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My Decision Regarding AI Artwork (Patreon)

Published:
2023-08-30 23:54:52
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TL;DR: At the end of the day, my Patreon is a place for people to come and consume my writing early as well as get to vote on stuff like the Prompt Polls and Story Polls. Since I've personally come to the conclusion that AI Generated Artwork will detract from that experience for at least some of you, I'm not going to use it on Patreon Free Writes going forward.

Hey guys, I know I only posted the discussion a couple hours, but admittedly I'm not exactly a patient sort of person, nor do I wait very long before making important decisions.

It would be disingenuous to pretend like I haven't already made my decision based on the feedback I've received so far and the impassioned reasoning I've heard from both sides of the argument. So here it is.

I will not be supporting AI Artwork in my Patreon Free Writes going forward.

What this means:

1.) I'm removing the links to the AI Artwork on the first three chapters of The Soul Engine and won't be posting any further AI Artwork on my Patreon Free Writes.

2.) However, I'm not going to police my Prompt Polls any more than I was before, which is that I wasn't at all lol. Sometimes people submit prompts to the prompt polls that come with reference art to try and entice more votes. I do not check if these are AI or not and full transparency, I'm not going to start doing so going forward either.

3.) Likewise, full transparency, I'm probably still going to use AI artwork alongside regular artwork as references for my writing internally. However, it's on me to make sure I write good enough descriptions of my characters that you guys don't NEED artwork in order to be able to enjoy my work, especially for my original novels like The Soul Engine.

4.) I'm also likely to still use whatever usable artwork I can find, AI or otherwise, for things like cover art on public websites like Scribble Hub. 

Now, onto my reasoning for this decision:

I know that the majority of votes were all for the continued use of AI artwork. However, as I said in my initial post, if a sizable minority voted 'No' and I saw decent arguments in the comment, I would still be swayed. This is what happened here, at least partially.

Put bluntly, my reasoning is actually pretty mercenary in nature and I won't lie about that. This Patreon is made to cater to the largest audience possible and I've never made a secret of that. My goal with my writing, especially when it comes to you guys who are paying me to read my work, is to make as many of you happy as possible.

The truth is, from what I'm reading in the replies to the initial discussion post, I would make more people significantly unhappier by continuing to use AI artwork then I would by discontinuing the use of it.

It really feels that simple. Like sure, the majority of you might be okay with AI artwork, but you're not HERE for AI Artwork. You're here for my writing, and by all rights me NOT using AI Artwork should not be a deal breaker for any of you, or at least I would hope so.

On the other hand, if I continue using AI Artwork alongside my writing, it clearly WILL be a deal breaker for at least some of you, both those who commented and those who maybe didn't comment but did vote on the issue. Or even some who probably haven't even seen this discussion happening yet.

There's also one more minor, slightly selfish reason I want to pull back the AI Art... and that's that they feel like they're detracting from the discussion on The Soul Engine chapters just a little bit lol.

Obviously it's not that big of a deal and that alone wasn't going to be enough to stop me from using reference art, but I have to admit that so far the AI Artwork seemed to be something of a double-edged sword, where some people didn't even like it because it forced them to view the characters through the lens of the artwork, instead of letting them imagine their own versions of the characters.

Also, I might actually look into seeing if I can hire an artist to draw up artwork for the main characters of The Soul Engine. Admittedly, I was leery of having to wait for an artist to get back to me and not wanting to spend months waiting for a good artist to make good, quality art when I wanted to get started right away and put the pedal to the medal. But maybe it's okay if the artwork comes later lol. 

I'm certainly not stepping off the gas where The Soul Engine is concerned. It's full speed ahead from here on out.


Comments

Sootythunder

Personally I think you are falling into the same trapping most people fall into on this topic, listening to a vocal minority, the poll speaks for itself 83% say yes but remain silent in the comments and the 17% saying no scream up a storm in the comments

V01D

Using AI art as a reference for your writing is one of the ideal uses for it.

