Zynu's Blog

Is Art School Worth it?

It really depends on the person (and the school and/or major). If you have the money, are extremely passionate about whatever you’re pursuing, want to make connections/friends, want feedback/critique, and/or you need someone to guide you/push you to improve, then it could be a good experience. Otherwise, I would just take online classes (preferably the ones that give homework assignments and feedback), do lots of observational drawings/studies, study art books/tutorials/speedpaints/artworks/artists, and constantly practice. That's how I learned how to draw on my own.I later went to art school to learn 3D animation, which was helpful (and an interesting experience), but the teachers teach you the very basics and then expect you to figure out the rest on your own. It's definitely important to get a teacher/mentor to give you feedback/critique on your work, but I wouldn't say it's worth $100k of student loans...especially if you’re from a low-income household. I chose to go into debt because I really wanted to pursue animation and thought going to art school was the only way I could. But now that there are a lot of good (free and paid) tutorials/classes online, I wouldn’t recommend going to art school unless you have the money to (and know for sure that’s what you want to pursue). Along with online classes/tutorials, I would also try to look for a professional who'd be willing to mentor you; It's not going to be cheap, but it'll be cheaper than art school. You could also post on online communities asking for feedback on your work, but feedback from there can be a hit or miss, so I highly recommend getting feedback from a professional instead.Back then, there weren't any online classes for art, but there are so many now on Schoolism, Underpaint Academy, Coloso, etc, where you can learn from highly skilled professionals or even your favorite artists. YouTube also has a lot of good tutorials/process videos. (I learned a lot from watching speedpaints back in the day.) Some artists even offer their own courses on their website (I highly recommend Kat Tsai's Color and Light class, if you’re interested in visual development!) There’s also Animation Mentor for aspiring animators, which is pricey but still much cheaper than art school.Especially during these times (the current state of the industry and AI), I wouldn't recommend going to art school (especially if you just want to learn illustration). There are so many resources/tutorials/classes online, which are a lot cheaper than spending thousands on tuition. Getting a degree (or going to the best art school) also isn't as important for artists; Having an excellent portfolio is most important. I know some artists who never went to art school but are highly skilled and successful.If you still really, really want to go to art school, I recommend taking as many AP classes as you can in high school, and/or going to a community college first to get all the liberal arts classes out of the way. That way, you can just focus on your art classes later. Also, try to make friends and be friendly with everyone. When I was in art school, I spent all my time doing homework/studying alone (the workload was intense and I was also very shy), so I had no one to turn to when I needed help. It's one of the things I regret to this day. Another important thing is to be accepting of criticism/try not to take things personally. Remember that you’re there to learn and improve from experienced artists. Especially as a beginner artist, it can be hard to tell/figure out what’s wrong with your work and how to fix it. Our eyes also tend to deceive us, either by making us think that it looks good when it’s not, or that it looks bad when it’s fine. Some teachers may be unnecessarily harsh, but that’s just their personality/teaching style; Try not to take it to heart. (They also tend to be harsh to those who don’t put in the effort, like not doing the homework). Even if you don’t agree with their opinions, it’s best to just do what they ask for that particular assignment. As long as you work hard, try your best, and are willing to listen to constructive criticism, you’ll be fine.

