You know, I’ve been saying I was going to blog about something since last Friday, but now that I actually have time to do it I’m over it. I guess I can try to summarize it. Basically on a whim I decided to use Grok AI to meddle with some of my art. I have explained this many times over the years but I was in college during the rise of Photoshop and my instructors were terrified of it. They wouldn’t teach us about it. They didn’t even have the tools to do so. So I went into a career in art hobbled by the previous generation. I’ve been nursing that grudge for 30 years. So now that AI is going to decimate the job market across many fields I wanted to know, first hand, what I’m up against. I feel it’s safe to say that things are bleak. The drudgery art jobs that make up the bulk of the art economy are going to just not be a thing anymore. Art as a profession will be devalued across the board. Only the best of the best will survive this culling and there aren’t enough jobs to go around already. I’ve already spoken at length about that so I’ll cut it short. The thing that really hacked me off was the reaction to me posting examples to my Patreon, and a few to twitter. I was treated so badly for daring to explore, lost patrons, and generally maligned for the entire weekend. It irritated me greatly to be treated as an enemy when I was earnestly attempting to understand what the situation actually is. This emotional, reactionary, hysteria over everything has me completely fed up. The reduction in strategic thinking in the world, in aggregate, is at epidemic levels. People can’t master themselves, introspect, plan, or any of the things required to enact change or thwart disasters. Which is how I know artists will never be able to stop AI. Screaming at other artists won’t do anything. You have to organize a defense, via legislation, and at least become some sort of reasonable opposition. They can’t. Artists, by and large, are completely controlled by their emotions and incapable of doing anything apart from attacking one another. As an artist myself I am prone to the same kinds of problems, but I’ve always managed to keep it together enough to keep the ship afloat. Which is why when I was in the hospital those time the comic didn’t just stop. I worked from my bed. As things fell apart in my life I kept producing. I complained loud and long, but I kept putting out page after page because that was the agreement I made with my audience. I will go down swinging at AI until it beats me, or everyone agrees it’s here to stay. I’ve never been the best, but when other people wandered away, or broke their promises, I showed up. That’s how you win. Pure, pig headed, stubbornness. The only thing that happened after all those people came at me over trying AI tools was my tank getting filled with pure, weapons grade, SPITE. When there are no jobs left for them I’m gonna be out here making a place for myself. When they cry for help I’m gonna let them burn. I’m far tired of getting walked over by people who think they’re so much better than me because they went to Calarts, or whatever bullshit reason they have.
My dander is up!

Anyway, the readers who didn’t flip out said they thought it was interesting, but the AI art looked dead to them. That’s a really strange thing about AI art right now is how you can somehow tell it’s not right. Even when it’s not obvious at first glance. I’m not sure how long that will remain true though. It’s learning at an extremely fast pace and the rich and powerful have gone all in on it in spite of the dangers that futurists have been warning us about since before computers were even real.

I’ve been through all of this before. When CGI became accessible to the masses people had a fit when CGI trash art started flooding art websites. Shit, even when photoshop was coming up people said it would never overtake traditional media. That was certain sure incorrect. Several people I knew who studied animation have never worked in the field they went to school for. The one that have certainly didn’t get to do much hand drawn animation, if they got to do any at all. The world demands more and more from us every year. More and faster, for less money. Of course no one seems to know what will happen when no one can afford anything and six people have all the money…
Humanity is walking the line between paradise and dystopia. If we stray but a little it could all fall to the ruin of us all.

