AI is a threat to Children’s Book Illustrators
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is truly remarkable. I’m Ananta Mohanta, a children’s book illustrator. As a famous children’s book illustrator, I feel directly threatened by AI, and I am quite concerned about the future of Children’s Book Illustration. AI has been producing illustrations, digital paintings, and images with just a click, and many people are using it effortlessly while taking credit for the work. I believe AI poses a threat to children’s book writers as well. Today, I am writing this blog to share with my concerns about the impact of AI, and I want to share it with all my well-wishers, author friends, and colleagues.
Producing all the art forms of a children’s book illustrators:
AI can produce all forms of art, from traditional to digital. It can create various traditional art types, such as pastels, watercolors, pencils, and charcoal. In addition, digital art is also included. Essentially, children’s book illustrators used to create illustrations by hand using traditional methods. Now, all artwork, even that which is carefully crafted by hand, is eventually transferred to a computer. Creative apps like Adobe Photoshop and Procreate have enabled artists to create stunning digital images and beautiful children’s books.
Displacement of children’s book illustrator:
Many self-publishing authors and publishers are publishing their books. They are using AI due to its speed and cost-saving capabilities. AI is already reducing the demand for Children’s Book illustrators. Even in various fields, too.
Ethical concern from a children’s book illustrator:
AI creates anything based on what is available on the internet, including art and craft. It creates an illustration featuring a mix of various artists’ characters, styles, and designs without infringing on their concerns. It reduces an artist’s value.
Reduce the children’s book illustrators’ originality:
AI can quickly generate any type of illustration, from character design to styling and beyond. It reduces the need for original artists to draft, craft, design, and style illustrations.
Price Reduction:
I have recently seen and heard that, by using AI, many people have started to illustrate children’s books at a very low price to attract clients. As a result, professional children’s book illustrators are not getting the deserved price for their hard work.
Flooded the market with AI illustrations:
It has easy accessibility, meaning several new people are illustrating books using its tools and flooding the market with books. It is making it hard for those who are actual, real human children’s book illustrator artists to stand out in the market.
The authors got scammed by a fake children’s book illustrator:
A few of my author friends have shared that fake children’s book illustrators have scammed some of their colleagues. Some dishonest individuals create fake profiles as children’s book illustrators, take orders and advance payments from authors, and then vanish with their content. The most infuriating part is that they publish it under their name or sell the entire content at a high price to others after some time.
Artistic identity at risk:
A few months ago, a trend went viral called “GHIBLI ART.” Now, the question is, what is it? Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio famous for its distinctive animated characters. Hayao Miyazaki, a Japanese artist, is the co-founder of this studio. He created and sketched Ghibli characters and continues to design them for his studio.
Suddenly, people began to replicate Miyazaki’s artistic style by using AI in their pictures and started uploading them to the internet. They called it “Ghibli Art,” and it went viral like crazy.
I have noticed that 95% of the people using it were unaware of Hayao Miyazaki or the Ghibli studio.
So, I can easily consider that AI presents a risk to artistic identity.
Failed to make the emotional connection:
Maybe AI can quickly generate an illustration, but it cannot bring the expression and set the tone as a children’s book illustrator does. An AI can never think like a human does. It may fail to establish an emotional connection between readers and the books. Sometimes, the client might overlook this, prioritizing cost over quality, but it does matter.
Final thoughts
Using AI in children’s books has many negative side effects. It could negatively impact children’s books and every creative sector. It would be a lie to say that I am not using AI, but I only use it to get some tips or ideas. I hope someday, there will be some terms and regulations for using artistic things. Perhaps in the future, we will also be able to see artists, such as children’s book illustrators, combine AI with their creative imaginations and thoughts to create more powerful and meaningful illustrations.
-Ananta Mohanta (Children’s Book Illustrator)
If you are finding illustrators for a children’s book, in a world full of children’s book illustrators for hire, choosing the right person matters. Ananta Mohanta stands out among all children’s book illustrators with passion, punctuality, and professionalism. With a strong portfolio of children’s book illustrations, he brings characters to life through his art. For those searching for illustrators for children’s books, his styles offer charm. As a dedicated children’s book illustrator, he understands the magic that each story deserves. Whether you are seeking famous children’s book illustrators or rising talent, or comparing an illustrator’s children’s books, Ananta makes storytelling visually unforgettable.
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