Why I Don't Use or Support GenAI

GenAI creates imitations of existing art by using millions of stolen work/content, makes it easy for anyone to create inappropriate content/misinformation/scams, makes it harder to differentiate between (and find) real content and fake content, and also negatively impacts the environment. We’re unnecessarily bringing harm to people and the planet just (for the machine) to make “art” when we could just make it ourselves.Art is supposed to be about the journey, the process, and self-expression. Everyone has a different amount of knowledge, skills, and experience; as well as different preferences, interests, inspirations, and observations that make their art uniquely theirs. Using genAI, however, will make everyone’s content look and sound the same. Companies replacing human artists with genAI will do that to films, shows, games, etc, too. The reason films, shows, games etc are as good as they are is because multiple different people (who specialize in different areas) work together to create and share their own ideas, knowledge, and skills.Instead of “directing” a machine that uses stolen/work content to make “art” for you, we should be learning/making art ourselves or commissioning/hiring a real artist who actually does the work (drawing, writing, composing music, sculpting, voice acting, etc etc). If human artists also only used other people’s work/content (without consent) to create art (especially work from the best artists), we’d all be making “good art.” This is how AI prompters and genAI are able to do what they do. They need the work of human artists/creators (especially highly-skilled professionals) in order to make “art” without having to know/learn any art skills/knowledge.A lot of people (even other types of artists) don’t understand why/how AI-generated content is different from digital/traditional art, so I’m going to explain.What exactly makes a piece a masterpiece or high-quality? How do you render a face so it looks 3D? How do you draw correct anatomy and facial features? How do you draw a pose in perspective or foreshortening? How do you take inspiration from multiple sources without literally using the sources? How do you stylize a character/person/etc without making them look uncanny, etc etc; These are (just a few) things that AI prompters do not consider or know about. There’s a reason why it takes human artists so many years of hard work and practice to get good at art and have a good understanding of it. It’s not just about having the idea.Everyone has ideas and can describe their ideas. What differentiates artists from “everyone” is the ability to express those ideas themselves, using their own knowledge, skills, etc. Using genAI does not make one an artist; Directing the AI until you get the result you want is exactly the same as a commissioner telling an artist what to draw and fix. If you tell a human artist what to draw but give them very vague instructions/feedback, they won’t be able to do a very good job executing your idea. However, if you give them specific/detailed instructions/feedback and lots of references, they’ll be able to do much better. The latter is basically what AI prompters are doing. They aren’t making the art or actually editing it themselves; They just know how to order the AI properly. Some AI users argue that it takes a lot of time and skill to refine AI-generated content and get it exactly the way they want; but knowing how to draw and edit something yourself is very different from knowing how to tell someone/something what to draw/edit. Human artists have to do both of these things (and more); They have to know how to draw, edit, and tell their own bodies how to make art.One of the reasons why drawing is difficult is because you also have to train your hands/arms/etc, not just your mind. Even if you study a lot of images/books/etc and have an amazing idea in your head, you won’t be able to make your art look good (or even close to the image in your head) unless you also train your hands/arms/etc. For example, digital/traditional artists have to practice arm/wrist movement in order to draw smooth lines/ellipses, and they also have to practice drawing the same thing over and over again in order to learn how to draw it well (and they have to do this for everything that they want to learn how to draw: facial features, body parts, clothes, folds, hairstyles, objects, buildings, etc etc in different lighting, angles, perspectives, etc). They have to draw everything (stroke by stroke) while constantly changing their pen pressure, using their whole arm for larger/confident strokes, flicking their wrist, etc. Also, if they do not practice drawing for a long period of time, they’ll forget how to, and will need time getting used to drawing again. Not only do they have to train their bodies and minds, they also have to learn/understand how to use art tools properly (i.e. how to use the program, paint with water, mix paint, use different brush techniques, etc etc). AI-generated content is not the same as human-made art because the process of making them are very, very different.GenAI isn’t a new art form; It just imitates art that already exists. It looks like digital art, 3D, traditional art, photos, videos, etc. With any art media you can tell what it is and what it was drawn/made with. You can’t with AI-generated content because it wasn’t actually drawn or made with art tools (pen, tablet, programs, clay, charcoal, paint, etc). AI should be used as a tool for a small part of the process, (like auto-select, for example) but genAI isn’t a tool; It’s a mass theft + imitation machine that replaces the tools and the entire process. A tool is something that helps your process. For example, if you’re painting, it should help you paint. If you’re cooking, it should help you cook. It shouldn’t make everything for you by telling it what to paint or cook. You can’t ask a brush, pencil, digital program, knife, spatula, etc etc to make art or food for you because they are tools.Some people use genAI to “skip” the art journey because they don’t want to spend time/effort learning how to make real art; but in order to make high-quality