Anyway, my mother and I finally decided on what new drawscreen I should get to help mitigate my failing eyesight. We landed on a Huion Kanvas Pro 27, I think. Maybe 24. Whichever it is it’s the previous years version and cost, like, 1000$ less. My art is not very taxing so I don’t need extreme levels of speed and whatnot. We were both under the impression that my Surface would not be able to run the thing for long periods of time, or possibly at all, but it turns out that it does it quite easily. As soon as I plugged it in with the USBc cable it understood exactly what the new screen was and how to make it work. No overheating, no issues at all. So I don’t need a new PC I can just keep using my Surface and work on the big screen unless I’m traveling. This page represents the second use of the new screen for the comic. It’s not worse at the very least. Better? I’m not sure. If nothing else I wasn’t straining to see things the entire time, which is the main bonus for me, so I don’t feel quite so tired when I’m done. Eye strain can really mess you up and I’ve been dealing with it for quite some time now. I’m still getting new glasses as soon as I can make the time and find someone who is better at it than the last few practitioners. I scratched my glasses so badly a few weeks ago that they are almost completely useless. They were already not very useful, but scraping the center our of both lenses sealed the deal.

Anyway, I’m over this whole last week of nonsense. If people can cast me aside simply for being curious about what I’m contending with I guess they were never very invested in my work to begin with. Being thrown out with the refuse over the tiniest perceived infraction is not a workable situation long term anyway. All I can say is I wish people outside of my sphere would quit making things harder for me via their flippant choices. I will return on Friday with more comic, assuming you are still here after you’ve found out I sullied myself with the stink of AI you can look forward to that, if you are so inclined. Until then, damn the man, Joe!

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*clutches pearls* Jackie you sullied yourself with Ai?! Didn’t you know you were married to social orthodox contract of never doing anything that would ever upset anyone ever?! How dare you! /s

Jokes aside, I don’t think Ai will be as big a deal as many people think. I imagine it will absolutely devastate many main line industries to a degree. As corporations care more for the revenue than the morality of the things. But even then I think after most artists stop balking, I imagine they’ll get trained in it and just take an advisory and editing role in running the machines. Certainly not ideal honestly. But it’ll come down to a patent thing in the end. Artists of all stripes will simply patent their likeness and skill sets then rent out the liscenses or something probably.

For independant creators I don’t think there’ll be much change? Like I don’t think someones going to copyright Failures Between and it’s basically this but like Autobots? Which sounds kinda rad… But I digress. You spend more time fighting to fix Ai stuff than anything else honestly. So I think it’ll become a niche hobby like 3d modeling. It might hit main stream appeal, but people will always drift to creators like yourself. I just don’t know if it’ll remain profitable. But I think that has a lot to do with difficulty of monetizing this sphere than anything to do with what Ai will inflict. For what it’s worth, I hope it never darkens your door step.

If the people who dropped you ever get to you too bad. Try looking at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4hjX6ZsplU it’s an Ai thing yeah. But the comment section is just a slew of puns. Like the cheese is off the charts. They’re hilarious. I like the thing human ingenuity and creativity will flurish even in places like Ai.

Quite right.
I think it is a fad to [dislike] AI in art, because [AI in art is a new thing, + a lot of people really jump around like a a squeaky, startled Barney Fife], whenever they see something new.
IMO- a new thing means to change something, + a lot of people can’t stand change.

In the 1980s + 1990s, [a lot of people + reporters, those are not exclusive categories], said: “Oh no! video games are popular with kids and teens! They’ll spend all there time playing video games, + not doing anything else! Everyone will be lazy, + nobody will do anything, or be creative, again!” That was not true.

OK, anybody like any new: [movies, restaurants, or webcomics], that appeared after 1990 or after 2000? MY hand is up!
I don’t mean to make you blush, Jackie, but I want to say something + I mean it- but in the past 10 or so years, I was going through some very hard, emotional “trash”.

Part of my getting out of that, was by finding great Webcomics, like “Between Failures” by Jackie, that helped me feel that things would be OK, + that I can grow + [trust myself + others], that myself and other people can do things, + make things get better.

So please, Jackie, please keep making your webcomic, by: paint + cave paintings, or by painting methods from India or Scotland, or by AI methods, or by anything.

Please- you keep making your comic and your art, Jackie, and please you keep being you- because we believe in you, we like you,…and your comics and your art are appreciated.

Congrats on getting to a better place man! Hope more good times are ahead for you!

