🗣️ Let’s Set Things Straight: About AI, Creativity, and Respect
I didn’t want to make this post, but some of y’all really need to hear it.
Let me be very clear:
There is nothing wrong with using AI-generated images to help visualize your characters especially when you’re a fanfic writer or creator who’s doing this for free and for fun. Creators like @callsign-denmark (and others, including myself) use tools like AI because it helps bring characters to life visually.
That’s it.
It’s a tool, just like anything else and it doesn’t make someone less of an artist or a writer.
If you feel the need to hate on people for how they/we create, that says more about you than it will about them/us.
We’re living in a time of rapid tech growth.
AI isn’t going away.
If you can’t open your mind to what’s happening around us, you’ll get left behind.
AI isn’t going to replace writers, artists, or creative workers.
It’s not going to “steal your soul” because someone used it to render a character’s face. And if we’re being for real? If AI was coming for all of us. It would’ve already done it. This isn’t The Terminator — nobody’s being cooked by an AI oven (yet).
What we do have to worry about is this toxic behavior I’m seeing in Tumblr spaces. The harassment, the anon hate, the passive-aggressive digs at creators just trying to express themselves.
That’s the real threat here and I’m done being quiet about it.
So here’s your warning
If you come into my space with hate, harassment, or threats toward me, my friend, and my folks. You will be blocked.
If you send threatening anon messages or DMs, I will not hesitate to report you (and I know you're hiding somewhere and doing this because you use Anon message to be unknown.)
Your “opinion” does not matter when it’s rooted in cruelty. If you have nothing nice to say? Don’t say it.
People write and create because it brings them joy.
They’re not here to please you.
And you’re not entitled to ruin that joy just because you don’t like what we/they're doing.
Now, moving on.
🎨 Let’s Talk About Art, Expectations, and Reality (Especially for Us Starving Adult Artists)
Not everyone has the (fucking) money to hire artists.Â
Period.
We're currently in an uncertain time of the economy (and since I'm in criminal justice, diverging into tech and moving onto Political Science next). We have to end up prioritizing on what matters than the least.
That doesn’t make us bad people, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate art.
Let’s be real.
Artists are charging level 4 to level 5 rates (and honestly, they deserve it!) especially those being hired by indie/self-published authors.
But as someone who is juggling college, life responsibilities, writing, and just trying to exist financially, that level of investment? It’s just impossible right now.
And no, we're not “stealing” or “cutting corners” by using an AI image tool to help visualize characters or scenes. We do it because:
We have bills to pay (and don't lie to me because I know y'all have a job and a family and living under your family's roof to do your part financially)
We need to eat, sleep, and stay cool and warm inside the house
Art, as much as we love it, is a luxury and a wish — not important
I’ve had beginner-level artists (level 1-ish) approach me on Instagram because of my fanfic (Under Siege, thank you for the love 💕), and I’ve had to politely decline. Why?
A) I judge the quality of the artwork because if I’m going to invest, it has to match my vision.
B) My expectations are higher than what a beginner may offer. That’s not mean. That’s honesty.
It doesn’t mean I think less of them.
It just means I’m real about what I can afford (especially in installments, it ain't gonna cut it so stop being (annoyingly) persistent. That shit annoys me).
Right now, I only work with a professional artist who’s on Fiverr I've known for years, and even then? I don’t commission him frequently. Why? Because food, electric, phone, and real-life responsibilities come first.
Fanart and “fun stuff” will always come last — when the basics are covered.
So if you wonder why some of us use AI visual tools instead of commissioning humans. It’s not because we don’t value artists. It’s because we can’t afford you right now.
That’s not an attack.
It’s realism.
And please, for the love of mercy and pearl, STOP shaming @callsign-denmark and people alike for creating within theirs. Be respectful. Be kind. Or be blocked.
Thank you for your time to read this post.
I hope you understand and that it went into your thick skull.
