomy and spent quite some time painting over and over and over and over parts, until it "felt right" to me.

Exactly. That's all my painting technique is about.

About "feeling right".

That's how I came this far from "raw stick man art" to what you see these days in my gallery (nothing against stick man art - it can totally rock!).

I'm completely selftaught. Just following this one compass needle: What is "feeling right" to me.

I follow my intuition, until nothing strikes my eye and heart anymore and the artwork leaves a good feeling inside of me - telling me: I've captured it.

And the ultimate check point are my characters. Even if I seem to be satisified with the result, sometimes my characters will not allow me to leave the drawing as finished, until they are convinced too, that I've nailed what THEY had in mind also.

(Ah well ...*sighs*.. what would I do without such demanding characters x3)

[Animated GIF of drawing process - click to watch ->]

The wondrous journey of creating something over a long period of time

However, my approach takes TIME to create an artwork. HOURS. WEEKS. Sometimes even YEARS.

Until the psychical and EMOTIONAL energy was sufficient to bring me and my artwork to the end of its process.

Because I cannot work on an artwork, when I don't feel its spirit, its emotions in my own heart and soul - and far too often I lose the link after making the concept (and my characters move forward to the next situation with its own new atmosphere too).

That's why 80% of my art stays unfinished. Forever. Miraculous exceptions allowed and most welcomed.

But that's what makes my art the way it is: namely ALIVE.

I never draw, when not FEELING it.

– And I intensely believe, that this is something that my art RADIATES. And I also truly believe, that you can perceive that "soul" in it, even if only on a subconscious level.

But that "hidden spark" is the difference.

Unfortunately not big enough of a difference for the masses.

The lonely spark gets even more lost in the exploding crowd

I don't know, how many followers will still be around my art side in a few years ... or who will even have a CHANCE to find an exotic original artist (and not fanartist) like me within the extreme flood of - not only global artists but now additionally - the exploding amount of people posting AI art as their own way of expressing themselves.

I guess there is nothing I can do about it. And it's not that I don't enjoy the quality of AI art - as I said, it is high quality and definitely enjoyable.

However, I'll keep creating art my "meagre humble way" - grabbing the pen, sitting down for hours, closing my eyes, until I see IT, the vision my characters give me - and start setting one stroke after another on my empty canvas. Until after ages of time IT is finished.

And you know, one thing kind of soothes me - but also makes me a bit sad:

AI artists will never understand the deep satisfaction of working aeons on something until having it accomplished.

 Just like people, who let themselves fly on top of the mount everest (or some other high mountain) will never understand the satisfaction, which those feel, who actually WALK from the bottom of the mountain to its very top by their own strength, skill and endurance.

- SHORTENING or even completely ERASING the process is not a gift. It is ultimate DEFEAT.

In the end the long journey, the PROCESS, is what brings revelation, brings catharsis, brings clearance, brings deep understanding for everything. Simply EVERYTHING.

Everything that my characters, that my soul is about. Everything that my inner and outer worlds are about.

The PROCESS is what refines my view on the details, on the cohesion, on the connections. Not only on my fantasy stories, but on LIFE itself.

The PROCESS is what makes me mature, what makes me grow and evolve, IMPROVE and discover my own strength and endurance. My truth, my love, my peace.

The PROCESS allows me to struggle in a NATURAL WAY.

The PROCESS is there for US. So we have the chance to evolve and ADAPT in a natural way in a natural pace.

Evolution tells us clearly - those who are not able to adapt IN TIME, are being sorted out.

NULLIFYING the TIME to adapt, is forcing but one possible outcome: We are being sorted out.

Thus taking away that PROCESS will ultimately have yet another critically DISROOTING effect to those using it, like so much other technology already has.

The consequence of taking away the natural way to express oneself by overwriting it with an easy accessable AI service - we will be seeing the consequence in its whole negative complexity sooner than we want, I'm afraid.

At the end of the process at least I can proudly say: I MADE IT. I made it TO THE END. I have done this. I've fought my own war to get here - and I SURVIVED it.

I could never replace my creation process by AI. And I never will.

I pity those potent artistic souls that are growing up in this sad time - and will be misled, their creative potential shriveled - that expressing their thoughts using AI will put them on the same level of skill and personal-spiritual/subconscious insight like handdrawing artists.

But do not worry - beyond it, the art itself will be great. It's just not the person's work. In particular it makes the person REPLACABLE.

YOU will not matter. YOU are nothing but a MANAGER for the AI and its output. Congratulations.

That will not change the fact, that AI art will conquer the commercial world - and we die out.

No one will take the ordeal of learning over 5-10 years from scratch, how to express themselves with artworks (surely music and writing will follow soon), when they can get instantly a result, that competes with any professional art.

Even if it only matches 80% of their actual vision - if there exists any vision at all. The vision is not neccessary anymore after all. The AI will fill the gaps with its own vision.

And the wide masses will not even see a difference to handdrawn art soon. The AIs are good learner and have infinite time to improve - in contrast to us human beings.

Besides the masses will rather hire an AI artist - sorry, AI ART MANAGER - for pennies than spending an incomparably higher amount of money for handdrawing artists. In particular as we live in times, where all our expenses rise, but not our incomes.

The final question

My last question to you is: When will we stop remembering, that the art is the AIs vision - and start to believe, that the AIs vision is our own vision? That our soul expresses itself like a computer defines it for us?

And what will happen with a world, where real artists die out with their knowledge of AI independent expression technique - and the only way to express our subconsciousness will depend on an AIs interpretation?

-- Just keep that in mind. Thank you.

 Nox