MiqoRems
>>116425676

I mean, he pretty explicitly states it's not some moral stand. The people that are fine with it aren't going to unsubscribe from a *writers* patreon because they stop using AI art, but minority or not, there's plenty that'll unsubscribe if he *does* use it. If you've got a problem with him running his Patreon the way he thinks will make him the most money, that's a you problem.

whatsnext444

Damn. I'm sorry I missed this discussion, but your listed reasoning for your decision made it clear that my singular opinion wouldn't have mattered. I have subscribed to other fiction writers on patreon simply to see their character references in their stories. (They've also since stopped that practice because of vague site rules for crediting and acceptable content, which also bummed me -- though I did stay subscribed to that author). Erotica is my preferred source for 'self-indulgent motivation' because I can place myself in the main character's shoes and enjoy the ride. However, my idea of other characters can sometimes clash with a writer's perspective or liberties they take. In such instances seeing an attractive visualization of their ideas helps immerse me in the scene, even if I may take my own personal liberties with their starting points. I appreciate a full-sensory, immersive experience, (i.e. writing, visual, physical stimulation) to get the most out of my enjoyment, time, and (in the case of patreon) money. Alas, I've missed my chance for my voice to be heard. In addition I agree with a previous commenter that maybe an offsite link to the art for those who wish to view it could be possible. Either way, this is your work, your art, and your decision, and I'm just a random dude putting in his two cents. So keep doing what makes you feel the most creative and that allows you to enjoy your work.

Sebastian Zimmer

The people saying they would leave were giving me "moving to Canada if X wins the election" vibes. If using AI art was going to make them leave they would have already left, since you used reference images before you did the poll. FWIW i thought the reference images were great, but ofc I'm not going to leave because they're gone

Darendarus

It's a stupid decision but I won't complain much about the people that can't handle ai art crying about it. Just don't let the minority sway you that hard again cause it makes you look like a spineless wuss.

pomegranate horsie

I think a big issue here that a lot of people have is the optics of that poll; the anti-AI art folks seem to be in the severe numerical minority and are (literally, not a value judgement on my part) objecting on purely moral grounds, though at least a few are also claiming that it’s depriving artists of commission money (though I disagree, most AI art is in a new niche that nobody would pay for). A lot of other people don’t have a problem with AI art, and seem to be allergic to “moral preaching” at them that they’re bad people for “stealing” art or for not opposing it etc. And some people love AI art and actively want it. Basically you have tiny little political parties on your hands here, and politics ugh. There’s three groups: hates AI art - voted strongly against AI art, minority doesn’t care about AI art - probably didn’t vote, or voted that the art’s fine likes AI art - voted to keep the art Now the issue is, the minority group said they don’t like it, and seemingly “got their way”, which is going to piss off both the likes-AI-art and also a good chunk of the “doesn’t care about AI art”. People get preached at all the time about this topic and if you say you don’t care either way, people call you shitlords for not caring (with us or against us), and then you start to dislike that group. Real talk it would have been better for you to not hold that poll and just drop AI art with a bullshit excuse e.g. too hard to make it look the way you want, and that you’ll evaluate it in a year or so again, and then forget about AI art forever. Instead, with this, you’ve managed to come across to a much larger group than the anti-AI as “giving into the whiners”, which is probably why a lot of people are using the phrase “cowardly” etc. to describe this, and now a lot of people are angry and or emotional and or feel like they “lost” (“unfairly”). I don’t know what the right move after this is.

pomegranate horsie
>>116490688

tl;dr you stepped in a big pile of stinky shitty sloppy political/culture war, held a poll on ~~whether to use AI art~~ whether the “whiny doxxing crybabies” or the “soulless bastard art thieves” should “win”, and then “ignored the majority for the loud minority”. arguments in the comments any% (WR)

Ali G

You shouldn’t have listened to the Marvel-brained minority. It’s like choosing not to use the printing press because it’ll put artisan bookmakers out of business. Good art will always stand out, and crap will always be crap. People who think that the human ability to create art will end because of AI art are just mediocre people with no vision. The reality is that artists will use AI art to outline their vision, speed up certain aspects of their work and enable independent creators to produce the work that it used to take an entire studio to create. This is a good thing. It puts the power back in the hands of individual artists for the next generation.

pyrocord

Happy that you came to this decision and I feel good about remaining subscribed now and supporting you!