I use AI artwork generated using the Bing Image Creator, StarryAI, and Stable Diffusion. I also use artwork from Pixabay and Pexels. I also generate my own art where possible.

I recognize that there are concerns surrounding the use of AI imagery. For that reason, I want to be fully transparent in how I use the tools and all of my efforts to ensure that the art I use is not infringing on work that someone else owns.

Generating the art for my content is no simple task. It is not a case of entering in a few words for a prompt and taking the first thing that comes back. I take great care to ensure that the art I use is unique and of the highest quality.

To that end, I follow these 4 steps with each and every piece of artwork I use.

Generation

I never reference specific artists or image sources in my prompts. I do not include individual artist names nor do I reference repositories such as Artstation in my prompts. I do not even use D&D or other product names in my prompts. My prompts focus strictly on the content I am looking for and the style of the art I want.

Since I first began researching AI art, I’ve done extensive investigation into different art styles and prompts that help me to properly describe the work I am looking for without needing to reference the work of other artists.

I also do not feed in any third-party source images in the AI generator. The art that I get is based purely on objective descriptions of the output I desire. On the occasions when I do provide an image as a source for the AI, it is ALWAYS an image that I either own the rights to or one that was created by a prior iteration through this process I am describing here.

As much as is possible, I try to ensure that the art I am generating is original.

Selection

For every piece of art that makes it through this process, there are dozens, or even hundreds that did not. And for every piece of art that makes it into the finished product, there are a significant number that did not make the cut.

This is to say that I am by no means using AI art as a “short-cut”.

AI art is a tool to help me deliver the product I am after. I have high standards and if the tool is not providing the results I need, then that work is not used.

I spend hours (even days) on each and every image. Just as an artist may go through several drafts of their work before they are satisfied, I will continually refine the prompt that I am using until I get the images I am looking for. And the resulting images are then further filtered down until I have exactly the one I am after.

Verification

This is, perhaps, the most important step in this process.

I go to great lengths to ensure that any art I use is truly an original work. If I find that any art I create resembles an existing piece of art a little too closely, I disregard it and refine my prompts to avoid that situation again.

I have no desire to “steal” content that is someone else’s creation.

With every image I select, I perform an image search in Google and look through the results to ensure that the image I had was truly something unique. I am not just looking for an exact match. If I find something that I feel is too similar, I will scrap my image and try again.

All art is derived from what came before. We all take inspiration from things we see and hear and read. AI art is no different from any artist that applies what they know to create something new. Using existing art as a basis for new work is not an infringement on copyright as long as the new work is truly a NEW work.

Modification

The images provided by the tool are rarely used without some modifications. I take the images through additional steps using tools such as GIMP and Adobe Illustrator to enhance, refine, and alter the image.

These changes are not so substantial as to render the original unrecognizable, but my personal style is always applied to every image before publication.

I share the concerns about copyright infringement and I hope my process described above helps to ease those concerns for the work that I am creating.

I also understand concerns about AI competing with aspiring artists. But we are all competing. I am competing with larger creators that have far more resources available to them than I have. The competition today is greater than it was in the past. That is just how such markets work.

New tools to simplify the creation process (or any endeavor) are constantly being developed. Do we insist that artists tell us if they used Photoshop as part of their process? Do we require authors to tell us if their grammar checker was turned on? Tools make the work easier and open the door for more people to participate in the creative process and that is what I fully support.

As long as the end result is an original product, then I do not feel we should be concerned about the tools the creator used.

At the end of the day, it is a question of ensuring that the product is unique and of high quality. That is my goal with everything I do.

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