K. Willy Art

I'm less mad about AI "stealing" hypothetical business from me (or my art teacher) and more angry about how AI narrows the already withering gap between art and human connection. The human connection is what I love best about art (and writing!), and AI reduces it to a mere product.

There are those who make the argument that AI makes art "accessible" to people without talent, and honestly, that approach shows just how hobbyless these people are. Talent isn't something you are born with - it's a skill you cultivate. And if you refuse to cultivate, you show how much you don't care about art. You are unwilling to spend time with it. You don't love it. And people can tell, which is why your "art" gets rejected by the people you're trying to cosplay as.

I started drawing with printer paper and a mechanical pencil (and I started by very badly copying comic book art! In 2011! I was a senior in college!). Many of my friends write fanfiction on their decade-old laptops or in cheap notebooks. Authors past and present wrote books despite juggling 4 children and the grind to make ends meet. The struggle isn't the point - it's that people make time for things they love and it shows. By comparison, AI "art" is like mass-produced plastic flowers while human-made art is a lovingly cultivated neighborhood garden. Sure, it might be full of weeds at the beginning, but even weeds attract pollinators and create a whole ecosystem that is a benefit to everyone.

TL;DR: Fuck generative AI.

And it should go without saying, but I wrote this all myself because I paid attention in English class.

Also here's a master study I did last week in class. AI might be able to make something like this, but I drew this with 6 other people in the room who were all helping and praising each other and that is worth way more to me than the end result.

Some highlights from when I ran out of time to finish my sketches...

(Sorry, I use a hard pencil so some lines are very light.)

I'm still trying to figure out this medium by making lewd medieval art.

Tried linocut for the first time in 20+ years.

Doodlin'