WotC WotC: 'Artists Must Refrain From Using AI Art Generation'

After it was revealed this week that one of the artists for Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants used artificial intelligence as part of their process when creating some of the book's images, Wizards of the Coast has made a short statement via the D&D Beyond Twitter (X?) account.

The statement is in image format, so I've transcribed it below.

Today we became aware that an artist used AI to create artwork for the upcoming book, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants. We have worked with this artist since 2014 and he's put years of work into book we all love. While we weren't aware of the artist's choice to use AI in the creation process for these commissioned pieces, we have discussed with him, and he will not use AI for Wizards' work moving forward. We are revising our process and updating our artist guidelines to make clear that artists must refrain from using AI art generation as part of their art creation process for developing D&D art.

-Wizards of the Coast​

Ilya Shkipin, the artist in question, talked about AI's part in his process during the week, but has since deleted those posts.

There is recent controversy on whether these illustrations I made were ai generated. AI was used in the process to generate certain details or polish and editing. To shine some light on the process I'm attaching earlier versions of the illustrations before ai had been applied to enhance details. As you can see a lot of painted elements were enhanced with ai rather than generated from ground up.

-Ilya Shlipin​

​

 

[Nellisir]

Just pick up a shovel, and get a few more roommates. Bootstraps ya?

Nope

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Not just roll over and die, for one.
Why 70%? Source for that?

Yeah I don’t know what you’ve jumped to while reading the discussion in this thread, but “rolling over and dying” isn’t part of the discussion. At all.

In an era of brutal wealth stratification, a huge chunk of the workforce becomes unemployed within a decade.

Rioting, general strikes (ie most remaining workers strike all at once), national guard and militarized police deployed against civilians, buildings burning, death…this is not a far fetched prediction.

If people cease to have any illusion of opportunities, and there is nothing out into place to help people transition to a largely post-labor world and still be able to eat and house themselves, it’s going to get uglier than anything that anyone but our very oldest relatives can remember.

 

[humble minion]

Ok, so the big question is, how did anyone know it was AI art to begin with? Is there a tool that detects this and someone got bored and decided to use it on the book's art?

No. AI image generation tools very often produce recognisable visual artifacts. Messed up hands, poor perspective, objects interpenetrating, poor anatomy, etc etc. There are people (of who I'm not one), both artists and others, who've paid a lot of attention to this sort of image generation, and can recognise the telltale signs very quickly. Within a day, as far as i know, of the book's images being released publicly, people were starting to raise flags.

Which raises the question - why didn't WotCs art directors? Not just that they didn't recognise AI art (it's just theoretically possible the art was submitted a long time ago and WotC were not well versed in how to do this at the time), but how did they let stuff through like the hand which seems to have grown a mutant extra finger somewhere along the line? Or the ridiculously poorly proportioned stub foot that one of the giants has? Or that glaive thing where the weapon head is clearly not in line with the weapon handle?

 

[Scribe]

Nope

No?

So extrapolate the situation. There is reasonable cause for concern. Its not like corporations outsourced work because they 'wanted to give a leg up to other nations.' They did it to cut costs. Its not like there isnt already automation in things such as coding. Its not like we are not seeing huge strides in generated text and art, and analysis and processing. Is it an urban legend that one of the bots now could pass law exams? We also know that automation, self managed check out, Amazon type business, is all squeezing out other jobs.

We then add on the very fun inflation rate, the increase (in my country) to interest rates, and the housing crisis (try finding an apartment lol and managing it while you work your min wage job).

Its not adding up well here.

So if the answer isnt to just 'pull yourself up' what work are you going to be doing?

Trades, for...who exactly can afford it?

Funny anacdote. I went on a long drive today to check out a small village, I saw they had some property for sale in the 400-500K range. I'd never been there, but had heard of it, and looking around I could see it had some great opportunity to be back in a lower pop, nature rich region.

Well I got there, and its a bump in the road. Its nothing. It exists to support 1 company, that is harvesting lumber (shipped out as raw logs because Canada is stupid and likes to be taken advantage of) and thats it. 400K+, and the assessment value? sub 200K.

So who's buying? Granted, cutting down trees isnt something AI will be doing any time soon, but I'm not sure its what I want to be doing as I approach retirement.

 

[Parmandur]

No. AI image generation tools very often produce recognisable visual artifacts. Messed up hands, poor perspective, objects interpenetrating, poor anatomy, etc etc. There are people (of who I'm not one), both artists and others, who've paid a lot of attention to this sort of image generation, and can recognise the telltale signs very quickly. Within a day, as far as i know, of the book's images being released publicly, people were starting to raise flags.

Which raises the question - why didn't WotCs art directors? Not just that they didn't recognise AI art (it's just theoretically possible the art was submitted a long time ago and WotC were not well versed in how to do this at the time), but how did they let stuff through like the hand which seems to have grown a mutant extra finger somewhere along the line? Or the ridiculously poorly proportioned stub foot that one of the giants has? Or that glaive thing where the weapon head is clearly not in line with the weapon handle?