work, you need to have a good understanding of art and the process. For example, an AI user who doesn’t know anything about 3D would generate a 3D model that has bad topology (you need good topology in order to rig/unwrap/texture/animate properly). An AI user who doesn’t have any art knowledge/drawing skills wouldn’t be able to figure out why their AI-generated image looks “off” because they can’t recognize things like inconsistent lighting, weird shadows, perspective errors, bad proportions, etc etc. Visual/musical storytelling is also important: The pacing, colors, lighting, type of shot/camera angle, composition, soundtracks, sound effects, etc all need to be carefully thought out in order to effectively tell a story. This is why so many different artists work together on a film/game/etc (i.e. concept artists, character designers, story artists, 3D modelers, riggers, animators, vfx artists, actors, composers, etc etc). One person can’t excel at everything, which is why we need other people who excel in other areas, especially if we want to make high-quality realistic films/games/etc. AI prompters (and genAI), however, lack the knowledge necessary for effective visual/musical storytelling, which is why most AI-generated content (especially AI-generated “animation”) looks/sounds so “off.” The movement is awkward/unnatural, the camera pans or zooms in/out unnecessarily, the lighting doesn’t match the mood of the scene, etc etc. AI-generated content just looks like a “good” render; but good rendering does not make up for "bad" artistic choices/lack of fundamentals. There’s a reason why not everyone can be directors (especially good/successful ones). Directors also need knowledge in art/design and the creative process. (Usually directors were also artists before they became directors). AI users are not the same as real artists/directors; Using genAI is like commissioning an art thief (that creates “collages” using stolen work/content) to make art for you and then taking all the credit for their “work.”Now to talk about the impact of genAI on the art world:It’s hard to be an artist in this day and age. Now everyone assumes that all art (or anything on the internet) is AI and accuses artists of using AI without proof, it’s hard to get commissions/sell art or get noticed on social media (since AI prompters flood the internet/social media with hundreds of AI images/videos/music/etc a day), AI companies/prompters use everyone’s work/content without consent/compensation to train their AI, AI prompters copy artists’ art styles without consent + make inappropriate content in their style (i.e. Ghibli-style deportation/war images), AI prompters use AI to edit artists’ work/sketches/WIPs without consent (to “fix” it, intentionally ruin it, or use it as a “base” for the AI to make a different version of it), and companies replace artists with AI or force them to use it (and expect them to work faster/produce more work) in order to reduce labor/production costs.Art theft has always been a thing, but genAI is making it extremely easy (for anyone) to steal and make fake/inappropriate content. Before genAI, people had to know how to use Photoshop in order to edit something themselves. It takes a lot of skill and time to be able to edit something seamlessly, which is why most people didn’t use this skill to make inappropriate/low-quality content (and especially not hundreds of it like AI users do). GenAI makes it way too easy to “edit,” copy, imitate, and steal (and the law currently does not care), which is why there are so many people abusing this technology.Some people ask: “Why should I care about genAI? It doesn’t affect me personally.” We should all care because genAI affects everyone, and will even more so if it’s not regulated: Deepfakes, voice phishing scams, fake news/misinformation, layoffs, low-quality content, decline in critical thinking skills/problem-solving skills/creativity, increase in GPU prices, increase in electricity/water demand, etc etc. Right now companies only care about saving/making as much money as possible with genAI, and more people these days would rather use AI than think/learn or do something themselves; Efficiency and making a fast buck are more important to them than quality and ethics. What they don’t understand though, is that society functions when people need each other. People need a job so they can make/spend money, and companies need people to buy their products/services. If companies don’t need people with skills anymore and would rather use genAI to make low-quality content, how will people survive, and who will buy the companies’ products/services? Also, what will happen to the future generations when all the experienced are gone (because companies stopped hiring trainees/juniors)? If humans become too reliant on AI that we lose all of our skills/abilities + intelligence, what will happen to humanity?GenAI isn’t being used to help people that actually need the help. It’s mainly being used to steal, scam, make inappropriate content, and imitate things that already exist, all while using up the Earth’s resources and harming the environment.The main problems with genAI are that it's unethical, unreliable, harmful to humanity/the environment, and dangerous in the wrong hands, which is why it needs to be regulated. GenAI should only be trained on content that it’s allowed to use, anything made with genAI should be labeled as AI-generated, and the people who give consent to use their work/content should be compensated/credited. AI should also only be used to assist with certain tasks, not replace them (meaning: you should still be doing most of the work, not just using the AI-generated content as is or ordering the AI to make/do everything for you). Instead of replacing skills/hobbies that people like/want to do, AI should be used to solve the world’s problems and do the jobs that no one wants to do. If genAI continues to be unregulated, a lot of people’s lives will be ruined, and the internet will become completely unusable. It is already starting to. Fake art, evidence, videos, photos, music, writing, articles, news, people, artists, etc. It’s getting out of hand.

