Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Despite all the newfound hate I’ve been getting over the past few months…
for using generative AI in a lot of my visuals…
Let me be clear about something.
I’ve worked in the arts for a lot of years now.
Drawing. Designing. Directing. Failing. Reinventing.
I’ve only explored AI in my visual experiments in the last few years—like many artists have.
It was never the foundation.
Just a tool I experimented with.
And I’ve never once considered myself an “AI artist.”
To be honest… I find that label a little dismissive.
It ignores the decades of work that came before I ever touched generative AI.
Before I ever typed a single prompt.
I’m not anti-AI.
In fact, I’ve used it quite a bit—out of curiosity, and in search of something new.
But recently, I’ve decided to take a step back.
Maybe for a while.
Maybe for good.
Because somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like exploration…
and started feeling like dilution.
What started with excitement—
the curiosity, the buzz, the attention—
soon felt like it was washing away the texture of everything that came before.
The praise early on was intoxicating.
I felt like I was doing something innovative.
Something brave.
But the art form quickly shifted.
It’s no longer a tool to enhance process.
It’s a shortcut.
A packaged gimmick.
A toy built for paid apps and fast content.
Optimized for engagement.
Not meaning.
And some AI enthusiasts will disagree.
Many of them never made much before this tech arrived—at least not professionally.
But that’s not a dig.
It’s just part of the landscape now.
Still, for me... AI never gave me the same high as spending a week buried in a sketchbook.
There’s no substitute for that tension. That grind. That chaos of making something real.
And I’m not against technology.
I’m not standing in front of the future waving a protest sign.
I see the benefits.
I also see the damage.
Lately, I’ve had an endless stream of digital artists and videographers coming to me…
spinning in existential dread.
Worried about relevance.
About meaning.
It’s exhausting.
And it’s heartbreaking.
AI can build.
But it can also flatten.
If it brings you joy—
if it helps you produce faster, or hit the algorithm—
then do what makes you happy.
I mean that.
I was interviewed a while back about AI and art.
I remember saying something like this:
“If I was sitting next to an AI artist and an oil painter…
I’d appreciate both of their creative perspectives.
But I’d always have more respect for the painter.”
Just like back in the early Photoshop days,
when people argued digital brushes weren’t real art.
That take aged poorly.
But AI isn’t a digital brush.
It’s a servant.
It doesn’t assist the process—it often is the process.
It performs the task for you.
Some say that makes them a director.
Some say I’m stubborn, or missing the point.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe not.
All I know is… the spark is gone.
The endorphin hit faded fast.
Meanwhile, writing music, drawing, storytelling…
still gives me something AI never could—
emotion.
Frustration.
Pride.
Human reaction.
Because we’re human.
We express things.
Through lines, through sounds, through sweat and time.
Some people do that creatively.
Others in their own way.
If AI brings you joy, I support that.
I’ve seen people make truly impressive work with it.
And I’ve got nothing but respect for intentional creation.
But for me, I think I’m heading back to where I started.
Back to the mess.
Back to the struggle.
Back to the part that makes me feel.
And if you made it this far…
Thank you.
I hope you’ll still support me—whatever I choose to make, and however I choose to make it.
#drawingtimelapse #procreateart #draw
Despite all the newfound hate I’ve been getting over the past few months…
for using generative AI in a lot of my visuals…
Let me be clear about something.
I’ve worked in the arts for a lot of years now.
Drawing. Designing. Directing. Failing. Reinventing.
I’ve only explored AI in my visual experiments in the last few years—like many artists have.
It was never the foundation.
Just a tool I experimented with.
And I’ve never once considered myself an “AI artist.”
To be honest… I find that label a little dismissive.
It ignores the decades of work that came before I ever touched generative AI.
Before I ever typed a single prompt.
I’m not anti-AI.
In fact, I’ve used it quite a bit—out of curiosity, and in search of something new.
But recently, I’ve decided to take a step back.
Maybe for a while.
Maybe for good.
Because somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like exploration…
and started feeling like dilution.
What started with excitement—
the curiosity, the buzz, the attention—
soon felt like it was washing away the texture of everything that came before.
The praise early on was intoxicating.
I felt like I was doing something innovative.
Something brave.
But the art form quickly shifted.
It’s no longer a tool to enhance process.
It’s a shortcut.
A packaged gimmick.
A toy built for paid apps and fast content.
Optimized for engagement.
Not meaning.
And some AI enthusiasts will disagree.
Many of them never made much before this tech arrived—at least not professionally.
But that’s not a dig.
It’s just part of the landscape now.
Still, for me... AI never gave me the same high as spending a week buried in a sketchbook.
There’s no substitute for that tension. That grind. That chaos of making something real.
And I’m not against technology.
I’m not standing in front of the future waving a protest sign.
I see the benefits.
I also see the damage.
Lately, I’ve had an endless stream of digital artists and videographers coming to me…
spinning in existential dread.
Worried about relevance.
About meaning.
It’s exhausting.
And it’s heartbreaking.
AI can build.
But it can also flatten.
If it brings you joy—
if it helps you produce faster, or hit the algorithm—
then do what makes you happy.
I mean that.
I was interviewed a while back about AI and art.
I remember saying something like this:
“If I was sitting next to an AI artist and an oil painter…
I’d appreciate both of their creative perspectives.
But I’d always have more respect for the painter.”
Just like back in the early Photoshop days,
when people argued digital brushes weren’t real art.
That take aged poorly.
But AI isn’t a digital brush.
It’s a servant.
It doesn’t assist the process—it often is the process.
It performs the task for you.
Some say that makes them a director.
Some say I’m stubborn, or missing the point.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe not.
All I know is… the spark is gone.
The endorphin hit faded fast.
Meanwhile, writing music, drawing, storytelling…
still gives me something AI never could—
emotion.
Frustration.
Pride.
Human reaction.
Because we’re human.
We express things.
Through lines, through sounds, through sweat and time.
Some people do that creatively.
Others in their own way.
If AI brings you joy, I support that.
I’ve seen people make truly impressive work with it.
And I’ve got nothing but respect for intentional creation.
But for me, I think I’m heading back to where I started.
Back to the mess.
Back to the struggle.
Back to the part that makes me feel.
And if you made it this far…
Thank you.
I hope you’ll still support me—whatever I choose to make, and however I choose to make it.
#drawingtimelapse #procreateart #draw