Well, per their official statement, these pieces would have been sub.itted for review 18 months ago, which is before AI art really broke out. We know that Emi Tanni is who reviewed these, along with the dozens of other pieces in the book. She is pretty new to being the art director rather than a lower level graphic designer, and thisnis new tech, so given the timeframes and that the results honestly look like funky photoshop more than AI art (since it was an AI touch up job), I can easily see it as an editorial oversight due to taking a longtime collaborater at his word.

 

[Weiley31]

Is the art good?

The wolves had human hands for paws.

 

[Nellisir]

Yeah I don’t know what you’ve jumped to while reading the discussion in this thread, but “rolling over and dying” isn’t part of the discussion. At all.

"Since the majority of people need to work to survive" was the quote. It was a specific quote from a specific person. I was looking for clarification on their thoughts. Then you jumped in, and either you can follow the chain (it's got like two steps) or not.

In an era of brutal wealth stratification, a huge chunk of the workforce becomes unemployed within a decade.

Rioting, general strikes (ie most remaining workers strike all at once), national guard and militarized police deployed against civilians, buildings burning, death…this is not a far fetched prediction.

And right there, we disagree. That's it. I don't believe AI is an apocalyptic doomsday death scenario that's going to launch us into Mad Max land. Maybe you've got a more nuanced view of it, but there's a lot of people who don't.

If people cease to have any illusion of opportunities, and there is nothing out into place to help people transition to a largely post-labor world and still be able to eat and house themselves, it’s going to get uglier than anything that anyone but our very oldest relatives can remember.

As you've outlined it, yes. I think some of the assumptions there are unlikely and presume a static and unchanging culture that doesn't adapt to new ideas and challenges, which is blatantly not what we have.

 

[bedir than]

Not just that they didn't recognise AI art (it's just theoretically possible the art was submitted a long time ago and WotC were not well versed in how to do this at the time), but how did they let stuff through like the hand which seems to have grown a mutant extra finger somewhere along the line?

It was submitted about a year ago

 

[doctorbadwolf]

No?

So extrapolate the situation. There is reasonable cause for concern. Its not like corporations outsourced work because they 'wanted to give a leg up to other nations.' They did it to cut costs. Its not like there isnt already automation in things such as coding. Its not like we are not seeing huge strides in generated text and art, and analysis and processing. Is it an urban legend that one of the bots now could pass law exams? We also know that automation, self managed check out, Amazon type business, is all squeezing out other jobs.

We then add on the very fun inflation rate, the increase (in my country) to interest rates, and the housing crisis (try finding an apartment lol and managing it while you work your min wage job).

Its not adding up well here.

So if the answer isnt to just 'pull yourself up' what work are you going to be doing?

Trades, for...who exactly can afford it?

Funny anacdote. I went on a long drive today to check out a small village, I saw they had some property for sale in the 400-500K range. I'd never been there, but had heard of it, and looking around I could see it had some great opportunity to be back in a lower pop, nature rich region.

Well I got there, and its a bump in the road. Its nothing. It exists to support 1 company, that is harvesting lumber (shipped out as raw logs because Canada is stupid and likes to be taken advantage of) and thats it. 400K+, and the assessment value? sub 200K.

So who's buying? Granted, cutting down trees isnt something AI will be doing any time soon, but I'm not sure its what I want to be doing as I approach retirement.

Great breakdown.

I’m fairly optimistic, as you might recall from past discussions, but I’m certainly not dismissing the potential for the 2040’s being like the Great Depression and the cultural revolution unrest of the 60’s, combined and then turned up to 11.

I mean, my store could be run by the three most experienced counter people, and a couple people to pick and run parts, right now. I’m not needed to find a serpentine belt for a stock 1997 Ford Ranger. I’m just needed for actually investigating and troubleshooting and matching by sight and experience.

A lot of jobs don’t have anything remotely like old guys custom rebuilding 100 year old vehicles that no one makes parts for. I don’t think it’ll be as soon as the next 20-50 years, but someday they will be replaced by automation.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

"Since the majority of people need to work to survive" was the quote. It was a specific quote from a specific person. I was looking for clarification on their thoughts. Then you jumped in, and either you can follow the chain (it's got like two steps) or not.

I promise you I’m not the one who didn’t track the thread here.

And right there, we disagree. That's it. I don't believe AI is an apocalyptic doomsday death scenario that's going to launch us into Mad Max land. Maybe you've got a more nuanced view of it, but there's a lot of people who don't.

Either quote where I said anything like that, or don’t throw this kind of hyperbolic strawman BS into an interaction with me.

As you've outlined it, yes. I think some of the assumptions there are unlikely and presume a static and unchanging culture that doesn't adapt to new ideas and challenges, which is blatantly not what we have.

If dismissing the probable effects of a hypothetical wherein most knowledge based jobs are automated within a single decade makes you feel better, go ahead, but don’t try to act like you’re being more objective or reasonable than others because of it.