AI Art Tools: Democratizing or Killing the Craft?

🎨 The Infinite Game: Why AI Won’t Kill Art It’s Freeing It. There is a lot of talk lately about AI "replacing" artists. It’s easy to feel like we’re in a finite game where the machine wins because it’s faster, cheaper, or more "accurate." Is the winning art the "most accurate"? History tells a different story. When Louis Daguerre reveiled the first camera to take portraits, portrait painters panicked. "It's more accurate". It is. But.. It's different. Photography did something incredible: it freed painters from the burden of "documentation." It gave us Impressionism, Cubism, and Surrealism. Painting didn’t die: it evolved into a higher plane of expression. 💡 The Takeaway for Artists: We are currently in the "Daguerre-type Moment" of AI. Here is how I’m looking at it: 💥 Mastery of Craft vs. Mastery of Expression: AI can automate "craft" (the technical execution). Think the ceramic bowl you buy at Ikea vs. the handman art-one. But AI cannot automate "expression": the unique, forward-looking human point of view that says something new about the world. 💥 Don’t Play to the Gallery, i.e.e don't create to please: As David Bowie once said, "If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area." The goal isn't to compete with the machine on speed; it’s to go deeper into the water than the machine is capable of swimming. 💥 The Game is Infinite: Art isn't a game you "win" or "finish." It’s a game you play to keep the play going. Technology doesn't shrink the field: it expands it. As an artist, my job isn't to protect what I’ve already done. It’s to use every new tool available to discover what’s possible. So? It's a wild world out there: It’s exploding. 🚀 What do you think? Are we entering a new era of human expression, or are we just losing the craft? Great article from NFX (link below). -- Follow me Ania Pabis Guillaume for the artist's inspiration and thoughts ♻️ Share to increase the reach of this reflection

“We run on AI.” Sounds crazy, right? No… not Artificial Intelligence. Artistic Intelligence. For over two decades, I’ve been quietly training this intelligence… Not with algorithms. But with hands, heart, and relentless practice. Because in our world of wooden art collectibles, AI doesn’t come from machines… It comes from the mind, the eye, and the hand. Artistic Intelligence is… • Seeing a story hidden inside raw wood • Reading grains like a language • Choosing the right wood for the right emotion • Visualizing the final piece before the first cut It is years of learning to… • Work with natural shades — not paints • Cut with precision where there’s no undo button • Place each piece like a living puzzle • Align patterns so seamlessly… they feel untouched It is the process… From imagination → interpretation → creation → refinement → perfection Where… A block becomes a story A grain becomes depth A surface becomes soul It is also… • The patience to work for days… sometimes weeks, even months • The discipline to restart when it’s not perfect • The restraint to let nature speak • The obsession with detail that no one sees… but everyone feels And when someone sees the final piece, they pause… and ask: “How do you get so many shades without using paint?” “Is this really all natural wood?” “How long did this take you?” That’s when we smile. Because this AI… cannot be rushed cannot be copied cannot be automated This is not Artificial Intelligence. This is Artistic Intelligence. Built… one grain at a time. 🌳 #ArtisticIntelligence #WoodArt #Handcrafted #LuxuryArt #ArtCollectors #IndianArtistry #TimelessArt #Craftsmanship #CreativeProcess #NoPaint #SustainableArt #FineArtIndia #LAuraNirvana #ArtThatLasts

In an age where machines can generate art works in seconds, what does it mean to create? From hope to hesitation, young artists in Kathmandu share how they’re navigating authorship, originality, and survival in the era of AI. Bipran Chhetri, a graphics student from Darjeeling studying in Kathmandu: “Miyazaki worked for decades, dedicating his whole life to his art. Seeing people recreate a man's lifelong work in seconds using AI saddened me as an artist" - By Prabina Khadka https://lnkd.in/gvNh_6ZD