Beware of Fake Artists / Scammers!

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of AI prompters trying to pretend that they’re real artists in order to get commissions. Please be careful; These AI prompters can make fake process steps/timelapses by tracing the AI image or putting their “sketch” on top of the AI image and erasing it. The “sketch” is either heavily traced or made with a sketch filter on the AI image. Some AI prompters even add a couple brush strokes on top of the AI image, or blend the AI image with a mixer/smudge brush to make it look hand-painted. There are even some AI prompters that take a picture of themselves holding a digital pen or traditional art tools in order to imitate real artists.AI prompters can also just use AI to make fake timelapses too. AI timelapses still aren’t believable yet, but unfortunately it’s enough to deceive non-artists who don’t know what the actual drawing process looks like. I recommend looking up AI timelapses on YouTube and comparing them to timelapses/process videos that were posted before 2020 (preferably of original art/fanart, not studies/copies). Don’t just look for the accounts with a lot of followers; There are a lot of AI users with a lot of followers that pretend to be real artists and post fake timelapses/process.If you want to commission a real artist but are afraid of getting scammed, I highly recommend VGen. Artists have to get an invite code from a verified artist in order to sell commissions on there, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll get scammed on that site. It’s still possible though, so be careful.Before you commission an artist, make sure that the account isn’t an impersonator’s. Check the username and make sure that it doesn’t have any missing or additional letters/numbers/symbols. Look at when their account was created (too new is suspicious), check their entire gallery (if they have works that are drastically different in quality+style, they’re most likely AI-generated content or stolen art), use reverse image search, and see if they have any other social media/websites. Ask the art community if the artist/account is legit and/or what their commission experience was like with them. Some other suspicious things to look out for: they don’t have a Terms and Conditions and/or a commission contract; they want you to pay them first without giving you more details about the commission or before you sign the contract; the art in their profile picture looks AI-generated or is a completely different style than their other art; they contacted you first (especially by DM). Always be wary of people that beg for money or commissions on social media.For artists: If the offer is too good to be true, then it’s most likely a scam (i.e. offering way more than your listed prices). Some other ways to tell it’s a scam: they want to pay by check, crypto, or with an unusual payment method; they “accidentally” sent you extra money and want a refund; they refuse to use invoices or sign your commission contract; they ask for your personal information and refuse to give their own; they give vague information about the project and don’t ask for more details/information about how your commissions work; they want you to click a link (i.e. a fake Paypal link) or move you to a different website/app for the transaction; they get impatient/try to rush you; they’re a new/empty account and/or have an AI profile picture; they have poor grammar and/or sound robotic; they want a portrait of their family member or pet (but you don’t draw portraits) or a completely different style/content than what you usually make, they say they’re a fan of your work but don’t mention anything specific + they don’t follow you/interact with your posts on social media, etc.Another (new) thing to look out for: Be careful of people posting online about “getting scammed by an AI artist.” Some of these people are actually AI users who are trying to take advantage of generous artists and get free art from them. Another method that they use is posting AI-generated book covers, album covers, etc (usually ones that they generated), and then telling people that they can’t afford to hire real artists for their projects. They do this to manipulate artists into giving them free work, and also just to mess with artists who are against genAI.Stay safe out there!

