In recent weeks we’ve been seeing the rising popularity of AI-generated paintings or AI artwork. But what exactly is an AI painting and what impact does AI have on and mean for artists? 

How It Works

Artificial Intelligence or AI is the simulation of human intelligence. Broadly, it’s when a machine is programmed to think and imitate human actions. An expected outcome of AI is that it has the ability to mimic actions that have the potential to achieve a particular end goal. 

AI is trained with machine learning. This is the idea that computer programs can learn and implement new data without needing human help. Machine learning can be enhanced through deep learning wherein AI learns by generalizing and extracting features from large amounts of unstructured data like images, videos, or even text.

A characteristic of advanced AI is that it can have an output that’s more intricate and humanlike. With enough training time, it actively gives you the best results using the given data. AI art is any artwork that is made by Artificial Intelligence. AI paintings gather fractions of pictures on the internet and assemble them into a piece of artwork. This is a new form of digital art that is changing how we think about or even make art.

Some AI Options

There are many options for AI that’ll generate some pretty good pictures. Some AI requires that users give them directions or variations, and all of them need users to input keywords. The more keywords you’ve got the better the picture you’ll get. 

We’ve got NightCafe which has more features than most generators and while it does work on a credit system it has a free tier that produces great artwork. NightCafe also features access to a friendly community and gives you the option to buy a print of your generated artwork. 

Another generator is Midjourney which has an incredible depth of knowledge and is able to create realistic images with small details. This generator can handle complex prompts on various levels to produce artwork. 

Novel AI is a model that focuses on AI-assisted story writing as well as text-to-image generation. While this generator is a paid subscription, it features many styles and themes to ensure you get exactly what you’re imagining. 

Lastly, we have Runway ML with which you can create realistic images in various ways. An added feature that this generator has is the ability to turn these images into animations and 3D models. Other options include video editing to allow you to replace background images in a video. 

Is AI Kicking Real-Life Artists Off The Canvas?

According to research conducted by Eben Schumacher Art, some artists are feeling the impact of AI, for instance, if the job may be to assemble images from the internet, AI is considered to be more efficient. However, it’s important to note that we’ve got a great way to collect data as humans, using our eyes. We’re able to look at the real world instead of merely scanning the internet.

AI does have the ability to help people think about the nature of art and ways to make art better. It can also be an excellent source of inspiration for artists and this helps in developing ideas and visuals. Ultimately there does exist a space to create a good balance between AI and artists.

Tell Us Your Thoughts

AI is becoming more sophisticated as the weeks go by, giving us access to previously unimaginable technology. This can be used to improve existing human work in ways that can be seen as culture-changing. Drop your thoughts on AI artwork in the Heyup community.