This question popped up in my Twitter feed today, the most recent in a long list of similar questions all aimed at asking if A.I generated imagery will supplant Human artists in and outside of various industries, it's a question I'm pretty sure has been answered by many people from film industry veterans to new aspiring artists and those with little to no artistic skill or interest.
It has been interesting to see the gamut of responses, some fairly comfortable in seeing it as little more than the new fad, others showing a little more pessimism when looking at certain parts of the industry.
So naturally I have decided to weigh in on this hot topic and throw my own answer into the mix.
The short answer? No...
The longer answer? Still no, but in more of a shade of grey. Like with most new tools that pop up through history aimed at aiding or replacing the artist, A.I generated imagery is certainly a powerful and divisive tool, but it is still just a tool. The output of A.I imagery is rough and sporadic, comprised of recognizable forms and shapes but in a warped, messy state, kind of like a dream. This makes it very difficult - impossible - for it to be used in a Concept Art generating environment as this tends to be very precise, starting out rough and then refining over and over and over till you reach the preferred outcome and, depending on what the concept is for, this may have to be incredibly detailed and clean.
Certain environmental concepts will also need to be reproduced in various angles and from various POV's, something A.I can not do, and if you were to take an A.I generated environment and try to model it, you will end up with a very stressed out and confused 3D modeler.
Now, lets get to the less definitive grey area of how A.I imagery can aid artists. I have been messing with Midjourney - the new hotness in A.I art - for the past month or so, pushing it to see how far it can be taken in producing something usable. My results? Mixed.
I have amassed a sizable collection of images based on various themes and settings, mostly aimed at creating interesting forms, compositions and colours. See, this is where A.I generated imagery fits nicely in with producing art, raw product it is near useless, but used as a plate or a starting point for an image it is very useful.
The images are great as a motivational tool, spitting out ideas for composition, lighting, atmosphere and colour, breaking through that most difficult of phases during image creation, the blank canvas.
Throwing down one or multiple A.I images and mashing them together has produced some good results when trying to get a good starting point for a new image, this for me has effectively replaced my usual reliance on photos to achieve the same result.
Another aspect of A.I imagery that is useful is just as reference, parts of images can be used in place of photos and as it is generated by your input you have more control over the result, tailoring the references to a specific image and theme. This is especially helpful when creating references for unusual and surreal forms and shapes.
I am currently working on a series of images that attempts to use A.I imagery in my normal workflow, aiding my image creation and vision rather than dictating it, so far it has been fun and not dissimilar to my usual workflow of using photo reference with heavy paintover.
As a source of inspiration A.I imagery is also very helpful, producing dreamlike renditions of surreal scenes, for certain styles and themes it is a useful tool.
One aspect of A.I generated images that has been a topic of contention though is style, as in the style of another artist. Now this shouldn't be confused with being inspired by another artists style, I myself have created images inspired by the style and works of various artists but they always have a slant to them that is very much your own, a homage rather than a copy. A.I generated imagery however can create some strikingly similar images in the style of many artists, living and dead.
This has led to some artists showing results from an A.I program that are near copies of their own work, like for like but slightly warped. For artists that have a very distinct style this has caused problems - and will likely continue to - that have raised questions about copyright and the A.I's use of copyrighted material and styles, for messing around with results it is harmless, until someone slaps it on a book cover.
This aspect of A.I generated imagery will likely be at the forefront of the discussion moving forward. As the 'fad' phase wears off and people begin to push the tech further and adopt it more into their own workflow, companies will realise its potential for generating fast, easy images that look like the works of expensive professional artists. This, however, will likely result in lawsuits similar to those seen when companies such as Paperchase stole or reproduced works from artists.
In some fields A.I imagery may well result in the loss of work for artists, especially newer artists who are maybe just starting out and where they are typically hired less on their merits as an artist but more to do with their ability to use Photoshop or similar image creation software. It is likely that over the next few years we will start seeing A.I generated images pop up in cheap publications.
But will big companies that hire professional artists turn to A.I? Will Tor Books switch to A.I instead of hiring artists to paint the book covers? Will Magic the Gathering utilise A.I to create card illustrations?
What is more likely is seeing artists utilising A.I imagery in creating their own images, and just like the use of photography this will be very much a 'to each their own' scenario.
So, will A.I replace artists? Did the invention of photography replace artists? Much of the the same discussions we are having now about A.I were had when photography started to become mainstream, many of the old masters however had been utilising very simple photography methods for years to get eerily accurate lighting, perspective, and colour. Its place in the mainstream simply gave more people access to a new tool and a new method of creating art that even to this day some call cheating. As such A.I generated imagery will not be replacing artists any time soon, and even long term it won't be a threat but a new powerful tool to aid in the creation of art.
A.I generated imagery is a tool, and like with any tool it is only as good as the wielder. I for one am excited to see where it takes me, how it effects my workflow, and how it will inspire new works.
--Adam Burn