Love it or loathe it, or simply intrigued AI art – essentially, art created through a mix of text prompts, some based on image resources harvested from across the web and digital art collections, some on what some refer to as “seeded work”, the individual art of one creator – is not going to go away. It’s prompted fierce debate among creators and readers alike, some artists seeing it as a tool, others as theft, many as a massive change in the way “art” is being created, by both individuals and companies.
One of the leading AI art generation platforms, Midjourney, now has millions of users, some using it to create comics, as well as on other platforms such as DALL-E and Dream.
Last year, Sandman artist Dave McKean responded to developments in AI with a new book, Prompt: Conversations with Artificial Intelligence, a 96-page book of short graphic stories exploring and conversing with AI.
Despite the seemingly grim situation for some artists, McKean, interviewed by Palle Schmidt, initially concerned by developments in the field, said he believes art to be a human activity and compares it to going for a walk. Yes, you could (theoretically) teleport to a place, but where’s the fun in that? You should appreciate how it feels – both walking and doing art. Not just to reach the end result, but the physical effort of doing it.
Dave was also a guest of ICE CAST LIVE in August last year, hosted by Shane Chebsey joined by a panel of special guests to discuss the impact of A.I. Art on artists. In this round table discussion, available to watch through Facebook, the panelists what impact they thought this new technology will have on the artworld – a fascinating episode of the show.
Now, one of the first publishers in the field, AI Comics, has published the first free to download issue of Artificial Ink magazine, featuring previews of over 40 comic books and graphic novels that have been visualised with AI art. It also includes a gallery and articles for those interested in creating comic books with AI art.
“The text-to-image technology now enables millions of people to visualise worlds, characters, and places that simply could not be done before,” feels Walter Fuego, publisher of Artificial Ink and AIComicBooks.com.
“Bringing together all of these books to showcase the evolution of this emerging form of comic book represents a significant milestone.
“The collection features the earliest books, which had a more impressionistic style because of the limitations of the initial versions, as well as the latest books that skilfully combine striking graphics with captivating narratives.”
The magazine feature samples of forty comic books and graphic novels, as well as a ‘how to’ article, and an interview with ChatGPT, the controversial artificial-intelligence (AI) chatbot developed by OpenAI, launched in November 2022.
AIComicBooks.com was established last year to support creators who use text to image technology to visualise their stories. The site promotes these storytellers with no cost to either the creators or the readers.
• You can download Artificial Ink magazine free here
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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