The Devil has knocked on my door again

[DaveC426913]

TL;DR

Do I let him in?

Backstory:
I'm planning to put my book on display at a club arts and crafts show, and thought I'd make a poster of my book cover for visibility.
My concern is that blowing up the artwork back to original size will highlight all the warts and blemishes, which doesn't look very professional.

So I had a flash of insight: why not see what AI can do with my artwork?

This is the original in acrylic (actually this is already quite touched up in Photoshop).

And this is what ChatGPT did with it:

I gotta say, it looks a damn sight more professional.

But at what cost?

 

[pinball1970]

TL;DR: Do I let him in?

Backstory:
I'm planning to put my book on display at a club arts and crafts show, and thought I'd make a poster of my book cover for visibility.
My concern is that blowing up the artwork back to original size will highlight all the warts and blemishes, which doesn't look very professional.

So I had a flash of insight: why not see what AI can do with my artwork?

This is the original in acrylic (actually this is already quite touched up in Photoshop).

View attachment 375358

And this is what ChatGPT did with it:

View attachment 375359


I gotta say, it looks a damn sight more professional.

But at what cost?

Looks great. Sky more uniform and that blurred area bottom of the sea has details now.

 

[Filip Larsen]

So I had a flash of insight: why not see what AI can do [...]

I would like to claim that the idea of offloading work to a tool like AI, especially for someone already experienced in doing just that, can hardly be considered a "flash of insight".

That said, the brushed up version looks like a sharper version of the original, so I guess you with some confidence can consider the new version still your work. But if you take it too far, especially if it begins to look like the "professional" artistic undeclared slop everyone is generating in spades, then you should not be surprised if some people will perceive such work as "slop" instead of "professional".

 

[Matterwave]

For the nostalgia factor, the original wins. The AI one is more detailed and sharper. I would still say the artwork is yours for either version.

But, if the artwork of the top one were on a book it might make me more inclined to buy rather than the bottom one. The bottom one looks more "cartoony".

 

[DaveC426913]

I would like to claim that the idea of offloading work to a tool like AI, especially for someone already experienced in doing just that, can hardly be considered a "flash of insight".

I keep discovering new ways it can be a handy tool. I'd never thought of seeing if it can touch up my own artwork. It occurred to me in the middle of the night.

That said, the brushed up version looks like a sharper version of the original, so I guess you with some confidence can consider the new version still your work. But if you take it too far, especially if it begins to look like the "professional" artistic undeclared slop everyone is generating in spades, then you should not be surprised if some people will perceive such work as "slop" instead of "professional".

Exactly. There's a lot of blowback from people who see AI-gen'd cover art and assume the book is written by AI.

 

[DaveC426913]

But, if the artwork of the top one were on a book it might make me more inclined to buy rather than the bottom one. The bottom one looks more "cartoony".

Heh. I hadn't thought of that that way.

The idea of touching it up hadn't occurred to me at all until I thought about scaling up the artwork to make a poster.

I suppose I could use the original acrylic painting, but then it would be obvious how much the book art differs. Then again, maybe passersby might appreciate the authenticity of the original canvas. It is, after all, an art show.

 

[FactChecker]

Does the Art Show allow AI? If there are judges and awards, I doubt that AI is allowed.

 

[DaveC426913]

Does the Art Show allow AI? If there are judges and awards, I doubt that AI is allowed.

Nonono. This is my sailing club. There is no adjudication, no entry qualifications, no rules.

It's brownies and cookies and photography and paintings and arts and crafts of club members.

 

[Swamp Thing]

For the nostalgia factor, the original wins.

I feel so old, knowing that nostalgia means no AI.

Edit: Quite literally, nostalgia isn't what it used to be !

 

[DaveC426913]

I feel so old, knowing that nostalgia means no AI.

Went over my head.