Identifying AI and What to Avoid/Do Instead

Someone asked me how to tell if something is AI or not. Unfortunately, there isn’t a sure way to tell these days. AI detectors are unreliable, and real artists also do make questionable mistakes.Usually, you can tell that it’s AI by the inconsistency (i.e. different size pupils), wonkiness of the lines (i.e. warped lineart/strokes, especially around the hair), the amount of limbs/fingers (i.e. six fingers), incorrect designs (i.e. dress shirts without buttons), and things “melting” or morphing/merging together (i.e. a hair strand merging with the eyelid). As you keep seeing more and more AI-generated content, you’ll also notice that you’ve seen the same uncanny faces/poses/lighting/etc.Most AI-generated images also don’t look painted/drawn (no visible brush strokes), but look as if a bunch of art was “mixed” together (2D, 3D, photos, etc) and then excessively sharpened. They also tend to look “high-quality” at first glance (like the smooth rendering you see from highly skilled human artists; like Splash artists, for example), but lack the basic art fundamentals/have the mistakes of a beginner artist (or mistakes not even a beginner artist would make). This is why AI-generated images look “off” or uncomfortable to look at, because they look “high-quality” but lack the basic art fundamentals; and because they also lack the human touch/aren’t actually drawn.Unfortunately, some AI models are trained on artists with rough painting styles in order to imitate their hand-drawn brush strokes, so some AI-generated images can actually look consistent and hand-drawn (fake brush strokes). For these, you really have to zoom in and examine each area closely in order to see the mistakes. You can see a lot of these kinds of AI-generated images on Pinterest.For AI users/tracers, they tend to have sudden improvement/change in art style, post fully-rendered “original” pieces/fanart in an unnaturally short amount of time between each piece (and usually different versions of the same content), and have a questionable process (i.e. no sketch, traced lineart, almost no redoing/fixing, poor understanding of the fundamentals such as construction/lighting/etc compared to the quality of the final result, fully rendering one section at a time).But please, don’t accuse people of using AI without proof. Baseless AI accusations can really hurt innocent artists; Your accusations can damage their reputation, discourage them from making/posting art, and cause people to bully them off the internet. Real artists, even highly-skilled professionals, can sometimes make questionable mistakes, too. If their art looks suspicious, do some research on the artist: check out their website, look at their old works, see if they uploaded any process, etc. If they still seem suspicious, ask to see their process (recordings, layers, steps, project files). Fake artists and AI still can’t make believable timelapses/process yet. Keep in mind though that artists may not always have timelapses or multiple layers to show, especially for their older works. Some artists paint on a single layer, don’t have a recording feature in their app/program, don’t have enough storage space on their device to record/store recordings, or just forgot to press record. Before genAI, no one questioned artists whether their art was real or not, so there was no need to record/show the process. Now, all artists (of any skill level) are deemed “guilty (of using AI) until proven innocent,” so it’s a new and frustrating thing that artists have to deal with. If not recordings, they should be able to show process steps or layers used in the work, especially for their next/newest piece(s).Also, if you accuse an artist of using AI and they don’t respond back to you/blocks you/limits their comments, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re using AI. A lot of artists are tired of seeing baseless AI accusations every time they post something, especially on works that they worked hard to create. People accuse everything of being AI these days, even things that are obviously not AI. Some of these accusers are also people who don’t know anything about art and just want to stir up trouble. Instead of accusing someone based on assumptions, ask to see their process.Unfortunately, there are some digital/traditional artists (even highly skilled ones…) that copy/trace/use AI as reference and claim it as their own original creation. Some artists unfortunately do this because it’s easier/faster to copy; which then makes it easier to post regularly, get engagement/popularity on social media, and get clients/customers. There are a few reasons why I strongly discourage copying/tracing/using AI as reference: it takes away originality and your unique style/vision, hinders your growth as an artist (AI-generated content is almost always inaccurate, so you’ll learn the wrong things), and makes it harder for people to tell what’s AI or not.Using the real world as reference/inspiration (your surroundings, your own pictures, other people’s pictures, etc) and doing observational drawings are the best ways to learn/improve. Also studying your favorite artists: analyzing their work, asking yourself what you like about it, and trying to see what techniques they used. There are so many other things to get