AI Generated images and how I feel about it.

There's been a lot of conversation lately about AI-generated images in creative work. As someone who works in the video game industry, I wanted to share how I use it, and where I think the line should be.

For me, AI is just a tool. It helps me quickly get an idea out of my head and into a visual form, especially during pre-pre-production when throwing mud at the wall is the way. It's like rapid sketching, helpful in starting a conversation or exploring a vibe. For my purposes with writing articles, the idea is the point, not the AI images.

As a character artist, if AI type tools can get us to a place where topology is generated and I am not hand tweaking verts, I will cheer, same for UVS. There are places for these tools to be big time savers and allow for more time spent on the creative side.

Any artist whose work is stolen to train AI models should have the option to opt out or be compensated. That's non-negotiable. If AI is "trained" from human-created work, those people deserve credit and pay. Full stop.

As for the art itself, AI can throw out a neat image, but it doesn't replace what actual concept artists bring to the table. Artists think beyond a pretty image. They understand storytelling, gameplay, emotion, and design. They help shape the soul of a project. AI can mimic a style but can't replace that kind of depth or creative thinking.

If art is the expression of a person, their soul, their perspective, some part of them distilled, and when viewing it, you take part in it. They are learning something about that person, something deep. AI-generated content is missing that spark, that nuance.

So yeah, I use AI as a fast way to express ideas, but it's never the final word. It's a starting point, a thumbnail, a conversation starter. The real magic still comes from talented artists who know how to take an idea and bring it to life in a way AI just can't.