Statement On The Use Of AI
I was a traditional artist for 25 years before I became an AI artist. Below is a small selection of my work produced using standard, non-AI techniques. You can view more of my work on the Art Portfolio page of this website.
The use of AI in creative endeavours is somewhat controversial, so I would like to address it head-on, and share my thoughts. I think it is important to consider for a moment that a film director receives the lions-share of creative credit for their films. No one questions this acknowledgement, even though the director is not primarily responsible for the cinematography, the set creation, the costume design, the digital effects, the acting performances or any other crew undertaking. I approach my creative process like a film director, with AI art generation tools standing in as a very talented crew. The truth is that Marmsie’s Miracle Dreams had to exist as a vision in my mind before I could realise it on the page, illustrated using AI art generation tools. AI makes the production of excellent books faster and cheaper, but it can't tell a story that resonates with the human heart.​
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​I’m enormously grateful to live in this age, as I can realise my vision with nearly Pixar/Disney standard illustrations and visually tell any story I want to tell, very beautifully. Contrary to public perception, the creation of the book is still very skilled work. The actual writing of the finalised story is by far the most challenging and demanding step. In terms of illustration, even when using AI there is the composition of each page, the overall look of the world and characters, the style choices, even the “camera” angles - these are all the result of skilled creative decisions I have to make to tell my story. Extensive editing in Photoshop is also necessary to really get the results I want.​​
For the reasons I have outlined I believe we should embrace a future where most of the creative output aimed at a mass audience will be AI assisted. Fine Art works will always be valued as the exclusive crafted output of human hands, and there will always be a market for the fine artist. But for mass media such as books and films what counts is the result, and the quality of the storytelling. Even the production of a full-length animated film will soon no longer be the exclusive domain of large studios. It will be within the capability of a small team.
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I believe the technology has been placed within reach of the average person, for an affordable cost, as a blessing from God for true storytellers at heart, everywhere.