inspiration from too, like sculptures, toys, films, games, etc.In my opinion, the ultimate goal for an intermediate/advanced artist should be to find their own style that’s different from the hundreds of thousands of other artists (unless they’re a professional working for a studio/company that requires a specific style). I love seeing different artists making different artistic decisions; like on the colors, lineart, art style, painting techniques, etc. This is one of the reasons why I’m not a fan of genAI or copying AI-generated content; There’s no individuality or originality. It’s sad to see artists abandoning their identities/unique styles by copying genAI; Now their art just looks (and sounds) the same as every AI user’s… This is what will happen if everyone starts using genAI: no more unique styles, no more art/music/etc geniuses like Kim Jung Gi, Nobuo Uematsu, etc etc.It can be difficult to find your own style if you haven’t practiced/studied enough yet, but once you have the art fundamentals down and start experimenting with different techniques/styles/etc, you’ll be able to find your own style. In fact, some artists may already have their own style without knowing it. Your “style” is basically just a combination of everything that you like (all the different artists, animations, colors, etc etc) and everything that you’ve studied/learned about + your current drawing skills/techniques.It’s also important not to copy a reference exactly, unless you’re just doing studies to learn (for educational/personal use, not commercial use); and you say that it’s a copy/study of someone else’s work, not your own original creation. The same goes for using textures/sounds/3D models/etc etc (that you didn’t make yourself) in your work (i.e. for concept art, games, films, etc). Always get permission from the original creator and give proper credit/compensation, even if you aren’t trying to profit from it. Just because something is posted publicly on the internet, does not mean that it’s fair use. People post their work/content online to inspire, demonstrate their abilities, connect with others, get customers/clients, etc; not so anyone can use their work/content however they please. Some people think that just because they have the ability to save the image/video/etc, they are “allowed” to do whatever they want with it; but it isn’t “right” or legal to use someone else’s work/content without permission/compensation. Just because a store doesn’t say “mannequins are not for sale,” doesn’t mean you can just take the mannequins. This is something that AI companies/users/supporters do not understand, and why they try to argue that using other people’s work/content without consent/compensation for AI training is fine; or that using AI to edit/copy someone else’s work without permission is fine because it’s “the same as fanart.” Telling a mass theft + imitation machine to edit/copy someone else’s work for you is not the same as drawing your own interpretation of someone else’s work using your own abilities.

Don’t Give Up!

It pains me to see artists losing motivation or giving up on art because of genAI. While it seems like everyone is talking about AI and how great it is, there are also still a lot of people out there who love and search for art made by humans. As humans, we admire things that take a lot of effort/skills/knowledge to make or do, and we admire people who work hard to learn/grow/improve their skills. We also get inspired when other people like us achieve things that seem impossible or challenging to us. I believe that people who truly love and understand art are the ones who will stick around and support real artists.The future may seem bleak, but eventually, more and more people will realize the value of the human touch and search for quality and originality. (It’s already starting to happen: Companies are getting backlash for using genAI in their art, games, movies, ads, etc.)Some genAI supporters say that the hate for genAI is unjustified like the hate critics used to have for cameras and digital art tools back in the day. Funnily enough, those critics thought that those tools were doing what genAI is doing right now: “making the art for you.” They were wrong about cameras and digital art tools: Digital art tools can make fixing things easier/faster, but you still have to draw everything and know the same art knowledge like traditional artists do. (In my opinion, digital art is also very hard in its own way. There are things that are easier, but also things that are harder to do digitally.) Photography can be an art form when you make your own artistic decisions on the composition/pose/camera angle/etc etc and take the photo yourself. Just holding up the camera and pressing the button isn’t going to take a good picture, no matter how expensive your camera is. Telling someone what to capture/how to take the photo doesn’t mean you took the photo or are a photographer, and telling someone what to draw doesn’t mean you drew the picture or are an artist. When using genAI, you are not actually doing the work but directing the AI to do the work for you. This is what those critics feared cameras and digital art tools would do.A common argument genAI supporters use is that “genAI learns the same as humans, therefore it isn’t stealing.” If that were the case, why