Hi ! i'm an industry artist (animator storyboarder and background artist) And i'm here to tell you something :
In a time when AI users are constantly trying to pass as real artists, you're not and will never be The Asshole for asking an artist online to prove they're not using AI.
I've been asked that question myself. I'm not saying it made me feel good, but here's the thing : when you *don't* use IA, it's actually pretty easy to prove it. Even without a speed paint. And i'm not ever going to get mad at someone for asking me to, because I would WAY rather have people be too suspicious than them being easily duped into supporting lying, art-thieving assholes.
It's really easy for real artists to provide proof of their process by showing the different layers of their digital art pieces. (and for now AI-bros are still struggling to make their immitations of that convincing enough).
For exemple, here's my whole step-by-step process vs the final piece (done with photoshop 2022) :
here's another simpler sketch vs final render comparaison :
Of course it sucks that as artists we have to "prove" ourselves like that. But unfortunately in 2024 we can't trust ANYTHING we see on the internet. And it makes it our responsability to be extra critical with every image we encounter, even in fandom spaces where we're supposed to be relaxing. And trust me, I hate it. But the only other option is normalizing the use of AI in those internet spaces that are supposed to be havens of creativity and self-expression, and in my opinion it's way worse.
Reminder that (re)generative "art" is only possible through huge ammounts of art-theft, terrible for the environment, and lazy.
Here's a breakdown of the painting process for my dragon Bingqiu piece, for those who are curious! While this isn't a full tutorial, I hope that it's helpful for demystifying my personal approach to digital painting. <3
The thought & painting process behind this painting I got to do for the Attack on Titan: Final Season! Still feels surreal to be able to say that I got to make a painting for such a popular anime series, but here we are
#brbchasingdreams
A year ago, the Avallac'h and fox painting I created was face-swapped by someone using AI, and the plagiarist presented the image to an artist she admired. I devoted all my energy to learning and practicing art, attempting to offset the damage this incident caused me. However, each time I open my art collection, the pain resurfaces, and the wound has yet to fully heal. If time were a cycle, perhaps I could redraw Avallac'h and the fox once more and pretend that nothing ever happened.
Approaching this drawing with the same perspective and atmosphere, the more I painted, the more oppressive it became, reaching a point where I almost couldn't continue. I set down my brush, pondered for a while, and had an epiphany. Why was I tormenting myself like this? The fact that my painting was plagiarized is not my fault.
I adjusted Avallac'h's pose, and I sensed the two foxes on the screen easing into a more natural stance. They seemed to know how to enhance the overall composition. I completed my artwork.
In the video documenting the painting process, I edited out the sketching part, which was a process of struggling with the shadows of the past.
Painting how I see music has been one of my favourite projects lately. It's an excellent creative challenge to translate what I see in my head into my style of art! The green swoops around the outside definitely turned out more leaf-y than I had intended (I was aiming for firework-y), but I'm still very happy with it overall!