THIS SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE — AI image generation has ONE fundamental problem: It’s slow. Prompt → Wait → Retry → Repeat No matter how good the output is… the thinking gets interrupted. — But I just found something that breaks this completely. (Found it through @heyselcuk 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYyA7WHc) — It’s called Phaner AI 👉 https://www.phaner.ai/ And its core feature is insane: Realtime Canvas — You don’t generate images. You watch them form as you type. — Add “cinematic lighting” → it updates instantly Add “cyberpunk” → scene shifts live Remove a word → composition changes No loading. No waiting. — This is the first time AI feels… continuous. — You’re not prompting anymore. You’re sculpting visuals in real time. — That means: • Faster ideation • Better creative control • Zero wasted generations • Live client-ready visuals — Big shift happening here: Prompting → Directing Generating → Thinking — We’re entering the era of: Realtime creativity. And honestly… This might kill the old workflow entirely. 🚀

I’ve realised AI isn’t a threat—it’s a 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗽. It shows me where my ideas need more polish, helps me break down complex problems, and keeps me focused when things feel overwhelming. As a creative, it doesn’t replace my soul; it 𝗲𝗻𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. 🎨 Whether it’s: ✅ Suggesting fresh 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝘀 ✅ Refining 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 ✅ Speeding up 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 More than anything, AI is a 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿. It teaches me new techniques, keeps me consistent, and helps me measure my actual progress. The real question isn’t “Will AI replace us?” It’s “𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁?” What’s your take—𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁? 👇 #AI #FutureOfWork #Creativity #Innovation #TechTrends #Productivity #WorkSmarter #Upskilling

Think of a scene. Any scene. The light, the shadows, the furniture, the temperature in the room. The emotion. Now describe it. If you can do that, you already understand what it means to direct AI. A photographer does not become an artist just because he owns a camera. The camera is only the tool. What matters is the eye behind it - the ability to notice what others miss and turn that into a clear vision. AI works the same way. Whether it is art, writing, design, strategy, teaching, or problem-solving, the tool can generate output, but it still depends on human direction. Taste matters. Judgment matters. Clarity matters. If you can describe a scene, shape an idea, define a goal, or guide a result with intention, you are not just “using AI.” You are directing it. That is not automation replacing creativity. That is a tool responding to vision. Limited direction usually creates limited output. Not because the tool failed, but because clarity was missing behind it. The loudest opinions about AI often come from people who have never really learned how to work with it. That part is not new. It is just human nature. #AICreativity #GenerativeAI #CreativeDirection #AI #Innovation #ProblemSolving

“Everything made with AI looks the same.” I hear this often, you probably do too. I argue that this claim says less about technology and more about the people using it. Much of what circulates, is produced by individuals who lack either creative talent, creative education, or both. They unconsciously just recycle the visual language of their own media consumption; Netflix, Pixar, Marvel, HBO, Disney, etc. Recently I was asked to create a demo challenging the assumption. Also I explored a more interesting question: CAN AI STRENGTHEN IDENTITY INSTEAD OF FLATTENING IT? I created a couple of clips for Omroep ZWART, the Dutch public broadcaster founded by multi-talented modern renaissance man Akwasi. ZWART stands out by exploring diversity, not only in representation, but in identity itself. HIS IDEA Akwasi shared the following concept with me: "When you bring together all colors, perspectives, and voices, you arrive at something layered, inclusive: (Omroep) ZWART." MY APPROACH The experiment reconnects to my roots; I graduated (1993) from the HKU (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht) University of the Arts Utrecht, specializing in #stopmotion and #computeranimation, reawakening my fascination with the tension between digital and tactile. Instead of drifting toward hyperrealism, as often demonstrated here on LinkedIn, I reversed course. Using #AI, I went tactile: creating a #handcrafted stop-motion-inspired cardboard papercut aesthetic. The demo unfolds in short chapters: 'WHO': A character study, generated through AI. 'HOW': An AI-made materials study; cardboard, metals, brushes, reflective paint textures behaving like dripping paint within a stop-motion aesthetic. 'ACTION': Where creation takes place within the creation that is the story. 'WHAT': A reveal; characters seem painting (self)portraits. Cardboard identities creating painted identities, brought to life through AI. The demo's soundtrack is part of the exploration; I kept the audio Google VEO 3.1 FAST automatically generated from my visual(!) prompts, as inspiration. TO WRAP IT UP True: Much of today’s AI OUTPUT converges toward the same aesthetic; a pop-culture regurgitation resulting in lots of #AIslop. But: That’s not a tool constraint. It’s a mirror of the INPUT. CONCLUSION AI as a creative tool, is super accessible. But accessibility doesn’t equal artistry. Without direction, AI reproduces familiarity. With direction, AI reveals individuality. This demo is part of what we develop within ANÓTHER DIMENSION — experiments showing how AI can amplify identity, not erase it. Thanks to Morad Bouchakour for introducing me and to Akwasi O. Ansah, Milad Hosseingholikhan and Tarik Yousif for being curious to explore how AI can deepen the visual language of identity itself. BTW: This demo is raw and ungraded by design, just a pure exploration of process. Interested in exploring how AI can make your visual identity stronger rather than generic? I’m always open to collaborations.

