AI art bans are going to ruin small 3rd party creators

[Morrus]

I think they did not publish and sell nearly as much as they do now.

You think wrong.

Small creators did fine for the many, many years which took place before 2023 without having to use plagiarism tools and harm artists. You know how I know? Because I remember it. I’ve been doing this since 1999.

You’re worried about small creators? What about all the artists I’ve had come to me desperate for work because they can’t pay the bills any more in the last year or so. Why aren’t you concerned about them?

But then in 2023 you were right here encouraging people to literally pirate stuff. This is just more of the same. You don’t care about creators. You just want stuff. Sorry, you played your hand three years ago before generative AI got big. You’re not fooling anyone.

 

[aco175]

The AI images aren't created by people.
Charging me for work that isn't human is a theft as great as those who stole my works to seed their averaging machines.

What if the price did not include the art? The cost only included the writing and making of the monster statblocks and lore. Hard to tell what is what and I guess many would still skip on it.

 

[Mecheon]

Using AI art basically makes people move away from buying a product in the first place.

Genuinely, I've been more interested in stuff that's just the maker's scrawlings than some souless, professionally presented AI slop

If you want to use art, go and commission an artist to make you something. I've seen plenty of good products just from following artists. AI art, however? It looks cheap and does not give the best image for the final product.

 

[Umbran]

You’re worried about small creators? What about all the artists I’ve had come to me desperate for work because they can’t pay the bills any more in the last year or so. Why aren’t you concerned about them?

This is the one that gets me. Artists are creators too.

There is another thought that comes to mind - if you use AI generated art, how much confidence do I have that you didn't use AI to generate the text, too? Very little.

So, if I buy that product, I'm probably not supporting any creator at all.

 

[jdrakeh]

The small press RPG community was trucking along just fine (doing well even) before AI became a thing. AI isn't going to ruin anybody except for those small publishers who won't put out the literal tens of dollars that high quality stock art costs (I know, because even my perpetually broke self can swing stock art fees).

 

[Maxperson]

Several years ago on an AI thread thread I wrote that AI bans will help the major corporations and hurt 3rd party creators. I faced some criticism for this.

Now we have exactly this coming to pass. Foundary recently banned AI art on its Marketplace. As a result, most of the small mom and pop 3rd party creators will need to remove their products or remove the art in their products.

Paying for art for 100 different monsters in a monster supplement, or dozens of NPCs in an adventure, is not a viable financial option on a publication that might sell 100 copies. Removing the art will make their products inferior to what is being published by the mega corporations that are selling thousands of copies and can absorb the cost to pay artists.

 

[FrogReaver]

Several years ago on an AI thread thread I wrote that AI bans will help the major corporations and hurt 3rd party creators. I faced some criticism for this.

Now we have exactly this coming to pass. Foundary recently banned AI art on its Marketplace. As a result, most of the small mom and pop 3rd party creators will need to remove their products or remove the art in their products.

Paying for art for 100 different monsters in a monster supplement, or dozens of NPCs in an adventure, is not a viable financial option on a publication that might sell 100 copies. Removing the art will make their products inferior to what is being published by the mega corporations that are selling thousands of copies and can absorb the cost to pay artists.

I’m confused. 3rd party creators existed before AI. So why would not using AI harm them? Human artist prices should theoretically drop, so their product should get cheaper to make with human art.

Also, If their marketplace disallows ai art then they don’t appear to be at a major disadvantage to their direct competition.

 

[aramis erak]

It is true. 3rd party creaters ARE being removed from Foundary. Their Foundary products that are there right now are going away. That is FACT!

They have a grace period until their current license runs out, then those products are gone.

This is not some hypothetical, I know real living people who will lose their livelihood over this. Meanwhile everything Hasbro/WOTC will stay.

They need to either do the work or leave the industry. Using AI isn't doing the work.

The majority of people expressing opinions apparently do not want, do not want to pay for, do not think your friends should be using, AI in a for-pay product. Depending on the forum it ranges from 2:1 to 5:1 against; I've seen reporting that some discord groups are more like 10:1 against ANY use of AI past spellchecker/grammar checker.

I'm one of those who think use of Generative AI (GenAI) for generating imagery or body text should get one blacklisted from the games industry in total.

I won't buy anything more for Monsters! Monsters! because the author, Ken St. Andre, has embraced AI for art... and I am too lazy to pester Steve Crompton for details of which products do or don't use GenAI. And Steve doesn't know for sure on a number of them.

it has been reported that WotC senior executives have been overheard talking about using GenAI to replace design staff... that was my final straw on WotC products. I don't need D&D5.5 anyway - I dislike the changes, and D&D isn't a favorite anyway.

 

[Autumnal]

Anyone who wants to see what small creators can do is invited to look at Ironsworn. AI would not improve it. And there are decades of great, beautiful games before that. And for that matter, good serviceable games that are not beautiful but work just fine for what the idea.

To think that AI art is somehow necessary is to have a profoundly constricted idea of what a good game can look like.

 

[dead]

Anything using AI art I automatically dismiss. 3rd party creators are better off using no art at all if they can't afford to pay a real artist. Then I might check their product out.