I've had better experiences with using AI to generate character art, than I have with human artists, for the same purpose. For one thing it's much more comfortable (and feels much more reasonable) to ask AI to redo the entire thing, if I don't like the image that I got than to say that to a human artist who has feelings and worked really hard on the creation.
I've paid for one character art commission. I received a proof (line drawing) and I was really disappointed. I tried to place my suggestions for revisions as the meat in a compliment sandwich, what I got back was the exact same image, but colored in and I think with a few flowers added to the foreground/near the feet.
(then I discovered AI art generators - pretty awesome and fun)
Then a friend/artist of another player joined the campaign (where I was playing that same character) and they did art for all the characters/players for free, but (and I know this seems very ungrateful) it was an uncomfortable situation, kind of favor I couldn't gracefully refuse. I had an AI image for my character that I really liked and I identified that image as what my character looked like. The artist and I discussed what I wanted and I sent some images. The character art was nothing like any of those things (the AI image that I had before, what we discussed, the other images that I sent). (Again as ungrateful this must sound) it almost felt like the image of my character was being remade to fit the prefernces of the artist and the color scheme she had choosen for the rest of the party. I think I very likely woulld have been okay with it, if the art style was consistent for the whole party, but it still resimbled my character, just in a different art style. I felt obligated to make over their art and to use their art as my character art, (even though that was not my first choice). it messed with my ability to visualize my character, as I wanted them to be. I was upset and uncomfortable about the situation for several weeks until I ultimately left the campaign, (the art situation was only one of the contributing factor).
I understand the reasons, but really wish that there wasn't the ethical stigma placed on using AI character art. I'm not sure that I think using AI images for the purposes of character art, is all that wrong, even though paying an artist to do the art would be more admirable I wish that the company behind the AI art generator used art that it owns and preferably would commission new art to teach the AI model, instead of perhaps/likely just using what it gleans from the internet, presumable without concern about permission or created property. I'd still rather tell AI to redo an image that I don't care for than to say that to a real human artist. I think there is or at least can be something to human made art that AI images will always lack. I don't consider the character art that was done for my character to be the pinnacle of human artistic expression, but it did take somebody some time and effort to create it, whereas for my purposes AI was able to spiit out images that I would prefer to use, almost instantanously. Maybe it hurts the feelings of artists that I choose to use AI art. Maybe better commucation and better selection process would have yeilded a better result, but, I'm not sure I would willingly put myself through it again, to commission an artist do character art for me.
Also, AI generated artworks has been legally ruled to not be something that can be copyrighted, since it is not art created by a person. D&D and WotC make a substantial amount of revenue from licensing out their artwork in various forms. Opening the door to AI art is not a benefit or a money-maker for them, it is a potential risk to a major revenue stream. I suspect the are highly unlikely to want to get involved in genAI images for that reason alone, any other ethical concerns aside.
Why use stolen art when you can use a simple RPG style character creator, hells for tokens I've used WOW characters, FFXIV Characters, City of Heroes Characters. I might even use a BG3 character if I ever play and not DM in the future.
AI art could be a useful tool in the future, once we get rid of the Techbros making the decisions to steal training data. Hells, if Heroforge added a learning algorithm to Heroforge and used their own material for training, I would help it learn to make minis based on text inputs. But to use the current batch of AI for any thing shy of memes is stealing, and I wouldn't do it.
My daughter is an artist and a DM. She had no problem with me using AI to generate my character image for our campaign. It is just a tool. But I do wish that the people who generated the imagery that made my image got some cut/credit. It is impossible to know what image training went into the image I got. I would be nice to see the closest analogs maybe? Regarding developing a DnD specific generative tool it is a matter of training and how imagery is available for that (has to be many thousands). Again the artist who generated the imagery for the training should get a cut of the company profits in some way.
Maybe don't steal from living artists by using AI prompts?
What does that mean? Don't use AI prompts with the intent of stealing a specific [living] artist's works, or don't use AI prompts to create images at all?
Maybe don't steal from living artists by using AI prompts?
What does that mean? Don't use AI prompts with the intent of stealing a specific [living] artist's works, or don't use AI prompts to create images at all?