Teaching AI to understand light might sound like a technical challenge, but for the team at Hoon Kim's studio, it became a creative breakthrough that changed everything. In their recent piece on Creative Bloq, Kim shares how they developed an AI system that truly grasps how light behaves, and the impact has been transformational for their artistic workflow. The challenge was getting AI to see light the way artists do. Light isn't just brightness or shadows on a surface. It's atmosphere, mood, and storytelling. By training their AI to recognize these nuances, they unlocked a tool that doesn't just automate tasks but actually enhances the creative decision-making process. For filmmakers and visual artists, this means spending less time on tedious technical adjustments and more time on the vision itself. What makes this development particularly exciting is that it represents a shift in how we think about AI in creative fields. Rather than replacing artistic intuition, this technology amplifies it. The AI becomes a collaborator that understands one of the most fundamental elements of visual storytelling. Kim's team found that once the AI could comprehend lighting principles, it could suggest possibilities they hadn't considered, opening up new creative directions. This is the kind of innovation that shows AI's real potential in the arts. It's not about mimicking human creativity but about building tools that understand the language artists speak. For anyone working in film, animation, or visual design, developments like this point toward a future where technology and artistry work hand in hand. https://lnkd.in/gYy5MyZK #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Art #Creativity #AIinArt #CreativeTechnology #DigitalArt #Filmmaking #VisualEffects #MachineLearning #CreativeAI #Innovation #FutureOfCreativity #ArtAndTechnology #CreativeProcess

“Corel Draw. Photoshop. 3D modeling. Digital photography killing the darkroom.” Do tell all of us about how these were firmly rooted in the IP theft and piracy of millions upon millions of artists and creators, explicitly designed to exploit and replace workers, and to destroy entire global industries and ecosystems for the revolting-scale enrichment of barely a handful of mega corporations, dear comments-turned-off-person. For starters. #degenerativeai #40yearsandstilldoesntunderstand

The brouhaha around AI continues to be loud — and about 40 years too late. 😉 AI is no longer hidden inside corporate think tanks. It’s been embedded in movies, banking, your car, advertising, and creative workflows for decades before it became dinner-table conversation. What changed isn’t the technology — it’s who can access it. Here’s what I keep coming back to: AI is a tool. Corel Draw. Photoshop. 3D modeling. Digital photography killing the darkroom. Every one of these sparked the same handwringing about authenticity and the death of “real” art. And most commercial and pop artists have been using AI in some form for years — even when they didn’t name it that way. Creativity lives in the creator. AI continues to reshape things, but it hasn’t replaced the person behind the vision. The distinction between using any medium carelessly versus deliberately has always mattered. And, it always will. If you think AI is new, perhaps you haven’t been paying attention. Head to my online journal — the receipts are there, going all the way back to the 1950s. https://lnkd.in/eYwu6Arz