does it still make such obvious mistakes that no human would ever make, even though it’s trained on millions of work/content (and it can’t “forget”?) For example, human artists would never draw a finger morphing into hair, or shirt buttons as spirals. Humans don’t need to study thousands of shirts to understand that shirt buttons aren’t spirals. GenAI doesn’t learn or create like a human; It’s like an algorithm that recognizes patterns and takes guesses based on what you ask it to generate (and you can’t predict or have complete control over its “guesses”). Also, if genAI could learn like a human, it would be able to make original art styles by only being trained on real photos. Humans have created anime and cartoon styles by observing and simplifying/exaggerating reality. GenAI can’t make anime or cartoon style images by only being trained on real photos because it can't invent. It just "recycles" the work/content it was trained on, and “mixes” existing content/styles together. It’s like if someone were to take a bunch of stolen art and photos, cut some of them into parts, make them all different opacities, layer them on top of each other, and tweak them until they’re perfectly blended together. When human artists draw, they don’t literally use the references nor do they need them in order to draw. They draw by observing the reference (what their eyes are telling them), and their hands try to follow along. The way people see things, study, learn, remember, move their hands, etc are different for everyone.GenAI supporters also say that artists need to “adapt or fall behind” like we did with other technology, but they don’t understand that genAI is very different from other technology: Photoshop, cameras, cell phones, calculators, etc weren’t made by stealing/using millions of people’s work/content. GenAI uses people’s work/content without consent or compensation, allows everyone to easily create false news/inappropriate content/etc of anyone/anything, harms the environment, and destroys jobs/passions, etc. It’s also very unreliable; It gives incorrect/dangerous information, reinforces bad thoughts/behaviors, and makes mistakes that take a long time to fix (sometimes even longer than if you were to just do it yourself). It also costs a lot of money and resources, which are not infinite. No other technology has had/caused these many problems, especially ones that affect the entire world. This is why genAI needs to be regulated.GenAI users/supporters don’t want regulations because they care more about efficiency, money, popularity, power, etc. They want to save money on labor/production costs (by not paying artists/creators/etc), make a quick buck, scam, spread misinformation, or make inappropriate content. Also because some think that using genAI is “cool/fun” and the only way they can make good “art” or be an “artist,” or because they don’t want to put in the effort/time to learn a new skill/improve their current skills. Some people also think that it’s pointless or impossible to try to fight back against it, but just because the world is moving in a direction that doesn’t seem to be stopping, doesn’t mean that we should just let it happen. Why else do we have laws and regulations? If technology (or anything) is unethical and/or dangerous, it must be regulated. It may seem like we as individuals don’t have the power to change things, but we can contribute to change by pushing for AI regulations, protesting, and not supporting/using their products/services. If more and more people don’t use their products/services, companies will have no choice but to reconsider.For the artists who want to give up because they don’t think they’re good enough: Every artist started with bad work but got to where they are today because they didn’t give up. Art is a skill that can be learned by anyone. Some people may learn/improve faster or slower than others, but everyone has the potential to be an artist. Many people think that you need talent to be an artist, but having artistic talent isn’t enough. Hard work and perseverance are essential to becoming a good artist. Art school and classes can help, but they aren’t necessary; Practice is most important. There are also a lot of great (and free) resources/tutorials online that can help you on your journey. It will be a slow and difficult journey, but you can do it. Just go at your own pace, take breaks when you need to, don’t compare yourself to others, and try to practice/learn as much as you can. Set small goals for yourself every day, take pride in your progress, and visualize yourself getting closer and closer to your main goal. If other people can do it, then so can you.If you just want to do art as a hobby, that’s fine too. There’s no need to try to push yourself to improve or make good art if you’re just doing it for fun. Art becomes stressful when you start comparing yourself to others and think that everything you make has to be perfect. Treat yourself like you would treat a kid who’s still learning; Be proud of that ugly bowl you made. If you don’t expect your kid to sculpt like Michelangelo after just a few years of sculpting lessons, you shouldn’t expect yourself to either. Go at your own pace and enjoy the process. Art will be much more enjoyable this way, and you’ll be able to keep creating for a long, long time.