If "ai" can create something then there is no issue, but since we do not know how "ai" is trained how do we know who deserves the credit and how it can be used legally? Piracy is piracy no matter how convenient it is.
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CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
I can't even remember which art AI I used to do my portrait, but the results were pretty magnificent.
When it comes to the virtual tabletop product, I don't see myself using this. Our group meets in person so there's no need for me. That being said, if we DID get a token-maker or whatever, it will be monetized in some form or another. I could honestly see them allowing you, say, six avatars as part of your subscription, and then selling additional avatar slots or whatever. I would also imagine there would be a fee to include a specific item. For example, if you wanted to include a 'Flaming Sword of WotC' on your avatar there would probably be a fee to do so.
Understand I am not trying to be nasty. This to me would be a logical configuration for the D&D Tabletop with avatars. I expect cosmetics could be a large part of the marketplace, which could include new species options, gear options, poses, etc.
I think we all need to wait and see what comes, but as I mentioned I don't need the virtual tabletop and don't plan on using it.
Generative AI, I would think, is expensive computationally, and filled with 'hallucinations' though it seems to have gotten better at preventing that. Not something I would release to a large audience to use adhoc without some sort of rails.
The problem I see and would rather not be party to:
We seem to not care about how bad our sets of training data/images are. With no real automated tool to make sure AI is not trained on bad data, I don't see what value it holds. Though for genAI images, its a little bit easier to avoid since art is subjective.
Without some sort of defined limits to what the genAI can produce, you're just asking for inappropriate content. WoTC isn't going to want to be on the hook for inappropriate content showing up in their systems which are available to minors. That's just a liability. Now a lot of companies have been dumb enough to just say 'Do AI, go vroom', so who knows where WoTC's heads are at.
Again computationally, AI is known to be expensive; I would assume even more so for images. Please check me on this if I'm wrong.
I personally think 'AI' is functionally a product in open beta, and really should still be in alpha. But hey lets just start an AI arms race cause $$$. How could that blow up in our face?
The most important one for me is tech companies seem to think they can get away with stealing other peoples art to train their models on, and have generally gotten a slap on the wrist when caught. I do not like how its hurting our creative communities. It's so short sighted, because the only thing this does is create less space for real artists. This means there's less good data to consume, so your AIs may eventually start devolving for lack of a better term.
I agree with one of the above posts in that if you want to have a genAI image, just do it yourself.
edit: some grammar, some clarification
Some AI can filter out the "inappropriate" content already, so it is possible.
Now where did I put my Skynet shirt so I won't be eliminated during the uprising...
Not here because they have been recently burned by unethical AI art. But other companies are ethically developing such tools, and you can upload the picture to your character sheet
Just use heroforge, my dude. AI isn't ethical for a host of reasons, including energy consumption. You can also look up portrait works for their character creator app.
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I've had better experiences with using AI to generate character art, than I have with human artists, for the same purpose. For one thing it's much more comfortable (and feels much more reasonable) to ask AI to redo the entire thing, if I don't like the image that I got than to say that to a human artist who has feelings and worked really hard on the creation.
I've paid for one character art commission. I received a proof (line drawing) and I was really disappointed. I tried to place my suggestions for revisions as the meat in a compliment sandwich, what I got back was the exact same image, but colored in and I think with a few flowers added to the foreground/near the feet.
(then I discovered AI art generators - pretty awesome and fun)
Then a friend/artist of another player joined the campaign (where I was playing that same character) and they did art for all the characters/players for free, but (and I know this seems very ungrateful) it was an uncomfortable situation, kind of favor I couldn't gracefully refuse. I had an AI image for my character that I really liked and I identified that image as what my character looked like. The artist and I discussed what I wanted and I sent some images. The character art was nothing like any of those things (the AI image that I had before, what we discussed, the other images that I sent). (Again as ungrateful this must sound) it almost felt like the image of my character was being remade to fit the prefernces of the artist and the color scheme she had choosen for the rest of the party. I think I very likely woulld have been okay with it, if the art style was consistent for the whole party, but it still resimbled my character, just in a different art style. I felt obligated to make over their art and to use their art as my character art, (even though that was not my first choice). it messed with my ability to visualize my character, as I wanted them to be. I was upset and uncomfortable about the situation for several weeks until I ultimately left the campaign, (the art situation was only one of the contributing factor).
