DeviantArt Label AI Images Big Debate
My Devianart Page
So, let me tell you about RJ Palmer, a concept artist from San Francisco who found his groove on DeviantArt. This guy started sharing his Pokémon drawings back in 2005, inspired by the Monster Hunter anime style, and man, did it take off. Fast forward to 2016, and bam, he's getting calls from the folks making Detective Pikachu. Since then, Palmer's been in the freelance zone, mostly creating cool stuff for video games.
Palmer was like, "DeviantArt was a big deal for me," feeling pretty stoked to be one of the platform's success tales. But now? He's not thrilled, calling the place an "unusable mess" thanks to all the AI-generated art flooding the scene, making it tough for real artists to shine.
Minimal Structure - Check out my Deviant Art Subscription
Top-Rated Sketch Book
9x12 inches
Top Spiral Bound
100-Sheets (68lb/100gsm)
Acid Free
For Kids, Adults, Beginners & Pros
With a whopping 75 million users, DeviantArt's now wrestling with how to handle this AI art wave. They've decided to make artists fess up if they're using AI to create their stuff, following Google's lead to tag AI-generated images. This move is all about keeping things real, especially since fake images (like that viral one of Pope Francis rocking a puffer jacket) can really mess with people's heads. This is a very important topic that I wrote about here - My views on AI.
DeviantArt Dreamup Page
The heart of the matter isn't just about spotting fakes; it's a big ol' debate on what art really is, who gets to make it, and who profits. Palmer's pretty vocal about his displeasure, especially with how AI generators basically snack on artists' work without permission. He's all, "They're driving the real artists away," and honestly, he's not wrong.
The drama kicked up a notch when DeviantArt launched DreamUp, scooping up artists' works without asking. They backtracked super fast after the community kicked up a storm, but the damage was done. Palmer even grilled DeviantArt execs in a Twitter chat, pushing for an "ethically sourced" AI model, which apparently would've taken years to develop.
Despite DeviantArt's efforts to play nice, the backlash was fierce. Artists and users are ticked off, feeling like their creative space has turned into an AI dump. I covered a similar topic on a group of artists accusing Midjourney of stealing art for it’s generator. The debate's got layers, with some saying AI's just another tool in the artist's kit, kinda like how photography was viewed way back when. But then there's the sticky issue of copyright and what counts as AI-generated art.
Smartphones and digital cams already tweak images with AI, and editing software's been doing its thing too. So, where do we draw the line? Palmer, caught up in the mix, sees his style getting mimicked by AI and worries about being replaced. Yet, there's a bit of hope since the US Copyright Office says only stuff made by humans can be copyrighted.
Shameless plug 🤣 My own AI art for sale$$$
But here's the twist: some folks think this whole copyright drama is missing the point. Like Jason M. Allen, who argues that all art, AI or not, comes from blending experiences, images, and ideas. He spent 80 hours crafting an AI-generated image that snagged a top prize, proving that creativity can come from anywhere, even a machine.
So, what's the verdict, Art Warriors? Is AI the future of art, or should we stick to the human touch? It's a wild ride, and I'm here for it, ready to dive into this debate headfirst. Let's chat, share, and maybe even disagree. But most of all, let's keep creating, no matter what tools we use.
