Lately I have been feeling a bit discouraged by the quietness of the internet. For starters, I miss all my Sylestia friends from 2015. But in other areas, I have been trying to build my own community around my art. (as well as start a small business with art.) And I am struck by the silence of social media.

I feel like just a few years ago it was so much easier to make connections online. I remember having conversations in a comment section that would stretch over multiple days, and afterwards I would consider that stranger to have become my friend. Yesterday I posted on four different platforms a post asking people to share something they accomplished that they are proud of, or a dream they have. People only responded on one of the four platforms. I don't mean in terms of likes, because I got more than my average number of likes, I am specifically referring to comments. I genuinely wanted to talk to people and hear about their lives, I really wanted to make connections with others in the art community, so I asked a question. I felt disheartened by how few others felt a desire to connect in that way.

Trying to make my own dream of becoming a full time artist become a reality is so much harder when I can't reach people. It's a shame social media and online presence are half the battle to being a full time artist in today's world, because I don't think stressing about being popular is healthy, and I never used to be focused on this at all. But I have been trying to take it seriously as I setup my art shop, and despite all efforts I have been disappointed in the outcomes.

One of my ideas for breaking this strange barrier is to go make more art in public this summer. I would like to print my own business cards and have them available for taking as people pass by. I will be open for conversation. I think this would be a great way to connect with the people in my community who want to be a part of my art journey.

I am curious what you all think. How could I reach more folks online? What kind of questions would you respond to? What kinds of art do you like seeing? And are you also experiencing a quiet world online?

Let's talk about AI images and the value of human-made art

I need to get this out of my head and into the open, because it is chewing on my brain, and I need to actually get things done today. A company I have been ordering stickers, pins, and magnets from for my little art shop has recently started promoting ai generated stickers. I am now backing off from them completely and refuse to give them any more business, and I am going to explain my reasons on why.

Ai images are essentially a mashup of artwork that has been gathered up from across the internet and re-orderd into a "new" image. (I refuse to call ai images art because I do not consider them to be art.) There are a few problems with this. First, these millions of artworks were gathered without the consent or compensation of the artists. Basically it means if you have ever posted an artwork online it was probably taken and put into one of these generators without your permission. Second, the ai generated images have been used to make a profit. So if you have ever struggled to make money off commissions you can take comfort in knowing that dozens of companies and anyone who uses their generators are making money off your work when you can't. Third, it is discouraging young people from learning how to draw and paint. And fourth, it is putting real, working, soulfull, passionate artists out of their jobs.

I know this is a controversial topic and many people disagree with my viewpoint, but I will never be able to support ai images. Not unless they build their software on paid artwork commissions from artists they hire to help put it together.

A couple months ago I saw a news article that read, "there may be some value in human-made art." The context of this statement was that they found ai couldn't generate new images from ai generated images. When it's own images get recycled into the process it begins to break. I was angered in thinking that anyone considered for a moment that human-made art had lost all of its value in favor of bots. We battle bots all the time online. Administrators just like Krin have to put extra security measures in place to keep bots off the online platforms they build. Do we really want to get images from them now? Are we really that cheap?

Art is more than the picture. It is the mind behind the process, the passion in the medium, the years of practice that built the skill, the knowledge of the techniques, and the gentleness of the craftsmanship. When we appreciate artwork that people make (whether it be a book, painting, drawing, sculpture, doll, or website) we are appreciating all the details that came together to make up the piece. Each piece is intentional. There is story and emotion in the different elements of the work. Ai images have none of this. Ai images are a rip off of the real thing. They're the bioengineered foods. They're the plastic fabric. They're the chemically colored beverages. The snack that you eat because you're hungry and its cheap and available, but makes you nauseous a couple hours later.

I argue that human-made art will always hold highest value and importance. Those who want quality will hire a real artist. And on that note, I want to share with you an artwork I made last night. It is an ink sketch that I colored in Procreate. I feel the colors are still a little bit off, but it is an art style I am still just trying out!

To be honest, the whole thing with Ai is really getting on my nerves. Of course, it's cool to use Ai to generate a lot of pictures within 1h.
For a school project, we needed to make once a advertising for a product and needed it to present to the class. It had to be drawn. In this case I was really happy to use an Ai to create a picture of the car I wanted to draw to just use it as a template, otherwise I would have spent hours of drawing that car (and coloring it) and would do not so much for the other subjects...

Woow, this artwork is totally stunning! I love those colors and characters! It has so many details! ^-^

An Ai could never express the feelings while it's generating the pictures. An artist always has an idea, what they want to draw and through artwork the feelings, they have, can get to others.


P.S: I really like the idea of the Journal! And your artwork is totally amazing! :D

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=108303&page=1#2 Author: Watercolors Time Posted: 3/21/2024 at 11:03 AM Lately I have been feeling a bit discouraged by the quietness of the internet. For starters, I miss all my Sylestia friends from 2015. But in other areas, I have been trying to build my own community around my art. (as well as start a small business with art.) And I am struck by the silence of social media. I feel like just a few years ago it was so much easier to make connections online. I remember having conversations in a comment section that would stretch over multiple days, and afterwards I would consider that stranger to have become my friend. Yesterday I posted on four different platforms a post asking people to share something they accomplished that they are proud of, or a dream they have. People only responded on one of the four platforms. I don't mean in terms of likes, because I got more than my average number of likes, I am specifically referring to comments. I genuinely wanted to talk to people and hear about their lives, I really wanted to make connections with others in the art community, so I asked a question. I felt disheartened by how few others felt a desire to connect in that way. Trying to make my own dream of becoming a full time artist become a reality is so much harder when I can't reach people. It's a shame social media and online presence are half the battle to being a full time artist in today's world, because I don't think stressing about being popular is healthy, and I never used to be focused on this at all. But I have been trying to take it seriously as I setup my art shop, and despite all efforts I have been disappointed in the outcomes. One of my ideas for breaking this strange barrier is to go make more art in public this summer. I would like to print my own business cards and have them available for taking as people pass by. I will be open for conversation. I think this would be a great way to connect with the people in my community who want to be a part of my art journey. I am curious what you all think. How could I reach more folks online? What kind of questions would you respond to? What kinds of art do you like seeing? And are you also experiencing a quiet world online?

I can definitely relate to that feeling. Years ago, when I was just a kid playing funny little animal games (namely Animal Jam, lol), it was so easy to find people who just wanted to have a nice chat, and perhaps become friends. I met some of my best friends all that time ago, some of which I still talk to today. There was no shortage of community, and it made a lonely little kid like me feel welcomed. The internet was my little safe haven where I could make friends and share cool things.

Nowadays, however, it's so hard to find people to forge connections with. People don't seem to want to chat with others and share their thoughts anymore, and it can feel a bit isolating at times. In the internet's attempt to connect people, it feels like we're being pulled further apart. I couldn't tell you why or how, though.

(Sidenote: your art is gorgeous!)