Thanks very much. That’s nice of you to say. Thank you. :D

I still dabble in analog drawing, sketching and doodling. Left DeviantArt when it got too full of digital fanart of the same mass media subject. I commented on your Patreon, and honestly, as a fellow curmudgeon, I do prefer natural stuff, but AI can assist in some things, like backgrounds or things that takes too much time either analog or digitally.

The same kind of attitude existed when photography was new. It existed when screen printing was new. It existed when painting with acrylic pigments was new. It probably existed when oil paints came out. Same for when sculpting bronze casts was new. Most likely when pottery was new and it wasn’t just hewn from stone or carved from wood. Hell, when cavemen found they could spit colored dirt onto rockwalls, there likely was the same exact attitude from those who carved petroglyphs XD

AI art does look lifeless. I don’t know if it’s improving quickly, feels like it hit a plateau and the last few years they just got better at making less obvious mistakes. My interest drops dramatically the moment I realize something is AI not because I’m against it – I bet it’s a great tool for brainstorming, or as an assistant – but because it lacks that connection with an artist. Might just be my ego though.

I understand your fears and admire your stubbornness. I’m a programmer so my job market is also under threat and I get anxious sometimes, especially since I’ve been looking for a job for a year+ now even though I have a decade of experience. Such is life though, we gotta adapt.

On the brighter(?) side, I’m heavily involved in the modding scene and AI has allowed me to do things I would’ve never been able to do. I don’t have to spend weeks reading to understand new codebases, and things that would’ve taken me days to do only take half an hour. On a personal level, I appreciate AI and can’t imagine going back to manually coding, and I’d like to believe that it allowed me to create stuff used & appreciated by a lot of people.

I applaud your willingness to experiment and report the results. Knee-jerk “ik” reactions are not worth the time spent forming them.
Although I must say AI makes a strong argument for serifs.
Also want to mention that at least one industry expert believes good hand animators will still be in demand—according to No The Robot [Zach Mulligan, an experienced DreamWorks alum] in an animation breakdown video on K-Pop Demon Hunters (https://youtu.be/SA4zOy1vnlk?si=dCIdAAled1d1GKtQ).

Have your critics never heard of “know your enemy/competition/challenges/environment” as a basic life strategy? Fie on them!

I am wholeheartedly loving this arc. Thank you for creating these wondrously complex characters who feel so very human and real. I hope you remain willing and able to share them with us for a long time to come.

I saw the works you had posted on Patreon. It wasn’t *bad* in a sense, but it was funny that it consistently represented Brooksie as a boy (like mid-teens if I was to guess?). But I do still prefer your own art over any AI (mis)interpretation.

The only webcomic I know that started using AI for background work is “Children of Eldair” by Jemma Young. It’s one of those isekai fantasy stories, and when those stories take place in like castles and towers and such, then hand drawing the backgrounds with any detail would be painstaking. She did face similar backlash over the decision, but there will be arseholes who will never be satisfied no matter what choice gets made.

So I have played a bit with large language models and image generation. It has gotten better over the past couple of years but you’re right at saying it feels off. It’s like a person has an in depth knowledge of English grammar but has never actually spoken it. It can craft a correct sentence, but feels awkward.

I work at a company who is getting all excited over using AI but it was best described to me as having a 12 year old working for you. It technically can do a task, but you’re really going to have to keep an eye on it.

Fear not Bridgette, there shall be no papal schisms this day haha.

Meanwhile not much to add, but glad to see Victoria feeling good with the results of Reggie’s interactions and integration into her friend group, which was opposite of her feelings in the hellscape that was that club meeting.

Save the empire.

“If we stray but a little..l”
If? I think we have already lost our footing. We are plummeting and have only begun to glimpse the bottom. CGI, Photoshop, even Photography are tools that artists can use. AI is a replacement for us, you as an artist and me as a writer. In an industry searching for faster and cheaper, that’s owned by the terminally greedy, things like quality and heart and understanding simply don’t factor in to their profit equation.

