Perhaps a bit of context regarding what happened before I fuck off into the void.
I like to make AI images. Do I consider it "real art"? No. Is it as good as the real thing? Of course not. The point is, I don't pretend I'm proffering the Mona Lisa; I merely enjoy creating images I find pleasing or funny, and I share them because I think other Horizon fans might enjoy them, too. And believe me, there are people who do.
A few days ago, I shared a few such images in good faith. I never use other artists' work to generate my images; instead, I use assets from the game itself because I want my work to look like it came straight from the source. Imitating a specific artist's style might be an issue elsewhere, but I avoid it out of respect. I haven't seen that behavior from my fellow Horizon AI creators, either.
Lo and behold, very quickly after posting, a certain artist @kelsochronicles—whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past but whom I’ve never actually interacted with—began disseminating disparaging sentiments across multiple platforms about AI artists specifically within the Horizon fan community. Ordinarily, this wouldn't concern me. I understand this is a controversial subject, and people are free to express their opinions. Personally, I think AI tools are a good thing, but I wouldn’t lambast anyone for believing otherwise.
The problem? This rant was very clearly, if implicitly, a reaction to me and my work specifically.
How do I know?
1. Just before posting the rant, the artist blocked me. Real chickenshit move.
2. They offhandedly referenced a specific detail from my post. Not very subtle.
So, for the record: No, I didn't use AI to create a cheap imitation of this artist’s work (very convincing, I might add; I fooled at least one of you for a minute there) because I disliked their views on AI art. I did it because they revealed themselves to be a bully.
I don’t care if you don’t like AI or my work. Feel free to block me; many already have for this reason, and I completely understand. But making your fellow Horizon fans feel unwelcome and illegitimate simply because you don't like the medium they use to engage with the fandom is absolutely vile.
People like you would fit right in with the Nora.
Oh, and I wouldn't worry about AI impacting your bottom line, if that's the source of your fragility. But continue with this hostility, and you’ll find it’s your attitude, not the medium, that costs you commissions. You’ve certainly lost at least one customer today.
Edit: Regarding the responses mentioning using the games assets for reference: I anticipated someone would bring this up. It's a fair point, however by that logic, everyone would be guilty of theft because all of us are ultimately basing our works off of the game's assets. They're not our original characters pulled out of thin air, so where do we draw the line?
There are some other things I wish I could clarify, but it seems most here have taken a hard stance on the subject and either can't or won't entertain another perspective - so I'll just leave it at that.
