Starling Puppets @starlingpuppets - Tumblr Blog

We put up our first short this morning, hope you like it!

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Weekly Art Highlight: Retro Fantasy Whimsy

I want to try something.

I was inspired by [this blog post] because it raises some interesting points about AI generated art that I don't see anyone else talking about, ethical issues aside for a moment:

A. The popular criticisms against AI art don't address how these images can still elicit a visceral reaction in viewers, and the way it pulls together ideas and compositions is unlike most of what you can find made by human hands. Who is making art in this exact configuration? Where do you find this level of unfiltered, unbridled "creativity" for lack of a better word? Where is the comparable equivalent to these images and what they evoke?

B. Many people complain about AI art, but are not using the same energy to promote or support artists who are actually trying to make this shit. Many artists who want to don't even have the opportunities, the recognition, the money, or the following to make this happen, because the powers that be (capitalism, mainstream audiences, society, whatever you want to call it) do not value these skills or new ideas. Turning a blind eye to AI imagery or punishing people who find something in it, when we could instead take it as a challenge to start creating this shit for real and let our minds connect to these "out there" ideas because SOMETHING is there and we're refusing to see it- and also directing people to human-made alternatives.

To be clear, this isn't a defense of generative AI or the people who profit from it. At all. My point is that there's a niche being filled right now by AI art, and you can't complain when you're not directing someone to a human-made equivalent, or creating the conditions for artists to thrive. This is permission to be MORE unhinged and MORE full bodied in the art we put into this world- c'mon, people!!

So, I want to try something. I want to start with finding this kind of off-the-wall AI art (not generating it myself, mind you) and providing examples of real artists who are making similar work right now. Here's how it's going to go:

I will select 3 AI images of a similar aura being peddled in various spaces online (and no, I will not be crediting the prompters because they didn't make it, they only used what the AI pulled from other worlds.)

I will select at least 3 artists who I believe are creating similar works from their own mind, and show at least 3 examples of their work.

I will provide ways these artists can be supported if any are available.

NOTE: If your work is featured here and you would like it removed for any reason, please contact me thru my email ([email protected]) or Discord (@/xandri9000).

If you know of any art/artists I missed that fit into this week's theme (whether it be illustration, film, music, practical, etc...) please feel free to mention them in the reblogs or replies of this post!

Lastly, please respect the boundaries of these artists (e.g. if they're 18+/don't allow minors, etc...), and if you have issues with any of these artists or their work, please take it up with me and forward all hate mail to [email protected]. Thanks.

With that long preamble out of the way, I want to start with images like the ones shown in the post I linked:

The AI Imagery:

Very retro, surreal, vivid, "puppet TV show" vibes that feel familiar but are still unlike their closest existing equivalents.

Can I find artists making these exact things? Probably not. Can I find ones who come pretty damn close and are making cool shit right now? Yes!

Are you ready? Let's begin!

The Artists:

Monsters of the Underworld

From their website: "Monsters of the Underworld is a collaboration between Dicapria and Tess - a queer couple based in New Orleans. They each bring 20+ years of experience in their respective fields, Dicapria in theatre production and design and Tess in sewing and textile design. Together, they build large scale wearable monsters, maximalist art installations, light art, monster fashion, and more."

Website: monstersoftheunderworld.com

Socials: @/monstersoftheunderworld on Instagram and TikTok

Support them at: [Their online shop]

Atherist / Amazynglyme

Angela is an experienced cartoonist working on a webcomic within a webcomic within a webcomic. (Yes, you heard that right!) It precedes a larger narrative/webcomic about the fictional webcomic's author, their siblings, and the taboo relationship between them all as they deal with trauma. (Keep in mind their comic projects are 18+, please scroll away if you are not the target audience.)

They've had to halt working on projects like this due to lack of stability and financial hardship, all while dealing with disability among other things, and are currently making dance and character acting videos on YouTube to convey their worldbuilding. Send them some love and tip them for their work if you can!

The Bsky for their comic: @/stucktogedurr

YouTube: @/Amazynglyme

Support them at: [Ko-fi]

snidemollusk

Snide creates trippy, surreal art of cartoon characters, mostly of the furred variety. It was hard to choose just 3 images because I love their compositions a lot! Their art heavily features sexuality and kink, so you know the drill- scroll away if you are not the target demographic.

Socials & Support them at: @snidemollusk on Tumblr, Etsy, Twitter, Bsky, Patreon & Furaffinity.

#a nice shoutout and a fun set of artists!#long post #artist highlight #artists on tumblr

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