I loved this. The final panel had me misted up a bit.

If I may, Jackie, I appreciate what you bring to the table.

Art feels more personal when theres slight imperfections. Maybe the size of the eyes dont exactly match. Maybe the hair style is a little off. But with that we get to see the personality of the art. Ai can’t really copy that because the way it works is it pulls from multiple sources. When it. Makes mistakes, it just feels WRONG. Add in the fact you bring a unique story that matches your art, and its a special gem hidden in the rough.

I agree that the AI-generated stuff will be cheap and fine for most, but there will always be a “cachet” for human-generated art (writing, visual arts, whatever). Unfortunately there will be fewer art jobs, and “human” art will retreat to the folks who can afford it. “Do you like this painting? Yes, I paid for an artist to make it.” (Said in a snobby snooty voice).

I just wanna talk about the comic itself for a moment, and say for me this is such a crowning moment. Watching Victoria talk about her brother and see Reggie get to relax and express himself is so personally inspiring. Such a character arc and so healing to see.

I empathize, sir.

I’m a writer.

Blogging jobs are dying on the vine. Cheap-ass content farms are turning to the cut-and-paste dictionary that is AI to produce content faster and cheaper than any human ever dared. And the latest algorithm changes do little good.

I took a stab at an AI writing tool once. That damned thing let me take a complete novel from daydream to finished product in less than three months of working nights. And the product was actually half-decent, too. I spent the next month or so just polishing it up, doing edits and such. Passed it around some paid beta readers on Fiverr and it comes back all smiles. Starting to consider putting some cash into marketing and taking my chances on a full release. Once I think up a proper pen name so the anti-AI crowd doesn’t go a-huntin’ me with torches and pitchforks.

I would be more worried if writing novels weren’t pretty much a thing of the past anyway; who reads for fun any more?

Reading a story written by AI is like watching a Let’s Play of someone using cheat codes. Unfulfilling, pointless, and annoying.

It’s blindingly obvious where AI is being used, and it’s not good.

It’s not that I feel that it is inherently and intrinsically bad, I just don’t care for the product that AI inevitably produces. You can immediately tell if something is made with AI, and it just throws you out of the experience entirely.

I’m not going to crucify anyone for using AI. But neither am I going to be interested in the result.

My thoughts on AI are simple. I currently block all instances of AI. When it gets good enough that I can no longer tell the difference I will be quitting social media entirely because at that stage what exactly would be the point. I have no interest in watching AI bots argue with each other.

I don’t use “AI” at all, period. Except the quotes are there because I *do* use it, daily, except it hasn’t been called that. Photoshop, movie CGI, even your damned spellcheck on your phone all work on EXACTLY the same principals as AI. You could say that they are “primitive” AI or “proto-” AI, but that would be to believe the bullshit that what they’re selling as AI is actually intelligent. It isn’t. There is literally no such thing as AI, and I doubt if there ever will be. The direction they’ve decided to take will definitely NOT lead there, though it has already led to chatbots that can probably pass the Turing Test – which just means the ordinary obvserver can’t tell the difference, not that they really ARE intelligent.

My main concerns at this point are environmental – and I don’t even just mean the obvious stupendous waste of resources being thrown at anything they can slap the “AI” label on, but the HUMAN environment, too. Whatever you call it, these natural language processors are going to be taking over a LOT of jobs, probably in the too-near future. I’m 70, so I’m already irrelevant, but I shudder to think of my grandchildren’s future.

That said, I hold nothing against you for the attempt. As a learning experience, I’m sure it was instructive. I can tell you that I MUCH prefer your own art over the samples I saw on your Patreon.

The last panel of today’s strip is astonishing. Being drawn by a “better” artist, even if you eschewed AI altogether (which I heartily recommend you stay with) and somehow had the wherewithal to afford to pay someone to do it, would not improve it a whit. It’s perfect just the way it is.

2954 If You Love Someone.

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