I understand the reasons, but really wish that there wasn't the ethical stigma placed on using AI character art. I'm not sure that I think using AI images for the purposes of character art, is all that wrong, even though paying an artist to do the art would be more admirable I wish that the company behind the AI art generator used art that it owns and preferably would commission new art to teach the AI model, instead of perhaps/likely just using what it gleans from the internet, presumable without concern about permission or created property. I'd still rather tell AI to redo an image that I don't care for than to say that to a real human artist. I think there is or at least can be something to human made art that AI images will always lack. I don't consider the character art that was done for my character to be the pinnacle of human artistic expression, but it did take somebody some time and effort to create it, whereas for my purposes AI was able to spiit out images that I would prefer to use, almost instantanously. Maybe it hurts the feelings of artists that I choose to use AI art. Maybe better commucation and better selection process would have yeilded a better result, but, I'm not sure I would willingly put myself through it again, to commission an artist do character art for me.
Maybe don't steal from living artists by using AI prompts?
Also, AI generated artworks has been legally ruled to not be something that can be copyrighted, since it is not art created by a person. D&D and WotC make a substantial amount of revenue from licensing out their artwork in various forms. Opening the door to AI art is not a benefit or a money-maker for them, it is a potential risk to a major revenue stream. I suspect the are highly unlikely to want to get involved in genAI images for that reason alone, any other ethical concerns aside.
Why would anyone go through the trouble of doing this, when we have Heroforge.
Want a catgirl princess with a Squad Automatic Weapon, and her Duck Wizard and Badger?
https://www.heroforge.com/load_config=41267318/
You can do it.
Why use stolen art when you can use a simple RPG style character creator, hells for tokens I've used WOW characters, FFXIV Characters, City of Heroes Characters. I might even use a BG3 character if I ever play and not DM in the future.
AI art could be a useful tool in the future, once we get rid of the Techbros making the decisions to steal training data. Hells, if Heroforge added a learning algorithm to Heroforge and used their own material for training, I would help it learn to make minis based on text inputs. But to use the current batch of AI for any thing shy of memes is stealing, and I wouldn't do it.
BTW, I do use it but only to meme against it.
My daughter is an artist and a DM. She had no problem with me using AI to generate my character image for our campaign. It is just a tool. But I do wish that the people who generated the imagery that made my image got some cut/credit. It is impossible to know what image training went into the image I got. I would be nice to see the closest analogs maybe? Regarding developing a DnD specific generative tool it is a matter of training and how imagery is available for that (has to be many thousands). Again the artist who generated the imagery for the training should get a cut of the company profits in some way.
What does that mean? Don't use AI prompts with the intent of stealing a specific [living] artist's works, or don't use AI prompts to create images at all?
If "ai" can create something then there is no issue, but since we do not know how "ai" is trained how do we know who deserves the credit and how it can be used legally? Piracy is piracy no matter how convenient it is.
CENSORSHIP IS THE TOOL OF COWARDS and WANNA BE TYRANTS.
I can't even remember which art AI I used to do my portrait, but the results were pretty magnificent.
When it comes to the virtual tabletop product, I don't see myself using this. Our group meets in person so there's no need for me. That being said, if we DID get a token-maker or whatever, it will be monetized in some form or another. I could honestly see them allowing you, say, six avatars as part of your subscription, and then selling additional avatar slots or whatever. I would also imagine there would be a fee to include a specific item. For example, if you wanted to include a 'Flaming Sword of WotC' on your avatar there would probably be a fee to do so.
Understand I am not trying to be nasty. This to me would be a logical configuration for the D&D Tabletop with avatars. I expect cosmetics could be a large part of the marketplace, which could include new species options, gear options, poses, etc.
I think we all need to wait and see what comes, but as I mentioned I don't need the virtual tabletop and don't plan on using it.
Some AI can filter out the "inappropriate" content already, so it is possible.
Now where did I put my Skynet shirt so I won't be eliminated during the uprising...
Not here because they have been recently burned by unethical AI art. But other companies are ethically developing such tools, and you can upload the picture to your character sheet
Just use heroforge, my dude. AI isn't ethical for a host of reasons, including energy consumption. You can also look up portrait works for their character creator app.